Ontology Development and Evolution in the Accident Investigation Domain

InvestiigationOrganizer (IO) is a collaborative semantic web system designed to support the conduct of mishap investigations. IO provides a common repository for a wide range of mishap related information, allowing investigators to integrate evidence, causal models, and investigation results. IO has been used to support investigations ranging from a small property damage case to the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Through IO'S use in these investigations, we have learned significant lessons? about the application of ontologies and semantic systems to solving real-world problems. This paper will describe the development of the ontology within IO, from the initial development, its growth in response to user requests during use in investigations, and the recent work that was done to control the results of that growth. This paper will also describe the lessons learned from this experience and how they may apply to the implementaton of future ontologies and semantic systems.