[UBL] Post on controlled vocabularies for context qualifiers
On the last call I promised to make a post
about use of controlled vocabularies in Core Components methodology.
The core components methodology specifies
that the basic information structures 'Core Components' (CC) should be context
free, and that these core components are transformed into context rich 'Business
Information Entities' (BIE) through the adding of qualifiers to both object
and property terms. The methodology goes on to state that context is grouped
into context categories, specifically Industry, Process, Geopolitical, Legislative,
ProcessRole, SupportingRole, and System.
This construction method joins terms from
at least three sets of controlled vocabularies (Object, Property, and ContextQualifier)
and possibly extends to n vocabularies if you consider a controlled vocabulary
for each large domain within each context category (for instance the ConsumerProducts
industry and HealthCare industry would have two independent controlled vocabularies
for context qualifiers, with the posibility of overlapping terms with different
semantics).
My argument is that we can add significant
value to the UBL and UN/CEFACT Core Components projects (as well as eBusiness
alignment in general) by adding rigor to both the content and bounds of the
controlled vocabularies used for context qualifiers. If you would like,
a set of ontologies that together facilitate an extensible common set of
eBusiness building blocks.
Thanks,
John