Towards an Ontology of Military Plans and Planning Barry Smith National Center for Ontological...

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Towards an Ontology of Military Plans and Planning

Barry Smithhttp://ncor.buffalo.edu/plan-ontologyNational Center for Ontological Research, Buffalo

with thanks to Peter Morosoff (e-maps)

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Military Doctrine

• a guide to action, rather than hard and fast rules

• provides a common frame of reference across the military helps standardize operations by establishing common ways of accomplishing military tasks

• facilitating readiness by allowing common ways of training

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Military Doctrine feeds into Military Planning

• Doctrine provides an authoritative body of consistent* statements on – how military forces conduct (joint) operations – how military plans are to be constructed

• provides a common lexicon – which must be used by military planners and leaders– which will be what those charged with execution of military

plans will anticipate and understand

*ideally

Why does DoD need a dictionary?For people (people need to understand each other)• Training (Developing doctrine, …)• Planning (Joint operations, SOPs, …)• Executing (C2, …)• Reporting, Outcomes evaluation, lessons learned

For machines• Compiling data (e.g. results of testing …)• Sharing of data (Compiling lessons learned …)• Collective inferencing

Thesaurus

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“Plan” in CALL Thesaurus

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Planning (Definition in CALL Thesaurus)

• Definition/Scope: (ADP 3-0) Planning is the art and science of understanding a situation, envisioning a desired future, and laying out effective ways of bringing about that future. Planning consists of two separate but closely related components: a conceptual component and a detailed component. Successful planning requires integrating both these components. Army leaders employ three methodologies for planning after determining the appropriate mix based on the scope of the problem, their familiarity with it, and the time available.

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Planning

Thesaurus

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Thesaurus

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CALL Thesaurus has features of an ontology

• Evolutionary• Hierarchical• Controlled vocabulary• Machine readablebut not:• Common upper-level architecture• Logically consistent definitions• Machine processable (no reasoning)

Digitalizing doctrine (the ideal)• associate with each term in JP 1.0 a URL• formulate authoritative definitions of each term

in OWL • use these terms as basis for computational

definitions of terms at lower levels in the hierarchy, incorporating hyperlinks to the JP 1.0 URLs

• use OWL reasoners for computer-aided consistency checking

The reality is different. Focus here on planning 17

DoD Instruction 8320.02, August 5, 2013 Sharing Data, Information, and Information Technology (IT) Services in the Department of Defense

• requires that ‘all salient metadata be discoverable, searchable, and retrievable’ through use of the DSE (= DoD Data Services Environment )

BUT Even if all authoritative sources were registered at DSE, it would not achieve its goal because

– Heterogeneous definitions and descriptions– No benefits of inferencing and of rapid

introduction and definition of new terms18

Basic Formal Ontology (BFO)

A simple top-level ontology to support information integration

Defining a framework that will help to ensure consistency and non-redundancy of the ontologies created in its terms

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Examples of Users of BFO

I2WD Ontologies (http://milportal.org)cROP Ontologies EnvO Environment Ontology US Army Biometrics OntologyNIF Standard (Neuroscience) OntologiesOAE Ontology of Adverse EventsOBO Foundry OntologiesOGMS Ontology for General Medical Science

IDO Infectious Disease Ontologies (NIAID)

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RELATION TO TIME

GRANULARITY

CONTINUANT OCCURRENT

INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT

ORGAN ANDORGANISM

Organism(NCBI

Taxonomy)

Anatomical Entity(FMA, CARO)

OrganFunction

(FMP, CPRO) Phenotypic

Quality(PaTO)

Biological Process

(GO)CELL AND CELLULAR

COMPONENT

Cell(CL)

Cellular Compon

ent(FMA, GO)

Cellular Function

(GO)

MOLECULEMolecule

(ChEBI, SO,RnaO, PrO)

Molecular Function(GO)

Molecular Process

(GO)

The Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) Foundry21

RELATION TO TIME

GRANULARITY

CONTINUANT OCCURRENT

INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT

ORGAN ANDORGANISM

Organism(NCBI

Taxonomy)

Anatomical Entity(FMA, CARO)

OrganFunction

(FMP, CPRO) Phenotypic

Quality(PaTO)

Biological Process

(GO)

CELL AND CELLULAR

COMPONENT

Cell(CL)

Cellular Component(FMA, GO)

Cellular Function

(GO)

MOLECULEMolecule

(ChEBI, SO,RnaO, PrO)

Molecular Function(GO)

Molecular Process

(GO)Environment Ontology (EnvO)

En

viro

nm

ents

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Anatomy Ontology(FMA*, CARO)

Environment

Ontology(EnvO)

Ontology for General Medical Science(OGMS)

Biological Process

Ontology (GO*)

Cell Ontology

(CL)

CellularComponentOntology

(FMA*, GO*)Phenotypic

QualityOntology(PaTO)

CHEBI

Sequence Ontology (SO*) Molecular

Function(GO*)Protein Ontology

(PRO*)

Strategy of Modularity & Downward Population 23

top level

mid-level

domain level

Information Artifact Ontology

(IAO)

Ontology for Biomedical

Investigations (OBI)


OGMS

Cardiovascular Disease OntologyGenetic Disease OntologyCancer Disease OntologyGenetic Disease OntologyImmune Disease OntologyEnvironmental Disease OntologyOral Disease OntologyInfectious Disease Ontology

IDO Staph Aureus IDO MRSA IDO Australian MRSA IDO Australian Hospital MRSA …

Modular, downward population approach in other domains

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OBO Foundary Open Biomedical OntologiesNIF Standard Neuroscience Information

Framework IDO Consortium Infectious Disease OntologycROP Common Reference Ontologies

for Plants

MilPortal.org Military OntologyI2WD Ontologies Intelligence Ontology Suite

I2WD Ontology Team

Ron RudnuckiCUBRC, University at Buffalo

Dr. Tatiana MalyutaNY City College of Technology of CUNY,

Data Tactics Corp.

Col. Dr. William Mandrick Data Tactics Corp.

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Basic Formal Ontology 1.0

http://www.ifomis.org/bfo/

Continuant Occurrent

IndependentContinuant

DependentContinuant

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Spatial Region

ProcessTemporal

Region



of 110

Slot managing

Nesting Nested Schema Role

Slot filling

Substance

Thingevent

Objects

Actions

Attribute

Monadic

Complex

Location/Void

Time Space

For any Verbal Representational Interaction that is constructed from typed expressions

Root Types from LC Type Theory

BFO and LC Type Theory

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Slot managing

Nesting

Nested

Schema

Role

Slot filling

Substance

ThingeventO

bject

Process

Attribute

Monadic

Complex

Location/Void

Time

Space

Time Space Attribute





DependentContinuant

Object ActionAttribute

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Spatial Region

Space Time

ProcessTemporal

Region



Continuant


DependentContinuant

..... .....

Non-realizableDependentContinuant(quality)

Realizable DependentContinuant(function, role, disposition)

TYPES

INSTANCES

depends_on

Continuant


thing

DependentContinuant

quality

.... .....

example: temperature dependson bearer

TYPES

INSTANCES

the particular case of redness (of a particular fly eye)

the universal red

instantiates

an instance of an eye (in a particular fly)

the universal eye

instantiates

depends on

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the particular case of redness (of a particular fly eye)

red

instantiates

an instance of an eye (in a particular fly)

eye

instantiates

depends on

color anatomical structure

is_a is_a

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DependentContinuant

QualityRealizable Dependent

Continuant

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Disposition Function Role

of banana, to ripen

of gun, to fire bullets

of employee, to work for pay

process of realization depends_on realizable



bearer

Realizable DependentContinuant

disposition

.... ..... .......37

Process of realization

Role (Externally-Grounded Realizable Entity)

role =def. a realizable entity• which exists because the bearer is in

some special physical, social, or institutional set of circumstances in which the bearer does not have to be, and

• is not such that, if it ceases to exist, then the physical make-up of the bearer is thereby changed.

Realization occurs when the bearer exercises its role. Example: commander role 38

Disposition (Internally-Grounded Realizable Entity)

disposition =def.

a realizable entity which is such that, if it ceases to exist, then its bearer is physically changed, and

Realization occurs when this bearer is in some special physical circumstances, in virtue of the bearer’s physical make-up PLANS ARE A SPECIAL TYPE OF DISPOSITION 39

IAO-IntelEmail

Ontology IAO-

Science

Information Artifact Ontology (IAO)


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BFO-based Ontology Development

More than 120 Ontology projects using BFOhttp://www.ifomis.org/bfo/users

http://www.ifomis.org/bfo/users

Information artifact

• an entity created through some deliberate act or acts by one or more human beings, and which endures through time, potentially in multiple (for example digital or printed) copies

Examples: a diagram on a sheet of paper, a document specifying three alternative courses of action for a commander, a recipe book, a recipe in a recipe book

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IAO: Report / IAO-Intel: Intelligence Report

IAO-Intel terms are defined by using terms from the ontologies in the yellow box via relations such as:• is-about• created-by• derives-from and so forth

Generic Purpose Attributes– Descriptive purpose: scientific paper, newspaper

article, after-action report– Prescriptive purpose: legal code, license, statement

of rules of engagement– Directive purpose: instruction, manual,

protocol– Designative purpose: a registry of members of an

organization, a phone book, a database linking proper names of persons with their social security numbers

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Question

• Where do information entities such as databases or emails fit in BFO?

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DependentContinuant

Thing

Process

Attribute

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DependentContinuant

Quality

DispositionProcessRole


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BFO 1.1: Specifically Dependent Continuant

SpecificallyDependentContinuant

Quality, Role, Disposition

Realizable Dependent Continuant

if any bearer ceases to exist, then the quality or function ceases to exist

the color of my skin

the function of my heart

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Specifically Dependent Continuant

Red color of my skin

You Me

Accidents do not migrate from one substance to another

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Red color of your skin

depends_on depends_on

Generically Dependent Continuant

GenericallyDependentContinuant

pdf filejpg file

Gene Sequence

if one bearer ceases to exist, then the entity can survive, because there are other bearers

(copyability)

the pdf file on my laptop

the DNA (sequence) in this chromosome

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Information artifacts

pdf file

email

poem

symphony

algorithm

symbol

– can migrate from one physical information bearer to another

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Continuant


Specifically DependentContinuant

Quality

Disposition

Information Artifact

Role


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Gene Sequence

BFO 1.1

Continuant



Quality Information Artifact

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Gene Sequence

Material Entity

Information Bearing

Entity

Continuant



QualityInformation

Artifact

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Material Entity

Information Bearing

Entity (yourhard drive

Information Quality Entity (pattern on

your hard drive)

depends_on

Continuant



Quality Information Content

Entity

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Material Entity

Information Bearing

Entity

Information QualityEntity

depends_on concretized_by

BFO

IAO



Quality Information Content

Entity

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Material Entity

Information Bearing

Entity

Information QualityEntity

depends_on concretized_by

universals

instances

this hard drive, that book

this excitation pattern,

that pattern of piles of ink

this pdf file, that Target Value Matrix

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http://bioportal.bioontology.org/ontologies/IAO

http://bioportal.bioontology.org/ontologies/IAO

Generically dependent continuants such as plans, laws …

are concretized in specifically dependent continuants

(the plan in your head, the protocol being realized by your research team, the law being implemented by this government agency)

But these involve more than just aboutness, they also involve oughtness

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The issue we are trying to address here

How to understand the deontic aspect of plans(The oughtness of plans: I have made a plan, I am in some sense committed to the plan, some parts of the plan are compulsory, other parts of the plan are optional; I have authority to command others to realize the plan …)

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Plan specification vs. Plan

• Recipe in a book vs. Recipe in your head when you start to cook

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of FILL-IN

Plan Specification – A broader view

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Locator: PlanSpec-ID, timeContent:• Owner• Contributors• Approver• Statement of mission

value• Contained plans• Containing plans• Complementary

component plans• Parent(s) in doctrinal

hierarchy• Children in doctrinal

hierarchy• Goal state• Predicted outcomes• Execution condition• Completion condition• Assumed world states• Dissemination• Assets• Actions

Elements of the planning process (early phases)

Plan development has_output plan specificationCommander performs review of alternative plan specificationsCommander commits_to plan specification #1Commander’s act of commitment has_output plan #1Commander has_commitment to realize plan #1 by following the actions specified in the plan specificationPlan is_a dispositionPlan realized_in plan executionPlan has_goal: future world-state F

Elements of the planning process Information artifact elements


Elements of the planning process (mental elements)


Elements of the planning process (external action-related elements)


• What should be the framework for understanding how these elements hang together?

• http://ncor.buffalo.edu/plan-ontology

What is the living plan?

Plan creation and maintenance system

Living plan

Tactical (…) plan outputs for execution

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Compare

Language creation and maintenance system (schools, …)

The English language

Utterances, written linguistic outputs

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Compare

Price maintenance and creation system

Prices (of 1 Euro, of a beer in a Paris bar …)

Individual acts of exchange

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Compare

The law creation and maintenance system (the legislature, local courts…)

The body of law

Individual legal and police actions

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What is the living plan?

The plan creation and maintenance system

The living plan (analogue of the body of law)

Tactical (…) plan outputs for execution (analogues of utterances, of speakers

of a language, of judges …)

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Appendix: Draft Plan Ontology

See current version here:

http://ncor.buffalo.edu/plan-ontology/planning-ontology-draft.owl

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http://ncor.buffalo.edu/plan-ontology

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Towards an Ontology of Military Plans and Planning Barry Smith National Center for Ontological...

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