OWL-Based Lifecycle Management with Role Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lifecycle management systems fail to effectively manage the transitions and access control in service lifecycles due to the lack of role-based access control capabilities in current state machine notation languages like UML, SCXML, and SACL, and the inability of OWL files to incorporate role-based access control information.
Innovation Solution
Mapping states, transitions, and roles to Web Ontology Language (OWL) elements, utilizing OWL's reasoning ability to obtain role-related control information, and managing the lifecycle based on this information to determine authorized transitions and user permissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional state machine notation languages (UML, SCXML, SACL) are used to describe lifecycle, then the lifecycle structure can be illustrated, but role-based access control capabilities are lacking and cannot determine authorized transitions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines traditional state machine notation (UML/SCXML/SACL) with Web Ontology Language (OWL) to create a unified lifecycle management approach. The state machine structure provides the lifecycle framework while OWL adds role-based access control semantics, allowing the system to both illustrate lifecycle structure and determine authorized transitions accurately.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces OWL as an intermediary layer between the state machine notation and the access control logic. OWL files serve as a mediator that translates state machine states and transitions into ontological representations that can be reasoned about for access control decisions, enabling accurate determination of which roles can execute which transitions.
2Loss of information
If OWL files are used for semantics presentation, then semantic reasoning capability is provided, but role-based access control information cannot be incorporated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends OWL's traditional semantic reasoning capability to also handle access control information. By mapping states, transitions, and roles to OWL elements, the ontology language becomes multi-functional: it preserves semantic information completeness while simultaneously providing role-based access control verification, making it versatile for both purposes.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate systems are used for lifecycle description and access control, then each can be optimized independently, but the overall system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges lifecycle description and access control into a single integrated system using OWL. Instead of maintaining separate systems for state machine notation and access control policies, both functions are unified within the ontology framework, reducing integration complexity while preserving the flexibility to develop each aspect independently through modular OWL class and property definitions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing the lifecycle of an object, where the lifecycle involves a plurality of states of the object, at least one transition between the plurality of states and at least one role who has authority to execute the at least one transition. At least one of the plurality of states, the at least one transition and the at least one role is mapped to Web Ontology Language (OWL) elements. The role related control information is obtained using the reasoning ability of OWL itself according to the above mapping. Furthermore, the lifecycle is managed according to the above role related control information. Using the principles of the present invention, the access control information of roles can be embedded into the lifecycle description and therefore the lifecycle management can be realized easily.