This project will produce a tool‐supported methodology to unite live and exploratory modeling (LEM). In particular, scenarios such as the interactive use of live modeling in the context of the exploration and the efficient search for and comparison of several alternative model designs will be studied for the first time.
Behavioral models (e.g., programs or domain‐specific models) typically have to be first designed, implemented, and executed, before results can be observed. Every model change requires re‐triggering this pipeline to see the effects. Live modeling pushes towards changing this paradigm by allowing users to (almost) freely switch between model design and execution to receive immediate feedback (IF), i.e., rendering a model change’s effects visible directly on an already running execution, and to allow the direct manipulation (DM) of a model’s runtime state and based on this, derive the corresponding model design adaptation. DM is particularly challenging as propagating changes from the runtime state back to the model’s design is associated with an intractably huge search space of potential solutions. Exploratory modeling (EM) is a technique for enabling the systematic comparison of design alternatives, and thereby, encouraging design space exploration. Thus, EM seems a good candidate for tackling DM. Both live and exploratory modeling have seen preliminary studies before yet there is still no systematic approach to engineering new modeling languages with the native support of such facilities. Thus, these features have to be redeveloped for each new, possibly domain‐specific language.
Goal
This project will produce a tool‐supported methodology to unite live and exploratory modeling (LEM). In particular, scenarios such as the interactive use of live modeling in the context of the exploration and the efficient search for and comparison of several alternative model designs will be studied for the first time. This combination of LEM will provide the required support for design space exploration, trade‐off analysis, and decision‐making, and enable the exploitation of synergies such as the support of EM by IF.
Duration
03/2026 – 02/2030
Funding
Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
Partner
University of Rennes
Contact
Manuel Wimmer
Stefan Klikovits