The BWW-Model as Method Engineering Theory

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the usage of the Bung-Wand-Weber (BWW) Ontology as a theory in method engineering is both feasible and relevant. Weber and his colleagues introduced the BWW Ontology as theoretical foundation for conceptual modeling. In this paper we describe how the BWW Ontology can be used to systematically underpin the development of modeling grammars. Since the development of modeling grammars belongs to the method engineering discipline we firstly discuss the necessity of a theoretical basis in this research stream. In the second part of the paper we investigate and summarize the rich set of empirical findings in the BWW Ontology domain. Lastly, we show how these theoretical findings can inform method engineering research. Including theory in method engineering has two advantages: Firstly, it is possible to predict the success or failure of the design and secondly, theory-driven design instantiates existing hypotheses and allows testing them.