Ulrich Frank Evaluating Modelling Languages: Relevant Issues, Epistemological Challenges

Die Arbeitsberichte des Instituts für Wirtschaftsinfor-matik dienen der Darstellung vorläufiger Ergebnisse, die i.d.R. noch für spätere Veröffentlichungen überar-beitet werden. Die Autoren sind deshalb für kritische Hinweise dankbar. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Insbesondere die der Über-setzung, des Nachdruckes, des Vortrags, der Entnah-me von Abbildungen und Tabellen-auch bei nur auszugsweiser Verwertung. The "Arbeitsberichte des Instituts für Wirtschaftsin-formatik" comprise preliminary results which will usually be revised for subsequent publications. Critical comments would be appreciated by the authors. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means, or translated. Abstract Evaluating and comparing modelling languages is a prerequisite for progress in the field of conceptual modelling. However, only little research has been dedicated to the investigation of appropriate evaluation methods. It is common practice that mainly those who design modelling language decide about the relevance of particular features. In this paper, we argue that such an approach does not satisfy common academic standards. The quality of a modelling language depends on a variety of tasks and potential users, some of which are beyond the scope of language designers. Therefore, the evaluation of modelling languages requires a cross-disciplinary approach. Furthermore, it has to be taken into account that the analysis of a language imposes severe epistemological problems. Against this background, we introduce a meta-framework for the evaluation of modelling languages. It includes a conceptual model to guide and structure multi-perspective evaluations.