Practitioner perceptions on the use of some semantic concepts in the entity–relationship model

Abstract

This paper seeks to show that aspects of the entity–relationship data modelling method, for the analysis of systems, are not well understood in the commercial domain. Practitioner knowledge of available semantic constructs in the entity–relationship model is measured, together with practitioner perceptions of analyst and client data modelling knowledge. A set of criteria is used to establish practitioner perceptions concerning the usability of data models within the analysis process. The findings provide evidence that practitioners do not understand some key semantic constructs and perceive that other analysts and clients have an incomplete understanding of available model semantics. This empirical evidence from the commercial domain may be useful in improving the effectiveness of the data modelling method through training and further research.