Most enterprise modelling tools hard-code their notations and meta models, making adaptation slow, expensive, and technically demanding. This paper presents an advanced meta-meta model — the foundational layer that governs how modelling languages and tools are defined — designed to support arbitrary meta models, multiple visual representations, multi-level modelling, and runtime adaptation without specialist programming skills. Targeting a property graph implementation, it draws on two decades of experience with the EVA toolset and a systematic review of leading platforms including Eclipse, MetaEdit+, and XModeler.
Why Modelling Notations Fail — and How to Design Visual Languages That Actually Work
Graphical models are central to enterprise architecture and information systems work, yet they frequently fail to deliver value — not because the underlying analysis is wrong, but because the notations are poorly designed, mismatched to their audience, or unable to highlight what matters. This doctoral research paper sets out a programme of design science research aimed at improving visual language design and tooling, drawing on insights from human cognition, perception, semiotics, and graphic design. It introduces polymetric diagramming as a technique for making models more expressive and proposes a meta-meta model and tool architecture to support more effective visual language design and use.