Towards a Modelling Framework for Self-Sovereign Identity Systems
It addresses the need for effective communication and design tools for stakeholders and software architects in decentralized identity systems, but appears incremental as it adapts existing modelling approaches.
The paper tackles the complexity of self-sovereign identity systems by proposing a modelling framework based on Actor-based Modelling, reporting early success in applying the iStar 2.0 framework to a birth registration case study.
Self-sovereign Identity promises to give users control of their own data, and has the potential to foster advancements in terms of personal data privacy. Self-sovereign concepts can also be applied to other entities, such as datasets and devices. Systems adopting this paradigm will be decentralised, with messages passing between multiple actors, both human and representing other entities, in order to issue and request credentials necessary to meet individual and collective goals. Such systems are complex, and build upon social and technical interactions and behaviours. Modelling self-sovereign identity systems seeks to provide stakeholders and software architects with tools to enable them to communicate effectively, and lead to effective and well-regarded system designs and implementations. This paper draws upon research from Actor-based Modelling to guide a way forward in modelling self-sovereign systems, and reports early success in utilising the iStar 2.0 framework to provide a representation of a birth registration case study.