DYNAMIC ONTOLOGY SCHEMA GENERATION AND ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR STANDARDS FOR EXCHANGING DATA

1 : A method comprising:

storing a data model having metadata that specifies a data standard that specifies requirements for regulatory-compliant exchange of data between entities, wherein the data model conforms to a data description language and specifies which data elements must be collected and a format in which the data elements are to be collected; and

processing the data model to automatically generate an ontology schema and ontology instance data that represent the data model of the data collection standard.

2 : The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the data model specifies a plurality of assets for which data is to be collected in accordance with the standard, each of the assets being specified as having one or more metadata attributes for describing the respective asset, each of the metadata attributes corresponding to one of a plurality of metadata attribute types,

wherein the ontology schema is automatically generated to define a metadata attribute object for each of the different metadata attributes used to describe the assets in the data model for the data standard, and

wherein the ontology instance data is automatically generated to conform to the ontology schema and to include data that indicates the assets specified in the data model and the metadata values associated with each of the metadata attributes for each of the assets.

3 : The method of claim 2 ,

wherein automatically generating the ontology schema comprises automatically generating the ontology schema such that the ontology schema includes a respective metadata attribute object for each of the metadata attributes, a metadata attribute type object for each of the metadata attribute types, and data that associates each of the metadata attribute objects with a corresponding metadata attribute type object.

4 : The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the ontology schema and ontology instance data is automatically formatted according to at least one of a Resource Description Framework (RDF), a Web Ontology Language (OWL), and a RDF/OWL framework.

5 : The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of the ontology schema and the ontology instance data is automatically generated to represent the metadata attribute objects as one or more subject-predicate-object triples.

6 : The method of claim 5 , wherein the ontology schema includes one or more of the subject-predicate-object triples, and wherein the one or more of the subject-predicate-object triples include a subject that indicates a metadata attribute object, an object that indicates a metadata attribute type object associated with the metadata attribute object, and a predicate that indicates that the metadata attribute object is a subclass of the metadata attribute type object.

7 : The method of claim 5 , wherein the ontology instance data includes one or more of the subject-predicate-object triples, and wherein the one or more of the subject-predicate-object triples include a subject that indicates a metadata attribute object, a predicate that indicates a property of the metadata attribute object, and an object that indicates a value for the property of the metadata attribute object.

8 : The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

loading, as input, the ontology schema and the ontology instance data; and

processing the subject-predicate-object triples and automatically generating, based on the ontology schema and the ontology instance data, a second data model having a plurality of assets that describe the first data model, each of the assets corresponding to a respective one of the metadata attribute objects specified in the subject-predicate-object triples of the at least one of the ontology schema and the ontology instance data.

9 : The method of claim 8 , wherein generating the plurality of assets comprises, for each of the properties of each metadata attribute objects, generating a classifier for the asset that corresponds to the respective metadata attribute object, the classifier indicating the respective property and the value for the respective property.

10 : The method of claim 8 , wherein generating the plurality of assets comprises:

generating the plurality of assets based on the ontology schema, the ontology instance data, and one or more asset templates, wherein the asset templates describe at least one of which properties are to be included in the assets and which asset attributes are to be included in the assets.

11 : The method of claim 10 ,

wherein the ontology schema and the ontology instance data comprise a plurality of metadata attribute objects, each of the metadata attribute objects corresponding to one of a plurality of metadata attribute type objects,

wherein each of the asset templates corresponds to a respective one of a plurality of asset types, and

wherein generating the plurality of assets comprises, for each of the metadata attribute objects:

selecting one of the asset types that corresponds to the respective metadata attribute object based on the metadata attribute object type for the respective metadata attribute object; and

generating an asset for the respective metadata attribute object based on an asset template that corresponds to the selected asset type, wherein the asset template controls the capture of information from a user when generating the asset.

12 : The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving, via a user interface, user input specifying one or more proposed modifications to the generated assets;

approving or rejecting each of the proposed modifications to the generated assets based on configuration data specifying a configurable governance process, wherein the governance process specifies which users are allowed to review, update, accept, or reject proposed modifications;

applying the approved proposed modifications to the generated assets to produce modified assets; and

modifying the asset templates in the data model based on the modified assets.

13 : The method of claim 12 , wherein modifying the asset templates comprises:

generating one or more files indicative of modifications to be made to the asset templates, wherein the one or more files are generated as one or more Resource Description Framework (RDF) files, one or more Web Ontology Language (OWL) files, and one or more RDF/OWL files having subject-predicate-object triples;

identifying, based on the files, differences between the modified assets and the asset templates; and

modifying the asset templates such that the identified differences are reconciled.

14 : The method of any of claim 13 ,

wherein generating the one or more files comprises generating one or more RDF/OWL files indicative of the modified assets,

wherein modifying the asset templates comprises importing the RDF/OWL files into an asset library that defines the data model.

15 : The method of claim 13 , wherein modifying the asset templates included in the data model comprises:

automatically approving or rejecting proposed modifications to one or more asset templates in the data model based on the governance process.

16 : The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

presenting an interface to receive input specifying proposed mappings of elements or attributes of the data standard to assets of the second data model automatically generated based on loading ontology schema and the ontology instance data; and

automatically approving or rejecting the proposed mapping based on a configuration data specifying a governance process for the data standard.

17 : The method of claim 16 , further comprising updating the second data model to apply any approved mappings to the generated assets.

18 : The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

storing data indicative of the mappings in a cache included in a library of assets that define the data standard, wherein storing the data indicative of the mappings in the cache comprises:

generating one or more RDF/OWL files indicative of the mappings; and

importing the RDF/OWL files into the library of assets that define the data standard.

19 : The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

outputting notification, in accordance with the configuration data specifying the governance process, to one or more of the users that one or more proposed modifications are ready for review, and

receiving input specifying an approval or rejection from the notified users or administrators of the proposed modifications.

20 : The method of claim 19 , further comprising generating, according to the governance process, work items to be completed by one or more users or administrators before a review, approval, or rejection, wherein the governance process is configurable by an administrator of a standards specification and management system.

21 : The method of claim 8 , wherein processing the subject-predicate-object triples and automatically generating, based on the ontology schema and the ontology instance data, the second data model comprises:

converting the set of assets of the first data model for the data standard into a second set of assets for the second data model,

wherein one or more of the assets of the first data model include one or more classifiers, each of the classifiers having one or more settings that are not governable by a governance process, and

wherein each of one or more of the assets of the second data model represents a respective one of the classifiers in the first set of assets, and includes one or more classifiers that represent the settings of the classifiers in the first set of assets, the classifiers in the second set of assets being governable by the governance process.

22 : The method of claim 1 , wherein the data standard sets comprises one or more of a data collection standard, data tabulation standard or a data submission standard.

23 : A standards specification and management system comprising:

a computer having one or more processors;

a data model stored within a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the data model comprises metadata that specifies a data standard that specifies requirements for regulatory-compliant exchange of data between entities, wherein the data model conforms to a data description language and specifies which data elements must be collected and a format in which the data elements are to be collected,

where in the computer is configured to process the data model to automatically generate an ontology schema and ontology instance data that represent the data model of the data collection standard.

24 : The standards specification and management system of claim 23 ,

wherein the data model specifies a plurality of assets for which data is to be collected in accordance with the standard, each of the assets being specified as having one or more metadata attributes for describing the respective asset, each of the metadata attributes corresponding to one of a plurality of metadata attribute types,

wherein the ontology schema is automatically generated to define a metadata attribute object for each of the different metadata attributes used to describe the assets in the data model for the data standard, and

wherein the ontology instance data is automatically generated to conform to the ontology schema and to include data that indicates the assets specified in the data model and the metadata values associated with each of the metadata attributes for each of the assets.

25 : The standards specification and management system of claim 24 ,

wherein automatically generating the ontology schema comprises automatically generating the ontology schema such that the ontology schema includes a respective metadata attribute object for each of the metadata attributes, a metadata attribute type object for each of the metadata attribute types, and data that associates each of the metadata attribute objects with a corresponding metadata attribute type object.

26 : The standards specification and management system of claim 24 , wherein at least one of the ontology schema and ontology instance data is automatically formatted according to at least one of a Resource Description Framework (RDF), a Web Ontology Language (OWL), and a RDF/OWL framework.

27 : The standards specification and management system of claim 24 , wherein at least one of the ontology schema and the ontology instance data is automatically generated to represent the metadata attribute objects as one or more subject-predicate-object triples.

28 : The standards specification and management system of claim 24 and further comprising means for performing the method of any of claims 1 - 23 or combinations thereof.

29 : The standards specification and management system an asset management system of claim 24 comprising an asset library that stores the assets and an asset retrieval module that presents an interface to search and selectively retrieve the assets from the asset library for reuse across multiple data standards.

30 : A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that upon execution by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

store a data model having metadata that specifies a data standard that specifies requirements for regulatory-compliant exchange of data between entities, wherein the data model conforms to a data description language and specifies which data elements must be collected and a format in which the data elements are to be collected, wherein the data model specifies a plurality of assets for which data is to be collected in accordance with the standard, each of the assets being specified as having one or more metadata attributes for describing the respective asset, each of the metadata attributes corresponding to one of a plurality of metadata attribute types; and

process the data model to automatically generate an ontology schema and ontology instance data that represent the data model of the data collection standard,

wherein the ontology schema is automatically generated to define a metadata attribute object for each of the different metadata attributes used to describe the assets in the data model for the data standard,

wherein the ontology instance data is automatically generated to conform to the ontology schema and to include data that indicates the assets specified in the data model and the metadata values associated with each of the metadata attributes for each of the assets, and

wherein at least one of the ontology schema and the ontology instance data is automatically generated to represent the metadata attribute objects as one or more subject-predicate-object triples

31 : The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 30 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to generate the ontology schema to include one or more of the subject-predicate-object triples that include a subject that indicates a metadata attribute object, an object that indicates a metadata attribute type object associated with the metadata attribute object, and a predicate that indicates that the metadata attribute object is a subclass of the metadata attribute type object.

32 : The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 30 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to generate the ontology instance data to include one or more of the subject-predicate-object triples that include a subject that indicates a metadata attribute object, a predicate that indicates a property of the metadata attribute object, and an object that indicates a value for the property of the metadata attribute object.

33 : The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 30 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to automatically format at least one of the ontology schema and ontology instance data according to at least one of a Resource Description Framework (RDF), a Web Ontology Language (OWL), and a RDF/OWL framework.