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

To: Ontology Summit 2011 discussion <ontology-summit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Ali Hashemi <ali@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 14:06:40 -0400
Message-id: <BANLkTik4EGR=h3fiStrfoaeXN0aSQLYw_w@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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 ************************

This is our 6th Ontology Summit, a joint initiative by NIST, Ontolog,
NCOR, NCBO, IAOA & NCO_NITRD along with the support of our
co-sponsors. The theme adopted for this Ontology Summit is: "Making
the Case for Ontology." These virtual sessions are part of the
proceedings of the Summit, where contributions, both by the panelists
and the participants, are pooled with the online discussion, analyzed,
synthesized, and compiled into a body of knowledge, that will,
hopefully, be useful to the community at large.

These sessions, like all other Ontolog virtual events, are open and
free of charge. Anyone who is interested, or (better still) who may
have something to contribute, is welcome. Please refer to event
details on the session pages, to which the hyperlink is given above,
where you will find session agenda, conference call dial-in, slides
and other pertinent information. Feel free to pass this invitation
along to colleagues who may also find these sessions to be of
interest.

*RSVP* by emailing Peter Yim at <peter.yim@xxxxxxxx> offline (or add
yourself directly to the session page if you are already an Ontolog or
Ontology Summit community member) so that we can prepare enough
resources to support everyone. [Please state clearly the date of the
session you are registering for in your email.] ... All respondents
will be subscribed (if they aren't already so) to the
[ontology-summit] mailing list so they are participate in the virtual
discourse.

These sessions will be recorded and made available in a publicly
accessible archive. Therefore, before participating, please make sure
you are cognizant of our IPR policy ( ref:
http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiHomePage#nid32 ).


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
Ontology Summit 2011 homepage
at: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OntologySummit2011
... if you missed the chance coming to these sessions in real time,
you can always participate asynchronously by accessing the archives.
--

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