Cognitive support for ontology modeling

Knowledge engineering tools are becoming ever more complex, and therefore increased cognitive support will be necessary to leverage the potential of those tools. Our paper motivates this claim by examining some previous work in this domain and explaining the nature of cognitive support. We discuss some of the problem areas we have encountered in our research. Through user questionnaires and observations carried out at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the University of Washington Foundational Model of Anatomy (FMA) Project, we have begun to gain an understanding of the cognitive barriers experienced by the users of knowledge modelling tools. We analyze some existing solutions developed for the Protégé knowledge engineering tool using this understanding, one of which is our own tool, called Jambalaya. We then analyze the support Jambalaya provides using some nonfunctional design criteria and illustrate some trade-offs inherent in tool design. We suggest that the need for cognitive support in knowledge engineering is immediate and essential.