PhD Objectives - User Driven Modelling

These are my PhD objectives, in order to make it clear what my research is about.

This research will examine creation of models and modelling systems, and how this can be eased so that a wider range of the population can achieve this. It will also identify ways that creation of models and modelling systems is similar to other types of programming, and how the research can be applied more generally. The main users of the system will be engineers; possibilities for wider application will be explored.

The purpose of user driven modelling/programming is to enable non programmers to crate and adjust models in order to maximise the maintenance, extensibility, ease of use, and sharing of information in models and modelling systems. The research will investigate the following areas in order to ease the process of model creation.

Maintenance
Maintenance of models and modelling systems will be improved by:-

* Use of open standards to represent information in a format available to the maximum range of maintainers without being dependant on the computer system or software they use.

* Ensuring the structure of the modelling/programming system and all its related information is visualised clearly.

* Minimising the amount of code necessary to create a model, and structuring the model so that all connections can be seen.

Extensibility
Extensibility will also be improved by the above means; this enables understanding of a model and so allows for easier re-use. A clear structure and visualisation can be edited with fewer worries about unintended consequences (side effects).

Ease of Use
* Maximising accessibility is important to this, use of open standards helps achieve this, together with enabling models to run on software and systems that people are widely familiar with. Ease of use should be facilitated without compromising structure.

Clear structuring and visualisation of information also assists in making a modelling system easier to use.

Sharing of Information
Maintenance, extensibility and ease of use are the key drivers for sharing of information. Achievement of the objectives in these areas would enable collaboration.

Methodology for Achievement of Objectives
Achievement of the above objectives can make possible creation of manageable, maintainable, and flexible models. To enable these objectives, a diagrammatic representation of models will be used as well as a taxonomy based visualisation. This will make it possible for engineers to use an interface that many of them are familiar with. Translation capabilities will be provided to enable better communication between computer systems, and between humans and computer systems. This will allow visualisation of chains of equations which are common in cost modelling. This visualisation will make it easier for people to add and manage information in large models, and identify cost information. A cost modelling example will be used throughout the thesis, but this work is relevant to modelling in general.

Information management and Interaction
This work will be based on information held in an Ontology, accessed using Semantic Web technology. Cost models will be constructed from information chosen by users through an interface that interacts with the user to establish what information is required, how it should be processed, what calculations should be made, and how should it be displayed, e.g. as a diagram or taxonomy.

More Information is available at http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~phale/.