On Identifying Knowledge Processing Requirements

The uptake of Semantic Web technology by industry is progressing slowly. One of the problems is that academia is not always aware of the concrete problems that arise in industry. Conversely, industry is not often well informed about the academic developments that can potentially meet its needs. In this paper we present a first step towards a successful transfer of knowledge-based technology from academia to industry. In particular, we present a collection of use cases from enterprises which are interested in Semantic Web technology. We provide a detailed analysis of the use cases, identify their technology locks, discuss the appropriateness of knowledge-based technology and possible solutions. We summarize industrial knowledge processing requirements in the form of a typology of knowledge processing tasks and a library of high level components for realizing those tasks. These results are intended to focus academia on the development of plausible knowledge-based solutions for concrete industrial problems, and therefore, facilitate the uptake of Semantic Web technology within industry.