Reflective Analysis of the Syntax and Semantics of the i* Framework

Conceptual modeling notations are often designed without the benefit of empirical input. Reflective analysis of modeling languages can help find the gap between the intended design of the language and its use in practice. In this paper, we study instances of the i* goal and agent-oriented Framework to analyze differences between the core i* syntax developed at the University of Toronto and existing variations. We have surveyed 15 student assignments and 15 academic papers and presentations in order to capture and analyze the most common i* syntax variations. Through this analysis we offer insights into i* syntax and suggestions to improve the framework and increase consistency between models.