Improving risk modelling in complex systems through the conceptual graph formalism.

The formalism of the conceptual graphs (CG) was selected to articulate a newly developed risk representation model (RRM). The latter was designed without predefined types to perceive properly risk inter-connectivity at different levels of abstraction. Indeed, the risks associated with embedded and distributed systems are increasingly challenging to understand and manage holistically due to the growing complexity in these fields.The CG form of representation can serve as a communication language and allows formal, understandable and manipulable structures of knowledge-based systems, the graphical aspect facilitating the construction of user-friendly man-machine interfaces in interactive processes.In this paper, after a very succinct description of the RRM main design basis as well as CG principles and formalism, some illustrations of how the latter can be exploited in different situations in the frame of the RRM are presented.