An ontology-based process for domain-specific visual language design
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Data
2017-08-17
Autores
Teixeira, Maria das Graças da Silva
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Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
Resumo
In het domein van de conceptuele modellering wordt er steeds meer aandacht
besteed aan visuele domeinspecifieke modelleertalen en hoe deze talen
ondersteuning kunnen bieden bij het representeren van een bepaald domein voor
verschillenden belanghebbenden. Bijgevolg is er een absolute noodzaak aan
richtlijnen die men kan volgen bij het ontwikkelen van deze domeinspecifieke
modelleertalen. Bestaand onderzoek voorziet een aantal richtlijnen maar deze
focussen meestal op de abstracte syntax van deze talen en niet op de visuele
aspecten (concrete syntax) van deze talen. Er is nochtans een absolute noodzaak
aan richtlijnen specifiek voor de ontwikkeleng van de concrete syntax want deze
heeft een significante impact op de efficiëntie van de communicatie en
probleemoplossende eigenschappen van de met deze talen ontwikkelde conceptuele
modellen.
De meest gebruikte theorie voor de evaluatie van de concrete syntax van een visuele
modelleertaal is de Physics of Notations(PoN). PoN definieert een verzameling
principes die men kan gebruiken voor de analyse en ontwerp van een cognitief
effectieve visuele notatie voor een modelleertaal. PoN heeft echt ook een aantal
tekortkomingen: i) het bevat geen methode die aangeeft hoe de principes moeten
gebruikt worden en ii) het helpt niet bij het ontwikkelen van symbolen die
overeenstemmen met het domein.
In dit PhD project wordt de Physics of Notations Systematized (PoN-S) ontwikkeld en
voorgesteld als een oplossing voor de eerste tekortkoming van PoN. PoN-S voorziet
een sequentiële set van activiteiten en geeft voor elke activiteit aan welk principe
moet worden gebruikt. Bovendien voorziet het ook een groepering voor de
verschillende principes die de gebruiker moet helpen bij het gebruik.
De tweede tekortkoming wordt in dit PhD project opgelost door gebruik te maken van
foundational ontologies. Foundational ontologies worden gebruikt voor het
verbeteren van de kwaliteit van zowel de abstracte syntax van een modelleertaal als
ook voor het rechtstreeks verbeteren van het conceptueel model. In dit doctoraat
wordt het onderzoek van Guizzardi (2013) en meer specifiek het onderzoek rond
UFO gebaseerde ontologische richtlijnen gecombineerd met de eerder ontwikkelde
verbetering van PoN. Dit resulteert in de Physics of Notations Ontologized and
Systematized (PoNTO-S), een systematisch ontwikkelingsproces voor de concrete
syntax van visuele modelleertalen waarbij ook rekening wordt gehouden met de
ontologische betekenis van de abstracte syntax.
Het onderzoek dat uitgevoerd werd in het kader van dit PhD project stemt overeen
met een Design Science project met verschillende iteraties die resulteren in
verschillende Design Science artefacten die ook werden geëvalueerd. Na de
ontwikkeling van PoN-S en PoNTO-S werd er één labo experiment uitgevoerd en
werden de artefacten ook deels geëvalueerd door gebruik te maken van twee case
studies. Deze studies tonen aan dat PoN-D en PonTO-S nuttig zijn tijdens de
ontwikkeling van visuele domeinspecifeke modelleertalen.
In Conceptual Modeling, there has been a growing interest in Domain-Specifc Visual Modeling Languages (DSVML) and the support they provide for problem domain understanding and communication between stakeholders. Thus, it is important to provide guidelines for designing DSVMLs. For many years, the research focus has been on abstract syntax, whilst concrete syntax has received lower attention. This is unfortunate, because the visual syntax has a significant impact on the efficiency of the communication and problem solving capabilities of conceptual models. One of the most widespread work for analysis and design of visual aspects of modeling languages is the Physics of Notations (PoN). PoN defines a set of principles used for analyzing and designing cognitively effective visual notations. However, PoN has shortcomings, as: (i) it lacks a method to apply its principles; (ii) the design of symbols does not systematically create symbols that reflect entities in the real-world. In this work, we present the Physics of Notations Systematized (PoN-S) for solving shortcoming (i). PoN-S establishes an ordered set of design activities and suggests when to apply the PoN principles. Also, it proposes groups of PoN principles. Another way for improving the DSVML quality involves the application of ontological theories, but can ontologies be successfully applied in the design of concrete syntax as it has been applied for abstract syntax? Guizzardi (2013) proposes some Unified Foundational Ontology (UFO)-based guidelines that helps in the design of visual notations. However, also these guidelines have some shortcomings: (iii) The guidelines are isolated guidelines and not part of a design process; (iv) The set of considered constructs and, thus, the set of ontological distinctions considered is restricted; (v) The ontological guidelines are restricted to be applied in the establishment of the DSVML symbols activity. To solve shortcomings (ii) till (v) we combined the UFO-based guidelines with PoN-S, giving rise to the Physics of Notations Ontologized and Systematized (PoNTO-S). PoNTO-S is a systematic design process of DSVML concrete syntax that connects the concrete syntax and the real-world (i.e., ontological) semantics. This research is a Design Science project with different iterations, each one producing their own artifacts. The design problem faced is the design of DSVML concrete syntaxes. The artifacts, PoN-S and PoNTO-S, were improvements upon two existing solutions of the problem: PoN theory and UFO-based guidelines. These artifacts can be classified as design theories, as they are design processes. Also, we invested in empirical studies. We performed exploratory studies to support the indications collected in the literature review and guide some decisions. After developing releases of PoN-S and PoNTO-S we applied one experiment and two case studies that generated evidences for us to concluded that PoN-S and PoNTO-S are helpful in the language development, and that both approaches can evolve, given rise to more useful approaches.
In Conceptual Modeling, there has been a growing interest in Domain-Specifc Visual Modeling Languages (DSVML) and the support they provide for problem domain understanding and communication between stakeholders. Thus, it is important to provide guidelines for designing DSVMLs. For many years, the research focus has been on abstract syntax, whilst concrete syntax has received lower attention. This is unfortunate, because the visual syntax has a significant impact on the efficiency of the communication and problem solving capabilities of conceptual models. One of the most widespread work for analysis and design of visual aspects of modeling languages is the Physics of Notations (PoN). PoN defines a set of principles used for analyzing and designing cognitively effective visual notations. However, PoN has shortcomings, as: (i) it lacks a method to apply its principles; (ii) the design of symbols does not systematically create symbols that reflect entities in the real-world. In this work, we present the Physics of Notations Systematized (PoN-S) for solving shortcoming (i). PoN-S establishes an ordered set of design activities and suggests when to apply the PoN principles. Also, it proposes groups of PoN principles. Another way for improving the DSVML quality involves the application of ontological theories, but can ontologies be successfully applied in the design of concrete syntax as it has been applied for abstract syntax? Guizzardi (2013) proposes some Unified Foundational Ontology (UFO)-based guidelines that helps in the design of visual notations. However, also these guidelines have some shortcomings: (iii) The guidelines are isolated guidelines and not part of a design process; (iv) The set of considered constructs and, thus, the set of ontological distinctions considered is restricted; (v) The ontological guidelines are restricted to be applied in the establishment of the DSVML symbols activity. To solve shortcomings (ii) till (v) we combined the UFO-based guidelines with PoN-S, giving rise to the Physics of Notations Ontologized and Systematized (PoNTO-S). PoNTO-S is a systematic design process of DSVML concrete syntax that connects the concrete syntax and the real-world (i.e., ontological) semantics. This research is a Design Science project with different iterations, each one producing their own artifacts. The design problem faced is the design of DSVML concrete syntaxes. The artifacts, PoN-S and PoNTO-S, were improvements upon two existing solutions of the problem: PoN theory and UFO-based guidelines. These artifacts can be classified as design theories, as they are design processes. Also, we invested in empirical studies. We performed exploratory studies to support the indications collected in the literature review and guide some decisions. After developing releases of PoN-S and PoNTO-S we applied one experiment and two case studies that generated evidences for us to concluded that PoN-S and PoNTO-S are helpful in the language development, and that both approaches can evolve, given rise to more useful approaches.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Concrete syntax , Design process , Domain-specific visual modeling language , Language engineering , Visual Notation , Engenharia de linguagem , Linguagem de modelagem visual específica de domínio , OntoUML (Linguagem de modelagem padrão) , Física das notações (PoN) , Ontologia fundamental unificada (UFO) , Notação visual
Citação
TEIXEIRA, Maria das Graças da Silva. An ontology-based process for domain-specific visual language design. 2017. 248 f. Tese (Doutorado em Ciência da Computação) - Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Centro Tecnológico, Vitória, 2017.