Temporal Modeling

Temporal Modeling is way of modeling software systems and components by putting events first.

The usual way of modeling software is to find structures, things and relations. We try to find the relevant aspects of a domain and put all properties into an object-oriented model. Trying to create a second model for a related business process, having the structural model already in place, might result in a process representation that is tightly coupled with the assumptions built up from the structural model and too far away from reality.

By focusing on the domain processes first, one can visualize all aspects of a process over time. Having the process visualized, allows to see potential pitfalls or forgotten aspects. With a temporal model at hand, it is easy to create an object-oriented or structural model that perfectly represents all required information.

We tried this method when tackling big or complex domains.