METHODOLOGIES FOR ONTOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

TLDR

Constructing ontologies is essential for knowledge‑based systems, yet there is no clear methodology and current work is largely experiential. The paper surveys existing efforts to establish a methodology for building ontologies. The authors review and synthesize prior studies that propose ontology‑building methods. They identify key issues that must be addressed to transform ontology construction from an art into a formal engineering process.

Abstract

It is now widely recognised that constructing a domain model, or ontology, is an important step in the development of knowledge based systems. What is lacking, however, is a clear understanding of how to build ontologies. In this paper we survey the work which has been done so far in beginning to provide a methodology for building ontologies. This work is still formative, and relies heavily on particular experiences. We also provide some discussion of this work, and identify the key issues that must be addressed if we are to move on from ontology construction being an art and to make it an understood engineering process.