A Methodology for Design Ontology Modeling

Recent research has focused on the use of ontologies to promote the sharing of knowledge. Ontologies are becoming increasingly important because they provide the critical semantic foundation for the rapidly expanding field of knowledge. They are very useful for knowledge reuse, knowledge sharing, and enterprise modeling. A design ontology is a hierarchically structured set of terms for describing a design domain that can be used as a skeletal foundation for a knowledge base. It can help the collaborative design team by providing accurate design information and guidelines. This research develops a methodology called domain knowledge acquisition process (DKAP) for creating an ontology of product and process design using IDEF5 and generates a consistency matrix for checking the accuracy of captured information. DKAP is a step-by-step methodology, which captures the product & process design knowledge, stores this knowledge in a reusable format, and shares this knowledge across enterprises. DKAP addresses three critical aspects of a design ontology. It explores the availability of similar domain ontologies for reuse, checks the accuracy & consistency of captured knowledge, and allows the sharing of the captured knowledge.