Schema Changes and Historical Information in Conceptual Models in Support of Adaptive Systems

Conceptual changes and historical information have not been emphasized in traditional approaches to conceptual modeling such as the entity-relationship approach. Effective representations for such changes are needed to support robust machine learning and computer-aided organizational learning. However, these aspects have been modeled and studied in other contexts, such as software maintenance, version control, software transformations, etc. This paper reviews some relevant previous results, shows how they have been used to simplify conceptual models to help people make sense out of complex changing situations, and suggests some connections to conceptual models of machine learning. Areas where research is required to support conceptual models for adaptive systems are also explored. These are suggested by studies of the issues surrounding deployment of adaptive systems in mission critical environments.