IDEF

Description

IDEF5 Ontology Description Capture Method Overview Historically, ontologies arose from the branch of philosophy known as metaphysics, which deals with the nature of reality--of what exists. The traditional goal of ontological inquiry, in particular, is to divide the world "at its joints," to discover those fundamental categories or kinds that define the objects of the world. So viewed, natural science provides an excellent example of ontological inquiry. For example, a goal of subatomic physics is to develop a taxonomy of the most basic kinds of objects that exist within the physical world (e.g., protons, electrons, muons). Similarly, the biological sciences seek to categorize and describe the various kinds of living organisms that populate the planet. The natural and abstract worlds of pure science, however, do not exhaust the applicable domains of ontology. There are vast, human-designed and human-engineered systems such as manufacturing plants, businesses, military bases, and universities in which ontological inquiry is just as relevant and just as important. In these human-created systems, ontological inquiry is primarily motivated by the need to understand, design, engineer, and manage such systems effectively. Consequently, it is useful to adapt the traditional techniques of ontological inquiry in the natural sciences to these domains as well. The IDEF5 method provides a theoretically and empirically well-grounded method specifically designed to assist in creating, modifying, and maintaining ontologies. Standardized procedures, the ability to represent ontology information in an intuitive and natural form, and higher quality results enabled through IDEF5 application also serve to reduce the cost of these activities. Basic Principles of Ontological Analysis Ontological analysis is accomplished by examining the vocabulary that is used to discuss the characteristic objects and processes that compose the domain, developing rigorous definitions of the basic terms in that vocabulary, and characterizing the logical connections among those terms. The product of this analysis, an ontology, is a domain vocabulary complete with a set of precise definitions, or axioms, that constrain the meanings of the terms sufficiently to enable consistent interpretation of the data that use that vocabulary. An ontology includes a catalog of terms used in a domain, the rules governing how those terms can be combined to make valid statements about situations in that domain, and the sanctioned inferences that can be made when such statements are used in that domain. In every domain, there are phenomena that the humans in that domain discriminate as (conceptual or physical) objects, associations, and situations. Through various language mechanisms, we associate definite descriptors (e.g., names, noun phrases, etc.) to those phenomena. In the context of ontology, a relation is a definite descriptor referring to an association in the real world; a term is a definite descriptor that refers to an object or situation-like thing in the real world.

Products & services

Similar companies nearby