EIPW: A Knowledge-Based Database Modeling Tool

Reuse of already existing resources and solutions has become a strategy for cost reduction and efficient improvement in the information system development process. Currently, building a repository of reusable artifacts involves explication of human developer’s knowledge, which is a major obstacle in facilitating reuse of knowledge. In this research, we explore knowledge-based and pattern-based approaches that help database designers develop quality conceptual data models based on reusable patterns. Our methodology includes database reverse engineering concepts. We propose new types of reusable instance patterns containing knowledge about an application domain, called entity instance repository (EIR) and relationship instance repository (RIR), which can be automatically generated from prior designs. The knowledge-based system (KBS) with EIR, RIR, and WordNet called EIPW (Entity Instance Pattern WordNet) is developed. The empirical study was conducted to test the efficiency of the KBS and indicated the significant improvement in novice designer performance.