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

66 CHAPTER 4. SEMANTIC ANNOTATION FRAMEWORK
Figure 4.3: Relationships between model level, process ontology, process model, process metamodel
and process modeling language (adapted from model level ontology in [87])
4.2 Overview of the Framework
We use ontology-based semantic annotation to deal with the interoperability of heterogeneous
process models. The semantic annotation approach is developed and refined
in a semantic annotation framework, which contains profile annotation, meta-model
annotation and model annotation.
4.2.1 Ontology-based annotation
In this approach, ontology provides a standard representation of terminology and conceptualization
to reconcile the semantic heterogeneity of different models. Corresponding
to the two-level semantic heterogeneity — meta-model and model level, we need two
kinds of ontology: an ontology to relate constructs across different process modeling
languages, as well as an ontology to reconcile and align domain specific terminology
used in process models. A general and global process ontology can be used to annotate