EC-Design modelling

EC-Design

Our custom tool EC-Design helps you generate functional and technical specifications for application integration through an easy and structured process, based on modelling.
With EC-Design you don't need in-depth technical knowledge to integrate your IT-systems.

Smart specifications

EC-Design is based on functional modelling. It helps you analyze what the functional requirements for the right solution are.
Requirements are then translated into technical specifications.
An easy to follow method which is able to generate technical specifications for every integration issue, even for the most complex cases.
With EC-Design you ensure that your work is 100% consistent, always!
There is no need for you to be the technical expert, specifications from EC-Design give your IT-suppliers everything they need to start working on your solution. You will save time and money on your IT-projects.

What we do

We help management and their teams to understand and use EC-Design to get maximum results. We offer short training and development programs in combination with support services.
Users will be able to start working with EC-Design right away, we believe in 'learning by doing'!

Our consultants know all the ins and outs of our product but they also understand your business-needs. If you need more than standard tools we will help you design a custom solution that works for your business.

Find out more about EC-Design

The method in brief

The method is based on the separation of functional requirements and the realisation of those requirements in a syntax like the EDIFACT (EDI For Administration Commerce and Transport) or XML syntax. It contains the following elements:

functional requirements by means of a data model and a process model. The data model represents the business processes and the products or services supported by those business processes. The process model is a set of transactions between actors to exchange information regarding the behaviour of the business process ('where are my products');
realisation of the functional requirements in EDIFACT or XML;
production of Message Implementation Guidelines, either for sectorial use, international use, national use, or the use by two actors;
the implementation of messages by generating translation tables and test messages.

Development is speeded up by using standard elements that have already been specified. Those elements are contained in repositories. The object repository contains actors and standard objects with their properties, the model repository contains standard transactions, entities with their attributes, and constraints on attributes (e.g. domains and code values), the mapping repository contains standard mappings of entities of the object repository to elements of the EDIFACT repository, and the EDIFACT repository contains the TDID.

Elements of EC-Design

Business process data model
This data model describes all information that is exchanged between actors in order to support the business process between those actors.

Transaction data model
A transaction data model specifies the information requirements of one transaction. It is a view on the business process data model.

Functional message
Each individual message function in a transaction, specified by a user group, is called a functional message. A functional message is defined as a view on the transaction data model.

EDIFACT message
An EDIFACT message defines the structure for the exchange of information in a transaction and is part of a Trade Data Interchange Directory (TDID). Each TDID consists of a message directory, segment directory, (composite) data element directory, and codelists.

Edifact Mapping
A mapping of a transaction data model to an EDIFACT message describes the conversion of information in the transaction data model into the syntax of the EDIFACT message. A transaction data model can be mapped to multiple EDIFACT messages.

XML Schema
The functional message XML Schema technical documentation from EC-Design is an exact specification of the functional message in terms of the international W3C XML Schema standard. This output format is intended for machines more so than for humans to read. The functional message XML Schema can be fed straight into any conventional XML, XML Schema parser, such that the operational environment is configured automatically with the functional message modeled in EC-Design.

Actors en Actor group
An actor is a user which implements one or more functional messages. An actor group is a number of users which have agreed to introduce EDI by means of one or more functional messages.

Supported Functionality

EC-Design provides expert functionality for application integration based on electronic messages and web services. EC-Design is a powerful UML (Unified Modeling Language) data- and message modeling tool which enables you to specify any number of messages or web services in a consistent manner, based on one shared enterprise / business data model.

The following functionality is supported by EC-Design:

Relational datamodelling: entities, attributes, relations, codelists
Derivation of hierarchic models (views) of the relational datamodel (on two levels: transaction and functional message)
Business rules (on three levels: datamodel, transaction and functional message)
Generation of W3C XML Schemas, a message schema and optionally a datatype schema, including a datatype mapping and a check on XML tags.
XML namespaces support to automatically link to externally defined XML Schema's
Support for unlimited number of XML dialects per datamodel
Flat file message specifications
Edifact directory maintenance
Transaction mapping to Edifact message, including a correctness check
HTML and RTF output of specifications of datamodel, transaction, functional messages and mapping. This output can be configured by various print options.
SQL Database Create Script generation for the datamodel
Variaous smart documents, like Transaction Cross Reference, or various Used By documents on datamodel level

Customer Support

Customers using EC-Design are supported on http://support.ec-design.nl. Each customer gets a login on this website, where software updates can be downloaded and questions can be posted. Support issues are normally answered within 24 hours.
For new customers we have developed a trial version of EC-Design.

EC-DESIGN
A smart way of integration using just one standard !