Information Modeling Perspective

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Information ModelingPerspective Summary
Extended LectureShinshu University Nagano
City, JapanApril 22, 2002

• Russell Peak
• Senior Researcher
• Manufacturing Research Center
• Georgia Tech

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Information Hierarchy Engineering IT - Informal
DefinitionsAdapted from Yee Hsun U , Gintic,
Singapore
Information Technology (IT) is the technology of
modeling, archival, retrieval distribution,
organizing processing, and further creation of
intelligence, knowledge, information and data
based on the Information Hierarchy model.
Information Hierarchy Model
Relative
Intelligence
Usefulness
application
Knowledge
Interpreted
relations
Engineering IT is the enabling Information
Technology, combined with domain technology and
knowledge, to solve engineering and
engineering-related problems.
Information
structure
Organized
Data
Absolute
In this short course context, the term
information is used generically to include all
the above unless otherwise noted.
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Information modelling

• Information modelling is to capture the
  characteristics of a real world object or process
  using a formalised notation.
• Information modelling is important to be able to
  capture, use, and exchange information
• It is a model that rarely (ever?) captures 100
  reality
• Can make a given model adequate for a given set
  of purposes (i.e., questions and tasks it needs
  to support)
• Can have multiple models of varying fidelity
• Trade-offs fidelity/capability vs.
  complexity/ease-of-use vs. cost

Based on Source http//www.epmtech.jotne.com
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Information modelling (cont.)

• Non-IT examples of information modelling
• Speech (meaning) is modelled via textual language
  (letters forming words that are combined
  according to a grammar)
• Enables capture, usage, and exchange of speech
  (meaning) using a non-audio medium.
• Can be exact (as in legal contracts) or
  intentionally vague (as in poetry)
• Music is also modelled using a limited set of
  symbols

Based on Source http//www.epmtech.jotne.com
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An abstraction of the real world
Represents
Abstraction (Model)
Real World
Name of person
name
Person
STRING
street
STRING
lives_in
Address
city
STRING
owns
no
Telephone
INTEGER
ENTITY PERSON name STRING lives_in
Address owns Telephone END_ENTITY
ENTITY Address street STRING city
STRING END_ENTITY

• Address
• Street
• City

Based on Source http//www.epmtech.jotne.com
ENTITY Telephone no INTEGER END_ENTITY

Telephone number
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Multi-fidelity Models Content
SufficiencyExample Supporting age in a people
information model
Model content depends on a) operations to be
supported (including questions to be answered )
b) desired accuracy c) available resources

• How old are you?
• In years
• fidelity 1 age current year - year of birth
  ...
• fidelity 2 also consider is today before/after
  birthday?
• In days
• fidelity 3 do not consider leap years
• fidelity 4 consider leap years
• In hours
• fidelity 5 consider time zone
• fidelity 6 consider planetary orbit adjustments
• In seconds
• fidelity 7 is sufficiently accurate data
  available?

Can have various calculation methods for each
fidelity level