A Decision Support Framework for Blockchain Pattern Selection Based on Soft Goals

TL;DR

This paper introduces BC-TEAEM, a decision support framework that helps system architects select appropriate blockchain patterns by linking business goals with technical design through ontologies and multi-criteria decision-making.

Contribution

It presents a novel framework combining ontologies and soft goals for systematic blockchain pattern selection, validated with a practical case study.

Findings

Framework effectively aligns blockchain patterns with business goals.

Prototype tool supports iterative decision-making process.

Case study demonstrates practical applicability and benefits.

Abstract

Blockchain technology is gaining momentum across many sectors. Whereas blockchain solutions have important positive effects on the business domain, they also introduce constraints and may cause delayed or unforeseen negative effects, undermining business strategies. The diversity of blockchain patterns and lack of standardized frameworks linking business goals to technical design decisions make pattern selection a complex task for system architects. To address this challenge, we propose Blockchain--Technology-Aware Enterprise Modeling (BC-TEAEM), a decision support framework that combines ontologies of blockchain patterns and domain-independent soft goals with a multi-criteria decision-making approach. The framework focuses on the interplay between a domain expert and a technical expert to ensure alignment and traceability. By iteratively capturing and refining preferences, BC-TEAEM supports systematic selection of blockchain patterns. We develop a prototype decision support tool implementing our method and validate it through a case study of a pharmaceutical company's supply chain traceability system, demonstrating the framework's applicability. %a supply chain traceability case study.