An Ontological Analysis of Use Case Modeling Grammar

Use case modeling is a popular technique for representing the functional requirements of an information system. The simple graphical notation of use case diagrams, accompanied by well-structured narrative descriptions, makes use case models fairly easy to read and understand. This simplicity, however, belies the challenges associated with creating use case models. There is little, if any, theory underlying use cases, and little more than loose guidelines for creating a complete, consistent, and integrated set of use cases. We argue that there is a need for more rigor and consistency in the grammatical constructs used in use case modeling. Toward this end, we present a theoretically- and practice-based assessment of use case modeling constructs, and make recommendations for future research to improve and strengthen this technique

Integrating Multi-Perspective Views into Ontological Analysis

It is argued that contribution to the theory and practice of the analysis and design of information systems and services within organizational contexts requires the following steps. First, an underlying theoretical domain is needed. Second, the constructs of this domain have to be communicated using some commonly understood “language.” Third, these constructs have to be applied to purposes that are of interest to users, particularly business users. Finally, this application needs to take into consideration the constraints that users work under and, particularly in business, the need for cost effectiveness. It is claimed that the models developed by Bunge, Wand and Weber (BWW models), in particular the representation model, provide a good starting point for this theoretical foundation. In order to communicate the BWW models, an ER-based meta model for the BWW representation model is suggested. A common issue about some of the results with a number of the ontological analyses that have been done so far is the lack of relevance and cost effectiveness. This situation suggests that integrating perspectives into the process of ontological analysis would improve the usefulness of the results to users. Specifically, ensuring the relevance of the results to the different purposes of different users would improve the usefulness of the ontological analysis to users of modeling grammars. Accordingly, the application of a third dimension—the cost effectiveness dimension—to the analysis of modeling grammars using the BWW representation model is investigated. Specifically, the requirements of activity-based costing systems are analyzed as a first example of a perspective

An architectural description for the application of MBSE in complex systems

The design of a complex warship is a multi-disciplinary effort which often encounters major challenges, particularly with respect to integration across interfaces in the System of Systems (SoS). In principle, the goal of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) with respect to system design is to provide a means of capturing and communicating the system design in a structured, consistent, and coherent fashion; that can be easily assessed by engineering teams and quickly analysed using queries and toolsets. The focus of this paper is to investigate the potential to achieve a consistent description, identify a viable methodology that minimises mismatch in requirements and to avoid an extended design lifecycle. This study highlights the need to develop a generic Architectural Description (AD) that is based on a common ontology which would clearly define the fundamental tenets of applying state-of-the-art Architectural Frameworks (AFs) in naval ship design. An investigation on the effectiveness and accuracy of a graph-based approach is needed to assess whether it is possible to create a ‘Rosetta stone’ for AFs, which links any two or more different model viewpoints in different AF’s using the approach

Response to Wyssusek’s “On Ontological Foundations of Conceptual Modelling”

Abstract not available

theory and empirical test

Successful information systems (IS) development requires the under- standing of the real world domain in which the IS is situated in and of which it is a representation. Developing such an understanding is the role of systems analy- sis, the first major step in IS development. Conceptual models developed during systems analysis are used to support understanding of and communication about the real world domain. Recent years have seen the emergence of the object-oriented approach in general and UML special cally for IS design and implementation. However, no generally accepted modelling language has been proposed for use during IS analysis. This study will examine the suitability of UML as a conceptual modelling lan- guage. This study comprises two parts. The first part studies UML from an ontological perspective, attaches real- world semantics and derives ontologically grounded rules for applying UML to conceptual modelling. It is argued that by following these rules, modellers will improve the performance of the resultant models. In a second step, the derived rules and proposed advantages must be empirically supported. An experimental study is designed for this purpose

An Evaluation of Inter-Organizational Workflow Modelling Formalisms

This paper evaluates the dynamic aspects of the UML in the context of inter-organizational workflows. Two evaluation methodologies are used. The first one is ontological and is based on the BWW (Bunge-Wand-Weber) models. The second validation is based on prototyping and consists in the development of a workflow management system in the aerospace industry. Both convergent and divergent results are found from the two validations. Possible enhancements to the UML formalism are suggested from the convergent results. On the other hand, the divergent results suggest the need for a contextual specification in the BWW models. Ce travail consiste en une évaluation des aspects dynamiques du language UML dans un contexte de workflow inter-organisationnel. Le choix du language par rapport à d'autres est motivé par sa richesse grammaticale lui offrant une très bonne adaptation à ce contexte. L'évaluation se fait par une validation ontologique basée sur les modèles BWW (Bunge-Wand-Weber) et par la réalisation d'un prototype de système de gestion de workflows inter-organisationnels. À partir des résultats convergents obtenus des deux différentes analyses, des améliorations au formalisme UML sont suggérées. D'un autre coté, les analyses divergentes suggèrent une possibilité de spécifier les modèles BWW à des contextes plus particuliers tels que ceux des workflows et permettent également de suggérer d'autres améliorations possibles au langage.Ontology, Conceptual study, Prototype Validation, UML, IS development methods and tools., Ontologie, étude conceptuelle, validation du prototype, UML, méthodes et outils de développement IS

Ontological foundations for structural conceptual models

In this thesis, we aim at contributing to the theory of conceptual modeling and ontology representation. Our main objective here is to provide ontological foundations for the most fundamental concepts in conceptual modeling. These foundations comprise a number of ontological theories, which are built on established work on philosophical ontology, cognitive psychology, philosophy of language and linguistics. Together these theories amount to a system of categories and formal relations known as a foundational ontolog

Ontological clarity and comprehension in health data models

Conceptual modeling forms an important part of systems analysis. If this is done incorrectly or incompletely, there can be serious implications for the resultant system, specifically in terms of rework and useability. One approach to improving the conceptual modelling process is to evaluate how well the model represents reality. Emergence of the Bunge-Wand-Weber (BWW) ontological model introduced a platform to classify and compare the grammar of conceptual modelling languages. This work applies the BWW theory to a real world example in the health arena. The general practice computing group data model was developed using the Barker Entity Relationship Modelling technique. We describe an experiment, grounded in ontological theory, which evaluates how well the GPCG data model is understood by domain experts. The results show that with the exception of the use of entities to represent events, the raw model is better understood by domain expert

Associations and Mutual Properties - An Experimental Assessment

Associations are a widely used construct of object-oriented languages. However, the meaning of associations for conceptual modelling of application domains remains unclear. Ontological considerations in past research suggest that associations are related to the concept of mutual properties. Specifically, previous research has suggested that mutual properties, not associations, should be modelled, and guidelines for doing this in UML have been offered. This paper presents the results of an experimental study, which suggest that this guidance does in fact lead to improved models