Towards an integrated, simulative framework for real-world modelling

Abstract

The creation of simulative conceptual models for information systems (IS) development is time consuming because of the detailed specifications needed. Simulation (and animation) capabilities should therefore be supported directly by the languages and tools used for conceptual modelling anyway. At the same time, problem domains are becoming more and more complex with several groups of stakeholders participating in the modelling and simulation process. This places stronger requirements on the models and languages used in terms of intuitiveness and view integration. The paper outlines an integrated framework for simulative conceptual models, based on re-interpreted dataflow diagrams (DPD) and entity-relationship (E-R) models in order to reduce the additional effort of simulation. The framework shifts modelling focus from representation of informational abstractions of the phenomena in the real-world problem domain to the phenomena themselves through facet modelling. In this way, multiple stakeholders' views can be represented simultaneously, while more concrete representations of the problem domain may make simulation results more understandable for non-experts.