Near real-time collaborative modeling using views and viewpoints, realized using our SyncMeta framework. We support the definition of arbitrary viewpoints and the generation of multiple and arbitrary views on a model, using a metamodel to model instantiation.

1. Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke
1 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
View-based Near Real-Time
Collaborative Modeling for
Information Systems Engineering
Petru Nicolaescu, Mario Rosenstengel, Michael Derntl,
Ralf Klamma and Matthias Jarke
Advanced Community Information Systems (ACIS)
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
Aachen, Germany
nicolaescu@dbis.rwth-aachen.de
This work has been funded with support from the European Commission. This presentation reflects the views only of the authors, and
the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
28th International Conference on
Advanced Information Systems Engineering
June 15-17, 2016
Ljubljana, Slovenia

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Information Systems Design

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Growing Model Complexity:
IMS LD Metamodel

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Motivation
 Conceptual modeling
– Social, creative process [FK98], collaborative work [RKV08]
 Collaboration
– Shift from asynchronous to synchronous
– Near real-time modeling without locking a shared model
 Models
– Can get very complex
– Reflect various concerns from different stakeholders e.g.
developers, project managers, partners
– Specialized views are needed!

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SyncMeta [DNE*15]
 NRT collaborative modeling framework
 Future work extracted from user evaluation
– Views for NRT modeling
– Improve scalability in terms of number of users
– Improve responsiveness

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Definitions
• Can restrict the original meta-model
• Addresses a set of concerns of one or more stakeholders [Fisc12]
Viewpoint
• The presentation of a model by applying a specific viewpoint
View
• A meta-class whose instances a view can display
• Set of selectional and projectional rules (filters and styles) that
determine the representation of an object within the view [Gold12]
View Type

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Objectives
Explore modeling using views via Web-based NRT collaboration
Modeling
• Definition of a view abstraction mechanism
• Creation of arbitrary viewpoints
• Generation of views on a model
• Manipulation of a model through views
Collaboration
• Awareness
• Near real-time, no concurrency restrictions
Framework
• Open source code
• Web-based, building on open protocols

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Related Tools & Frameworks

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 Near real-time collaboration on all modeling layers
View-Based (Meta)Modeling
Process & User Roles

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View Types
 Available for the meta-model editor
 ViewObject and ViewRelationship
– Specialization of object and relationship
– Store a reference to a object/relationship class in the
metamodel
– Hide attributes
– Conditional filters on attributes of the referenced meta-class
– Custom styles with node- and edge shapes

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Architecture

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SyncMeta Views

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End-User Evaluation
 Goal: Investigate usability and usefulness of view-
based modeling using the Model Editor
 Methodology
- Editor instance for i* modeling language [Yu95]
- Evaluation in 2 groups (α & β) with 2 participants each
- Participants could see and talk to each other, but were not
able to see each other‘s screen (Skype-like setting)
- 2 Tasks: Extend a simple i* model (with / without views)
- Rating using surveys with seven-point Likert scale items
- Working times were recorded for each task

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Participants
 4 sessions with 16 participants in total
 50 % used SyncMeta before, 12.5% couldn't
remember and 37.5 % never used SyncMeta before
 Diverse expertise of conceptual modelling, the i*
modeling language and graphical editors:

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Evaluation:
Quantitative Results
 Overall

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Evaluation Results
 Average working time with view-enabled is shorter
 Positive
- Reduced palette gives a better orientation
- The view simplied the task
 Negative
- No drag & drop from palette to canvas
- Latency and long initialization for the OT version
 Suggestions
- Richer node interaction, UI user customization

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Conclusion and Future Work
 Key points
- View-based near real-time collaborative modeling
- Definition of viewpoints in the meta modeling layer
- Generation of views in the modeling layer based on a
model and viewpoint
- Usability is slightly better & modeling is faster with views
 Future work
- Personalization and intelligent recommendation system
during the modeling process
- Explore further NRT collaboration means between views
and their models

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nicolaescu@dbis.rwth-aachen.de
User: Petru Nicolaescu
SyncMeta (Views) Project Description
GitHub: https://github.com/rwth-acis/syncmeta
View-based Near Real-Time
Collaborative Modeling