AN APPROACH FOR ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF RISKS ON BUSINESS PROCESSES USING SEMANTIC ANNOTATIONS

The management of risks has gained a lot of attention in the last years. Among the current challenges in this domain are the integration of risk management in the strategic planning and performance management across business units and organizational structures, the assessment of a company’s risk bearing capacity, and the improvement of the methods of risk measurement. In order to support the elicitation of risks in business processes, measure their impact on a company’s return and provide reports for regulatory authorities, it can be reverted to technology-oriented knowledge management. In this context we propose an approach that uses semantically annotated models to represent the influence of risks on business activities based on the concepts provided by a risk knowledge base. By transferring the annotated model information to the knowledge base, inference rules can be applied to analyze the effects of risks on the business processes during subsequent capacity simulations. For a first evaluation the approach has been implemented using the ADOxx meta modeling platform, the Protégé ontology management toolkit and the Jess rule engine. Finally, the use of the implementation is shortly illustrated by reverting to a sample business process from the domain of banking

Ontology creation for wireless capsule endoscopy videos

In this paper we study multimedia ontology for Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE) videos by enhancing its existing data structure. The ‘wireless capsule’ is a tiny disposable video camera that transmits 2 ~ 3 frames per second for a period of 8 ~ 11 hours. There are open problems in WCE, such as bleeding detection, as it is hard to identify accurately, using low-level features, i.e., color values. In addition, the physicians have to examine the videos continuously for two hours or more, which becomes restrictive. There have been research attempts to reduce this review time. However, they suffer from low accuracy and sensitivity, and do not process WCE videos with an efficient information data structure. To address this problem, we propose a new data structure named ‘multimedia ontology for WCE videos’ formed by combining medical and multimedia domain knowledge. Ontology represents a structure to describe the concepts and relationships in a specific domain with relevant data and its terminology. We define two types of ontology, i.e., generic and specific ontology. Generic ontology represents the broad concepts in WCE videos, such as medical terms, anatomic information, video format, etc., while specific ontology is a data-driven one including color, location, and region of images. The process of creating multimedia ontology consists of three steps: (1)collection of raw data from WCE videos, such as video data format, feature values, meta-data information and anomalies, (2) classification of the raw data into concepts including generic and specific ontology, and (3) identification of relationship between two concepts such as ‘Is-A’, ‘Part-Of’, and ‘Has-A’. This WCE Ontology structure can be used to better address the open problems by providing 'relevant area focus' from the formed structure and can also be extended to other problems like detection of lesions and polyps

Selection of decoupling points in supply chains using a knowledge-based approach

As consumer affluence and desire for customized products and services at affordable prices and shorter lead times continue to accelerate, supply chain operators are facing increasing challenges of becoming both physically efficient (to enable the delivery of low cost) and flexible (to enable market-responsiveness). In order to meet these challenges, organizations are devising supply chain operation strategies that enable them to gain the benefits of physical efficiency of mass production and the customer focus of mass customization. A key to gaining these benefits lies in the selection of appropriate decoupling points in the supply chain. Decoupling points lie on the push—pull boundary. The selection of decoupling points requires knowledge from a range of different experts. The research reported in this paper used knowledge-based techniques to bring together knowledge from the viewpoints of different experts in the selection of decoupling points in supply chains. A knowledge model in the form of a network of production rules is presented. Results derived from applying the knowledge model to the case studies show similar trends to published literature

Sistema especialista para diagnóstico de problemas no sistema de geração de energia elétrica de uma refinaria de petróleo

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção.O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar as etapas do desenvolvimento de um Sistema Especialista, dedicado a auxiliar a operação do sistema elétrico de uma refinaria de petróleo que possui geradores próprios e alimentação proveniente da concessionária de energia elétrica, durante situações em que ocorrem falhas no sistema, fornecendo aos operadores diagnósticos das falhas com indicações das prováveis causas. Especial ênfase foi dada na organização e separação dos tipos de conhecimentos envolvidos, buscando-se não somente transferir o conhecimento dos operadores para o sistema especialista, mas modelar uma ontologia de sistemas elétricos o mais genérica possível e regras de diagnóstico também genéricas, visando seu reaproveitamento em outros projetos similares. A implementação foi bem sucedida, confirmando a necessidade desta etapa inicial de Engenharia do Conhecimento onde o problema foi analisado e dividido por tipos de conhecimentos envolvidos, facilitando bastante a modelagem da ontologia deste sistema, a instanciação dos objetos e a construção das regras. Foram realizados testes simulando algumas situações anormais, com resultados satisfatórios. São apresentadas, ainda, sugestões para integração futura do sistema especialista, com a base de dados em tempo real dos Sistemas de Controle Digitais da refinaria, e para construção de interfaces de operação destes sistemas especialistas, também buscando uma solução o mais genérica, econômica e reaproveitável possível

Discussions on Applied Mathematics in Decision-Making Modeling with Decision Support Systems and Knowledge Based Systems

This paper tries to discuss some findings in mathematical decision-making modeling models with applications in business processes. We start by presenting some technological implications and implementations of decision-making models. After this we discuss some implementations realized by us and that consists in a neural network, a JAVA implementation of the decision-making model, an expert systems-shell implementation and an implementation with ontology and inference engine. The paper ends with usefull conclusions drawn for decision-making modeling activities

Discussions on Applied Mathematics in Decision-Making Modeling with Decision Support Systems and Knowledge Based Systems

This paper tries to discuss some findings in mathematical decision-making modeling models with applications in business processes. We start by presenting some technological implications and implementations of decision-making models. After this we discuss some implementations realized by us and that consists in a neural network, a JAVA implementation of the decision-making model, an expert systems-shell implementation and an implementation with ontology and inference engine. The paper ends with usefull conclusions drawn for decision-making modeling activities

Aplicação de ontologia e sistema especialista para diagnóstico de falhas em transformadores de potência

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica.Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido o protótipo de um Sistema Especialista (SE) que tem como objetivo principal auxiliar os especialistas em transformadores de potência, de uma forma ágil e confiável, na emissão de diagnósticos de falhas incipientes (defeitos) nos transformadores principais dos geradores da Usina Hidrelétrica da Itaipu Binacional. Este protótipo foi desenvolvido utilizando o arcabouço Jess, e a base de conhecimento sobre transformadores de potência foi classificada e modelada na forma de ontologia utilizando o Protégé-2000. Nesta proposta, a integração do Jess e o Protégé possibilitou a transferência dos dados obtidos nos ensaios de cromatografía de gases dissolvidos no óleo mineral isolante e outras informações armazenadas na base de conhecimento, utilizadas pelo SE para a geração dos diagnósticos correspondentes. Os testes realizados com os protótipos demonstraram a eficiência da metodologia, validando a proposta

Extração de informação para busca semântica na web baseada em ontologias

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica.Sistemas de Recuperação de Informação (RI) prestam um papel fundamental na busca por páginas na Web. Entretanto, os resultados oferecidos por estes sistemas são pouco precisos, trazendo muitas informações que não condizem com o interesse do usuário. Isto ocorredevido à falta de semântica nas páginas da Web e nos critérios de busca adotados pelos sistemas de RI. Neste trabalho propomos um sistema de Extração de Informação (EI) baseado em ontologias. O objetivo é extrair informações de páginas previamente classificadas semanticamente pelo sistema MASTER-Web que é um sistema multiagente cognitivo para recuperação, classificação e extração de informação na Web. Ontologias são empregadas como formalismo de representação de conhecimento e permitem que o conhecimento seja discriminado em três tipos: conhecimento do domínio, conhecimento sobre a página Web e conhecimento sobre a informação a ser extraída. Regras de produção são usadas como representação do conhecimento sobre o processo de extração. A informação é tratada como um conjunto formado por dados que são extraídos individualmente e depois combinados de modo que componham uma informação consistente. Estes dois passos definem as duas fases da extração que são a extração individual e a integração. Na primeira fase os dados são extraídos individualmente e na segunda fase, os dados, que de alguma forma se relacionam, são unidos formando a informação. O sistema proposto permite portabilidade e reusabilidade do conhecimento, bem como flexibilidade na representação e manutenção do conhecimento sobre a extração. Experimentos foram feitos com o sistema visando avaliá-lo. Para validar os experimentos, os resultados obtidos foram confrontados com os resultados de um outro sistema de EI obtendo resultados bastante satisfatórios

GQ-BPAOntoSOA: A goal- and object- based semantic framework for deriving software services from an organisation’s goals and riva business process architecture

Understanding a business organisation is a primary activity that is required for deriving service-oriented systems that assist in carrying out the business activities of an organisation. Business IT alignment is one of the hot topics that concerns with aligning business needs and system needs in order to keep a business organisation competitive in a market. One example in this area is the BPAOntoSOA framework that aligned business process architecture and the service-oriented model of computing. The BPAOntoSOA framework is a semantically enriched framework for deriving service oriented architecture candidate software services from a Riva-based business process architecture. The BPAOntoSOA framework was recently proposed in order to align the candidate software services to the business processes presented in a Riva business process architecture. The activities of the BPAOntoSOA framework are structured into two-semantic-based layers that are formed in a top-down manner. The top layer, the BPAOnt ontology instantiation layer, concerned with conceptualising the Riva business process architecture and the associated business process models. The bottom layer, which is the software service identification layer, concerned with the semantic identification of the service-oriented architecture candidate software services and their associated capabilities. In this layer, RPA clusters were used to describe the derived candidate software service. Ontologies were used in order to support addressing the semantic representation. However, the BPAOntoSOA framework has two limitations. First, the derived candidate software services are identified without considering the business goals. Second, the desired quality of service requirements that constrain the functionality of the software services are absent. This research is concerned with resolving these two limitations within the BPAOntoSOA framework. In this research, the original BPAOntoSOA framework has been extended into the GQ-BPAOntoSOA framework. A new semantic-based layer has been added into the two original layers. The new layer is concerned with conceptualising the goal- and quality- oriented models in order to address their absence in the original BPAOntoSOA framework. The new layer is called the GQOnt ontology instantiation layer. This extension has highlighted the need for aligning the models within the original BPAOnt intonation layer with the ones in the new layer. This is because the BPAOnt was the base for the identification of the candidate software services and capabilities. Therefore, a novel alignment approach has been proposed in order to address this need. Also, the original service identification approach is refined in order to adapt with the integration of goals and quality requirements.The GQ-BPAOntoSOA framework, which is a goal-based and quality-linked extended BPAOntoSOA framework, has been evaluated using the Cancer Care Registration process. This is the same case study used in the evaluation of the BPAOntoSOA framework. And this is required in order to investigate the implication of integrating goals and quality requirements into the pre-existing BPAOntoSOA framework-driven candidate software services. This has shown that: (1) the GQOnt ontology does not only contribute to the extension of the BPAOntoSOA framework, yet it also contributes to providing a semantic representation of a business strategy view for an organisation. The GQOnt ontology acts as an independent repository of knowledge in order to have an early agreement between stakeholders with regard to business goals and quality requirements. The semantic representation could be reused for different purposes with respect to the needs. (2) the alignment approach has bridged the gap between goal-oriented models and Riva-based business process architectures. (3) the Riva business process architecture modelling method and business process models have been enriched with the integration of goals and quality requirements in order to provide a rich representation of business process architecture and process models that reflect an important information for the given organisation. (4) The service identification approach used in the original BPAOntoSOA framework has been enriched with goals and quality requirements. This has affected the identification of candidate software services (clusters) and their capabilities. Also, the derived candidate software services have conformed to service-oriented architecture principles. Accordingly, This research has bridged the gap between the BPAOntoSOA framework and the business goals and quality requirements. This is anticipated to lead to highly consistent, correct and complete software service specifications