Design Thinking and Evaluation Using an Ontology

Abstract

We present the use of an ontology as a tool for thinking about the idealized design of a system and the evaluation of the realized design. The ontology concisely encapsulates the logic of the system. It can be used to think through all the potential components of the system in a natural language. By mapping the actual requirements on to the ontology one can highlight the gaps between the idealized and realized designs and evaluate them. Thus, it will help recognize the logical coherence or lack of it in the design. The paper describes the method of (a) logically constructing an ontology, (b) thinking about the design, and (c) evaluating the design. We illustrate the method with its application to the multi-stage design for enhancing the meaningful use of healthcare information systems in USA by its Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS).

Keywords: design thinking, design evaluation, meaningful use