Modeling in the Design Multiverse

2025-09-08

AI Summary

Existing modeling frameworks lack native support for multi-path design evolution—such as branching, revisioning, and merging—relying instead on external version-control and collaboration tools. This hinders traceability and collaborative efficiency in complex systems design. Method: We propose the “Design Multiverse” paradigm, the first approach to natively embed dynamic design operations—including branching, revisioning, and merging—within the modeling environment, enabling co-evolution of model product lines and model–metamodel relationships. Grounded in the Model Federation paradigm, our approach integrates multi-model coordination with fine-grained version control to unify the management of design state snapshots. Contribution/Results: The method significantly enhances collaborative efficiency among heterogeneous stakeholders and improves end-to-end decision traceability across the system lifecycle, particularly in large-scale, multi-domain design scenarios.

Technology Category

• Multiagent Systems: Mechanism Design
• Game Theory and Economic Paradigms: Coordination and Collaboration
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Scalability, Parallel & Distributed Systems

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Federated recommendation systems and personalization
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Models for Web evolution
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs

Abstract

Real-world design processes often involve the evolution and divergence of design paths (by branching, revising, merging, etc.), especially when multiple stakeholders or teams operate concurrently and/or explore different alternatives for complex and heterogeneous systems. Unfortunately, this variability in time and space can not be directly managed in current modeling spaces but requires resorting to external tools and methodologies. In order to tackle this problem, we introduce the Design Multiverse. The Design Multiverse aims to integrate in the modeling space a selection of revisions and variants, representing snapshots of a design state composed of multiple artifacts. This enables stakeholders to seamlessly trace, analyze, and manage design decisions, system variants, and their interdependencies. Concretely, in this paper we present a conceptual definition of the Design Multiverse, discuss usage scenarios such as model product lines and model/metamodel co-evolution, and propose an implementation leveraging the model federation paradigm.

Problem

• Managing design path evolution and divergence
• Integrating revisions and variants in modeling
• Enabling traceability of design decisions interdependencies

Innovation

• Design Multiverse integrates revisions and variants
• Enables seamless trace and manage design decisions
• Implementation leverages model federation paradigm