IOF Core Glossary of Terms

A

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Action Specification

information content entity that prescribes what participants shall do in a process

Agent

person, group of persons, or engineered system with an agent role

Agent Role

role that someone or something has when they act on behalf of a person, engineered system or a group of agents

Algorithm

plan specification that prescribes a computing process

Assembly

material artifact that is composed of a number of material components that are physically connected together to realize a function and that can be disassembled later on

Assembly Process

manufacturing process in which a number of material components are physically connected to each other to form an assembly

B

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Business Identification

information content entity that identifies a business

Business Organization

organized group of agents that have a business identification assigned with the purpose to get involved in business processes

Business Process

planned process which is prescribed by a plan specification with one or more objectives specified by a business organization

Buying Business Process

business process wherein financial instrument is used by an agent (buyer) to acquire ownership of product or commercial service from another agent (seller) for the buyer itself or another agent (customer)

Buyer Role

role held by a person, business organization or an automated system when it buys a product or a service

C

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Capability

disposition in whose realization some agent has an interest

Commercial Service

business process that consists of a service provisioning process and a consumption process

Commercial Service Agreement

agreement that is about the provision of a commercial service and associated conditions

Commercial Service Specification

plan specification that prescribes a commercial service

Computing Process

planned process in which an algorithm is realized by an agent or a machine

Customer Role

role held by an agent when it utilizes the product or receives the service or subscribes to the commercial service agreement

D

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Descriptive Information Content Entity

information content entity that characterizes an entity

Design Specification

information content entity that prescribes something man-made

Designative Information ContentEntity

information content entity that uniquely identifies an entity

Directive Information Content Entity

information content entity that prescribes a set of rules or guidelines for a process or a model of something man-made

E

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Engineered System

system which is designed to provide certain capabilities

Event

occurrent that is recognized by an agent and typically recorded

G

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Group Of Agents

object aggregate that has a number of agents as member parts

I

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Information Content Entity

generically dependent continuant that is about an entity

L

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Location Identification

information content entity that identifies a physical location

M

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Machine

material artifact that contains a number of physically connected assemblies that work together to realize the artifact’s designed  function

Maintainable Material Item

material artifact or engineered system which has the maintainable material item role

Maintainable MaterialItem Role

role played by an asset when there is a maintenance strategy prescribing its maintenance process

Manufacturer Role

role held by a business organization when it produces material products

Manufacturing Process

planned process that consists of a structured set of operations through which input material is transformed or modified into another material entity

Material Artifact

object that is deliberately created to have a certain function

Material Component

material entity which has the material component role

Material ComponentRole

role held by a material entity when it is a proper part of another material entity or is planned to be a proper part of another material entity

Material Location Change Process

planned process that results in a material entity moving from one physical location to another

Material Product

material entity which has the material product role

Material ProductRole

role held by a material entity when it is being offered for sale, or for supplying or is being bought

Material Resource

material entity which has the material resource role

Material Resource Role

role played by a material entity that consists in it being available to a person or group of agents or engineered system

Measurement Process

planned process to determine the value of a quantity

Measurement Information Content Entity

information content entity that is the result of a measurement process

O

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Objective Specification

information content entity that prescribes what the outcome of some process should be

Organized Group Of Agents

group of agents that is pursuing a common set of plans and objectives

P

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Person

object that is the member of the species of homo sapiens

Plan Specification

information content entity that has action specifications and objective specifications as parts

Planned Process

process that is prescribed by a plan specification

Procuring Business Process

business Process that consists of buying and supplying products or services

Process Characteristic

attribute of a process

Product Production Process

business process that consists of at least one manufacturing process through which raw materials and components are transformed or modified to create a material product

R

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

RawMaterial

material entity which has the raw material role

Requirement Specification

information content entity that prescribes a set of requirements

Raw Material Role

role held by a material entity when it is aquired by a business organization with the plan to be transformed or modified in a product production process

S

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Construct

Natural Language Definition/Elucidation

Selling Business Process

business process wherein product or commercial service is offered by an agent (seller) for another agent (buyer) to acquire ownership via a financial instrument

State

process in which one or more of the attributes of a participant in the process remain constant or within specified ranges

Supplier Role

role held by a person, business organization or an automated system when it offers to sell or provide products or services

Supplying Business Process

business process wherein product or service is supplied

System

object aggregate that has continuant part two or more elements that interact with each other