Semantically Integrated Conceptual Modeling Method and Modeling Patterns

Managing evolutionary changes, identification of discontinuities, and separation of concerns is not an easy task in the area conceptual modeling in information system development. One of the fundamental problems is that most conventional conceptual modeling techniques deal with the collection of loosely linked meta-models, which are defined by different types of diagrams. Typically, system development methods project interactive, behavioral, and structural aspects of information systems' conceptual representations into disparate views. Therefore, the semantic integrity of various architecture dimensions is difficult to achieve. In this chapter, the authors present a semantically integrated conceptual modeling method. The advantage of this method is stability and flexibility of the diagrams to manage the constant changes of system requirements. This method provides the possibility to visualize the interplay among structural, interactive, and behavioral aspects. This is very important for the control of semantic integrity and to maintain a holistic representation where external and internal views of service conceptualizations are visualized together. Such visualization is also important for separation of concerns, which provides foundation for creation of modeling patterns. Modeling patterns are important for several reasons. First, they can be used for demonstration of the interplay of fundamental constructs that are used for system analysis and design. Secondly, modeling patterns are important for the evaluation of the expressive power of semantic modeling languages. It is demonstrated by case studies that sequential, underlying, enclosing, overriding, and overlaying interaction loops between actors provide the foundation for the composition of complex scenarios, which span across organizational and technical system boundaries.