## 4 Case Study  
### Problem Description  
Consider the case of using cognitive visualization with the UGVA notation for managing the learning process of graduate students majoring in informatics and computing (Siberian Federal University, Russian Federation). We go through phases of building the structural model (in this case, the learning program model), then the model of a particular system (the curriculum) and the current state model (student model). The target modeled object is a student. We consider the following decision-making tasks that can be solved by using the proposed approach:  
1. Evaluating the state of the target object--a graduate student (describing specifics);
2. Comparing the target object with similar objects--other students in the learning group (finding directions of possible pedagogical interventions);
3. Monitoring the state of the target object--changing the key parameters in time (studying dynamics). The recommendations generated after the UGVA modeling of the learning process and students' progress will be most useful to the learning program manager and teachers (tutors), but they can also be used by students. The raw data about students' results are taken from the online learning management system used to deliver the courses of the learning program. To better understand the following example, the readers must take into account the features of the learning process organization in the higher education institutions of the Russian Federation, which affect the following analysis. In Russia, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students choose their academic major (called \"learning field\" or, literally, \"learning direction\") when enrolling in a university. If the university provides several academic concentrations for the chosen major, undergraduate students must choose their academic concentration at the specified time (typically, some time between enrollment and finishing their second year); graduate and post-graduate students choose their concentrations during enrollment. The students are enrolled in permanent groups, sharing majors and, often, concentrations; they take classes together for the duration of learning (except, perhaps, elective courses). The student groups follow predetermined curricula developed by teaching staff in each university for each academic major and concentration they teach; elective courses comprise about 12% of the academic load for undergraduate students and about 17% of the academic load for graduate students. Elective courses are taken during a certain semester of a certain learning year: a student is supposed to select one course from the list of available elective courses. Having a predefined curriculum, specifying courses and the semesters they should be taken, and a stable student group are the most prominent features of Russian higher education. A curriculum includes the list of courses with their didactic units, related knowledge, and competences. Each course has a number of parameters: its academic load (in hours and/or credit points), the final exam form (pass/fail or graded exam), the learning year and semester, etc. The courses in the curriculum are divided into several components: the basic component (required for the major), the varied component (can be changed by the university; required for the concentration), and elective or optional courses. The regulatory basis for developing curricula is formed by the requirements of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science (federal learning standards for academic majors [28]), requirements for professional skills from the Ministry of Labor (professional standards [29]), and requests from major regional employers. This approach makes an important curriculum balance between the breadth component and the depth component, necessary to form a well-prepared professional who mastered key professional skills but can adapt to the employer requirements and self-learn during their career.