Topics
We solicit contributions on current and new research regarding the following but not exclusive questions:
- What is a conceptual model, is not a conceptual model, is not yet a conceptual model, will never be a conceptual model?
- What are the elements of a theory of abstraction for modeling?
- How should we standardize meta and meta-meta models?
- How should we specify the meaning of models?
- What are concepts in applications that can be used for conceptual models?
- How can we learn from and transfer principles of mathematical models?
- How could we interleave modeling and development?
- How do we generate effective conceptual models using genAI approaches?
- How could we extract conceptual models from system specifications?
- How do we analyze and verify such models automatically?
- How can we manage complexity in the use of models?
- What are the means for quality-aware modeling?
- How should we prevent misuse, misapplication, and manipulation through
models? - How can we delimit the terms conceptual, physical, logical etc. models?
- What levels of maturity should a conceptual model have in which context?
On the basis of the participants’ contributions, we plan a discussion session for working on questions such as:
- Which areas should a theory or methodology of modeling cover?
- What problems might we encounter on the way to such a theory?
- What role can and should conceptual modeling play in generative AI, and
vice versa? - How can we find, analyze and fix errors in AI-generated models?
- How should the CM Body of Knowledge be structured?
- What kind of logic, discrete mathematics, and engineering can become the
foundation of conceptual modeling?
Submission Guidelines
We invite submissions of research papers, position papers, and survey/review articles related to the fundamentals of conceptual modeling. Submitted papers will be peer reviewed by at least 2 experts.
Accepted FCM 2026 papers will be published in the Springer LNCS Series; therefore, manuscripts must follow the LNCS author guidelines.
Paper length is between 12 and 16 pages. The submission link will be published soon.
Manuscripts not submitted in the LNCS style or exceeding the page limit will not be reviewed and automatically rejected.
A paper submitted to FCM 2026 must not be under review for any other conference or journal during the time it is being considered for FCM 2026. Submitted papers must demonstrate to be aware of the state-of-the art literature in conceptual modeling by properly citing relevant papers in the field.
Additional Request to Submitters
Over the past few years, the organizers of the FCM workshop series have been exploring how to characterize research papers on conceptual modeling so that they can, for example, be classified within the body of knowledge and quickly assessed at a glance.
The resulting framework “Characterizing Conceptual Modeling Research” has been recently published:
- Delcambre L.M.L.; Liddle, S.W.; Mayr, H.C.; Pastor, O.; Storey, V.C., Thalheim B.:
A structured perspective on conceptual modeling research. Data & Knowledge Engineering, Volume 164, 2026, 102576, //doi.org/10.1016/j.datak.2026. Open access preprint.
To evaluate and further improve the LLM-based AI assistant developed for this framework, we ask contributors for their assistance by filling out a form and uploading along with your submission via Easychair. This form is available here.
Please note that submitting this form is not mandatory; however, it would greatly assist our work.
