A Method for Evaluating Ontologies - Introducing the BFO-Rigidity Decision Tree Wizard

In this paper we review the integration of BFO’s theory of types with OntoClean’s notion of Rigidity, discuss our decision tree procedure for evaluating ontologies based on the integration, while also discussing its implementation as a Protégé 4 plugin, the BFO-Rigidity Decision Tree Wizard. Finally we provide a practical analysis of controversial and important ontological topics surrounding the BFO-Rigidity integration work. The decision tree approach allows our wizard plugin to implicitly perform inferences on behalf of a modeler based on answers to questions. This approach is more accessible because it does not require familiarity with BFO, OntoClean, or our first-order formal system, and does not require the modeler to make assertions that are not normally considered within the scope of a domain level ontology. Having chosen for our implementation a plugin environment that interoperates with a popular ontology editor, we expect that the principles underlying the integration work will become more accessible to both novice and expert domain modelers.