The concept of modeling inter-business relationships with a focus on value is introduced in this chapter. The unified modeling language (UML) provides industry-standard mechanisms for visualizing, specifying, constructing, and documenting software systems. UML provides a common language for describing software models, and can be used in conjunction with a wide range of software life cycles and development processes. A static definition of UML does not convey its tremendous growth, however, or the exciting opportunities of recent advances in the language.

The authors, comprehending such opportunities for growth, introduce a framework for designing an inter-firm online business model using UML. Their framework is made up of principal elements, such as value, business players, and relationships among players. Two major forms of diagrams are used to further explain the business model: value diagrams and structure diagrams. Particular attention is paid to the analysis, design, and development of a Web-based business model. A real case of an online company, which digitizes comic books and sells them to unspecified customers through the Internet, is used to illustrate how the proposed framework would apply to a real-world instance of designing an inter-firm online business model using UML.

I found this chapter to be an excellent piece of research. Even though the research is exploratory and is presented for the purpose of illustration, the process that was followed and the clarity with which the information is presented make this framework a valuable model for designing an online business. The research presented here, however, addresses only simple business forms. In reality, more complex and diverse businesses exist. Thus, this research’s greatest value may be in providing a base for future research, which could be used, as indicated by the authors, to integrate the UML-based static design module with a simulation-based experiment module to evaluate the commercial viability and technical visibility of business models.