Integrated Systems Ontology (ISOnto): Integrating Engineering Design and Operational Feedback for Dependable Systems

Abstract

This paper proposes an integrated ontological framework, Integrated Systems Ontology (ISOnto), for dependable systems engineering by semantically linking design models with real-world operational failure data. Building upon the recently proposed Function–Behaviour–Structure–Failure Modes (FBSFM) framework, ISOnto integrates early-stage design information with field-level evidence to support more informed, traceable, and dependable failure analysis. This extends the semantic scope of the FBSFM ontology to include operational/field feedback from warranty claims and technical inspections, enabling two-way traceability between design-phase assumptions (functions, behaviours, structures, and failure modes) and field-reported failures, causes, and effects. As a theoretical contribution, ISOnto introduces a formal semantic bridge between design and operational phases, strengthening the validation of known failure modes and the discovery of previously undocumented ones. Developed using established ontology engineering practices and formalised in OWL with Protégé, it incorporates domain-specific extensions to represent field data with structured mappings to design entities. A real-world automotive case study conducted with a global manufacturer demonstrates ISOnto’s ability to consolidate multisource lifecycle data into a coherent, machine-readable repository. The framework supports advanced reasoning, structured querying, and system-level traceability, thereby facilitating continuous improvement, data-driven validation, and more reliable decision-making across product development and reliability engineering.