1. Alessio Gugliotta gugliott@dimi.uniud.it
ISWC Doctoral Symposium
Monday, 7 November 2005
Knowledge Modeling for Integrating Semantic Web Services and E-Government Applications
Alessio Gugliotta
Department of Computer Science, University of Udine

2. Overview E-Government and Knowledge Mangement (KM)
Public Administration (PA)
Makes use of KM
- Representing Information and Service
- Increasing the productivity of its activities
Highly distributed and hetereogeneous
enviroment.
Scalable and flexible
KM Systems
Trend calls for joined-up services:
Simple to use
Shaped aroud and respondind user needs
PA as unique entity
Interoperability
Integration
Call for solutions
Matching User
Needs

3. Overview Semantic Web and Semantic Web Services (SWS)
Agent to Agent
communication
Interoperability
SWS Enviroment
Describes Services by
means of ontologies
Integration
New services can be added,
discovered, composed, and mediated
continually
Scalability,
Flexibility
Call for Application Fields

4. Overview Using SWS in E-Gov application
SWS and E-Gov.. Why Not?
… but the integration is not an easy task:
PA uses specific infrastructure to represent knowledge
Interaction with non-software agents: multiple viewpoints (citizen, politician, manager, etc.)
Services are not atomic, No single-response step, Negotiation with the user
PA does not “talk” in terms of SWS

5. Description of Purpouse KM and E-Gov: Existing Approaches
Solution for supporting service-based systems
No ontologies for representing E-Government knowledge
Description of concepts and processes: Metada, XML schemas
Ontologies describing specific E-Gov areas
Demostrating the feasibility of semantic in E-Gov application
No general purpouse: Legislation, Documents, Processes
No SWS
SWS approach
Ontogov
Configuration and Re-Configuration of E-Gov services
Focus on description of service life cycle
No standard approach for semantic web service description
TerreGov
Addresing Interoperability Issues (Cross-Bordering services)
Early Stage of development
OWL-S approach for service description
All approaches are Service Oriented!

6. Description of Purpouse Problems to address
Re-Usable Semantic-Based Framework
Keeping PA autonomy in the description of the domain
Introduce existence of mismatch problems
Co-operative description of the scenario
Clear Distinction
E-Gov Service-Supply Scenario Description
Context where the services are provided
Multi-viewpoints description
Service Description
Describing an important but limitated aspect of e-Government domain
Automatic discovery, composition, mediation, and execution of services
Using existing (proposed) standard for SWS
Representing
Business Model -> planning tasks
Interaction Model -> describing negotiations / interaction protocols

7. Goal Statement Complex Semantic-Based Layer integrating SWS
Public Administration
Web Services
Back-Office
Vocabulary
Description
E-Government
Application
Context
Description
Services
Descriptions
Public Administration
Web Services
Back-Office
Application
Interface
SWS
Framework
(IRS-III)
Two main issues
Conceptual Modeling
Creation of the infrastructure for the semantic interopearbility

8. Goal Statement Main results
Core Life Event Ontology (CLEO)
Describing E-Gov service-supply knowledge structure
Mappig to SWS descriptions
Introducing a Knowledge Elicitation methodology
Helping Domain experts to describe the context
Driving Developer to implement SWS
Sound Conceptual Model (Meta-Ontologies)
Service Ontology
Containing the SWS descriptions (WSMO)
Extending / completing CLEO with the web service descriptions
Domain Ontology
Encoding concepts of the PA domain / building blocks
Modeling approach
Descriptive entities (indipendent views on the scenario by involved actors)
Terms – Vocabulary of involved actors (the actual objects descriptive entities act upon)

9. Goal Statement The Conceptual Model
(5) Distinguishing between
Description and Vocabulary
(3) Multi-Viewpoint
(2) Co-operation
(6b)
Extendibility
(1) Life Event
Approach
(6a)
PA Autonomy
(7)
Distinguish two
conceptual levels:
Context
SWS
(4) Descriptive
Modules

10. Methodology (4) CLEO
Axiom and Rule for
Integration with WSMO

11. Methodology Reference Models
Representing the base / foundation of our work
Life Event approach
Considers government operation from the perspective of everyday life
No simple way to arrange provided services
Point of contact among all involved actor viewpoints
Promting the supply of services by PA
Service levels of interaction
4 levels: information, one-way, two-way, and full-transaction

12. Methodology Reference Models
The government service supply reference model
The e-government system reference model

13. Methodology Meta-Modeling
Mapping Reference Models into Meta-Ontologies
Models expressing modeling process
Re-Usability, Extensibility, Cooperative development

14. Methodology Ontologies for conceptual modeling: DOLCE
We considered its module Description&Situation
Starting Point for building ontologies requiring contextualization
Situation and Description concepts
Situation described by means of descriptive entities: Parameters, Functional Roles and Courses of Events.

15. Methodology Ontologies for conceptual modeling: WSMO
Objectives that a client wants to
achieve by using Web Services
Provide the formally specified terminology
of the information used by all other components
Semantic description of Web Services:
Capability (functional)
Interfaces (usage)
Connectors between components with mediation facilities for handling heterogeneities

16. Methodology Integrating CLEO and WSMO
WSMO goal -> Goal Description
WSMO non functional properties -> Quality Description
WSMO WS -> Service Description
WSMO Choreography -> Interaction Description
WSMO Orchestration -> Plan Description
Domain Ontology -> WSMO Ontology
WSMO Medietors elements (source, target) obtained by means of reasoning

17. Evaluation One Stop Government Portal
Portal for the Essex County Council (UK)
Case Study: Change of Circumstance
Community Care Department (Essex)
Housing Department
End User: caseworkers of community care
Changes influence:
legacy system information
list of benefits

18. Evaluation Change of Circumstance case study
CLEO Ontology
Domain Ontology
Service Ontology

19. Evaluation / Future Work
More Case Studies
Testing the methodology of CLEO
Creating the Infrastructure for the Semantic Interoperability
Tools for creating/managing the conceptual model

20. Questions
Thank You!

21. Overview Semantic Web Services (SWS) Promising Technology
Multi-agent enviromeny
automatic discovery, composition, mediation, invocation
addressing Interoperability and Integration issues
WSMO and OWL-S
Call for application

22. Description of Purpouse Service-Supply Scenario: Integration and Interoperability
Government Organization
Government Organization …
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Services
Automatic Discovery,
Composition, Mediation,
Execution of Services
Citizen
Businesses

23. Description of Purpouse Service-Supply Scenario: Matching the user needs
Government Organization
Government Organization …
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
Agency
About a task:
- Most Suitable Service
- Different Citizen – Different Services
Citizen
Citizen

24. Description of Perpouse (3)
Limitation of existing approaches
Service-Oriented, No Multi-viepoints approach
Focus on specific aspects of e-Government, No General Purpouse
Business Model oriented, No Transaction

25. Description of Purpouse (2)
Matching User Needs
A user task may be consumed by different services
Different aspect should be taken in consideration (citizenship, family situation, etc.)
Which is the most suitable service?
Different Citizen – Different Services

26. Description of Purpouse (3) WSMO – Top Level Notions
Objectives that a client wants to
achieve by using Web Services
Provide the formally specified terminology
of the information used by all other components
Semantic description of Web Services:
Capability (functional)
Interfaces (usage)
Connectors between components with mediation facilities for handling heterogeneities

27. Goal Statement (3) Life Event Oriented Multi Viewpoints description
Common Point among all involved actors
Prompt the development of services
Multi Viewpoints description
Distributed Approach
Each actor responsible for its domain
Cooperative development
Interaction and Business Model description
Integration of SWS for automatic discovery, composition, mediation and execution of services

28. Description of Purpouse SWS : Brief Introduction
Describing Web Services by means of ontologies
Two main approaches
WSMO (Web Service Modeling Ontology)
OWL-S
Allowing automatic discovery, composition, mediation, and invocation of Web Services
Addressing Interoperability and Integration issues
WSMO distinguishes between User TASKS and Provided SERVICES
BUT
Describing an important but limitated aspect of e-Government domain
No description of complex situations with negotiation between Non Software User and Service Provider