Definition
A Contract is a governed agreement between two or more Objects. A Contract specifies the conditions under which participating Objects interact, exchange information, perform activities, or provide Capabilities. A Contract represents the rules governing an interaction rather than the interaction itself.
Purpose
This document defines Contract within the OCOM Specification.
A Contract establishes the governed agreement that defines expectations, responsibilities, obligations, and interaction rules between participating Objects.
Contracts provide a consistent mechanism for governing operational interactions across the OCOM ecosystem.
Business meaning
Contracts establish clear operational expectations between participating Objects.
They improve consistency, accountability, interoperability, and governance by making interaction rules explicit.
Design principles
Every Contract shall:
- define participating Objects
- define interaction rules
- establish responsibilities
- support governance
- preserve traceability
- remain technology independent
Core characteristics
- Identifier
- Purpose
- Participants
- Scope
- Effective Date
- Responsibilities
- Obligations
- Preconditions
- Postconditions
- Constraints
- Policies
- Service Levels
- Termination Conditions
- Review Schedule
Relationship to other specifications
Contract interacts with:
ocom:Objectocom:Relationshipocom:Capabilityocom:Policyocom:Constraintocom:Ownershipocom:Evaluationocom:Workflowocom:Organization
Contracts govern interactions between Objects.
Compared with
- OCOM vs BPMN — Partial
Independence — does not prescribe
- legal contract formats
- API specifications
- workflow engines
- implementation technologies
Conformance
A compliant implementation shall ensure that every managed Contract:
- define participating Objects
- establish interaction rules
- preserve governance
- support lifecycle management
- maintain auditability
- remain technology independent
Provenance
Governance records: CAND-005
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 20 July 2026 | Initial draft |
| 0.1 | 25 July 2026 | Added Organization to Relationship to Other Specifications and Participants, per ADR CAND-005 (Option C) |