The Levels of Conceptual Interoperability Model

ABSTRACT: Interoperability of systems is not a cookie-cutter-function. There are various levels of interoperability between two systems ranging from no interoperability to full interoperability. In the technical domain, various models for levels of interoperability already exist and are used successfully to determine the degree of interoperability between information technology systems. However, such models are not yet established in the domain of conceptual modeling. This paper introduces a general model dealing with various levels of conceptual interoperability that goes beyond the technical reference models for interoperable solutions. The model is intended to become a bridge between the conceptual design and the technical design for implementation, integration, or federation. It should also contribute to the standardization of V&V procedures as well as to the documentation of systems that are designed to be federated. It is furthermore a framework to determine in the early stages of the federation development process whether meaningful interoperability between systems is possible. To this end, the scope of the model goes beyond the implementation level of actual standards, which focus on the exchange of data using standardized formats and interfaces. Another practical application of the model is, that it enhances the only recently published DoD Net-Centric Data Strategy for the Global Information Grid (GIG) and is directly applicable to derive necessary metadata to reach the DoD Data Goal to “enable Data to be understandable.” 1 Introduction 2 A Traditional View of Levels of