Exploring the Role of Enterprise Architecture Models in the Modularization of an Ontology Network: A Case in the Public Security Domain

Ontologies play a key role in semanticinteroperability projects, capturing the conceptualizationunderlying the various systems to be integrated. In the case oflarge information systems landscapes, a single monolithicontology often becomes hard to design and maintain. In thissetting, it is common to divide the ontological model inconsistently interlinked modular ontologies, forming anontology network. This paper explores the role of EnterpriseArchitecture (EA) models in defining the ontologies in anontology network. We report on an exploratory study in thescope of an e-Government interoperability project in the areaof public security. In the reported study, an EA model providesguidance in the modularization of the ontology network.