Ontology development strategies in industrial contexts

Knowledge-based systems are used extensively to support functioning of enterprises. Such systems need to reflect the aligned business-IT view and create shared understanding of the domain. Ontologies are used as part of many knowledge-bases systems. The industrial context affects the process of ontology engineering in terms of business requirements and technical constraints. This paper presents a study of four industrial cases that included ontology development. The study resulted in identification of seven factors that were used to compare the industrial cases. The most influential factors were found to be reuse of ontologies/models, stakeholder groups involved, and level of applicability of ontology. Finally, four recommendation were formulated for projects intended to create shared understanding in an enterprise