Semantic Annotation for Process Models: - Department of Computer ...

10.1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND FINDINGS 167
During the process knowledge management, the "intermediate ontologies" can be
used to rank and infer the knowledge query results (see Chapter 8). Those semantic
relationships are defined in the semantic annotation model together with
the relationships defined in GPO. The semantic annotation model is the model
annotation schema. Such model annotation schema is extended by goal annotation
metadata achieves, positively_satisfies and negatively_satisfies,
which are used to associate goal ontology concept with process model fragments.
The semantic annotation schema is defined in OWL and a semantic annotation
model is instantiated when it is generated as a result of meta-model annotation.
• RQ4. How can Semantic Web technology to be incorporated in a tool using the
proposed approach?
We have integrated the Protégé Java API into the prototype of our annotation
tool — ProSEAT to manipulate the ontologies edited in Protégé (see Chapter
6). With the tool, users can browse the ontologies and select reference concepts
from the ontology for the annotation. The tool supports manual mapping between
GPO and process modeling languages, automatic generation of an OWL
instances of a semantic annotation model for the model and goal annotation, manual
model annotation and semi-automatic goal annotation. Annotation results
are saved in the OWL instance model, which can be read by any OWL supported
system. Semantic inference can be made on the annotation results using OWL
DL reasoners such as Racer [61], FaCT++ [162], KAON2 [118], Pellet [96].
• RQ5. How can we use the proposed approach to facilitate process knowledge management?
The annotation procedure with the annotation tool in exemplar studies has been
elaborated in Chapter 7. Based on the annotation results, a process knowledge
management application has been demonstrated in Chapter 9. We have validated
the applicability of semantic annotation approach and results. The process
knowledge management activities — process knowledge query and process model
integration — have been analyzed through checking the satisfactions of a set of
identified application requirements. Semantic Web technologies — OWL DL inference
with SWRL rules has been applied in the applications and evaluations.
The positive evaluation results proved the quality and applicability of the semantic
annotation approach in the exemplified process knowledge management
application.
From the answers to the research questions, we can associate them with the objectives
specified in Chapter 1. We therefore conclude: the solutions to RQ1 achieve
the objective "to investigate semantic heterogeneity issues in business process modeling";
the solutions to RQ2 and RQ3 achieve the objective "to explore a comprehensive
annotation approach to deal with heterogeneous semantics of process knowledge with
referenced ontology"; the solutions to RQ4 achieve the objective "to develop an annotation
tool to implement the approach by applying Semantic Web technologies"; the
solutions to RQ5 achieve the objective "to evaluate quality and use feasibility of the
proposed approach and tool in supporting process knowledge management activities".