A procedural model for ontological analyses - Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticising - page 154

The usefulness of ontology as a theoretical foundation for knowledge representation
and natural language processing is a fervently debated topic at the present time in the
artificial intelligence research community (Guarino and Welty, 2002). The use of ontolo-
gies as a basis for the analysis of techniques that purport to assist analysts to develop
models that emulate portions of the real world has been growing steadily more popular.
The Bunge-Wand-Weber (BWW) ontological models (Weber, 1997), for example, have
been applied extensively in the context of the analysis of various modelling techniques.
Wand and Weber (1989; 1990; 1993; 1995) and Weber (1997) have applied the BWW
representation model to the 'classical' descriptions of entity-relationship (ER) modelling
and logical data flow diagramming (LDFD). Weber and Zhang (1996) also examined the
Nijssen Information Analysis Method (NIAM) using the ontology. Green (1997) extended
the work of Weber and Zhang (1996) and Wand and Weber (1993; 1995) by analysing
various modelling techniques as they have been extended and implemented in upper
CASE tools. Furthermore, Parsons and Wand (1997) proposed a formal model of objects
and they use the ontological models to identify representation-oriented characteristics
of objects. Along similar lines, Opdahl and Henderson-Sellers (2001) have used the BWW
representation model to examine the individual modelling constructs within the OPEN
Modelling Language (OML) version 1.1, which is based on 'conventional' object-oriented
constructs. Green and Rosemann (2000) have extended the analytical work into the area
of integrated process modelling based on the techniques presented in Scheer (2000).
Most recently, Green et al. (2003) have extended the use of this evaluative base into the
area of enterprise systems interoperability using business process modelling languages
like ebXML, BPML, BPEL4WS, and WSCI. Clearly, ontology is a fruitful theoretical basis
on which to perform such analyses. However, while ontological analyses are frequently
utilised, particularly in the area of conceptual modelling technique analysis, the actual
process of performing the analysis remains problematic. The current process of ontolo-
gical analysis is open to the individual interpretations of the researchers who undertake
the analysis. Consequently, such analyses are criticised as being subjective, ad hoc , and
lacking in relevance. There is a need, therefore, for the systematic identification of
shortcomings of the current ontological analysis process. The identification of such
weaknesses, and their subsequent mitigation, will lead to a more rigorous, objective,
and replicable analytical process.
Accordingly, this paper has several objectives. First, we aim to identify comprehensively
the shortcomings in the current practice of ontological analysis. The identification of
such shortcomings will provide a basis upon which the practice of ontological analysis
can be improved. Second, we want to develop several propositions and methodology
extensions that enhance the ontological analysis process by making it more objective
and structured.
There are several contributions this paper aims to make. They are based on previous
experiences with ontological analyses as well as observations derived from published
analyses. First, the work presents a detailed analysis of the actual process of performing
an ontological evaluation. We identify eight shortcomings of the current ontological
analysis process, viz. lack of understandability, lack of comparability, lack of complete-
ness, lack of guidance, lack of objectivity, lack of adequate result representation, lack
of result classification, and lack of relevance. Each of the identified shortcomings is then
classified as belonging to one of three phases of analysis, viz., input, process, and output.
Second, the paper presents recommendations on how each of the shortcomings in the
three phases can be overcome. The recommendations, inter alia , include an extended