# Towards a Digital Transformation Hyper-Framework:
## 2 Research Scope and Hypothesis Formulation
The importance of reliable and trustworthy infrastructure supporting the innovative business ecosystem assumes modern technologies used in fifth-generation (5G) networks through slicing, virtualization, and blockchain [39]. Measuring the success level of DgT faces the potential paradox that the transformation process of a successful system never ends. Everything is transient except change (transformation), which is eternal and eternally drives the system's transformations. The successful DgT involves complex engineering/re-engineering activities framed by three synergic dimensions: forward-looking (vision, specification, modeling, design, implementation activities, methods, techniques, and platforms), backward-looking (product verification and validation), and downward-looking (process monitoring and control). Coping with the inherent complexity, it demands the utilization of corresponding Digital Transformation Environments (DgTEs) with dynamic configuring ability and transparent integration of independently developed dedicated frameworks [40; 41; 42]. The essential motivation factors for our research directions originate from the Editor's Corner section of [43], where the Editor-in-Chief estimates the common-values-motivated drivers that will eliminate previously experienced obstacles and support the future challenges towards a total digital transformation. Consequently, the synergic support for DgT drivers assumes a lined, evolutionary process that requires a radical shift in engineering methodology, organizational culture, and expectations. All engineering activities exhibit the duality of the engineering process and the engineered product. Model-Based Engineering (MBE) represents an engineering approach resulting in a hyper-model instance that digitally connects different types of engineering artifacts created during various engineering process steps, establishes forward and backward artifacts traceability, and minimizes the risks and effort in change management activities. MBE relies on the formal modeling languages that support specification, modeling, simulation, emulation, design, analysis, testing, validation, and verification of a virtual twin representing the structure and behavior of an engineered system. The underpinned formalisms enable the implementation of tailorable workbenches (software tools) providing generic services such as edition, visualization, transformation, comparison, storage, retrieval, export, import, and additional operations on virtual twin instances. The accurate qualification of the proposed research with the distinction between multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary approaches is essential. Relying on [44], in the context of this article, we have formulated these differences as follows. An approach is multidisciplinary if a research team concurrently and collaboratively studies the same phenomenon from multiple domains but without the integration of individual insights, thus remaining in the particular phenomenon domain. An approach is interdisciplinary if it is multidisciplinary, and a research team, to better understand a researched concept or phenomenon, integrates individual insights coming from the different disciplines. An approach is transdisciplinary if it augments the research team by the stakeholder groupsoutside the research team, creating a mix of collaborative and cooperative environments and steps beyond the particular phenomenon domain. According to findings elaborated in the Introductory and this Sections, DgT correlates different complex issues that naturally belong to multiple scientific or pragmatic domains and thereby inclines to the transdisciplinary category. This classification demands a balanced approach to specification and development of a sustainable hyper-framework leveraging unrestricted cooperative/collaborative set of domain-specific hyper-frameworks. In the context of this research, we have formulated the following five hypotheses that address scope complexity handling throughout the DgThper-framework initial prototype.