What is a meta model?

Written on 04/05/2023

Alice Båvner

A model is a simplified description of the real world i.e., it is an abstraction of phenomena that exist around us.

A meta model is a model that classifies the content of different models i.e., it is an abstraction of the content of the model – objects and relationships.

A meta model is a model that describes models.

Example

Here is a real-world example that shows how to transform a textual description into a model to finally describe the model in a metamodel.

Textual description

We buy food in the store. Many people use a shopping list to get the right groceries home. Shopping for food means, among other things, picking goods, paying at the till and packing the goods in a grocery bag.

The central terms in the text are:

Modeling of concepts

The concepts/phenomena/things described in the text can be described as objects in a model that also shows how the various objects relate to each other.

Classification of concepts

Objects that are of the same type and have the same use in the model are divided into groups/classes that are given a descriptive name. The same is done with relationships.

Each class is provided with a description and a symbol. The combination of symbol and class forms a meta object. The relationships with name and symbol (in the form of a dash) form a relationship type.

By studying how the concepts in the different classes relate to each other, the meta-model is identified step by step, for example that

Activity >>is part of>> Process step

The meta model replaces all objects in the model with the metaobjects. All relationships in the model are adjusted to match the rules defined for relationships between meta objects.

The benefit of a meta model

The meta-model defines the regulatory framework for which concepts/phenomena/things can/should be described in models and which relationships can/should be drawn between the objects.
The metamodel contains metaobjects that clearly describe what characterizes a type of object.
The metamodel standardizes the language and notation used in modeling. This makes it possible to communicate more easily, compare models and analyze different aspects.
The meta-model helps users understand how the business architecture is structured.