Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ws8qp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T07:19:25.627Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Enterprise Ontology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 1998

MIKE USCHOLD
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute (AIAI) 80 South Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1HN, Scotland (Email: m.uschold@ed.ac.uk)
MARTIN KING
Affiliation:
IBM UK Limited, Rosanne House Welwyn Garden City, UK (Email: martin-king@uk.ibm.com)
STUART MORALEE
Affiliation:
Unilever Research Port Sunlight Laboratory, Quarry Road East, Bebington, Wirral, Merseyside L63 3JW, UK (Email: moralee-s@uk.co.urpsl)
YANNIS ZORGIOS
Affiliation:
Applied Information Engineering, Lloyd's Register, Lloyd's Register House, 29 Wellesley Road, Croydon CR20 2AJ, UK (Email: tcsyzz@uk.co.lreg.aie)

Abstract

This is a comprehensive description of the Enterprise Ontology, a collection of terms and definitions relevant to business enterprises. We state its intended purposes, describe how we went about building it, define all the terms and describe our experiences in converting these into formal definitions. We then describe how we used the Enterprise Ontology and give an evaluation which compares the actual uses with original purposes. We conclude by summarising what we have learned. The Enterprise Ontology was developed within the Enterprise Project, a collaborative effort to provide a framework for enterprise modelling. The ontology was built to serve as a basis for this framework which includes methods and a computer tool set for enterprise modelling. We give an overview of the Enterprise Project, elaborate on the intended use of the ontology, and give a brief overview of the process we went through to build it. The scope of the Enterprise Ontology covers those core concepts required for the project, which will appeal to a wider audience. We present natural language definitions for all the terms, starting with the foundational concepts (e.g. entity, relationship, actor). These are used to define the main body of terms, which are divided into the following subject areas: activities, organisation, strategy and marketing. We review some of the things learned during the formalisation process of converting the natural language definitions into Ontolingua. We identify and propose solutions for what may be general problems occurring in the development of a wide range of ontologies in other domains. We then characterise in general terms the sorts of issues that will be faced when converting an informal ontology into a formal one. Finally, we describe our experiences in using the Enterprise Ontology. We compare these with the intended uses, noting our successes and failures. We conclude with an overall evaluation and summary of what we have learned.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)