Concepts and Strategies for Quality of Modeling

Background

Interest in frameworks for quality and assessment of conceptual models has been gradually increasing for a number of years. A generic overview and discussion can be found in (Moody, 2006). A key framework for analysis of the quality of conceptual models is the SEQUAL framework (Krogstie et al., 2006; Krogstie, 2002; Krogstie and Jorgesen, 2002) . This framework takes a semiotics-based view on modeling which is compatible with our own (Hoppenbrouwers et al., 2005a). It is more than a quality framework for models as such, in that it includes not just the model but also the knowledge of the modelers, the domain modeled, the modeling languages, agreement between modelers, etc.; it bases quality assessment on relations between such model-related items, i.e. respects the broader context of the model.

As argued in (Hoppenbrouwers et al., 2005b), in addition to analysis of the quality of models, the process of which such models are a product should also be taken into account. We briefly summarize the main arguments here: