<s>
In	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
,	O
a	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
,	O
or	O
domain	B-Application
model	I-Application
,	O
represents	O
concepts	O
(	O
entities	O
)	O
and	O
relationships	O
between	O
them	O
,	O
while	O
a	O
mental	O
model	O
captures	O
ideas	O
in	O
a	O
problem	B-General_Concept
domain	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
a	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
aims	O
to	O
express	O
the	O
meaning	O
of	O
terms	O
and	O
concepts	O
used	O
by	O
domain	O
experts	O
to	O
discuss	O
the	O
problem	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
find	O
the	O
correct	O
relationships	O
between	O
different	O
concepts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
is	O
explicitly	O
chosen	O
to	O
be	O
independent	O
of	O
design	O
or	O
implementation	O
concerns	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
concurrency	O
or	O
data	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conceptual	O
modeling	O
in	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
should	O
not	O
be	O
confused	O
with	O
other	O
modeling	O
disciplines	O
within	O
the	O
broader	O
field	O
of	O
conceptual	B-Application
models	I-Application
such	O
as	O
data	B-Application
modelling	I-Application
,	O
logical	B-Application
modelling	I-Application
and	O
physical	O
modelling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
attempts	O
to	O
clarify	O
the	O
meaning	O
of	O
various	O
,	O
usually	O
ambiguous	O
terms	O
,	O
and	O
ensure	O
that	O
confusion	O
caused	O
by	O
different	O
interpretations	O
of	O
the	O
terms	O
and	O
concepts	O
cannot	O
occur	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
differing	O
interpretations	O
could	O
easily	O
cause	O
confusion	O
amongst	O
stakeholders	O
,	O
especially	O
those	O
responsible	O
for	O
designing	O
and	O
implementing	O
a	O
solution	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
provides	O
a	O
key	O
artifact	O
of	O
business	O
understanding	O
and	O
clarity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concepts	O
of	O
the	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
can	O
be	O
mapped	O
into	O
physical	O
design	O
or	O
implementation	O
constructs	O
using	O
either	O
manual	O
or	O
automated	B-Language
code	I-Language
generation	I-Language
approaches	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
realization	O
of	O
conceptual	B-Application
models	I-Application
of	O
many	O
domains	O
can	O
be	O
combined	O
to	O
a	O
coherent	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
can	O
be	O
described	O
using	O
various	O
notations	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
UML	B-Language
,	O
ORM	B-Application
or	O
OMT	B-Application
for	O
object	O
modelling	O
,	O
ITE	B-Application
,	O
or	O
IDEF1X	B-Application
for	O
Entity	B-Architecture
Relationship	I-Architecture
Modelling	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
UML	B-Language
notation	O
,	O
the	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
is	O
often	O
described	O
with	O
a	O
class	O
diagram	O
in	O
which	O
classes	O
represent	O
concepts	O
,	O
associations	O
represent	O
relationships	O
between	O
concepts	O
and	O
role	O
types	O
of	O
an	O
association	B-Application
represent	O
role	O
types	O
taken	O
by	O
instances	O
of	O
the	O
modelled	O
concepts	O
in	O
various	O
situations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
ER	O
notation	O
,	O
the	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
is	O
described	O
with	O
an	O
ER	B-Architecture
Diagram	I-Architecture
in	O
which	O
entities	O
represent	O
concepts	O
,	O
cardinality	O
and	O
optionality	O
represent	O
relationships	O
between	O
concepts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regardless	O
of	O
the	O
notation	O
used	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
important	O
not	O
to	O
compromise	O
the	O
richness	O
and	O
clarity	O
of	O
the	O
business	O
meaning	O
depicted	O
in	O
the	O
conceptual	B-Application
model	I-Application
by	O
expressing	O
it	O
directly	O
in	O
a	O
form	O
influenced	O
by	O
design	O
or	O
implementation	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
