Modeling and analysis of information product maps

Information Product Maps are visual diagrams used to represent the inputs, processing, and outputs of data within an Information Manufacturing System. A data unit, drawn as an edge, symbolizes a grouping of raw data as it travels through this system. Processes, drawn as vertices, transform each data unit input into various forms prior to delivery to consumers. These visual representations act as documentation for all processes, and data unit transformations, leading to the final construction and delivery of an Information Product. The science of Information Quality strives to measure the fitness for use of these products, expressed by consumer satisfaction. Defining fitness for use becomes increasingly complex given the various definitions of product quality among consumers. Tracking quality requires each raw data unit to adhere to a compatible set of metrics, transformations, and combinations prior to delivery. Mapping these complex systems requires well-defined visual representations of processing nodes, data between these nodes, and evaluation methods of final product quality. The proposed research will provide a constraint-based modeling methodology used to formally express the creation of an Information Product Map. Without formal modeling, Information Product Maps become free-form documentation, not readily comparable or compatible among uses. A scaffold of sequentially applied constraint models ensures checkpoints are met at each level of map complexity. Quality metrics may then be placed atop this scaffold, extending Information Product Maps' uses beyond that of documentation by enabling automated fitness for use calculations and what-if analysis for process revision.