Olegas Vasilecas

Building ontologies from relational databases using reverse engineering methods

The fast changing requirements are the main problem of creating and/or modifying conceptual data models. Most conceptual data models of information systems are created from scratch, wasting time and resources. Ontology represents the real-world domain knowledge. So ontology can be reused in conceptual model building. However ontology engineering is not mature enough. In this paper we propose the new approach to develop ontologies from relational databases using reverse engineering. The ontology can be evaluated, extended and reused as domain knowledge for other conceptual data models.

A Conceptual Graphs Approach for Business Rules Modeling

Business knowledge is the major asset of business organizations, which empowers them not only to survive, but also make proactive decisions in rapidly changing business situation. Therefore mapping business knowledge to the computable form is the primary task for information systems research. Structuring business knowledge using business rules approach is convenient for both business representatives and system analysts. However, the question of modeling language is still open and different approaches are discussed in the literature. In this paper, conceptual graphs are considered as one of the suitable modeling languages. It is proposed to add a new element rule base to conceptual graphs element knowledge base for explicit business rules modeling in order to satisfy the important requirement of business rules systems – business rules must be addressed explicitly. The different business rules classification schemas are discussed with regard to the proposed business rule metamodel and it is shown how to map business rules regardless of their type to the uniform format.

Ontology‐based multi‐agent system to support business users and management

Abstract For some decision processes a significant added value is achieved when enterprises’ internal Data Warehouse (DW) can be integrated and combined with external data gained from web sites of competitors and other relevant Web sources. In this paper we discuss the agent‐based integration approach using ontologies (DSS‐MAS). In this approach data from internal DW and external sources are scanned by coordinated group of agents, while semantically integrated and relevant data is reported to business users according to business rules. After data from internal DW, Web sources and business rules are acquired, agents using these data and rules can infer new knowledge and therefore facilitate decision making process. Knowledge represented in enterprises’ ontologies is acquired from business users without extensive technical knowledge using user friendly user interface based on constraints and predefined templates. The approach presented in the paper was verified using the case study from the domain of mobile...

Survey on Ontology Languages

Nowadays a number of papers are presented on the research for the ontology application for a business system modelling. For this purpose formal and executable ontologies earn a lot of attention. However, formality and executability of an ontology depends on a language, which is used to present it. This paper presents a never completely account of languages that have been used for the research community for representing ontologies. The most popular four ontology languages (KIF, OWL, RDF + RDF(S) and DAML+OIL) are reviewed. Their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Finally, thirteen comparison criteria are distinguished and chosen ontology languages are compared. The discussion is also presented in the paper.

Ontology-based information systems development: the problem of automation of information processing rules

The business rule approach is used in information systems to represent domain knowledge and to maintain rules systems efficiently in volatile business environment. A number of methods were proposed to develop rule models, but only few deal with reuse of knowledge acquired in the analysis of some particular domain and automatic implementation of rules. In this paper, a method for representing knowledge by ontology transformation into the rule model is described. The method is based on ontology transformation of axioms presented in a formal way into (semi-) formal information processing rules in the form of executable rules, like active DBMS triggers. The method is implemented into the developed prototype, which is described in the case study section.

An algorithm for the automatic transformation of ontology axioms into a rule model

Quite a number of authors are analysing transformation of ontology into conceptual data model and its usefulness in information systems development, since the semantic content expressed by ontology can be transformed into information systems artefacts, thereby reducing the costs of conceptual modelling. Conceptual data model and ontology have some common aspects, i.e., both include concepts, relationships between them and rules (in ontology -- axioms). However, in the ontology-based conceptual modelling a rule model, which is an important and integral part of each conceptual data model, is often neglected. In this paper the authors proposes the algorithm for the automatic transformation of ontology axioms into a rule model.

On business rules automation: the BR-centric IS development framework

The business rules (BR) approach in information systems (IS) engineering responds to the need of business practitioners to maintain their ISs efficiently in the volatile business environment. The important requirement is to reduce effects to adapt IS to the changes in business environment. This problem can be solved by the explicit use of enterprise knowledge in the form of BR stored outside of the application logic. A number of BR-based systems, methods, frameworks, and languages were proposed, but only few address automatic BR implementation. In this paper we present the framework which outlines the main components for BR-based IS development using BR automation. In our approach we differentiate three abstraction layers where the understanding, representation, and use of BR differ accordingly. We give the definitions of the components, outline their role in the framework, and present the results of a short case study as an example of the framework instantiation.

Ontology-Based Elicitation of Business Rules

Information systems are central to any business because they capture and store the information required to support business operations and help to execute these business operations. Modem information systems are much more complex in every dimension (human, organizational and technical) than the ones constructed just a decade ago. Rapidly changing requirements raise the problem in creating and/or modifying the applications. Most of these requirements are in the form of or related to business rules.

On Business Rules Approach to the Information Systems Development

Business rules approach to information systems (IS) development emerged as the response to the growing need of business organizations to manage their knowledge explicitly and map it effectively to business IS in order to support daily business operations.

Shared Conceptualisation of Business Systems, Information Systems and Supporting Software

This paper discusses a shared conceptualisation of business systems, information systems and supporting software. The main idea is to think of all above listed systems as different kinds of an abstract operational system. The paper proposes also a shared conceptualisation of business engineering, information systems engineering and supporting software engineering processes on the basis of systems engineering. The proposed approach enables to define all above listed systems in unified manner and to develop unified enterprise engineering environment that increases the reliability of design of enterprise systems because of the possibility to check consistency between business, information and software systems.