ISO/IEC 19763-1:2015

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 19763-1
Second edition
2015-06-15
Information technology — Metamodel
framework for interoperability (MFI) —
Part 1:
Framework
Technologies de l’information — Cadre du métamodèle pour
l’interopérabilité (MFI) —
Partie 1: Structure
Reference number
ISO/IEC 19763-1:2015(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2015

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ISO/IEC 19763-1:2015(E)

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ISO/IEC 19763-1:2015(E)
Contents Page
Foreword . v
Introduction . vi
1 Scope . 1
1.1 Inclusions . 1
1.2 Exclusions . 1
2 Conformance . 2
3 Normative references . 2
4 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms . 2
4.1 Terms and definitions . 2
4.2 Abbreviated terms . 5
5 Purpose and objectives of MFI . 7
5.1 Purpose of MFI . 7
5.2 Strengthening interoperability and integration capability . 7
5.2.1 Introduction . 7
5.2.2 System interoperability . 8
5.2.3 Semantic interoperability . 10
5.3 Registry interoperability . 10
5.4 Model discovery . 11
6 Model registration . 11
6.1 Basic idea of the MFI metamodels . 11
6.2 Basic concept of model registration . 12
7 MFI architecture . 14
7.1 The overall structure of MFI . 14
7.2 A common modelling facility for MFI . 14
Annex A (informative) Internal structure of MFI . 16
Annex B (informative) Future harmonised structure for MFI and MDR . 18
Bibliography . 19
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ISO/IEC 19763-1:2015(E)
Figures
Figure 1 – Two types of interoperability . 8
Figure 2 – Current problems with cross-industries interoperation . 9
Figure 3 – Basic concept of model sharing through a model registry . 9
Figure 4 – Registry interoperability using RS and ROR . 10
Figure 5 – Discovering services and processes based on RGPS . 11
Figure 6 – MFI metamodels and the UML metamodel . 12
Figure 7 – Basic concept of MFI registration . 12
Figure 8 – Relationship between a model and its associated model information . 13
Figure 9 – Overall structure of MFI and its relationships to MDR and UML . 14
Figure 10 – Basic concept of the core model . 15
Figure 11 – Common base for MFI subparts . 15
Figure A.1 – Relationship between parts within the MFI family of standards . 16
Figure B.1 – The future harmonisation target . 18

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ISO/IEC 19763-1:2015(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members
of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of
information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication
as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 19763-1 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information Technology,
Subcommittee SC 32, Data management and Interchange.
ISO/IEC 19763 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — Metamodel
framework for interoperability (MFI):
Part 1: Framework
Part 3: Metamodel for ontology registration
Part 5: Metamodel for process model registration
Part 6: Registry summary
Part 7: Metamodel for service model registration
Part 8: Metamodel for role and goal model registration
Part 9: On demand model selection [Technical Report]
Part 10: Core model and basic mapping
Part 12: Metamodel for information model registration
Part 13: Metamodel for form design registration
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ISO/IEC 19763-1:2015(E)
Introduction
Due to the proliferation of internet-enabled communication aided by mobile devices, social network
systems and cloud computing, both the efficient and effective sharing of information and the handling of
business transactions across countries and cultures has become easier.
In the private sector the handling of these business transactions using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
has been common for a long time. Companies hold large quantities of structured, semi-structured and
unstructured data – the “Big Data” explosion. It is in their interest to make effective use of this data to
extract business intelligence and knowledge.
In the public sector, governments in many countries and territories are working on the establishment of
new schemes that enable interoperation and collaboration among different departments or agencies,
materialising the semantic interoperability of data and surmounting border and/or language differences. At
the same time, many governments and agencies are attempting to make their data available to their
citizens over the internet, the “Open Data” initiatives. These “Open Data” initiatives could be the driver for
similar innovations in the private sector. One of the issues for users is to access the various sets of open
data easily and integrate them for analysis so as to create new value through added information or
knowledge.
These trends have produced new needs for standards that enable effective information sharing in both
private and public sectors.
One of the key enablers of this sharing of the information that is used by different communities through the
interoperability of systems is a registry, or a network of inter-connected registries, that provides for the
discovery and sharing of meta-information, such as metadata or models. The Metamodel Framework for
Interoperability (MFI) provides the specifications for such registries.
The MFI specifications can be considered as an extension of those for a Metadata Registry (MDR) as
defined in ISO/IEC 11179-3 because MFI and MDR share the same registration mechanism and
procedures. In 2010 a special study project was initiated to consider the harmonisation of MDR and MFI
and a key recommendation of that study project was that the common facilities should be identified and
used for both MDR and MFI. It is anticipated that MDR and MFI could be more closely related and
integrated, leading to benefits for the users who need more effective sharing of information and models, or
more sophisticated interoperation of systems.
This new edition of Part 1 has been developed to provide a clear overview of MFI and to illustrate the
overall architecture of the MFI family of standards to reflect the major changes described above.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ISO/IEC 19763-1:2015(E)
Information technology – Metamodel framework for
interoperability (MFI) – Part 1: Framework
1 Scope
1.1 Inclusions
This is a part of the ISO/IEC19763 (Metamodel framework for interoperability) (MFI) family of standards.
As the first part of MFI, this part provides an overview of the whole of MFI. In particular, the purpose, the
underlying concepts, the overall architecture and the requirements for the development of other standards
within the MFI family are described.
MFI provides a set of normative metamodels to enable the registration of many different types of model.
Each of these metamodels is expressed as a UML Class Diagram.
MFI is evolving. Currently, in addition to this part, the MFI family comprises:
• A core model and facilities for the basic mapping of models (Part 10)
• A metamodel for ontology registration (Part 3)
• A metamodel for process model registration (Part 5)
• A metamodel for service model registration (Part 7)
• A metamodel for role and goal model registration (Part 8)
• A Technical Report describing on demand model selection based on RGPS (Role, Goal, Process
and Service) (Part 9)
• A metamodel for information model registration (Part 12)
• A metamodel for form design registration (Part 13)
• A metamodel for a registry summary (Part 6)
These parts are described in more detail in Annex A.
1.2 Exclusions
The MFI does not specify any physical structure of the registry where model information is to be recorded.
MFI metamodels define standard views as models to be used in the registering of model instances in a
model registry while actual instance documents could be stored in a model repository.
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2 Conformance
This part of ISO/IEC 19763 specifies no conformance requirements. Other parts of the ISO/IEC 19763
family of standards specify their own conformance requirements as appropriate.

3 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references only the edition cited applies. For undated references the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 11179-3, Information technology – Metadata registries (MDR) – Part 3: Registry metamodel and
basic attributes
ISO/IEC 11179-6, Information technology – Metadata registries (MDR) – Part 6: Registration
ISO/IEC 19505-1:2012, Information technology -- Object Management Group Unified Modeling Language
(OMG UML) -- Part 1: Infrastructure
ISO/IEC 19505-2:2012, Information technology -- Object Management Group Unified Modeling Language
(OMG UML) -- Part 2: Superstructure

4 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms
4.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
4.1.1
11179-3 Common Facilities
combination of the Registration package and the Basic package and the Identification Designation and
Definition package on which the first package is dependent
4.1.2
concept
unit of knowledge created by a unique combination of characteristics
NOTE Concepts are not necessarily bound to particular languages. They are, however, influenced by the social or
cultural background which often leads to different categorizations.
[ISO 1087-1:2000, 3.2.1]
4.1.3
cloud computing
paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual
resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand
NOTE Examples of resources include servers, operating systems, networks, software, applications, and storage
equipment.
[ISO/IEC 17788, 3.2.4]
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4.1.4
framework
logical structure for classifying and organizing complex information
[ISO/TS 27790:2009, 3.27]
NOTE In MFI the framework is used to represent the architectural view of a set of metamodels for registration.
4.1.5
information model
graphical and textual representation of entities and the relationships between them
NOTE May also be known as a data model, a conceptual data model, a logical data model, an entity relationship
model, an object class diagram or a database definition

4.1.6
interoperability
capability to communicate, execute programs, or transfer data among various functional units in a manner
that requires the user to have little or no knowledge of the unique characteristics of those units
[ISO/IEC 2382-1]
4.1.7
metadata
data that defines and describes other data
[ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013, 3.2.74]
4.1.8
metadata item
instance of a metadata object (4.1.9)
[ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013, 3.2.75]
4.1.9
metadata object
object type defined by a metamodel (4.1.11)
[ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013, 3.2.76]
4.1.10
metadata registry
information system for registering metadata (4.1.7)
NOTE the associated information store or database is known as a metadata register
[ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013, 3.2.78]
4.1.11
metamodel
model (4.1.12) that explains a set of related models (4.1.12) by defining the language for expressing such
models (4.1.12)
[ISO 14813-5:2010, B.1.84]
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4.1.12
model
representation of some aspect of a domain of interest using a normative modelling facility (4.1.18) and
model constructs (4.1.13)
NOTE models can be used to express a set of information requirements, processes, services, roles, goals or some
other aspect of a domain of interest
4.1.13
model construct
unit of notation to represent a model (4.1.12)
NOTE This is a more generic term for model element. Sometimes the term is used to include metadata, code and
object patterns rather than the notations of a particular modelling facility such as UML.
4.1.14
model element
element or component in a model (4.1.12)
NOTE Examples of model elements are representation of an entity type in an information model, representation of an
event in a process model, representation of a service operation in a service model, or representation of an actor in a
role and goal model.
4.1.15
model information
information that describes characteristics of a model (4.1.12) to be registered
NOTE In MFI, the model information about a model will be registered using instances of Registered_Item as specified
in ISO/IEC 11179-3
4.1.16
model registry
registry (4.1.24) where models (4.1.12) are registered
4.1.17
model repository
repository (4.1.25) where models (4.1.12) are stored
4.1.18
modelling facility
set of rules and notations for use when modelling
NOTE 1 UML is a typical example of a modelling facility
NOTE 2 May also be known as a modelling language
4.1.19
modelling language
language or notation that is used to model some aspect of a domain of interest
NOTE 1 UML is a typical example of a modelling language
NOTE 2 May also be known as a modelling facility
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4.1.20
ontology
specification of concrete or abstract things, and the relationships among them, in a prescribed domain of
knowledge
NOTE The specification should be computer processable
[ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010]
4.1.21
process
collection of related, structured activities or tasks that achieve a particular goal
4.1.22
process model
representation of a process (4.1.21), using a specific process modelling language (4.1.19)
4.1.23
registration
inclusion of a item in a registry (4.1.24)
inclusion of a metadata item (4.1.8) in a metadata registry (4.1.10)
[ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013, 3.2.108]
NOTE 1 In ISO/IEC 19763 a metadata item is a model or a model element and a metadata registry is a model registry.
NOTE 2 Registration requires that a minimum set of administrative information about the metadata item (model) be
specified, such that it becomes a registered item
4.1.24
registry
information system for registration (4.1.23)
[ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013, 3.2.113]
NOTE In ISO/IEC 19763, the registry is a model registry since the metadata items that are registered are models. This
model registry uses facilities provided by a metadata registry as specified in ISO/IEC 11179-3
4.1.25
repository
place where, or receptacle in which, things are or may be stored
NOTE In MFI and MDR, a repository is recognized as a database that stores actual instances to conform to a
particular metamodel or a particular set of metadata.
4.1.26
service
kind of web based application, which encapsulates one or more computing modules and can be accessed
through a specified interface

4.2 Abbreviated terms
BPEL
Business Process Execution Language
BPMN
Business Process Model and Notation
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IDEF1X
Integration DEFinition for Information Modeling
IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission
ISO
International Organization for Standardization
LOD
Linked Open Data
MDR
Meta Data Registry
MDR Metamodel
ISO/IEC 11179-3, Information technology – Metadata registries (MDR) – Part 3: Registry metamodel and
basic attributes
MDR Registration
ISO/IEC 11179-6, Information technology – Metadata registries (MDR) – Part 6: Registration
MFI
Metamodel framework for interoperability (this family of standards (ISO/IEC 19763))
MFI Core and mapping
ISO/IEC 19763-10, Information technology – Metamodel framework for interoperability – Part-10: Core
model and basic mapping
OMG
Object Management Group
RGPS
Role, Goal, Process and Service
ROR
Registry of Registries
RS
Registry Summary
SDO
Standards Developing Organization
UML
Unified Modeling Language
UN
United Nations
W3C
World Wide Web Consortium
XML
eXtensible Markup Language

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5 Purpose and objectives of MFI
5.1 Purpose of MFI
MFI provides a set of specifications that allow the registration of models to facilitate interoperability among
systems or persons. In this context interoperability is interpreted in its broadest sense: the capability to
communicate, execute programs, or transfer data among various functional units in a manner that requires
the user to have little or no knowledge of the unique characteristics of those units (ISO/IEC 2382-1:1993).
The models that are registered may be ontologies, information models, process models, service models,
models of roles and goals or any other type of model specified within MFI.
Models are used widely within the information technology community to represent system requirements
and system specifications. These models can be expressed using a variety of notations or languages. An
information model may be expressed in any one of a number of entity-relationship notations, from the
simplicity of the original entity-relationship notation proposed by Dr Peter Chen through to the complexity of
Express-G, as a UML Class Diagram, or even as a set of SQL CREATE TABLE statements. Similarly,
process models may be expressed as BPMN models, as UML Activity Diagrams, or as a set of BPEL
statements.
The sharing of these models is essential if interoperability is to be achieved. If two systems are to
exchange information then not only must the formats in which the information is represented as data in
those systems be known but the semantics underpinning that data and the processes that the systems are
designed to support must also be unambiguously understood. If services are to be shared between
interoperating systems then the processes that these services execute, with their goals and the roles of the
people or organisations associated with these processes and services, also need to be unambiguously
understood.
The underlying purpose of MFI is to allow the sharing of these models. Each of the main parts of MFI
provides a specification, in the form of a metamodel, for a model registry where information about the
models, and the things, processes, etc that they are describing, can be registered. Once models have
been registered it is possible for the mappings between models, or parts of models, to also be registered.
In addition, because models are registered in a registry they can be discovered.
A metamodel in MFI is an information model that provides a conceptual view of the information that is
recorded when a model is registered. Each of these metamodels is expressed as a UML Class Diagram.
It is not sufficient to register a model in a registry. The registry must also be discoverable, and enabling this
discoverability of registries is also an important element of MFI.
5.2 Strengthening interoperability and integration capability
5.2.1 Introduction
High-level information sharing is necessary to achieve the integration of data or services described above.
This relies upon the strengthening of the capabilities to discover models. This is underpinned by two types
of interoperability, as follows:
• System interoperability
• Semantic interoperability
This is illustrated in Figure 1 below.
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High-level information sharing
System Semantic
interoperability interoperability
Model sharing through registration

Figure 1 – Two types of interoperability

5.2.2 System interoperability
System interoperability in a heterogeneous network system requires the standardisation of the
communication protocols to enable the lower level physical connection. It also requires the standardisation
of both the message formats and the syntactic representation of the data to be exchanged. The syntactic
representation of data is normally held as metadata.
Many de jure and de facto Standards Developing Organizations (SDO), such as ISO, IEC, UN, OMG and
W3C, have developed and enforced many industry-specific metadata or registry standards. Examples exist
in the e-business, healthcare, electronic parts, electronic documents and library areas, but most of these
industry sector metadata or registry standards are incompatible with each other.
With this proliferation of standards it is not easy to share information across different industries or domains
without any specific mapping or translation tools. This is made worse if the metadata is registered in
different registries. For this reason it is almost impossible to have a global and dynamic supply chain that
penetrates different industries across many countries.
For example, an electronics manufacturing company will have their own product database to handle the
development, manufacture and sale of their products while the retailer will have their own item database
which will be used to manage their stock and their purchases. Each database will have been developed
individually, with each following the particular metadata standards, if any, that were specified by the
industry consortium or some other SDO. In this situation it is almost impossible to achieve interoperability
between the manufacturer’s system and the retailer’s system. Figure 2 illustrates this problem.
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Manufacturing sector Retail sector
Registry standard for the Registry standard for the
manufacturing sector retail sector
Home electronic
Electronic Home
products
Parts Electronics
Category Category
Products
Product_Number Item_Number
Metadata
Attributes for Attributes for
manufacturing retail
Part Master DB Item Master DB
No interoperability
3

Figure 2 – Current problems with cross-industries interoperation
To overcome this problem there must be a mapping between the database structures of the two systems.
To achieve this mapping the information models, and perhaps the process models, need to be understood
and compared. The mappings themselves then need to be registered.
In software development, information models are used to capture and document the information
requirements that should then lead to the specification of a database design. Each of these information
models will be expressed using one of the many notations available, for example as a UML Class Diagram
or as an IDEF1X model. Since many engineers are normally involved in any software development the
sharing of models is common. Where this development involves collaborating engineers in different
countries and languages, this model sharing must be supported by a specific platform or infrastructure.
In the model registry, MFI provides a basis for this model-sharing infrastructure. Model sharing can be
made possible by registering these models in a model registry. This will make it easier to discover an
appropriate model. See Figure 3 for an illustration of this concept.


Figure 3 – Basic concept of model sharing through a model registry

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5.2.3 Semantic interoperability
Many terminology dictionaries are available, some on the internet. Some of these are generic
...