Ontology-driven information system

• US 7,200,563 B1
• Filed: 08/18/2000
• Issued: 04/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DST Systems Incorporated (SS&C Technologies Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Acl International Inc.
• Inventors: Hammitt, Lisa C., Beckert, Jo
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty; Romain
• Application Number:
  US09/642,200
• Time in Patent Office: 2,419 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/231, 707/2, 707/3, 707/203, 707/1, 717/108, 705 1- 9, 705/10, 705/26
• US Class Current: 705/7.11
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

An ontology-driven information system includes a plurality of models, each of which expresses an aspect of a business domain using concepts and relationships between concepts. An ontology, which is in communication with each of the plurality of models, provides uniform definitions for the concepts and relationships between concepts used in the plurality of models. A method for executing an interaction flow model includes receiving an event and categorizing the received event. Once the event is categorized, a situation that matches the categorized received event is identified. One or more tasks are then executed for the situation. The execution of the one or more tasks can include either an interpretation of a model or the execution of a method of an object. The information system also includes a user and application interface and a reasoning engine that is in communication with the user and application interface. A knowledge manager is in communication with the user and application interface and is interfaced with the reasoning engine. A distributed information service also is in communication with the reasoning engine, the knowledge manager, and the user and application interface.

Claims

1. A method for executing an interaction flow model, comprising:

receiving an event;

categorizing the received event;

identifying a situation that matches the categorized received event; and

executing one or more tasks for the situation, the execution of the one or more tasks including interpretation of a business domain model to generate a recommendation for a business action,

wherein the executing one or more tasks for the situation includes;

invoking one of an optimization engine, an inference engine, and a constraint satisfaction engine to interpret the business domain model, the business domain model including one of a rule base model, an optimization model, and a constraint model;

wherein the interpretation of the business domain model includes at least one of an infer action, a search with constraints action, an interact action, an optimize action, and a decide action; and

identifying a follow-up situation that considers any feedback provided by a consumer of the generated recommendation.

2. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 1, wherein the receiving the event is by way of at least one of a distributed information service, a user interface, and an application interface.

3. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 2, wherein the distributed information service receives events via an architected contract.

4. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 1, wherein the categorizing is configured to generate a set of categories for previously handled events.

5. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 1, wherein the interpretation of the rule base model includes executing the inference engine to act upon the rule base model and produce a number of constraints.

6. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 5, wherein the number of constraints are communicated to the constraint satisfaction engine, the constraint satisfaction engine being configured to search for a set of objects that match the number of constraints as well as constraints of the constraint model.

7. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 6, wherein the set of objects are communicated to the optimization engine, the optimization engine communicating with the optimization model so as to produce an optimized object that is recorded, the recording of the optimized object being indicative of the handling of the identified situation.

8. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 1, wherein the received event includes at least one of a business transaction and a previously identified situation.

9. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 1, wherein the business action recommendation includes a recommendation to a customer to obtain at least one of a product, a service, and information.

10. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 1, wherein identifying the situation includes using a context description corresponding to event concepts required for the situation to occur.

11. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 1, wherein the situation that matches the categorized received event is non-deterministically identified.

12. A method for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 1, wherein the decide action is a branch in the interaction flow model.

13. A computer-readable medium having program instructions for executing an interaction flow model, comprising:

program instructions for receiving an event;

program instructions for categorizing the received event;

program instructions for identifying a situation that matches the categorized received event;

program instructions for executing one or more tasks for the situation, the execution of the one or more tasks including interpretation of a business domain model to generate a recommendation for a business action

wherein the program instructions for executing one or more tasks for the situation includes;

program instructions for invoking one of an optimization engine, an inference engine, and a constraint satisfaction engine to interpret the business domain model, the business domain model including one of a rule base model, an optimization model, and a constraint model;

wherein the interpretation of the business domain model includes at least one of an infer action, a search with constraints action, an interact action, an optimize action, and a decide action; and

program instructions for identifying a follow-up situation that considers any feedback provided by a consumer of the generated recommendation.

14. A computer-readable medium having program instructions for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 13, wherein receiving the event is by way of at least one of a distributed information service, a user interface, and an application interface.

15. A computer-readable medium having program instructions for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 13, wherein the categorizing is configured to generate a set of categories for previously handled events.

16. A computer-readable medium having program instructions for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 13, wherein the interpretation of the rule base model includes executing the inference engine to act upon the rule base model and produce a number of constraints.

17. A computer-readable medium having program instructions for executing an interaction flow model as recited in claim 16, wherein the number of constraints are communicated to the constraint satisfaction engine, the constraint satisfaction engine being configured to search for a set of objects that match the number of constraints as well as constraints of the constraint model.

18. An apparatus having a processor and a memory containing programs for executing an interaction flow model, which, when executed using the processor, perform steps comprising:

receiving an event;

categorizing the received event;

identifying a situation that matches the categorized received event;

executing one or more tasks for the situation, the execution of the one or more tasks including interpretation of a business domain model to generate a recommendation for a business action,

wherein the executing one or more tasks for the situation includes;

invoking one of an optimization engine, an inference engine, and a constraint satisfaction engine to interpret the business domain model, the business domain model including one of a rule base model, an optimization model, and a constraint model;

wherein the interpretation of the business domain model includes at least one of an infer action, a search with constraints action, an interact action, an optimize action, and a decide action; and

identifying a follow-up situation that considers any feedback provided by a consumer of the generated recommendation.