Framework of Information System Concepts

FRISCO Full Report - motivation for FRISCO: 

There is no commonly accepted conceptual reference and terminology, to be applied for defining or explaining existing or new concepts for information systems. 

Self-description: 

The FRISCO report provides a reference background for scientists and professionals in the information system area comprising a consistent and fully coherent system of concepts and a suitable terminology that enables them to express themselves about matters in the information system area in a structured and well-defined way. 

Ontology defined: 

The term ‘ontology’ is used in different meanings in the literature. Here and throughout the report we shall use this term as meaning that department of metaphysics concerned with "theories" or "views" of how human beings think of (i.e. "conceive") the "world". A particular theory or view will be called "ontological theory", "ontological view" or "ontological position". It is based on an unquestioned (but reasonably described) metaphysical position, or "Weltanschauung". Whereas an ontological view contains and correlates ontological categories or generic concepts representing specific components, aspects and features in a precise way, a "Weltanschauung" is an "inter-subjective" common understanding, expressed in informal terms. 

“our conceptual framework”: 

We shall refer to the result of our quest as "our conceptual framework". Of course, we do not pursue the aim of developing a universal ontological theory. Rather we restrict ourselves to the presentation of an ontological view suitable for describing and explaining the most important phenomena and concepts in the information system field only. 

Defining the most general concept of all, "thing". 

With these preliminary considerations in mind, we can now commence with our definitions. We start out with the most general concept of all, "thing". 

Definition E1: Thing A thing is any part of a conception of a domain (being itself a "part" or "aspect" of the "world"). The set of all things under consideration is the conception of that domain.  

Aspects: 

An extensional model is that part of a model containing a specific population of the 
types in the corresponding intensional model, whereby this population must obey all 
rules determined in that intensional model. (p. 57) 

For our framework we have chosen to derive a time axis consisting of time points from the strict order of transition occurrences of a clock. (p. 39-40) 

Indexical:  

Absolute time: today, a particular time of today  

Hesse, Wolfgang/Verrijn-Stuart, Alex: Towards a Theory of Information Systems: The FRISCO Approach, 10th European-Japanese Conference on Information Modeling and Knowledge Bases, Saariselkä, Finland, May 8-11, 2000. 

E.D. Falkenberg, W. Hesse, P. Lindgreen, B.E. Nilsson, J.L.H. Oei, C. Rolland, R.K. Stamper, F.J.M. Van Assche, A.A. Verrijn-Stuart, K. Voss, FRISCO : A Framework of Information System Concepts, The IFIP WG 8.1 Task Group FRISCO, December 1996. 

Hesse, Wolfgang: Information System Concepts based on semiotics and ontology: The FRISCO Approach