Approach) is a conceptual framework(/ meta-model) for the
real-world goal-oriented (/driven/directed/based/purposive/... ) complex
systems in the
domains of activity
of every intelligent entity/system/agent/personoid.
First time proposed in 1986, at present it is a part of the
TOGA Meta-theory, therefore
is also called Universal Domain Paradigm (UDP) for the complete and congruent representation of
Domain-of-Activity of personoids
(= an abstraction of the essence of human and artificial intelligent systems).
objective of UDP is the formal representation of the relation between an
engineering, social or natural system
and its design-/foundation-/pseudo- goal.
Main advantage of
The UDP essential
innovative aspect relies on the unique, clear and simple definitions and conceptual separation
of the concepts:
system, process, function
key elements of this conceptualization are the synthetic definition of the
function concept and the definition of the carrier relation,
not existing before in the subject matter literature.
application below presented definitions enables to unify
formally the designer subjective goal-driven perspective
with the "objective" scientific-technological point of view.
Shortest and most
general UDP definitions
abstract or physical object
decomposable on other interrelated
Therefore every system has to have arbitrarily distinguished
- sequence of
changes in time of attributes/properties of a system,
connected by cause-consequence relations. Its
case of an autonomous or not sufficiently known system,
processes of its interaction with the
environment , are
If they are executed by agents
then they are called actions or activity ( see in TOGA :
Activity Paradigm, UAP).
goal-oriented property of a process or a system. Its
carrier is a system or process.
are internal and external.
Carriers of internal functions are system
- state of a
system world which this system
tends to or should
In this sense, in
TOGA we distinguish design/foundation
The last one relates only to the activity of
agents and is specified
is a property of an
existing or planed engineering system.
specifies what this system has to achieve in its environment.
is a property of
an existing or planed organization of
intelligent autonomous agents.
is described in the
statute (mission) of human organizations.
refers to the natural evolution-based systems. Goal concept
In similar sense, these systems are
of a system , the
above abstract objects form four graph layers:
relation necessary for...
Fig. Graphical representation of the UDP
paradigm with carrier and necessity relations.
- system or process with a specific property or
of something (in physical or in abstract sense). More precisely
if a is a
of an object A then A is a carrier of a.
The specificity of a results from the context.
relation - oriented relation between a carrier and its
for example, system S "is a
carrier of" process P .
it is equivalent to:
necessary for" B under conditions (X).
For example, a function Fa is necessary for the achieving
goal Ga (in the domain of activity
D of a designer).
- is described by
the "difference" between the system
description and the description of its
well observed components.
It means, it is an interrelations network between
the case of a dynamic system, its structure is determined by
invariant network of the
attributes of the system components.
- is the relative concept. It is any distinguishable
abstract element of a system, it can be functional, structural or a
process part (when process
is seen as a system).
It means, a system without components does not exist,
and the concept "component" does not exist without a system.
Therefore, every component is
or can be connected with others.
In many cases, one specific component can be used for the
construction/configuration of different systems. Usually, in
technological devices, as well as in human organizations,
components are removable and substitutable.
In TOGA, every
before defined concept and its instances are
abstract objects, therefore they may be described
/modeled in the
common attributes space of a problem of
In the case of the
specification of a system, the first is
defined its Goal (called design-goal), In the case of the
research, the first
identified abstract object is a system or process.
Using designer's preferences and decomposition and specialization
top system, process, function and goal can be
net, function net, process net
and goal net.
Among others, the application
of the UDP meta-ontology enables also
abnormalities of natural and engineering
as well as a conceptual design of the domain of
decisions for DSSs
History: The SPG conceptualization
and the separation of function and
have been developed in ENEA (proposed
1986-88) for the modeling of nuclear and high-risk plants [A.M. Gadomski.
about System-Process-Goal Approach to diagnostics and supervisory of nuclear
reactor system. Materials of 19th Informal Meeting on Reactor Noises,
Rome, June 1986] and described in the form of an ENEA's
research report (1988).
At present, the SPG Approach is a part of the TOGA
axiomatic assumptions a (meta-ontology)
in frame of the KNOCS (Knowledge Conceptualization System).