IOF Core Ontology Working Group

IOF Core Ontology Working Group

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Overview and Purpose

The scope of the IOF is quite large and there will be many ontologies needed to meet its goals. In order to facilitate a coherent and consistent development, it is expected there will be multiple “layers” of ontologies, in which ontologies in the lower layers make use of those in the upper. Such upper-layer ontologies are expected to contain terms common across manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, the various stages of the product life cycle, and various other domains that lie within the scope of the IOF’s mission. Additionally, the upper-layer ontologies will contain terms deemed to be “domain-independent” — as in they are common or appear to be common across both the IOF and one or more other domains, such the financial, legal and other service industries, or in the sciences.

The roles of the IOF Core Working Group are to:

  • Assist domain working groups in identifying and analyzing terms that are common across the two or more groups.
  • Lead the effort to define and formalize common terms.
  • Incorporate new terms into and manage a library of common terms, called the IOF Core Ontology1.
  • Ensure the correct use of core terms by the domain working groups and domain ontologies.
  • Manage the process by which common terms are identified, analyzed, formalized and incorporated into the IOF Core — a joint effort involving the IOF Core Working Group, the IOF domain working groups, and the Technical Oversight Board (TOB).

Meeting Cadence

  • The Working Group meets bi-weekly on Tuesdays from 10:00 to 11:00 US Eastern Time (New York).

Leadership

Communications

Key Resources

Diagram: Current IOF Core hierarchy and its alignment with BFO
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