Exploration of the benefits of domain-driven product design

CABI are an international not-for-profit organisation that provide expertise and information to help solve agricultural and environmental problems around the word.

As part of a wider ongoing review of their digital strategy, I undertook a project with CABI in December 2012, to explore the benefits of domain-modelling in the creation of rich information resources. The scope of the project was to:

• Explore how resources from across the publishing and scientific part of the organisation could be integrated
• Introduce the concepts of domain-modelling and ontology development to various part of the organisation
• Undertake initial research into a domain model around invasive species management

The project involved workshops with a variety of domain and technology experts and desk based research and analysis. The key deliverable was a report that provided:

• Insight into how domain modelling can provide an alternative approach for building information products
• A framework for a development of an invasive species ontology, tieing together a number of domains including geography, projects, species taxonomy, ecology and biology
• Roadmap for potential further development, including suggested key data integration steps and proof-of-concept applications