Goal diagrams

Definition

Goal diagrams present goals and goal containers together with their dependencies and relationships to other model elements.

Goal diagrams (an example is shown in the screenshot below) can be created in goal containers and goals.

An example of a goal diagram

Goal containers and goals

The main structural elements in goal diagrams are goals and goal containers.

Goal containers have the job of grouping and organizing goals. Goal containers are created using the "Create a goal container" icon.

Goals are targets that provide a framework for the desired system. They are the high level objectives of the business, organization or system, and express logic and guide decisions at various levels. "Maximize corporate profits" is an example of a high-level enterprise goal. Goals can be broken down into sub-goals and allocated to individual parts of the business (such as processes).

Goals are created using the "Create a goal" icon.

Goal dependencies

Besides the goal and the goal container, you can also express meaningful relationships between these elements by using one or more of the following goal dependencies:

· Part

· +Influence

· -Influence

· Guarantee

· Measure

· Assigned

· Trace

The "Part" dependency defines a sub-goal of a higher-level goal (for example, strategic to operational). To create a "Part" dependency, use the "Create a Part dependency" icon.

The "+Influence" dependency represents the fact that the advent or success of the origin element has a positive influence (helps, contributes) on the goal in question.

To create a "+Influence" dependency, use the "Create a +Influence dependency" icon.

The "-Influence" dependency represents the fact that the advent or success of the origin element has a negative influence (hinders, prevents) on the goal in question.

To create a "-Influence" dependency, use the "Create a -Influence dependency" icon.

The "Guarantee" dependency indicates that the advent or success of the origin element guarantees that the goal will be reached.

To create a "Guarantee" dependency, use the "Create a Guarantee dependency" icon.

The "Measure" dependency represents an element (typically an event or a process) that will be used to measure the reaching of a goal.

To create a "Measure" dependency, use the "Create a Measure dependency" icon.

The "Assigned" dependency expresses the assigning of a goal to an owner. This owner is typically an actor, package (organizational unit) or process.

To create an "Assigned" dependency, use the "Create an Assigned dependency" icon.

The "Trace" dependency describes how a design or implementation model represents the goal. At least one model element must have been created in order to express the goal.

To create a "Trace" dependency, use the "Create a Trace dependency" icon.