How Domain and Application Ontologies work together

I am designing a range of domain ontologies which will cover subjects like Risk, Threat, Vulnerability and Asset specifically for Application Ontologies that support Smart City Cybersecurity requirements. The scope of this is as follows:

Domain Ontology: A domain ontology captures the fundamental concepts, relationships, and properties of a particular domain. It represents the shared understanding of the domain and provides a common vocabulary for describing entities and their relationships. Domain ontologies are often generic and can be reused across multiple applications within the same domain. They serve as a foundation for building application-specific ontologies.

Application Ontology: An application ontology focuses on a specific application within a given domain. It extends and customises the concepts and relationships defined in the domain ontology to address the specific requirements and characteristics of the application. Application ontologies incorporate domain-specific knowledge and terminology, and they can further refine or specialise the concepts to align with the application’s context and goals.

1. Alignment and Integration:
   Domain and application ontologies are aligned and integrated to create a coherent knowledge representation. The application ontology builds upon the domain ontology, inheriting its concepts and relationships, and extends or specializes them as needed. This alignment ensures consistency and interoperability between different applications within the same domain.
2. Customisation and Contextualisation:
   The application ontology tailors the concepts and relationships to match the specific requirements, scope, and objectives of the application. It considers the unique characteristics, processes, and data models associated with the application domain. This customisation allows the application ontology to provide a more precise and relevant representation of knowledge for the specific application context.
3. Data Integration and Interoperability:
   The alignment of domain and application ontologies enables seamless data integration and interoperability. Data from different applications within the domain can be mapped to the shared ontology, ensuring consistency in data representation and facilitating data exchange and integration. The common vocabulary provided by the ontologies allows applications to understand and interpret data from diverse sources, enhancing semantic interoperability.
4. Consistency and Standardisation:
   The use of ontologies promotes consistency and standardisation in data modelling and representation. By aligning with the domain ontology, application ontologies ensure that entities and relationships are consistently defined and named across different applications. This consistency enhances data quality, facilitates data governance, and enables effective knowledge sharing and collaboration.
5. Knowledge Sharing and Reusability:
   Domain and application ontologies promote knowledge sharing and reusability. They provide a shared vocabulary and conceptual framework that enables stakeholders to communicate and collaborate effectively. The ontologies capture domain-specific knowledge and make it explicit, allowing experts to share their expertise and contribute to a collective understanding. The reusability of domain ontologies across multiple applications within the same domain also saves time and effort in ontology development.

In summary, domain and application ontologies work in tandem to provide a comprehensive and tailored representation of knowledge within a specific domain and application context. They ensure consistency, interoperability, and standardisation, enabling effective data integration, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among users and stakeholders.