Vandana Kabilan

Business contract obligation monitoring through use of multi tier contract ontology

A core business enterprise function is trading with other business organizations. Such trade relationships are governed by legal contracts. The obligations and fulfillment conditions as stipulated in a business contract demand performance of business activities in the pre-defined choreography. Non-performance could lead to serious legal and/or financial implications. Therefore, it is essential to have integrated business and contract workflow management. Domain knowledge of legal business contracts can be represented using the proposed multi-tier contract ontology. This paper analyzes and models the different obligation types found in a contract and also identifies obligation states through which each obligation passes through. Thereafter, the paper proposes a methodology to monitor contractual obligation through the use of Multi tier Contract Ontology and related contract fulfillment process modeled as Contract Workflow Model.

Enabling business process interoperability using contract workflow models

Business transactions are governed by legally established contracts. Contractual obligations are to be fulfilled by executing business processes of the involved parties. To enable this, contract terms and conditions need to be semantically mapped to process concepts and then analyzed for compliance with existing process models. To solve the problem, we propose a methodology that, using a layered contract ontology, deduces contract requirements into a high-level process description named Contract Workflow Model (CWM). By applying a set of transformation rules, the CWM is then compared for compliance with existing, executable process models. By the use of its concepts, the methodology enables comprehensive identification and evolution of requirements for interoperability of processes of the contracting parties.

Introducing the Common Non-Functional Ontology

Enterprise systems interoperability is impeded by the lack of a cohesive, integrated perspective on non-functional aspects (NFA). We propose to respond to the fragmentation in NFA research by supporting a shared, common understanding. For this purpose:- first, we propose a common NFA ontology, which generalizes and integrates the different non-functional aspects under a common top-level ontology. Second, we introduce a series of specialized ontologies on specific non-functional aspects, such as trust, risk, privacy, threat and misuse. By fostering a consensual and shared view of the non-functional aspects domain, we aim to move closer to enhancing semantic enterprise interoperability. This shared perspective on what non-functional aspects are and how they relate to the other ‘functional’ aspects of enterprise systems, is the key towards enterprise interoperability.

Practical Issues in Ontology Modeling: The Case of Defence Conceptual Modeling Framework-Ontology

One of the main objectives of defence modeling and simulation is the support to effective training programs through simulations of mission operations. At the base of simulations there are the re-usable Mission Space Models (MSMs). MSMs are conceptual models that describe the real world abstractions capturing not only the semantics of a static scenario but also the dynamics, behavioural patterns and the pragmatics of each defence action involved. The Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI2) conducts research in the field of methods and technologies for modeling and simulation. Furthermore, it participates in activities concerning the development of compound and complex computer models. One of its current projects, the Defence Conceptual Modeling Framework (DCMF) project [1] started in 2001, is based on the initial US proposal of Conceptual Models of the Mission Space (CMMS) [2]. Since then, FOI has been involved in knowledge extraction, models representation and design, development of reusable knowledge components including a reusable ontology called the Defence Conceptual Modeling

Contract-Based Exception Handling Process Patterns

Use of ontologies in enterprise modeling is extensively increasing. Two emerging uses are (a) making implicit domain explicit, and (b) facilitating interoperability between information system applications. For the first case, conceptual models play a key role. The domain of our interest is contractual obligations which are to be realized by enterprise business processes of the involved parties. A problem is that processes are not typically capable to handle diverse non-successful paths of contract executions. The main reason for this lies in the lack of a knowledge base for identifying possible exceptions and the procedures for handling them. To enable acquiring of this knowledge base, in this paper we propose the use of ontology for exception handling in business processes, where the exceptions are conceptualized to match to possible contract violations. The ontology is utilized for forming of autonomous process patterns for exception handlings, which extend the core processes to enable full realizations of vast contract requirements.