Empirical Testing of a Conceptual Model Quality Framework

A number of frameworks have been developed for evaluating the quality of conceptual models, but very few of these have been empirically tested. This paper describes an approach to validating conceptual model quality frameworks using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. It also describes an ongoing effort where the suggested evaluation instrument is applied for the evaluation of one particular quality framework. The results are promising, but some problems were uncovered. Most problems are related to the application, but some also point to needed improvements of the instrument itself, or guidelines for its use. The evaluation instrument should be customisable to many different quality frameworks for evaluating conceptual models of various languages/notations.