Learning requirements analysis and validation through conceptual modeling is very hard. Experienced analysts manage to mentally picture (i.e. simulate) the future information system in their mind while analyzing and validation requirements. This skill is very hard to achieve by junior requirements engineers. Not surprisingly, computer-based simulation has been proven to be an excellent technique in assisting juniors in understanding complex systems. However, the practical use of computer-based simulation is hampered by the difficulty of swiftly generating simulations out of conceptual models and the difficulty of interpreting simulation results. This tutorial reviews the challenges in teaching conceptual modeling and model simulation, and the gains that can be obtained when using feedback-enabled simulation. The tutorial is based on a novel, award winning and scientifically proven method that boosts the learning achievements in conceptual modeling.
Linked data are becoming one of the most adopted model used to publish data on the Web. Thanks to the possibility to connect different datasets by means of the RDF features, linked data are suitable to fully exploit the nature of the Web. Even if a lot of tools are available supporting the publication of linked data, in the literature there is a lack of a systematic methodology supporting the publication of linked data, from the identification of the most suitable datasets to be released, to the design of the properties and ontologies to use.
The project COMSODE (Components Supporting the Open Data Exploitation) is an SME-driven RTD project aimed at progressing the capabilities in the Open Data re-use field. COMSODE wants to bring state of the art of research into a solid and industrial set of solutions to overcome the current issues: data published by various open data catalogues are poorly integrated; quality assessment, and cleansing are seldom addressed. COMSODE offers a software platform which enables data consumers to integrate the data before their usage. Therefore, it significantly reduces the costs of open data consumption and hinders open data usage and uptake.
The goal of this tutorial is twofold: on the one hand, a brief comparison of different solutions to the Open Data world will be introduced; on the other hand, we will show in particular how to develop the publication of datasets as Open Data by using the COMSODE methodology and publication platform (ODN), its tools and its data. In this tutorial, all the approaches, best practices, techniques and tools analyzed and systematized in the methodological part of the project will be overviewed, for their relation with the COMSODE “Open Data Publication” Methodology, in the following form: