Author(s): Hayden Smith
A model is a simplified representation to assist in understanding something more complex.
This covers everything from mathematics through to model aeroplanes.
A conceptual model is a type of model that captures a system in a conceptual way rather than a physical way.
They tend to be diagramatic or visual.
Examples include:
Generally conceptual models in software will be one of two types:
We will discuss some of these, and explore state diagrams in detail.
State diagrams are used to describe state machines.
State machines (i.e. software) are made up of a finite number of states.
The machine (i.e. software) can be transitioned from one state to another through an action
Can we model the opal card system as a state machine?
The model calculated the energy usage across a number of fixed-distance intervals (e.g. a 200 metre stretch of road) over a 3000km journey across Australia.