formellare

Formellare is a term used in some technical and scholarly contexts to denote the process of converting informal knowledge, rules, or specifications into a formal representation that can be analyzed, verified, or executed by machines. It serves as a general label for the transition from natural-language or tacit knowledge to formal models, languages, or ontologies. The precise definition of formellare varies by field, and it is not a standardized term in major dictionaries.

The term is a neologism that blends notions of form and formalization. It has appeared in discussions of knowledge representation, formal methods, and requirements engineering as a concise way to denote formalization work. It is commonly used to describe the practical workflow of taking informal elicitation results and producing formal artifacts such as formal grammars, logic formulas, state machines, or model specifications.

In practice, formellare involves several steps: extracting and clarifying informal content; selecting an appropriate formalism; encoding the content into the chosen formalism; and performing validation and verification. Applications span software engineering, data governance, business process modeling, and legal tech. Critics warn that over-formellare can lead to loss of tacit understanding, increased complexity, and misalignment with stakeholder needs. Proponents note that when applied judiciously, formellare can improve precision, reproducibility, and automated reasoning.

See also: formalization, formal methods, knowledge representation, requirements engineering.