Methodology for agile and iterative ontology development for toolmaking

Abstract

Complex manufacturing processes and the absence of repeat effects characterize the toolmaking industry. German-speaking toolmaking companies are increasingly faced with the challenge of having to reach the limits of what is technically feasible and are confronted with an erosion of know-how, induced by demographic change. This applies in particular to know-how-intensive areas such as design, CAM-programming and work preparation. There is currently no comprehensive system support in these areas and the knowledge required for planning activities is often only available in the form of implicit technical and empirical knowledge. However, the use of heterogeneous manufacturing technologies requires a profound understanding of technology along the entire value chain. As a result of the very high semantic expressiveness of ontologies, they enable the representation of the most complex data models with logical relationships that go beyond hierarchical subdivision of content. This paper presents a novel agile methodology for the development of domain-specific ontologies in the environment of toolmaking. The methodology makes it possible to integrate the implicitly existing technical and experiential knowledge of employees at an early stage in the modelling process. In particular, the developed methodology extends conventional methods by the identified deficits in terms of knowledge acquisition, iteration and agility, as well as a separate consideration of the life cycle along the ontology of the use phase, taking into account agile methods from requirements engineering. Compliance with various guidelines and requirements is mandatory, such as the formulation of competence questions and the use of a standardised specification document. The iterative approach also ensures the needs-based integration of the characteristics of toolmaking. Furthermore, the methodology enables an early integration of IT structure and user interface for the needs-based design and use of the domain-specific ontology. The validation is based on an example in the mechanical production of a toolmaking company.