A software control interface for creating and editing system views of a business information system using object models shaped to define the system views has a drawing tool for visually representing system views using model elements represented by icons, a first specification language for defining the various elements of a drawing, and a second specification language for defining mapping between drawing icons and objects stored in an object repository of the software system. The interface is characterized in that a user operating the drawing tool through a graphical user interface can, by dragging and dropping icons of the drawing tool onto a drawing sheet of the drawing tool, specify abstract models and model extensions expressed in diagrammatic notation transparent to the user and usable by the software system and associated repository.