[Paper Review] Generic Ontology Design Patterns: Roles and Change over Time

Bernd Krieg-Brückner, Till Mossakowski+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Nov 18, 2020

Semantic Web and Ontologies19 references4 citations

TL;DR

This paper introduces Generic Ontology Design Patterns (GODPs) to systematically model roles and temporal changes in ontologies, enabling domain experts to safely reuse standardized patterns without polluting their ontologies. The approach uses formal specification techniques to encapsulate patterns, ensuring modularity, reusability, and correctness in semantic modeling over time.

ABSTRACT

In this chapter we propose Generic Ontology Design Patterns, GODPs, as a methodology for representing and instantiating ontology design patterns in a way that is adaptable, and allows domain experts (and other users) to safely use them without cluttering their ontologies.

Motivation & Objective

• Address the challenge of reusability and maintainability in ontology engineering by formalizing recurring modeling solutions.
• Enable domain experts to safely apply complex modeling patterns without introducing inconsistencies or bloat.
• Provide a formal methodology to represent roles and temporal dynamics in ontologies using a generic, extensible framework.
• Support the separation of concerns between domain-specific content and reusable modeling patterns.
• Facilitate the creation of semantically sound, maintainable ontologies through pattern instantiation mechanisms.

Proposed method

• Define Generic Ontology Design Patterns (GODPs) as formal, reusable templates for modeling roles and temporal changes.
• Use a formal ontology language (likely OWL or a variant) to encode patterns with parameters for instantiation.
• Decouple pattern definitions from domain ontologies to prevent pollution of application-specific models.
• Introduce a mechanism for parameterized instantiation of GODPs within domain-specific ontologies.
• Leverage formal semantics to ensure correctness and consistency of pattern applications.
• Support temporal modeling through dedicated constructs for representing change over time within the pattern framework.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can ontology design patterns be formalized to support roles and temporal changes in a reusable and safe manner?
• RQ2 What formal mechanisms enable domain experts to instantiate complex modeling patterns without modifying their own ontologies?
• RQ3 How can the separation of pattern definitions from domain models be achieved while preserving semantic integrity?
• RQ4 What is the role of parameterization in enabling generic reuse of patterns across diverse domains?
• RQ5 How do GODPs ensure correctness and consistency when modeling evolving entities and roles over time?

Key findings

• GODPs provide a formal, reusable framework for modeling roles and temporal changes in ontologies, enhancing modularity and maintainability.
• The approach successfully decouples pattern definitions from domain ontologies, reducing clutter and improving reusability.
• Formal specification ensures semantic correctness and consistency during pattern instantiation.
• Parameterized instantiation allows domain experts to apply complex patterns without deep knowledge of the underlying formalism.
• The method supports the modeling of dynamic entities and role transitions over time in a principled and scalable way.
• The framework is designed for integration into existing ontology engineering workflows, particularly in knowledge-intensive applications.