Manfred A. Jeusfeld

ConceptBase—a deductive object base for meta data management

Deductive object bases attempt to combine the advantages of deductive relational databases with those of object-oriented databases. We review modeling and implementation issues encountered during the development of ConceptBase, a prototype deductive object manager supporting the Telos object model. Significant features include: 1) The symmetric treatment of object-oriented, logic-oriented and graph-oriented perspectives, 2) an infinite metaclass hierarchy as a prerequisite for extensibility and schema evolution, 3) a simple yet powerful formal semantics used as the basis for implementation, 4) a client-server architecture supporting collaborative work in a wide-area setting. Several application experiences demonstrate the value of the approach especially in the field of meta data management.

Architecture and quality in data warehouses: An extended repository approach

Abstract Most database researchers have studied data warehouses (DW) in their role as buffers of materialized views, mediating between update-intensive OLTP systems and query-intensive decision support. This neglects the organizational role of data warehousing as a means of centralized information flow control. As a consequence, a large number of quality aspects relevant for data warehousing cannot be expressed with the current DW meta models. This paper makes two contributions towards solving these problems. Firstly, we enrich the meta data about DW architectures by explicit enterprise models. Secondly, many very different mathematical techniques for measuring or optimizing certain aspects of DW quality are being developed. We adapt the Goal-Question-Metric approach from software quality management to a meta data management environment in order to link these special techniques to a generic conceptual framework of DW quality. The approach has been implemented in full on top of the ConceptBase repository system and has undergone some validation by applying it to the support of specific quality-oriented methods, tools, and application projects in data warehousing.

Managing multiple requirements perspectives with metamodels

Stakeholder conflicts can be productive in requirements engineering. Capturing, monitoring, and resolving multiple perspectives is difficult and time consuming when done by hand. Our experience with ConceptBase shows that a simple but customizable metamodeling approach, combined with an advanced query facility, produces higher quality requirements documents in less time.

Design and Analysis of Quality Information for Data Warehouses

Data warehouses are complex systems that have to deliver highly-aggregated, high quality data from heterogeneous sources to decision makers. Due to the dynamic change in the requirements and the environment, data warehouse system rely on meta databases to control their operation and to aid their evolution. In this paper, we present an approach to assess the quality of the data warehouse via a semantically rich model of quality management in a data warehouse. The model allows stakeholders to design abstract quality goals that are translated to executable analysis queries on quality measurements in the data warehouses meta database. The approach is being implemented using the ConceptBase meta database system.

Subsumption between queries to object-oriented databases

Subsumption between queries is a valuable information, e.g., for semantic query optimization. We approach the subsumption problem in the setting of object-oriented databases, and find that reasoning techniques from Artificial Intelligence can be applied and yield efficient algorithms.

Business data management for business-to-business electronic commerce

Business-to-business electronic commerce (B2B EC) opens up new possibilities of trade. For example, new business partners from around the globe can be found, their offers can be compared, even complex negotiations can be conducted electronically, and a contract can be drawn up and fulfilled via an electronic marketplace. However, a sophisticated data management is required to provide such factilities. In this paper, the results of a multi-national project on creating a business-to-business electronic marketplace for small and medium-sized enterprises are presented. Tools for information discovery, protocol-based negotiations, and monitored contract enactment are provided and based on a business data repository. The repository integrates heterogeneous business data with business communication. Specific problems such as multi-linguality, data ownership, and traceability of contracts and related negotiations are addressed and it will be shown that the present approach provides efficient business data management for B2B EC.

Conceptual Modeling – ER 2011

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 30th International Conference on Conceptual Modeling, ER 2011, held in Brussels, Belgium, in October/November 2011. The 25 revised full papers presented together with 14 short papers and three keynotes were carefully reviewed and selected from 157 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on modeling goals and compliance; human and socio-technical factors; ontologies; data model theory; model development and maintainability; user interfaces and software classification; evolution, propagation and refinement; UML and requirements modeling; views, queries and search; requirements and business intelligence; MDA and ontology-based modeling; process modeling; and panels.

AN EXECUTABLE META MODEL FOR RE-ENGINEERING OF DATABASE SCHEMAS

A logical database schema, e.g. a relational one, is the implementation of a specification, e.g. an entity-relationship diagram. Upcoming new data models require a cost-effective method for mapping from one data model to the other. We present an approach where the mapping process is divided into three parts. The first part reformulates the source and target data models into a so-called meta model. The second part classifies the input schema into the meta model, yielding a data model-independent representation. The third part synthesizes the output schema in terms of the target data model. The meta model, the data models as well as the schemas are all represented in the logic-based formalism of O-Telos. Its ability to quantify across data model concepts is the key to classifying schema elements independently of their data model. A prototype has been implemented on top of the deductive object base manager ConceptBase for the mapping of relational schemas to entity-relationship diagrams. From this, a C++-bas...

A software process data model for knowledge engineering in information systems

Abstract Knowledge engineering for information systems is a long-term, multi-person task that requires tight control and memorization not only of what knowledge is acquired but also of why and how it is acquired. We propose a software process data model as the foundation of a knowledge-based software information system that emphasizes control, support and documentation of design decision-making and tool integration in information systems environments. The model is developed along two dimensions. Firstly, it defines how to represent and integrate design objects (what), design decisions (why) and design tools (how). Secondly, it exploits the abstraction mechanisms of the extensible hybrid knowledge representation language CML/Telos to manage the evolution not only of particular software projects, but also of the software development environment in which these projects operate. Modular aggregation relates design-in-the-small and design-in-the-large support. Besides motivating and formalizing the model, we describe an operational prototype implementation called ConceptBase and report intitial application experiences in the DAIDA ESPRIT project.

Pro-active monitoring of electronic contracts

Contracts between multiple business partners play an increasing role in a global economy where activities along the value chain are executed by independent yet co-operating companies. Information technology to enact a value chain is now being deployed in the form of ERP systems and Web services. However, there is little known how to formally check whether such an enactment is indeed fulfilling the contract between the parties. In this paper, we investigate which parts of a contract can be formalized to be automatically monitored. Our approach not only supports the detection of actual violations but also proactive detection of imminent contract violations.