Skip to main content

Formalizing Conceptual Modeling Methods with MetaMorph

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Enterprise, Business-Process and Information Systems Modeling (BPMDS 2021, EMMSAD 2021)

Abstract

Models evolved from mere pictures supporting human understanding to sophisticated knowledge structures processable by machines. This entails an inevitable need for computer-understandable models and languages and causes formalization to be a crucial part in the lifecycle of a modeling method. An appropriate formalism must be a means for providing a unique, unambiguous but implementation-independent way of specifying arbitrary modeling languages and for this purpose must be generic and open to capture any domain and any functionality. In this paper we give a pervasive description of the formalism MetaMorph based on predicate logic – an approach fulfilling these requirements. This is done with an extensive proof-of-concept case illustrating the application of the formalism concept by concept. For the case study we use the modeling language ProVis from the domain of stochastic education. The language ProVis comprises only few objects and relation types but with high interconnection and therefore appears as a interesting specimen for formalization and showing the feasibility of the demonstrated approach.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    www.univie.ac.at/en/about-us/at-a-glance/facts-folders/.

  2. 2.

    www.gesundheit.gv.at/labor/laborwerte/blutgruppenserologie-transfusion/blutgruppenuntersuchung1-kh.

References

  1. Bork, D., Buchmann, R.A., Karagiannis, D., Lee, M., Miron, E.T.: An open platform for modeling method conceptualization: the OMiLAB digital ecosystem. Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 44(1), 673–679 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Brachman, R.J., Schmolze, J.G.: An overview of the KL-ONE knowledge representation system. In: Mylopolous, J., Brodie, M. (eds.) Readings in Artificial Intelligence and Databases, pp. 207–230. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Buchmann, R.A., Ghiran, A.M., Döller, V., Karagiannis, D.: Conceptual modeling education as a “design problem”. Complex Syst. Inform. Model. Q. (21), 21–33 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Delcambre, L.M.L., Liddle, S.W., Pastor, O., Storey, V.C.: A reference framework for conceptual modeling. In: Trujillo, J.C., et al. (eds.) ER 2018. LNCS, vol. 11157, pp. 27–42. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00847-5_4

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Döller, V.: M2FOL: a formal modeling language for metamodels. In: Grabis, J., Bork, D. (eds.) PoEM 2020. LNBIP, vol. 400, pp. 109–123. Springer, Cham (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63479-7_8

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Döller, V.: Formalizing the four-layer metamodeling stack - potential and benefits. Preprint http://arxiv.org/abs/2105.01038 (2021)

  7. Döller, V., Götz, S.: Tree diagrams and unit squares 4.0 - digitizing stochastic classes with the didactic modeling tool ProVis. In: Karagiannis, D., et al. (eds.) Domain-Specific Conceptual Modeling: Concepts, Methods and Tools, vol. II. Springer (2021, in press)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Enderton, H.B.: A Mathematical Introduction to Logic, 2nd edn. Harcourt/Academic Press, San Diego (2001)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. Fill, H.G., Redmond, T., Karagiannis, D.: FDMM: a formalism for describing ADOxx meta models and models. In: ICEIS 2012 - Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, vol. 3, pp. 133–144 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Frank, U.: Domain-specific modeling languages: Requirements analysis and design guidelines. In: Reinhartz-Berger, I., Sturm, A., Clark, T., Cohen, S., Bettin, J. (eds.) Domain Engineering: Product Lines, Languages, and Conceptual Models, pp. 133–157. Springer, Heidelberg (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36654-3_6

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  11. Guizzardi, G.: On ontology, ontologies, conceptualizations, modeling languages, and (meta)models. In: Vasilecas, O., Eder, J., Caplinskas, A. (eds.) Selected Papers from the Seventh International Baltic Conference, DB&IS, pp. 18–39. IOS Press (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Jackson, E., Sztipanovits, J.: Towards a formal foundation for domain specific modeling languages. In: Proceedings of the 6th ACM & IEEE International Conference on Embedded Software, EMSOFT 2006, pp. 53–62. ACM, New York (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Jouault, F., Bézivin, J.: KM3: a DSL for metamodel specification. In: Gorrieri, R., Wehrheim, H. (eds.) FMOODS 2006. LNCS, vol. 4037, pp. 171–185. Springer, Heidelberg (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/11768869_14

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  14. Karagiannis, D.: Conceptual modelling methods: the AMME agile engineering approach. In: Silaghi, G.C., Buchmann, R.A., Boja, C. (eds.) IE 2016. LNBIP, vol. 273, pp. 3–19. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73459-0_1

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  15. Karagiannis, D., Burzynski, P., Utz, W., Buchmann, R.A.: A metamodeling approach to support the engineering of modeling method requirements. In: 27th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, pp. 199–210 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Karagiannis, D., Kühn, H.: Metamodelling platforms. In: Bauknecht, K., Tjoa, A.M., Quirchmayr, G. (eds.) EC-Web 2002. LNCS, vol. 2455, p. 182. Springer, Heidelberg (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45705-4_19

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  17. Kern, H., Hummel, A., Kühne, S.: Towards a comparative analysis of meta-metamodels. In: Proceedings of the Compilation of the Co-Located Workshops on DSM 2011, TMC 2011, AGERE! 2011, AOOPES 2011, NEAT 2011, & VMIL 2011, pp. 7–12. ACM (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Koubarakis, M., et al.: A retrospective on Telos as a metamodeling language for requirements engineering. Requirements Eng. 26, 1–23 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00766-020-00329-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Mylopoulos, J.: Conceptual modelling and Telos. In: Conceptual Modelling, Databases, and CASE: An Integrated View of Information System Development, pp. 49–68 (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Olivé, A.: Conceptual Modeling of Information Systems. Springer, Heidelberg (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39390-0

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  21. Thalheim, B.: The theory of conceptual models, the theory of conceptual modelling and foundations of conceptual modelling. In: Embley, D., Thalheim, B. (eds.) Handbook of Conceptual Modeling, pp. 543–577. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15865-0_17

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Victoria Döller .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Döller, V., Karagiannis, D. (2021). Formalizing Conceptual Modeling Methods with MetaMorph. In: Augusto, A., Gill, A., Nurcan, S., Reinhartz-Berger, I., Schmidt, R., Zdravkovic, J. (eds) Enterprise, Business-Process and Information Systems Modeling. BPMDS EMMSAD 2021 2021. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 421. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79186-5_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79186-5_16

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-79185-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-79186-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics