Hans Akkermans

CommonKADS: a comprehensive methodology for KBS development

The aim of CommonKADS is to fill the need for a structured methodology for KBS projects by constructing a set of engineering models built with the organization and the application in mind. We give a brief overview of the CommonKADS methodology, paying special attention to the expertise modeling-an aspect of KBS development that distinguishes it from other types of software development. We illustrate the CommonKADS approach by showing how aspects of the VT system for elevator design would be modeled.<<ETX>>

Value Webs: using ontologies to bundle real-world services

Real-world services - that is, nonsoftware-based services - differ significantly from Web services, usually defined as software functionality accessible and configurable over the Web. Because of the economic, social, and business importance of the service concept in general, we believe its necessary to rethink what this concept means in an ontological and computational sense. We deal about the OBELIX (ontology-based electronic integration of complex products and value chains) project has therefore developed a generic component-based ontology for real-world services. This OBELIX service ontology is first of all a formalization of concepts that represent the consensus in the business science literature on service management and marketing. We express our service ontology in a graphical, network-style representation, and weve developed support tools that facilitate end-user modeling of services. Then, automated knowledge-based configuration methods let business designers and analysts analyze service bundles. Weve tested our ontology, methods, and tools on applications in real-world case studies of different industry sectors.

Decentralized markets versus central control: a comparative study

Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) promise to offer solutions to problems where established, older paradigms fall short. In order to validate such claims that are repeatedly made in software agent publications, empirical in-depth studies of advantages and weaknesses of multi-agent solutions versus conventional ones in practical applications are needed. Climate control in large buildings is one application area where multi-agent systems, and market-oriented programming in particular, have been reported to be very successful, although central control solutions are still the standard practice. We have therefore constructed and implemented a variety of market designs for this problem, as well as different standard control engineering solutions. This article gives a detailed analysis and comparison, so as to learn about differences between standard versus agent approaches, and yielding new insights about benefits and limitations of computational markets. An important outcome is that local information plus market communication produces global control.

What's in an Electronic Business Model?

An electronic business model is an important baseline for the development of e-commerce system applications. Essentially, it provides the design rationale for e-commerce systems from the business point of view. However, how an e-business model must be defined and specified is a largely open issue. Business decision makers tend to use the notion in a highly informal way, and usually there is a big gap between the business view and that of IT developers. Nevertheless, we show that conceptual modelling techniques from IT provide very useful tools for precisely pinning down what e-business models actually are, as well as for their structured specification. We therefore present a (lightweight) ontology of what should be in an e-business model. The key idea we propose and develop is that an e-business model ontology centers around the core concept of value, and expresses how value is created, interpreted and exchanged within a multi-party stakeholder network. Our e-business model ontology is part of a wider methodology for e-business modelling, called e3 -value, that is currently under development. It is based on a variety of industrial applications we are involved in, and it is illustrated by discussing a free Internet access service as an example.

CML: The CommonKADS Conceptual Modelling Language

We present a structured language for the specification of knowledge models according to the CommonKADS methodology. This language is called CML (Conceptual Modelling Language) and provides both a structured textual notation and a diagrammatic notation for expertise models. The use of our CML is illustrated by a variety of examples taken from the VT elevator design system.

Towards a unification of knowledge modelling approaches

In this article we present a coherent framework for modelling reasoning processes in knowledge based systems. The aim of the framework is to integrate different lines of research and in particular, though not exclusively, the KADS approach and the Components of Expertise framework. We are especially concerned with enhanced facilities for domain modelling and with the notion of problem solving method. The resulting modelling framework, called the CommonKADS modelling framework, fits into a comprehensive methodology, called CommonKADS, that covers all aspects of knowledge based applications. In this article we first present a set of principles on which our modelling framework in founded. These are derived from a careful study of the different approaches. We then describe the modelling framework itself, illustrating it with an example. We also discuss various approaches to building models for a particular application using this framework.

Using conceptual models to explore business-ICT alignment in networked value constellations

In this paper, we introduce e3alignment for inter-organizational business-ICT alignment. With the e3alignment framework, we create alignment between organizations operating in an agile networked value constellation—which is a set of organizations who jointly satisfy a customer need—by (1) focusing on the interaction between the organizations in the constellation, (2) considering interaction from four different perspectives, and (3) utilizing conceptual modeling techniques to analyze and create alignment within and between the perspectives. By creating inter-organizational business-ICT alignment between the actors in the constellation, e3alignment ultimately contributes to a sustainable and profitable constellation. To actually create alignment, e3alignment iteratively takes three specific steps: (1) identification of alignment issues, (2) solution design, and (3) impact analysis. We illustrate our approach with cases from the Dutch aviation industry, Spanish electricity industry, and Dutch telecom industry.

On-To-Knowledge: Semantic Web-Enabled Knowledge Management

On-To-Knowledge builds an ontology-based tool environment to improve knowxadledge management, dealing with large numbers of heterogeneous, distributed, and semistructured documents typically found in large company intranets and the World-Wide Web. The project’s target results are: (i) a toolset for semantic information processing and user access; (ii) OIL, an ontology-based inference layer for the World-Wide Web; and (iii) an associated methodology and validation by industrial case studies. This chapter offers an overview of the On-To-Knowledge approach to knowledge management.

Intelligent e-business: from technology to value

E-business is the point where economic value creation and information technology come together. The Internet and the World Wide Web in particular have emerged as major driving forces in changing our economy. Business executives are now aware that information technology is a key strategic factor in industry, not just a tool to increase business-as-usual efficiency. This has happened over just a few years, but most of Internet businesss socioeconomic impact likely lies ahead. These developments have led to the quick growth of scientific interest and activities related to e-business. Given these developments pace and depth, big challenges and opportunities exist for applying intelligent systems technology and methodology. In fact, e-business has several distinct characteristics that make investigating the deployment of intelligent systems technology highly attractive.

Tasks and ontologies in engineering modelling

Constructing models of physical systems is a recurring activity in engineering problem solving. This paper presents a generic knowledge-level analysis of the task of engineering modelling. Starting from the premise that modelling is a design-like activity, it proposes the Specify-Construct-Assess (SCA) problem-solving method for decomposition of the modelling task. A second structuring principle is found in the distinction between and separation of different ontological viewpoints. Here, we introduce three engineering ontologies that have their own specific roles and methods in the modelling task: functional components, physical processes, mathematical constraints. The combination of the proposed task and ontology decompositions leads to a particular approach to modelling that we call evolutionary modelling. This approach is supported by a knowledge-based system called QuBA. The implications of evolutionary modelling for structuring the modelling process, the content of produced models, as well as for the organization of reusable model fragment libraries are discussed.