Knowledge Modeling for Integrating Semantic Web Services and E-Government Applications

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Knowledge Modeling for Integrating Semantic Web
Services and E-Government Applications
ISWC2005 - Doctoral Symposium Monday, 7 November
2005

• Alessio Gugliotta
• gugliott_at_dimi.uniud.it

Department of Computer Science, University of
Udine http//www.dimi.uniud.it
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OverviewE-Government and Knowledge Mangement
(KM)
Public Administration (PA)
Makes use of KM - Representing Information and
Service - Increasing the productivity of its
activities
Highly distributed and hetereogeneous enviroment.
Scalable and flexible KM Systems

• Trend calls for joined-up services
• Simple to use
• Shaped aroud and respondind user needs
• PA as unique entity

Interoperability
Integration
Call for solutions
Matching User Needs
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OverviewSemantic Web and Semantic Web Services
(SWS)
Agent to Agent communication
Interoperability
SWS Enviroment
Describes Services by means of ontologies
Integration
New services can be added, discovered, composed,
and mediated continually
Scalability, Flexibility
Call for Application Fields
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OverviewUsing SWS in E-Gov application

• SWS and E-Gov.. Why Not?
• but the integration is not an easy task
• PA uses specific infrastructure to represent
  knowledge
• Interaction with non-software agents multiple
  viewpoints (citizen, politician, manager, etc.)
• Services are not atomic, No single-response step,
  Negotiation with the user
• PA does not talk in terms of SWS

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Description of PurpouseKM and E-Gov Existing
Approaches

• Solution for supporting service-based systems
• No ontologies for representing E-Government
  knowledge
• Description of concepts and processes Metada,
  XML schemas
• Ontologies describing specific E-Gov areas
• Demostrating the feasibility of semantic in E-Gov
  application
• No general purpouse Legislation, Documents,
  Processes
• No SWS
• SWS approach
• Ontogov
• Configuration and Re-Configuration of E-Gov
  services
• Focus on description of service life cycle
• No standard approach for semantic web service
  description
• TerreGov
• Addresing Interoperability Issues
  (Cross-Bordering services)
• Early Stage of development
• OWL-S approach for service description
• All approaches are Service Oriented!

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Description of PurpouseProblems to address

• Re-Usable Semantic-Based Framework
• Keeping PA autonomy in the description of the
  domain
• Introduce existence of mismatch problems
• Co-operative description of the scenario
• Clear Distinction
• E-Gov Service-Supply Scenario Description
• Context where the services are provided
• Multi-viewpoints description
• Service Description
• Describing an important but limitated aspect of
  e-Government domain
• Automatic discovery, composition, mediation, and
  execution of services
• Using existing (proposed) standard for SWS
• Representing
• Business Model -gt planning tasks
• Interaction Model -gt describing negotiations /
  interaction protocols

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Goal StatementComplex Semantic-Based Layer
integrating SWS
E-Government Application
SWS Framework (IRS-III)
Application Interface

• Two main issues
• Conceptual Modeling
• Creation of the infrastructure for the semantic
  interopearbility

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Goal StatementMain results

• Core Life Event Ontology (CLEO)
• Describing E-Gov service-supply knowledge
  structure
• Mappig to SWS descriptions
• Introducing a Knowledge Elicitation methodology
• Helping Domain experts to describe the context
• Driving Developer to implement SWS
• Sound Conceptual Model (Meta-Ontologies)
• Core Life Event Ontology (CLEO)
• Service Ontology
• Containing the SWS descriptions (WSMO)
• Extending / completing CLEO with the web service
  descriptions
• Domain Ontology
• Encoding concepts of the PA domain / building
  blocks
• Modeling approach
• Descriptive entities (indipendent views on the
  scenario by involved actors)
• Terms Vocabulary of involved actors (the actual
  objects descriptive entities act upon)

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Goal StatementThe Conceptual Model
(5) Distinguishing between Description and
Vocabulary
(3) Multi-Viewpoint
(2) Co-operation
(6b) Extendibility
(1) Life Event Approach
(6a) PA Autonomy

• (7)
• Distinguish two
• conceptual levels
• Context
• SWS

(4) Descriptive Modules
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Methodology (4)CLEO
Axiom and Rule for Integration with WSMO
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MethodologyReference Models

• Representing the base / foundation of our work
• Life Event approach
• Considers government operation from the
  perspective of everyday life
• No simple way to arrange provided services
• Point of contact among all involved actor
  viewpoints
• Promting the supply of services by PA
• Service levels of interaction
• 4 levels information, one-way, two-way, and
  full-transaction

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MethodologyReference Models

• The government service supply reference model
• The e-government system reference model

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MethodologyMeta-Modeling

• Mapping Reference Models into Meta-Ontologies
• Models expressing modeling process
• Re-Usability, Extensibility, Cooperative
  development

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MethodologyOntologies for conceptual modeling
DOLCE

• We considered its module DescriptionSituation
• Starting Point for building ontologies requiring
  contextualization
• Situation and Description concepts
• Situation described by means of descriptive
  entities Parameters, Functional Roles and
  Courses of Events.

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MethodologyOntologies for conceptual modeling
WSMO
Objectives that a client wants to achieve by
using Web Services
Provide the formally specified terminology of the
information used by all other components

• Semantic description of Web Services
• Capability (functional)
• Interfaces (usage)

Connectors between components with mediation
facilities for handling heterogeneities
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Methodology Integrating CLEO and WSMO

• WSMO goal -gt Goal Description
• WSMO non functional properties -gt Quality
  Description
• WSMO WS -gt Service Description
• WSMO Choreography -gt Interaction Description
• WSMO Orchestration -gt Plan Description
• Domain Ontology -gt WSMO Ontology
• WSMO Medietors elements (source, target) obtained
  by means of reasoning

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EvaluationOne Stop Government Portal

• Portal for the Essex County Council (UK)
• Case Study Change of Circumstance
• Community Care Department (Essex)
• Housing Department
• End User caseworkers of community care
• Changes influence
• legacy system information
• list of benefits

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EvaluationChange of Circumstance case study
CLEO Ontology
Domain Ontology
Service Ontology
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Evaluation / Future Work

• More Case Studies
• Testing the methodology of CLEO
• Creating the Infrastructure for the Semantic
  Interoperability
• Tools for creating/managing the conceptual model

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Questions

• Thank You!

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Overview

• Semantic Web Services (SWS)
• Promising Technology
• Multi-agent enviromeny
• automatic discovery, composition, mediation,
  invocation
• addressing Interoperability and Integration
  issues
• WSMO and OWL-S
• Call for application

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Description of PurpouseService-Supply Scenario
Integration and Interoperability
Government Organization
Government Organization

Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Services
Automatic Discovery, Composition, Mediation,
Execution of Services
Citizen
Businesses
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Description of PurpouseService-Supply Scenario
Matching the user needs
Government Organization
Government Organization

Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
About a task - Most Suitable Service - Different
Citizen Different Services
Citizen
Citizen
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Description of Perpouse (3)

• Limitation of existing approaches
• Service-Oriented, No Multi-viepoints approach
• Focus on specific aspects of e-Government, No
  General Purpouse
• Business Model oriented, No Transaction

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Description of Purpouse (2)

• Matching User Needs
• A user task may be consumed by different services
• Different aspect should be taken in consideration
  (citizenship, family situation, etc.)
• Which is the most suitable service?
• Different Citizen Different Services

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Description of Purpouse (3)WSMO Top Level
Notions
Objectives that a client wants to achieve by
using Web Services
Provide the formally specified terminology of the
information used by all other components

• Semantic description of Web Services
• Capability (functional)
• Interfaces (usage)

Connectors between components with mediation
facilities for handling heterogeneities
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Goal Statement (3)

• Life Event Oriented
• Common Point among all involved actors
• Prompt the development of services
• Multi Viewpoints description
• Distributed Approach
• Each actor responsible for its domain
• Cooperative development
• Interaction and Business Model description
• Integration of SWS for automatic discovery,
  composition, mediation and execution of services

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Description of PurpouseSWS Brief Introduction

• Describing Web Services by means of ontologies
• Two main approaches
• WSMO (Web Service Modeling Ontology)
• OWL-S
• Allowing automatic discovery, composition,
  mediation, and invocation of Web Services
• Addressing Interoperability and Integration
  issues
• WSMO distinguishes between User TASKS and
  Provided SERVICES
• BUT
• Describing an important but limitated aspect of
  e-Government domain
• No description of complex situations with
  negotiation between Non Software User and Service
  Provider