A framework for interoperability analysis on the semantic web using architecture models

IT decision making requires analysis of possible future scenarios. The quality of the decisions can be enhanced by the use of architecture models that increase the understanding of the components of the system scenario. It is desirable that the created models support the needed analysis effectively since creation of architecture models often is a demanding and time consuming task. This paper suggests a framework for assessing interoperability on the systems communicating over the semantic web as well as a metamodel suitable for this assessment. Extended influence diagrams are used in the framework to capture the relations between various interoperability factors and enable aggregation of these into a holistic interoperability measure. The paper is concluded with an example using the framework and metamodel to create models and perform interoperability analysis.