Environmental Terminology System and Services ETSS June 2007

Environmental Terminology System and Services (ETSS) June 2007

EPA’s System of Registries • A series of registries that help manage key business objects • Most are authority files: – Chemicals and substances – Facilities – XML Schema/Tags • Newly added Environmental Terminology System and Services (ETSS) will address topical terminology

Why Terminology? • So that we know what we mean – Key business terms and acronyms • So we can find stuff – Indexing, cataloging, keyword management • Others are counting on us – Emergency response – Other Federal Gov’t – International efforts Gary Larson – The Far Side

EPA’s History of Terminology • EPA Terminology Reference System (www. epa. gov/trs) – Searchable repository – Over 250 distinct vocabularies; over 11, 000 terms • Environmental regulations and laws • EPA Program glossaries and term lists • GEneral Multilingual Environmental Thesaurus (GEMET) – Significant limitations • Limited search capability • Lacks web services • Lacks editing functionality • Doesn’t support multilingual capability • Insufficient for concept management

What Is the ETSS? • Search & Discovery Portal – a tool to find, use, and download terminology • Terminology Management – a repository of important terms with user interfaces for creation, storage, maintenance, harmonization, and distribution of various types of terminology • Automated Services – Web interfaces and services to allow exchanges of terminologies with Agency and partner systems • Collaborative Stewardship – a framework for the development of vocabulary-specific workflows and processes

Key ETSS Customers • Human Customers – EPA vocabulary developers like the Web Taxonomy Project – Policy makers defining terms in regulations – System developers selecting XML tags and defining data elements – Program managers and researchers seeking to develop and use terms and glossaries – Non-EPA vocabulary developers interested in environmental terms – Anyone needing to understand environmental terminology – Stakeholders, partners and the public • System Customers – Search engines – to expand searches or provide the basis for taxonomies or folders – Enterprise content management – source of value domains and controlled vocabularies – Other systems that use pick lists or taxonomies

Login for EPA and Partners

ETSS High-Level Data Model Vocabulary (Relationship Definitions, Rules, Versions, Contact Information for Stewards & Owners) Terms Standard Attributes (Definitions, Source, Language) EPA Custom Attributes (Notes fields, etc. ) Relationship Links (Narrower Than, Broader Than, Equivalent, and EPA-Custom Relationships to be Defined)

Current Status Where We’re At • Dow Jones’ Synaptica KMS software selected • Editorial system in production • Over 250 vocabularies and 11, 000 terms migrated • New Web Taxonomy created and maintained • Supporting development of EPA Quality Glossary • Training sessions held for editors Next Steps • Develop public end-user interface • Establish governance and workflow • Integrate with SOR and other systems • Develop strategy for moving toward a concept-based system

Knowledge Organization Continuum

What is Concept Management? • Organizing terms around core concepts in a business, domain or enterprise • Goals: * – Articulate clear and concise meanings of business domain concepts – Achieve a shared understanding of the concepts among relevant stakeholders, and – Guard the stability of a concept’s meaning during system development • Major activities: * – Scoping the environment of discourse – Concept specification, integration and enforcement *Bleeker, et al “The Role of Concept Management in System Development – A Practical and Theoretical Perspective” 2003. http: //www. cs. ru. nl/Research/reports/full/NIII-R 0330. pdf

Concept Management and the Semantic Web The Semantic Web is an extension of the current web in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation. It is all about: • • Managing concepts More explicit meaning Structure and standards Tools and infrastructure

Where do we want to go? • ETSS supports the ability to connect multiple vocabularies: – Put an umbrella concept system over all the vocabularies to which the individual terms can be linked – Increase the links between terms, including across vocabularies – Create richer relationships between terms – Continue to add definitions – Develop tools for comparing terms and definitions

For More Information Contact either: Linda Spencer EPA Office of Information Collection spencer. linda@epa. gov (202) 566 -1651 Michael Pendleton EPA Office of Information Collection pendleton. michael@epa. gov (202) 566 -1658 “Commentary. ” Government Computer News – August 14, 2006