Domain modeling-overview and ongoing research at EDS

An application domain model is defined as a formal representation of the knowledge necessary to support specific operational goals. EDS is a company which produces large business systems for a variety of industries. Domain modeling at EDS is discussed. First, domain-specific knowledge is acquired from various sources and it is synthesized into a domain model. At this stage, the focus is on digesting, understanding, and formalizing the gathered information. Second, to build specification models for various applications, relevant pieces of domain knowledge are selected from the domain model. In this phase, the focus is on tailoring general domain knowledge to the specific application. The approach to gathering domain knowledge is based on a combination of manual, semi-automated, and automated techniques. The knowledge acquisition synthesis system is described which was implemented using X Windows on a SPARC II client/server architecture. Domain experts interact with the system to store their knowledge into a domain model