OntoGSN: An Ontology-Based Framework for Semantic Management and Extension of Assurance Cases

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Main Authors: Momcilovic, Tomas Bueno, Gallina, Barbara, Kessler, Ingmar, Hendricks, Jule, Balta, Dian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Momcilovic, Tomas Bueno
Gallina, Barbara
Kessler, Ingmar
Hendricks, Jule
Balta, Dian
author_facet Momcilovic, Tomas Bueno
Gallina, Barbara
Kessler, Ingmar
Hendricks, Jule
Balta, Dian
contents Assurance cases (ACs) are a common artifact for building and maintaining confidence in system properties such as safety or robustness. Constructing an AC can be challenging, although existing tools provide support in static, document-centric applications and methods for dynamic contexts (e.g., autonomous driving) are emerging. Unfortunately, managing ACs remains a challenge, since maintaining the embedded knowledge in the face of changes requires substantial effort, in the process deterring developers - or worse, producing poorly managed cases that instill false confidence. To address this, we present OntoGSN: an ontology and supporting middleware for managing ACs in the Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) standard. OntoGSN offers a knowledge representation and a queryable graph that can be automatically populated, evaluated, and updated. Our contributions include: a 1:1 formalization of the GSN Community Standard v3 in an OWL ontology with SWRL rules; a helper ontology and parser for integration with a widely used AC tool; a repository and documentation of design decisions for OntoGSN maintenance; a SPARQL query library with automation patterns; and a prototypical interface. The ontology strictly adheres to the standard's text and has been evaluated according to FAIR principles, the OOPS framework, competency questions, and community feedback. The development of other middleware elements is guided by the community needs and subject to ongoing evaluations. To demonstrate the utility of our contributions, we illustrate dynamic AC management in an example involving assurance of adversarial robustness in large language models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_11023
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle OntoGSN: An Ontology-Based Framework for Semantic Management and Extension of Assurance Cases
Momcilovic, Tomas Bueno
Gallina, Barbara
Kessler, Ingmar
Hendricks, Jule
Balta, Dian
Artificial Intelligence
Software Engineering
Assurance cases (ACs) are a common artifact for building and maintaining confidence in system properties such as safety or robustness. Constructing an AC can be challenging, although existing tools provide support in static, document-centric applications and methods for dynamic contexts (e.g., autonomous driving) are emerging. Unfortunately, managing ACs remains a challenge, since maintaining the embedded knowledge in the face of changes requires substantial effort, in the process deterring developers - or worse, producing poorly managed cases that instill false confidence. To address this, we present OntoGSN: an ontology and supporting middleware for managing ACs in the Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) standard. OntoGSN offers a knowledge representation and a queryable graph that can be automatically populated, evaluated, and updated. Our contributions include: a 1:1 formalization of the GSN Community Standard v3 in an OWL ontology with SWRL rules; a helper ontology and parser for integration with a widely used AC tool; a repository and documentation of design decisions for OntoGSN maintenance; a SPARQL query library with automation patterns; and a prototypical interface. The ontology strictly adheres to the standard's text and has been evaluated according to FAIR principles, the OOPS framework, competency questions, and community feedback. The development of other middleware elements is guided by the community needs and subject to ongoing evaluations. To demonstrate the utility of our contributions, we illustrate dynamic AC management in an example involving assurance of adversarial robustness in large language models.
title OntoGSN: An Ontology-Based Framework for Semantic Management and Extension of Assurance Cases
topic Artificial Intelligence
Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.11023