Re: [ontology-summit] Ontology Summit 2011: Communique draft review sess

[Ali Hashemi <ali@xxxxxxxxx>]

Some comments about the take aways that Michael Uschold mentioned (bullet points 1-7 & also 1-5a-b on the draft Communiqué).

Familiar Friend

I would like to propose an integral take away that might not be as immediately concrete as those specified there, but would nonetheless play an important role in the decision making process.

Specifically, I would want a reader to come away with the feeling that an ontology "fits". It's not a new, foreign, idea that one would have to expend a lot of energy to integrate to a particular socio-technical system, but a natural outgrowth of whatever it was you were already doing.

Sort of like "We've been doing ontology all along, but I never knew it".

===

Ontological Analysis vs Artifact

I would also like to suggest a clearer delineation between an ontology artefact and the methodology and process of ontological analysis. I think there is market just for the latter, even if it doesn't necessarily result in a formal, computational ontology. 

Namely, given the current state of adoption and most importantly, comprehension in industry of ontology, it might not be possible to demonstrate how an ontology artifact would necessarily lead to immediate benefits. Indeed, as was pointed out in the just-completed telecon, it is very difficult to consistently come up with a set of generic value metrics to judge the success of a program. And half the problem is in understanding the problem domain anyway. If a company is unfamiliar with ontology, would they even be able to articulate their problem clearly and map it to such metrics?

Alternatively, it should be possible how ontological analysis of the business (organization) domain (process / subdomain / problem) can help the business:

• increase self-awareness
• identify possible ways that an ontology artifact(s) can deliver value
• develop a road map for a long term plan of incrementally deploying semantic technologies

Yes, these are notoriously difficult ROI cases, that have to be tailored to each particular context. But they are necessary stepping stones / landmarks in any strategy. 

To summarize and rephrase: 

An additional key take away might be that - even if I am a business that has no clear/concrete idea of how ontology might help me out (especially as a particular type of technology solution -- should i go with OWL? a data dictionary? a full-on ontology? what level of reasoning do I really need, if at all?), I should at least come away feeling that ontological analysis is absolutely necessary for any possible solution. It is an essential component of my ability as a manager or decision maker in my company to make an informed choice as to how to go forward. And without such work, I might not know enough about my problem domain from an ontology perspective to be able to intelligently pick and choose the most relevant use caes. 

The result of simply engaging an ontology-based analysis might then suggest to start with a simple vocabulary or terminology, or to simply enhance key components of a db here, or a best practices there. It would come up with the value metrics itself. That is to say, no immediate full scale commitment to any particular ontology artifact, but a commitment to ontological analysis and modeling. This is a far less expensive endeavor, and already sets the pre-sale for the next one (if applicable).

Is this (un)clear?

Cheers,

Ali

On Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 2:36 PM, Peter Yim <peter.yim@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

Re: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2011_04_07


= *REMINDER* =

Coming up this Thursday (tomorrow), April-7, starting 9:30am PDT /
12:30pm EDT / 6:30pm CEST / 5:30pm BST / 16:30 UTC, is the Ontology
Summit 2011 session where our Communique co-Lead Editors will be
presenting to us, a first draft of the
"OntologySummit2011_Communique."

See developing details at:
http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2011_04_07

Come to participate in helping influence how this year's Communique
will shape up.

... RSVP now (if you haven't already) by adding your name to the wiki
or email me <peter.yim@xxxxxxxx> (off-line, please) to register your
attendance.


Talk to you then. =ppy



********************* Details ************************

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*RSVP* by emailing Peter Yim at <peter.yim@xxxxxxxx> offline (or add
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Regards.  =ppy

Peter Yim
Co-convener, Ontolog

For and on behalf of the

Members of the
OntologySummit2011 Organizing Committee

p.s. full proceedings (including agenda, slides, in-session chat
transcript, audio recordings, etc.) for the Ontology Summit 2011
Launch Event (Jan-20) and all the 9 virtual sessions are
already on our archives. You can find links to them at the
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at: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OntologySummit2011
... if you missed the chance coming to these sessions in real time,
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