Enterprise Concept Framework

The 7×7 axiom-derived matrix for describing any enterprise.

This repo holds the Enterprise Concept Framework (ECF): the enterprise organizing framework of the TechNeHub Labs DEA ecosystem. You can star and follow for updates.

ECF is an OpenDEA profile: it supplies the Domain x Stage coordinate system that contextualizes the concepts the DEA Metamodel formally represents and the DEA catalogs (dea-catalog-*) instantiate.

The framework is axiom-derived: in a single sentence:

"An enterprise is any bounded entity"

→ Governance & Existence

"that persists"

→ Agency & Organization (agents who persist)

→ Strategy & Direction (directed persistence)

→ Enablement & Operations (substrate and mechanism of persistence)

"by exchanging value"

→ Party & Relationship (counterparty of exchange)

→ Product & Value (bearer of value exchanged)

"with its environment"

→ Finance & Accounting (measurement of exchange with environment)

generates seven domains. A universal lifecycle of seven stages partitions the work of any object over time.

The matrix M = D × S defines 49 ECF coordinates. Enterprise concepts are contextualized by one or more coordinates according to the semantics of the consuming model; a coordinate is a classification context, not an entity container.

ECF sits within the OpenDEA semantic architecture: the World Semantic Foundation (WSF) provides foundational semantics, OpenDEA specializes them for enterprise architecture, ECF organizes the enterprise domain/lifecycle space, and the metamodel plus catalogs carry formal representation and governed content. See Position in the Semantic and OpenDEA Architecture.

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What's in this repo

Path	What it is
REPORT.md	Full walkthrough of the framework: intent, axiom, axes, rules, matrix, case studies, notation, metrics, adoption playbook. The authoritative explanatory synthesis; normative authority lives in framework/ and the CR-governed change requests.
framework/	Modular artifacts extracted from the report: axiom, matrix, case studies, formal notation, metrics; plus framework/architecture.md, the normative architectural position (CR-ECF-001); framework/domain-grounding.md, the per-Domain grounding records and compound-name audit (CR-ECF-003); framework/lifecycle-grounding.md, the per-Stage grounding records, the Stage vs object-State and Stage vs process-level distinctions, and the DERA mapping rationale (CR-ECF-004).
metamodel/	The Enterprise Concepts Metamodel (Section 16 + Appendix A) — the 19-entity ER model that formalizes the framework's constructs.
schemas/	JSON Schemas: canonical business object / capability map / lifecycle traceability (entity.schema.json, capability.schema.json, traceability.schema.json; predate CR-ECF-005); canonical ECF Domain, Stage, and Coordinate schemas under the new specification (ecf-domain.schema.json, ecf-stage.schema.json, ecf-coordinate.schema.json, CR-ECF-005).
specification/	Normative specifications (CR-ECF-005 onwards): the canonical ECF Coordinate specification.
docs/terminology/	Terminology alignment with the OpenDEA Concepts Model — Domain/Stage are reserved ECF terms (CR-CM-000 / CR-CM-000A).
change-requests/	Change requests governing this framework (CR-ECF series), plus cross-references to change requests in the canonical CR repository (dea-metamodel).
pages/	GitHub Pages source — interactive 7×7 matrix viewer + metamodel explorer.

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Position in the Semantic and OpenDEA Architecture

ECF is an enterprise organizing framework within OpenDEA, grounded in the World Semantic Foundation (WSF). The normative statement of this position is framework/architecture.md (CR-ECF-001).

World Semantic Foundation (WSF)
        foundational semantics
                |
                v
OpenDEA Core Semantics
        WSF specialized for enterprise architecture
                |
    +-----------+------------+-----------+
    |           |            |           |
ECF Profile   Business     Data       Technology
(this repo)   Profile      Profile    Profile
    |
    v
ECF Coordinates (Domain x Stage; 7 x 7 = 49)
    |
    |           +----------- other OpenDEA Profiles
    v           v
OpenDEA Metamodel
        formal semantic representation
                |
                v
Reference Catalogs
        governed concept instances

Normative boundaries: WSF != OpenDEA != ECF != DEA Metamodel != Catalog. ECF organizes and contextualizes; the metamodel formally represents; catalogs instantiate governed concepts. Downstream consumers of the ECF contract: dea-metamodel (ECF profile), dea-catalog-business-capabilities (classification context, not capability identity), and dea-catalog-processes (Process Context, not process identity).

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Quick start

Read the framework

Start with REPORT.md — Sections 1–3 (intent, axiom, principles) and Section 9 (the foundation matrix) cover the essentials in 15 minutes.

Apply the framework in 5 Steps and 14 days

• Step 1 (Days 1–4): Contextualize: for each top-50 business concept, identify the ECF coordinate(s) that contextualize it; record the consuming catalog that owns the coordinate usage.
• Step 2 (Days 5–7): Validate: walk each row and column with owners.
• Step 3 (Days 8–10): Metrics: compute coverage, coupling, lifecycle completeness.
• Step 4 (Days 11–13): Operate: wire into the planning cycle; snapshot each sprint.
• Step 5 (Day 14): Govern: charter the matrix owner and versioning cadence.

Use the schemas

• schemas/entity.schema.json — canonical business object entry (id, domain, stage, attributes, owners, relatedObjects, complianceTags, version).
• schemas/capability.schema.json — capability map entry (id, cell, actor, resources, events).
• schemas/traceability.schema.json — object → stage → event → actor end-to-end trace.

Build on it

• DEA Metamodel: technehub-labs/dea-metamodel; the canonical semantic model. ECF is consumed there as an OpenDEA profile.
• Business Capability catalog: technehub-labs/dea-catalog-business-capabilities; ECF coordinates are classification context, not capability identity.
• Business Process catalog: technehub-labs/dea-catalog-processes; an ECF intersection establishes Process Context, not a Business Process.
• DEA Reference Architecture: DERA's 4 phases map to the 7 stages: Discover & Define = Conceive + Design, Design & Build = Build + Activate, Deploy & Operate = Operate + Improve, Evolve & Retire = Retire. This is a mapping, not an identity relationship.

Apply the catalog repository standard

• Catalog repository standard: docs/standards/catalog-repository-pattern.md. Mandatory structural standard applied by every catalog repo (L1 layer). Defines the four-state per-entity lifecycle, the per-entity subtree shape, the machine-generated CATALOG.yaml index, the CI gate, the conformance tests, the new-repo gate, and the retroactive adoption schedule.
• Adoption tracker: docs/standards/catalog-repository-pattern-adoption.md. Status of every catalog repo against the standard.

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Where it fits

The ECF, the DEA Metamodel, and the DEA catalogs together form the Digital Ecosystem & Enterprise Metamoat. Their relationship is governed by the architectural position above: ECF is the OpenDEA profile that supplies the coordinate system; the metamodel is the canonical semantic model that formally represents OpenDEA concepts; the catalogs instantiate governed concepts and consume ECF coordinates as context. See framework/architecture.md.

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Live sites

• Meta Framework Explorer — technehub-labs.github.io/dea-metaframework/ Interactive 7×7 matrix viewer with foundation / telecom / digital scenarios.
• DEA Metamodel Explorer — technehub-labs.github.io/metamodel/ 19-entity metamodel with layer filter, detail panel, and click-through to catalog repos.
• TechNeHub Labs root — technehub-labs.github.io

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Contributing

Open an issue or pull request. The framework is versioned; semantic-version bump for any change to the axiom, axes, or matrix construction rules.

License

Apache 2.0 — see LICENSE.## Citation

See CITATION.cff for cite-as metadata.