An Ontological Model of an Information System

Abstracf-Theoretical developments in the CS and IS disciplines have been inhibited by inadequate formalization of basic constructs. IO this paper we propose an ontological model of aa information system that provides precise definitions of fundamental concepts like system, subsys-tem, and coupling. We use this model to analyze some static and dynamic properties of an information system and to examine the question of what constitutes a “good ” decomposition of an information system. Index Terms-Cohesion, coupling, decomposition, hierarchy, level structure, subsystem, system