Glossary

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – AI is the art and science of making intelligent software, programs, and systems that are used to solve problems and simulate human intelligence and reasoning.

Business Intelligence (BI) - This is a tool used to support businesses in making better decisions through the analysis of collected historical and current data. Due to data complexities and volume, data analysis is primarily conducted through the use of data integration software and technologies. BI systems are closely related to Decision Support Systems (DDS), and the two terms are often used interchangeably.

Computer Ontology, Computer Ontologies – In computer science, or information system terms, ontology captures relationships between data and their hierarchically organized concepts. Wikipedia  describes ontologies as follows:  In computer science and information science, an ontology is a formal representation of a set of concepts within a domain and the relationships between those concepts. It is used to reason about the properties of that domain, and may be used to define the domain.

Custom Software – This is software specifically written to fit the needs of a business that may not be otherwise met by the use of off-the-shelf software.

Data Analysis – This is a process by which collected data is analyzed to produce meaningful information that helps support better decision making. There are a wide variety of data analysis techniques available that are used for different purposes.  A few of these include data mining, data modeling for predictive purposes, and data aggregation for compilation of comprehensive situational views.

Decision Support System (DSS) – A Decision Support System is a tool that assists a business, an organization, or a department with decision making activities. A DSS is well known for acting as an inference engine assisting business in inferring information from processed data. Decision Support Systems are also viewed as analogous to Knowledge Based Systems or Expert Systems.

Expert Systems – These are systems that represent human knowledge built into software or computers. They are often used as an aid to human decision making. Expert systems are a subfield of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and can have a knowledge base that contains human know-how or expertise so that human-like reasoning can be applied to problem solving.

Ontological Engineering – This is an emerging discipline that defines the methods and procedures for creating ontologies. It also addresses new technologies and software tools that are necessary to develop ontology effectively. Simply stated, it is engineering required to develop ontology. Ontological engineering’s aim is to assist with the extraction of knowledge embedded within different domains and information systems.

Software Engineering – This is a set of processes, methods, and procedures for developing and maintaining software.