How ontologies can help in software engineering

Abstract

Ontologies are often understood as having a historical background quite different to that of software engineering, which has caused a number of issues when trying to use them in this context. However, recent works have characterized ontologies as being closely related to models and metamodels, thus allowing for an inclusive treatment and use. In this work I describe how ontologies are understood today within software engineering, how they relate to models and metamodels, and how they are useful to software and systems engineering over different lifecycle phases, in different domains, and in relation to standards such as those from ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7.