Whenever we study, or reflect about, complex phenomena such as buildings, information systems, business models, organisations, etc, we tend to use an abstraction of the actual phenomenon. Such abstractions enable us to focus on those properties of the phenomenon at hand, which matter in relation to some purpose we may have (e.g. to understand, to assess, or to change the phenomenon). Such abstractions, `stand model for' (with regards to the relevant properties) the actual phenomenon, and are therefore generally regarded as (domain) models. In general, a domain model provides an explicit (i.e. human understandable) representation of the structure and semantics of selected aspects of some domain of interest. Depending on the application context, the domain models may e.g. take the form of data models, semantic models, system dynamics models, information models, enterprise models, domain ontologies, or knowledge graphs. Each time, these models are used to explicitly capture domain knowledge. In other words, domain models allow us to clarify and understand the things we talk, and reason about. As such, domain models are used / useful in many more application contexts. For instance, in present day society, we can observe a clear increase in the role / use of knowledge-intensive computing technologies, including (explainable) AI, data science & modelling, and digital twins. The application, and operational use, of these technologies also requires relevant domain knowledge to be captured in terms of domain models (for example in terms of domain ontologies, or knowledge graphs). In this webinar, I will discuss some of the general foundations of domain modelling, including (1) the notion of model itself, (2) what it means to create a model, as well as (3) the role of modelling languages. Based on this, I will then explore some of the key research challenges with regards to domain modelling (applicable across different application contexts), including human-model-interaction, collaborative modelling, optimising the return of modelling effort (RoME), and the tension between standardising modelling languages and the need for purpose specific languages. Over the past years, my research and industrial work has allowed me to study the use of domain models in the context of enterprise engineering and architecting. During the webinar we will, therefore, also pay specific attention to the challenges in this application area for domain modelling.

Speaker: Prof. Henderik Proper  

Biografia: Prof.dr. Henderik A. Proper, Erik to friends, is an FNR PEARL Laureate, and Head of Academic Affairs at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) in Luxembourg, and senior research manager within its IT for Innovative Services (ITIS) department. He also holds an adjunct chair in Computer Science at the University of Luxembourg. Erik has a mixed background, covering a variety of roles in both academia and industry. His professional passion is the further development of the field of enterprise engineering, and enterprise modelling in particular. His long experience in teaching and coaching a wide variety of people enables him to involve and engage others in this development. He has co-authored several journal papers, conference publications and books. His main research interests include enterprise engineering and enterprise modelling, which includes enterprise architecture, systems theory, business/IT alignment and conceptual modelling Erik received his Master's degree from the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands in May 1990, and received his PhD (with distinction) from the same University in April 1994. In his Doctoral thesis he developed a theory for conceptual modelling of evolving application domains, yielding a formal specification of evolving information systems. After receiving his PhD, Erik became a senior research fellow at the Computer Science Department of the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. During that period he also conducted research in the Asymetrix Research Lab at that University for Asymetrix Corp, Seattle, Washington. In 1995 he became a lecturer at the School of Information Systems from the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. During this period he was also seconded as a senior researcher to the Distributed Systems Technology Centre (DSTC), a Cooperative Research Centres funded by the Australian government. From 1997 to 2001, Erik worked in industry. First as a consultant at Origin, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and later as a research consultant and principal scientist at the Ordina Institute for Research and Innovation, Gouda, The Netherlands. In June 2001, Erik returned to academia, where he became an adjunct Professor at the Radboud University Nijmegen. In September 2002, Erik obtained a full-time Professorship position at the Radboud University Nijmegen. In January of 2008, he went back to combining industry and academia, by combining his Professorship with consulting and innovation at Capgemini, with the aim of more tightly combining his theoretical and practical work. Finally, in May 2010 Erik moved to the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology as a PEARL chair, while also continuing his chair at the Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. As of June 2017, Erik holds an adjunct chair at the University of Luxembourg.