Systematic mapping of business model and software architecture

To manage in turbulent and unstable business environment, firms must be able to change their business models to fit the changed situations and to provide new applications and services rapidly in cooperation with other firms. This is possible if the firms have internally coherent and efficient business models that complete the business models of other firms in the value network. In e-business, shared software architecture is also needed. To ensure the internal and external fitness of a firm’s business model it has to be mapped to shared software architecture in the early stage of business planning. The mapping has to be done in close cooperation with other firms in the value network. The main problem of the mapping of business models with software architecture is that systematic mapping requires open, reliable relationships between partners in the value network. Additionally, to enable this mapping, common language and understanding is needed, which means that there has to be a simple way to describe both business models and software architecture and their relations. Software architecture has to be shared with partners so that every actor in the network can align their services and business models to fit each other. This paper addresses the mapping of software architecture and business model by analyzing how changes of actors in the value network of a wireless service affect the software architecture, i.e. its components and their relationships. We demonstrate these effects with a simple case scenario of an evolving value network for a mobile multiplayer game. The case includes three phases of evolution and each of them affects the software architecture as well the business models of the actors. Based on the example scenario we show that common reference architecture helps developer of a new wireless service to provide a view of its architecture that can be mapped to the business models of other partners in a potential value network. We also suggest a set of steps to systematically integrate the business models to the shared reference architecture and further to the business models of partners in the value network.