GoM — Grundsätze ordnungsmäßiger Modellierung, the Principles of Proper Modeling — is a set of quality principles for models, published by Jörg Becker, Michael Rosemann, and Rolf Schütte in 1995. Its six principles are correctness, relevance, economic efficiency, clarity, comparability, and systematic design. They help assess whether a model, such as a business process model, is fit for its intended purpose.

GoM

Details
Full Name

Grundsätze ordnungsmäßiger Modellierung (Principles of Proper Modeling)

Also known as

GoM Principles, Principles of Well-formed Modeling

Core Concepts:

Correctness (Richtigkeit)

The model must accurately reflect the reality it represents — both syntactically (follows notation rules) and semantically (describes the real subject matter truthfully)

Relevance (Relevanz)

A model should include only elements that are relevant to the intended purpose; unnecessary details reduce usability

Economic Efficiency (Wirtschaftlichkeit)

The benefit gained from a model must justify the effort and cost of creating and maintaining it

Clarity (Klarheit)

The model must be understandable to its intended audience; layout, notation, and level of detail must support comprehension

Comparability (Vergleichbarkeit)

Models of the same subject should follow consistent conventions so they can be meaningfully compared

Systematic Design (Systematischer Aufbau)

Models should be constructed using a consistent, structured approach to enable reuse and integration across a model landscape

Key Proponents

Jörg Becker, Michael Rosemann, Rolf Schütte ("Grundsätze ordnungsmäßiger Modellierung", WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, 1995)

When to Use:

  • Evaluating or reviewing the quality of business process models (BPMN, EPC)

  • Establishing modeling standards within an organization or project

  • Enterprise architecture modeling to ensure consistent, reusable model artifacts

  • ERP implementation projects requiring traceable and auditable process documentation

  • Assessing whether a model is fit for its intended purpose

  • Onboarding teams to structured modeling practices

Current Status:

  • The canonical reference is Becker, Rosemann & Schütte, "Grundsätze ordnungsmäßiger Modellierung", Wirtschaftsinformatik 37(5), 1995, pp. 435–445 — no DOI exists; stable records: dblp and the University of Münster publication page

  • The prior is thin: a German-language-only academic paper from the Wirtschaftsinformatik community with virtually no English-language footprint — supply the six principles in the prompt rather than relying on the term