Modeling the business system by applying cybernetic concepts

There is an intrinsic need for Enterprise Architects to understand and quantify business requirements optimally for building IT systems. The challenge for IT solution providers consisting of team's like marketing, pre-sales, architects and designers is that they have to address the IT needs of different business domains. The existing models like TOGAF Model, Zackman Model looks at technology, people, process etc. as independent units. There is a need for models which have a holistic or systemic approach. The paper articulates the need for adopting a predictive and cognitive model for understanding the business domain. It presents a model to capture the business domain based on cybernetic concepts. The domain map is conceived applying cybernetic principles. A domain map provides a graphical and holistic representation of the domain we are trying to understand or deal with. The concept of the domain map is built on the Cybernetic Influence Diagram (CID) a Framework developed in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). This model captures the "system in focus" (SIF) or the situation you are trying to comprehend in the form of a semantic map. Domain maps are a specific instance of this qualitative model. They can be used for comprehending, analyzing and suggesting solution intervention for a business domain. This paper discusses the cybernetic concepts applied for building this model, in brief the methodology and the benefits of using it through a specific illustration.