PoN-S : a systematic approach for applying the Physics of Notation (PoN)

Visual Modeling Languages (VMLs) are important instruments of communication between modelers and stakeholders. Thus, it is important to provide guidelines for designing VMLs. The most widespread approach for analyzing and designing concrete syntaxes for VMLs is the so-called Physics of Notation (PoN). PoN has been successfully applied in the analysis of several VMLs. However, despite its popularity, the application of PoN principles for designing VMLs has been limited. This paper presents a systematic approach for applying PoN in the design of the concrete syntax of VMLs. We propose here a design process establishing activities to be performed, their connection to PoN principles, as well as criteria for grouping PoN principles that guide this process. Moreover, we present a case study in which a visual notation for representing Ontology Pattern Languages is designed

Reflecting on the Physics of Notations applied to a visualisation case study

This paper presents a critical reflection upon the concept of 'physics of notations' proposed by Moody. This is based upon the post hoc application of the concept in the analysis of a visualisation tool developed for a common place mathematics tool. Although this is not the intended design and development approach presumed or preferred by the physics of notations, there are benefits to analysing an extant visualisation. In particular, our analysis benefits from the visualisation having been developed and refined employing graphic design professionals and extensive formative user feedback. Hence the rationale for specific visualisation features is to some extent traceable. This reflective analysis shines a light on features of both the visualisation and domain visualised, illustrating that it could have been analysed more thoroughly at design time. However the same analysis raises a variety of interesting questions about the viability of scoping practical visualisation design in the framework proposed by the physics of notations

What practitioners really want:requirements for visual notations in conceptual modeling

This research was aimed at eliciting the requirements of practitioners who use conceptual modeling in their professional work for the visual notations of modeling languages. While the use of conceptual modeling in practice has been addressed, what practitioners in fact require of the visual notation of the modeling languages they use has received little attention. This work was thus motivated by the need to understand to what extent practitioners’ requirements are acknowledged and accommodated by visual notation research efforts. A mixed-method study was conducted, with a survey being offered over the course of several months to LinkedIn professional groups. The requirements included in the survey were based on a leading design theory for visual notations, the Physics of Notations. After preprocessing, 104 participant responses were analyzed. Data analysis included descriptive coding and qualitative analysis of purposes for modeling and additional requirements beyond the scope of visual design. Statistical and factorial analysis was used to explore potential correlations between the importance of different requirements as perceived by practitioners and the demographic factors (e.g., domain, purpose, topics). The results indicate several correlations between demographic factors and the perceived importance of visual notation requirements, as well as differences in the perceived relative importance of different requirements for models used to communicate with modeling experts as compared to non-experts. Furthermore, the results show an evolution from trends identified in studies conducted in the previous decade. The identified correlations with practitioners’ demographics reveal several research challenges that should be addressed, as well as the potential benefits of more purpose-specific tailoring of visual notation design. Furthermore, the shift in practitioner demographics as compared to those found in earlier work indicates that the research and development of conceptual modeling efforts needs to stay up-to-date with the way practitioners employ conceptual modeling

Cognitive Insights into Business Process Model Comprehension: Preliminary Results for Experienced and Inexperienced Individuals

Process modeling constitutes a fundamental task in the context of process-aware information systems. Besides process model creation, the reading and understanding of process models is of utmost importance. To better understand the latter, we have developed a conceptual framework focusing on the comprehension of business process models. By adopting concepts from cognitive neuroscience and psychology, the paper presents initial results from a series of eye tracking experiments on process model comprehension. The results indicate that experiences with process modeling have an influence on overall model comprehension. In turn, with increasing process model complexity, individuals with either no or advanced expertise in process modeling do not significantly differ with respect to process model comprehension. The results further indicate that both groups face similar challenges in reading and comprehending process models. The conceptual framework takes these results into account and provides the basis for the further experiments

A Survey-based Analysis of Principles to Evaluate Visual Notations of Process Modeling Languages

Process modeling languages such as BPMN or EPC provide a set of graphical constructs defining their visual notations. The visual notation is one comparison criteria in favor of a process modeling language. Usually, the first choice for the evaluation of visual notations are the principles of the Physics of Notation (PoN) theory. Their vague operationalization, however, gives room for contradictory recommendations how to improve visual notations. Therefore, the intention of this paper is to identify recent empirical studies to visual notations of process modeling languages, which might contribute to a better understanding of PoN principles. A comprehensive literature survey has been conducted showing a confirmation of the PoN principles and identifying refinements for their operationalization. We applied our findings to an evaluation of the visual notation of BPMN from 2012 and showed advancements. Our findings define the current guidelines for evaluating and improving visual notations of process modeling languages

The Development and Experimental Evaluation of a Focused Business Model Representation

Business models (BM) are the central concept to understand the business logic of an organization. Enterprise modeling contributes to the conceptualization of BMs by providing explicit representations. A proper BM representation helps to increase the understanding and communication about the underlying knowledge for the stakeholders within a company. However, the existing enterprise modeling languages have a different and partial focus on the BM concept due to their various backgrounds. This prevents the large-scale adoption of these representations in practice. Therefore a focused BM viewpoint is developed, which explicitly facilitates the understanding about the underlying BM components. To this end, existing diagrams of the value delivery modeling language were adapted to prescriptions of the physics of notations, which is a normative theory for cognitive effectiveness of diagrammatic representations. The effect on the understanding was evaluated by an experiment with 93 master students. The results confirm the research hypothesis that the new BM viewpoint increases the understanding of the modeled BM components