Summary

Semantic information is hidden in plain sight. Almost everything we would want to know about the semantics of a company's business systems is easily obtainable, yet it takes a rigorous process to uncover and refine the essential information.

We call this process elicitation because that term evokes the sense that what we are looking for has to be drawn out of the participants and their systems. What we are looking for cannot be found in the form in which we need it, nor can it be manufactured through any existing mechanical process. It must be interactively created.

This creative process is an intellectual exercise in that it requires the participants to inquire deeply into how they categorize and deal with the world. It requires starting with a blank slate and putting on it only that which is necessary.

This sounds difficult, but at the same time easy. It sounds difficult because it requires a passion to continue to probe for meaning when it may seem like the meaning is obvious. It sounds easy because you may think you already do this. At some level you do.

The challenge is to blend the difficult and easy aspects of this process. Use the familiar structure as a scaffold, and pursue the meaning as deeply as you can. Whether you get to the deepest, most elegant representation of the meaning (and whether there even is a deepest and most elegant representation of the meaning) matters far less than that you uncovered meaning and structure that you can profitably use as you build your systems.

It is one thing to uncover some profound insight into the meaning of your systems, but to ensure that it does not get lost we need ways to store, organize, and communicate what we have found. This is the subject of Chapter 10.