Supporting end-users in defining complex queries on evolving and domain-specific data models

摘要

To define queries on domain-specific data-structures, end-users have to be familiar with the underlying data model. This is challenging if the data model evolves continuously and through collaborative model management. While visual languages address this issue by providing strong guidance for non-technical end-users, they suffer from a limited expressiveness due to their focus on usability. Therefore, they are not applicable in cases where domain-experts have the need to dedline complex queries. This paper proposes an interactive and textual query editor which focuses on the formulation of complex queries and the familiarization of the end-user with the underlying data model during the query definition process. We demonstrate our approach by this query editor's application in the domain of Enterprise Architecture Management, where tech-savvy end-users need to define complex metrics based on an evolving enterprise architecture model.