Me4DCAP V0.1: a Method for the Development of Dublin Core Application Profiles

TOC Motivation Introduction Research Methodology Me4DCAP V0.1 Future Work Conclusions Questions THE END
Me4DCAP V0.1: A method for the development of Dublin
Core Application Profiles
Mariana Curado Malta & Ana Alice Baptista
Algoritmi Center, University of Minho
mariana.malta@algoritmi.uminho.pt
analice@dsi.uminho.pt
ELPUB, Karlskrona - Sweden 2013
This project is financed with FEDER funds by the Programa Operacional Fatores de Competitividade – COMPETE
and by Portuguese National Funds through FCT – Funda¸cão para a Ciência e Tecnologia for the project:
FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022674
Mariana Malta & Ana Alice Baptista
Me4DCAP V0.1: A method for the development of Dublin Core Application Profiles

Motivation
Introduction
Research Methodology
Me4DCAP V0.1
Conclusions
Questions

WHY?

Semantic Web, Metadata, RDF
Semantic Web related project
the Semantic Web is about common formats for the
integration and combination of data from different sources
Its architecture has several layers
One layer, the “Data interchange: RDF“ has to do with
metadata
Metadata: data that describes resources with information,
and that follows well defined rules of metadata-schemes
Metadata-scheme: a set of elements designed for a specific
purpose - to describe a particular resource

DCAM, DCAP
Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI1), created new
instruments with a goal: to speak a common language
Dublin Core Abstract Model (DCAM): a model developed for
DCMI syntax speciﬁcations
presents the components and constructs used in DCMI
databases
one of them is the Dublin Core Application Proﬁles (DCAP)
1
http://dublincore.org/

DCAM, DCAP
Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI1), created new
instruments with a goal: to speak a common language
Dublin Core Abstract Model (DCAM): a model developed for
DCMI syntax speciﬁcations
presents the components and constructs used in DCMI
databases
one of them is the Dublin Core Application Proﬁles (DCAP)
A DCAP is a generic construct for designing metadata
records
1
http://dublincore.org/

DCAP: a construct that enhances interoperability

DCAP: a construct that enhances interoperability
INTEROPERABILITY

Research Problem
A DCAP development is a complex task
it needs an adequate support
A study we have performed [7] shows that:
(to the best of our knowledge)
there is no formal method for the development of DCAP

Research Problem
A DCAP development is a complex task
it needs an adequate support
A study we have performed [7] shows that:
It is imperative to have such a method

Design Science Research - Introduction
Design Science Research (DSR)
DSR aims at the development of innovative artifacts that
solve real-world problems [8]
An artifact is something that is artiﬁcial, constructed by
humans [10]
These artifacts can be constructs, models, methods, or
instantiations of one of these 3 [11]
”Artifacts must be improved upon existing solutions to a
problem or perhaps provide a ﬁrst solution to an important
problem” [10, p.6]
2
according to Hevner and Gregor in the recently published MISQ journal article - June 2013

Design Science Research - Introduction
Design Science Research (DSR)
DSR aims at the development of innovative artifacts that
solve real-world problems [8]
An artifact is something that is artiﬁcial, constructed by
humans [10]
These artifacts can be constructs, models, methods, or
instantiations of one of these 3 [11]
”Artifacts must be improved upon existing solutions to a
problem or perhaps provide a ﬁrst solution to an important
problem” [10, p.6]
Our artifact is a method: A method for the development
of DCAP (Me4DCAP)
Me4DCAP is an exaptation2
2
according to Hevner and Gregor in the recently published MISQ journal article - June 2013

Design Science Research - Application
We used A. Hevner [11] framework:
3 cycles:
The Relevance Cycle: Metadata Community - provides the
requisites for the Construction moments of the Design Cycle
and an application context for Field Testing

3 cycles:
The Design Cycle - construction and evaluation moments
(experimental situation with a group of the SSE world
community - DCAP-SSE)

3 cycles:
The Design Cycle - construction and evaluation moments
(experimental situation with a group of the SSE world
community - DCAP-SSE)
The Rigor Cycle - gives the Ground Theories for the Design
Cycle Construction moments and than Theorises and Justiﬁes
about the design process and the results

Take a deep breath....
... here we go!

Starting point
A DCAP is defined in the Singapore Framework for Dublin Core
Application Profiles [5]
Functional Requirements (Mandatory)
Domain Model (Mandatory)
Description Set Profile (Mandatory)
Usage guidelines (optional)
Encoding Syntax guidelines (optional)

Introduction
The development of a DCAP is a process by stages
Me4DCAP deﬁnes:
The composition of the work-team and
... the type of work each work-team-member should do
The deliverables at every stage
The techniques used to develop those deliverables
The process workﬂow

Phases
Me4DCAP V0.1 phases

Deliverables Workﬂow
Me4DCAP V0.1 deriverables Workﬂow

Deliverables Sequence development
Me4DCAP V0.1 deriverables sequence development

Work-Team
The work-team should have at least one person of each of the
folowing proﬁles:
Manager: has knowledge of the application domain
System Analyst: has technical skills in data modeling and in
requirements elicitation
Metadata Programmer: understands the Semantic Web
concepts
Final User: works with the Web System that will be using the
DCAP in development

Glossary
A Glossary should be developed during the whole process
development
It is a very important deliverable because of the
multidisciplinarity of the work-team
it is important that members of the work-team speak all a
common language
A Glossary is a text document with the keywords (and its
description) used in the process
All work-team members should contribute to the Glossary

Functional Requirements
To build the Functional Requirements Me4DCAP obliges the
development of the following deliverables:
Work-Plan: time planning of the project activities (e.g a
Gantt Chart) (all team; Manager leads)

Vision Statement: shows what developers want to reach
with the DCAP development; it deﬁnes the scope of the
DCAP(all team; Manager leads)

Vision Statement: shows what developers want to reach
with the DCAP development; it deﬁnes the scope of the
DCAP(all team; Manager leads)
Use Cases High Level: a list of the Use-Cases to be
described in the Use-Case Model (all team; System analyst leads)
(continues...)

(Continued from last page...)
Use-Cases Model. It is composed by:
the UML Use-Cases diagrams with the actors that interact in
the Use-Cases
the set of all detailed Use-Cases: the sequence of actions.
(all team; System analyst leads)

Domain Model
The Domain Model “captures the most important types of objects
in the context of the system.” [13, p. 119]
based on the Functional Requirements and on the Use-Cases
Model deliverables
and on other information or documents, if available

Domain Model
The Domain Model “captures the most important types of objects
in the context of the system.” [13, p. 119]
based on the Functional Requirements and on the Use-Cases
Model deliverables
and on other information or documents, if available
An UML class diagram with details suppressed:
The diagram identiﬁes the classes of objects and the
relationships among them
classes’ methods and attributes are omitted
(all team; System Analyst leads)

Description Set Proﬁle
To build the Description Set Proﬁle Me4DCAP obliges the
The Integration Dossier
The Validation Dossier (in laboratory)

Description Set Proﬁle - Integration Dossier
The Integration Dossier is composed by 3 mandatory deliberables:
An ORM/NIAM diagram:
classes of objects (deﬁned in the Domain Model);
attributes of the classes of objects;
attributes’ constraints, such as their repeatability and range
(all team; System analyst leads)
Craftsman
(Name)
Product
(Name)
is made by makes
Price
Shop
(Title)
costs. . . at

A State Of The Art report: A State of the art to existing
metadata schemes that are described in RDF (Metadata Programmer)

If the metadata schemes of the State of The Art report does
not fullﬁll the needs of properties descriptions the work-team
will have to coin new RDF properties

If the metadata schemes of the State of The Art report does
not fullﬁll the needs of properties descriptions the work-team
will have to coin new RDF properties
A Document of Integration: shows, in a matrix, per line,
every property or class and its constraints, described by the
properties of the metadata schemes and encoding schemes
chosen (Metadata Programmer)

Description Set Proﬁle - Validation Dossier (in laboratory)
The Validation Dossier (in laboratory) is composed by 3
mandatory deliberables:
A Validation Report (all team): to check the DCAP adequacy to
what has been deﬁned in the “Vision Statement”

A Document of Validation (all team - Metadata Programer leads):
To check the DCAP adequacy to the resources that are going
to be described by it
To apply the DCAP descriptors to a resource sample

A Questionnaire: Answer to a set of questions to assess the
diﬃculties of the validation process (all team; Manager leads)

A Questionnaire: Answer to a set of questions to assess the
diﬃculties of the validation process (all team; Manager leads)
According to the results of the Validation Dossier, the process
iterates or follows to the Description Set Proﬁle development

Guidelines
The Usage Guidelines and Syntax Guidelines are not
mandatory in the Singapore Framework
Me4DCAP recommends that they should be developed

Guidelines
the developing of the Usage Guidelines should start at the
same time as the Domain Model development (Managers and Metadata
Programers)

Guidelines
the developing of the Usage Guidelines should start at the
same time as the Domain Model development (Managers and Metadata
Programers)
The development of the Syntax Guidelines (Metadata Programers)needs
that the Integration Dossier has been already developed in a
certain stage in order to have already some maturity
Deliverables sequence

Validation in Production
Use of log registration technique
observing ﬁnal-users working with a system that implemented
the DCAP (metadata programers)

the results of this validation in production are reported to the
whole team in order to review and access the DCAP
deﬁnitions

the results of this validation in production are reported to the
whole team in order to review and access the DCAP
deﬁnitions
If there is any new information to add, the process starts from
Block 1

Next steps:
The construction of DCAP-SSE is still in place - ﬁnishing the
Design Cycle
The Evaluation of Me4DCAP V0.1 will be executed
(Relevance Cycle)
Me4DCAP V0.2
Future Work:
Me4DCAP V0.2 ﬁeld testing - call for testing
Work in another Me4DCAP Version ??

A DCAP is a very important construct to implement
interoperability
We have presented a ﬁrst version of a contribution for such a
method: Me4DCAP V0.1
We have presented Me4DCAP:
The composition of the work-team and
... the type of work each work-team-member should do
The deliverables at every stage
The techniques used to develop those deliverables
The process workﬂow

Mariana Curado Malta & Ana Alice Baptista
Algoritmi Center, University of Minho
mariana.malta@algoritmi.uminho.pt
analice@dsi.uminho.pt
Further Information:
http://algoritmi.uminho.pt
QUESTIONS?

Look for references in the paper

Me4DCAP V0.1: a Method for the Development of Dublin Core Application Profiles

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