The Ontology Project

1
The Ontology Project

• Boots Cassel
• Active members of the committee
• Gordon Davies
• Rich LeBlanc
• Andrew McGettrick
• Heikki Topi

2
If I seem a bit distracted
50 Democrats Independents 49 Republicans VA
still unsure, but Dem leading
3
Back on subject

• The Project
• An Ontology of all of the Computing and
  Information related subject areas
• Who
• Sponsored by the US NSF, ACM, IEEE-CS with
  participation and interest from a number of
  people from this side of the ocean.

4
A Problem?

• Our discipline is young, and growing fast
• Experts are independently defining and exploring
  various portions of the discipline
• These portions may overlap.
• There may be portions that are missed, at least
  for a time.

5
An opportunity?

• Because it is still relatively early in the life
  of the computing disciplines
• It may still be possible to coordinate the
  development and dissemination of knowledge about
  the various parts
• It may still be possible to keep the experts
  aware of each others work
• Avoid unnecessary duplication
• Be aware of missing pieces

6
What do we need?

• A complete representation of the entirety of the
  discipline
• In all its component parts
• In all its manifestations
• This representation
• Must be dynamic, responding to changes as they
  occur
• Must be easily accessible to all who can use it.

7
What do we have to work with?

• The ACM Computing Classification System
• A very important listing of the topics in the
  computing discipline
• First system produced in 1964
• Total 191 entries, including repeated general
  and miscellaneous
• Current system dated 1998, updated in 2006
• Lists topics, including subtopic relationships
  and a few isRelatedTo connections

8
More to work with

• The curriculum documents
• Produced by various societies
• ACM, IEEE-CS, AIS, IFIP
• Australian Computer Society
• German Accreditation for Informatics Programs
• British Computer Society
• Etc.
• Topics listed from the perspective of educational
  needs
• Relationships include
• Core educational requirements
• Topics that support learning outcomes
• Topic dependencies

9
Too much of a good thing?

• The lists from the various organizations are not
  consistent, nor are they complementary
• Overlap
• Contradict
• In some cases, even between different
  publications of the same groups!
• What is a conscientious curriculum developer
  supposed to do?

10
An Example

• An area that appears in most curriculum documents
  is database
• Heikki Topi drew a comparison between the topics
  related to databases in the ACM/IEEE-CS CC2001
  and the ACM/AIS IS recommendation
• Size of figure represents degree of emphasis

11
CS IM12
CS IM13
Hypertext and Hypermedia
Multimedia Informationand Systems
CS IM8
Distributed Databases
CS IM3
IS 1.6.2
CS IM7
CS IM4
Data Modeling
IS 3.3.2
Relational Databases
Transaction Processing
IS 1.6.6
IS 1.6.4
Data Models
Data Modeling
Application Interface
Integrity
CS IM5
IS 1.6.12
Database Query Languages
IS 1.6.5
Data Dictionary
Data DefinitionLanguages
IS 1.6.1
CS IM2
IS 1.6.9
DBMS features, functions, architecture
DBMS Products
IS 1.6.10
Database Systems
Database machines and servers
12

• And that does not include all levels of detail
• Goal an interactive structure for representation
  and exploration of the unified body of knowledge
  of all of the computing and information related
  disciplines

13
To what end?

• Support program development
• See where each proposed program fits in the
  constellation of computing related activities
• Assist with program validation
• Match proposed objectives and outcomes to
  required topic areas and levels of learning
• Support updates of curriculum recommendations
• Extensible and renewable, the ontology will keep
  up to date with emerging subjects and their roles
• Document relationships with related disciplines
• Keep in touch with advances that influence
  computing and connect with areas that touch
  computing
• Development of interdisciplinary programs
• Let others see what the computing disciplines
  offer

14
Desired outcomes

• Keep computing related disciplines as a single
  voice to maintain strength
• Maintain a current classification scheme for
  computing and information related work
• Address the challenges of updated curriculum
  recommendations
• Support curriculum development for creative new
  types of programs of study
• Ease the path toward accreditation for
  non-standard programs of study

15
Not just for curriculum

• This is not just for curriculum development and
  comparison
• Research work is tagged with appropriate topic
  areas to facilitate groupings and support
  searching
• If well done, this project could lead to more
  effective categorization of related research

16
What are we doing?

• Careful review of existing classification systems
• Perspectives of various sub cultures within
  computing
• Computer engineering, computer science,
  information systems, information technology,
  software engineering
• Consider both educational and research
  classification requirements

17
What is the difference

• between a taxonomy and an ontology?
• An ontology gives more than a list of terms with
  subtopic relationships
• An ontology also encodes relationships that allow
  inferences to be drawn, new knowledge created
  from what is encoded.

18
IT subject areas (BCS)

• Business Continuity
• Business IT Interface
• Business Process Modelling and Management
• Communication
• Compliance and Legislation
• Content Management
• Finance
• Future of Computing
• Government Issues

• Internet
• Offshoring
• Open Source
• Programming and Software
• Professional Issues
• Project Management
• Security
• Social Inclusion
• Spam
• Standards
• Storage

19
ACM CCS Top Level

• General Literature
• Hardware
• Computer Systems Organization
• Software
• Data
• Theory of Computation
• Mathematics of Computing
• Information Systems
• Computing Methodologies
• Computer Applications
• Computing Milieux

20
ACS Core Body of Knowledge

• Computer Organisation and Architecture
• Conceptual Modeling
• Database Management
• Data Communications and Networks
• Discrete Mathematics
• Ethics/Social Implications/ Professional Practice
• Interpersonal Communications
• Program Design and Implementation
• Project management and quality assurance
• Security
• Software Engineering and Methodologies
• Systems analysis and design
• Systems software

21
German Accreditation

• Automata and formal languages
• Algorithms and data structures
• Databases
• Operations systems
• Communication systems (particularly networks)
• Computer architecture
• Programming engineering
• Software engineering (particularly modeling) and
  project management
• Projects with high software engineering content

22
And more

• Of course, there are others.
• The point is that these are all related, but they
  express similar ideas differently and have some
  substantive differences

23
Simplification

• Can we get a less complicated list of topics that
  defines what the computing and information
  disciplines are about?

24
Basic elements

• What are we about?
• Hardware
• Software
• Information
• Human related aspects
• Human Factors is a nice term, but has too much
  meaning attached to it.
• But that is not enough to describe all that
  concerns the computing and information related
  disciplines

25
Topics of interest include all the core elements,
and every possible combination of them
HW Hu SW
HW
HW SW
HW Hu
HW Hu Inf
HW SW Inf
SW
Hu
Hu Inf
SW Inf
Inf
Hu Inf SW
But, that does not tell the whole story either.
26
For much of what we do, a system view of the
parts is essential
HW Hu SW
HW
HW SW
HW Hu
HW Hu Inf
HW SW Inf
SW
Hu
Hu Inf
SW Inf
Inf
Hu Inf SW
System
But, not enough
27
The Application Context is often an inseparable
part of the field.
HW Hu SW
HW
HW SW
HW Hu
HW Hu Inf
HW SW Inf
SW
Hu
Hu Inf
SW Inf
Inf
Hu Inf SW
System
But, there is more
Application Context
28
Administer Support
Design, Combine, Build, Test
HW Hu SW
HW
HW SW
HW Hu
HW Hu Inf
HW SW Inf
SW
Hu
Hu Inf
SW Inf
Inf
Hu Inf SW
System
Application Context
Social context
29
Administer Support
Design, Combine, Build, Test
HW Hu SW
HW
HW SW
HW Hu
HW Hu Inf
HW SW Inf
SW
Hu
Hu Inf
SW Inf
Inf
Hu Inf SW
System
Application Context
Social context
30
The challenge

• A multidimensional problem
• Basic elements
• Views
• Applications of views
• Unrestricted combinations

31
Topics and Outcomes

• In the Education domain
• A comprehensive set of topics does not begin to
  solve all the problems we listed.
• The topic space is a tool to be incorporated into
  applications that address these issues.
• It does not stand on its own.

32
Proficiency and Competency

• Curriculum development moving toward an outcomes
  orientation.
• Dont tell me what topics you studied, tell me
  what you can do.
• Clearly, an organized study of subject areas
  contributes to gaining proficiency in some area.

33
Learning outcomes
Configure new wireless router
34
Beyond the body of knowledge

• IFIP group identified seven aspects of curriculum
  development
• Body of Knowledge
• Foundational Material
• Application Context
• Social Context
• Breadth and Depth
• Thematic Coherence
• Outcomes

The Ontology is a representation of the BoK
Rules in the Ontology identify BoK elements with
other aspects of this overall scheme
L Cassel, G. Davies and D. Kumar. The shape of an
evolving discipline in Informatics Curricula and
Teaching Methods, L N Cassel and R Reis, Eds.
Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp131-138
35

• The body of knowledge for a given curriculum or
  program of study is drawn from the entirety of
  the related disciplines.
• The other aspects must be combined with the BoK
  elements to form a viable program.

36

• Imagine possibilities
• Map a program of study onto the entirety of the
  disciplines.
• Explore for the underrepresented areas.
• Demonstrate the coverage of a planned curriculum.
• Illustrate the distinctions and overlaps between
  existing and proposed specialties and related
  disciplines.

37
Other uses

• Research classification
• Imagine possibilities
• Researcher submitting a work
• Researcher with a new idea, looking for related
  work and gaps in the knowledge base
• Graduate student looking for a good topic
• etc.

38

• Classification not a static labeling, but an
  insertion into a dynamic environment.
• Search not just for a particular paper or author,
  but for what is around a topic area.
• Exploration for areas that are richly filled and
  others that are sparse.

39
Current Status

• Good list of topics
• Never complete, dynamic
• Organized as a taxonomy
• Working on establishing the rules and
  relationships that change a taxonomy into an
  ontology
• ACM has recently updated CCS
• Reviewing to be sure all is included in our lists

40
Example efforts
An Architectural Model
41
An example
42
(No Transcript)
43
(No Transcript)
44
Remember this? We need to make a very complex
underlying structure produce just what is needed
for a given purpose.
Learning outcomes
Configure new wireless router
45
Whats next

• Enlisting the help of others
• In subject areas
• In educational needs
• To establish the right linkages, and the right
  level of detail to include.
• Encode the information about the topics and the
  relationships into a standard OWL file so that
  applications can be built against it
• Develop prototype applications to demonstrate the
  potential so that others will develop more.

46
Discussion topics?

• Feelings about a common reference point
• Note not a common idea of what constitutes a
  good or appropriate program!
• Priorities
• What types of information is most urgently
  needed?
• How can this project help?

47
Contributors

• This work is part of a project funded by a grant
  from the National Science Foundation, the ACM
  Education Board, and the IEEE-CS.
• The Team Boots Cassel (chair), Jim Cross, Gordon
  Davies, Reza Kamali, Eydie Lawson, Rich LeBlanc,
  Andrew McGettrick, Russ Shackelford, Bob Sloan,
  Heikki Topi,
• Also contributing Fred Mulder, and Anneke
  Hacquebard, Maarten van Veen
• Growing list of interested parties

48

• Follow our progress
• what.csc.villanova.edu/twiki/bin/view/Main/Ontolog
  yProject