Adapting research process models for the design of knowledge engineering applications

To design knowledge bases that effectively address desired reasoning goals, knowledge engineering requires a detailed description of information flow throughout the reasoning processes. Most existing workflow modeling technologies do not provide sufficient detail for projects where cognitive reasoning and field- or lab-based data collection are important components. Research Process Modeling (RPM) was developed to support curation and data lifecycle needs, providing user-targeted documentation on processes, agents, and artifacts, within research projects that include both computational and field- or lab-based processes. We demonstrate the value of RPM to support the design of a knowledge engineering application within 3-D geologic mapping, by documenting and describing information flow through a complex research project involving field-, computation-, and cognitive process-generated data.