Re: Top-Down Bottom-Up Methodology
James,
If you Google <design approach in architecture> then several relevant papers will appear.
Please note that the whole field of discourse includes not only Top-down vs. Bottom-up but also Outside-in vs. Inside-out. Outside-in refers to User or Customer driven. Inside-out refers to technology driven.
Be careful about 'iterate until <stop rule>' because iteration presumes the domain of determinate systems whereas many ontologies, especially ones relevant to your mission, must represent indeterminate systems, ones that continually adjust, adapt and align, usually unpredictably. Therefore an ontology development method must contain a pursuit strategy, perhaps even an autocatalytic one.
One archetype for formulating an autocatalytic network of ontologies may be the Angels and Demons game. Dr. Pizzarello is exploring this and will be sharing ideas in a month or two.
Jack Ring
Systemist
OntoPilot LLC
On Nov 13, 2009, at 6:22 AM, Schoening, James R Mr CIV USA AMC wrote:
> Greetings SUO Subscribers,
>
> I remember this group discussing a methodology for extending an
> upper ontology that we referred to as 'Top-Down Bottom-Up.' Does
> anyone know of any papers written to describe this.
>
> Here's more to describe what I'm talking about. If we develop
> an ontology Bottom-Up, it may meet a specific need, but will not
> interoperate with other ontologies. If we start with an upper ontology
> and extend just Top-Down, it probably won't meet the specific needs of a
> given system. The solution is to do both at the same time and iterate
> until the ontology is both a clean top-down extension and also expresses
> the Bottom-up semantics needed by specific systems. So, is anyone
> aware of any papers written to explain this? (Software Engineering has
> something they call Top-Down Bottom-up, but it's a different concept for
> a different purpose.)
>
> Jim Schoening
> U.S. Army Net-Centric Data Strategy Center of Excellence
> http://data.army.mil
> Voice: DSN 992-6820 or (732) 532-6820
> Cell: 732-996-0018
> Email: James.Schoening@us.army.mil