Presented at MODSIM 2015 https://www.mssanz.org.au/modsim2015/papersbysession.html session C4.

1. PROV and Real Things
LAND AND WATER
Simon J D Cox & Nicholas J Car
X December 2015

2. The problem
preparation workflow on a
specimen’s journey from
collection to analysis is complex,
and variable
its description must be available
in order to evaluate or
reproduce observations
PROV and real things | Cox & Car2 |

3. Real workflows
PROV and real things | Cox & Car3 |

4. Proposal:
1. Describe specimen preparation using a generic process model
(i.e. input-process-output)
2. Use W3C PROV as the generic process model
PROV and real things | Cox & Car4 |

5. ISO 19156 Specimen model
Specimen is a kind of
Sampling Feature
• [0..*] Preparation Steps
Issues:
• Can’t tie the
predecessor/successor to a
preparation step
• UML/XML only
SF_Specimen
+ currentLocation: Location [0..1]
+ materialClass: GenericName
+ samplingLocation: GM_Object [0..1]
+ samplingMethod: SF_Process [0..1]
+ samplingTime: TM_Object
+ size: Measure [0..1]
+ specimenType: GenericName [0..1]
SF_SamplingFeature
+ lineage: LI_Lineage [0..1]
+ parameter: NamedValue [0..*]
Location
+ geometryLocation: GM_Object
+ nameLocation: EX_GeographicDescription
GFI_Feature
SamplingFeatureComplex
+ role: GenericName
PreparationStep
+ processOperator: CI_ResponsibleParty [0..1]
+ time: TM_Object
SF_Process
+processingDetails
0..*
Intention
+sampledFeature 1..*
0..*
+relatedSamplingFeature
0..*
PROV and real things | Cox & Car5 |
ISO 19156:2011 Geographic Information – Observations and measurements (S J D Cox, Ed.)

6. Specimen model in sam-lite
PROV and real things | Cox & Car6 |
S J D Cox, Ontology for observations and sampling features, with alignments to existing models, Sem. Web (in press)

7. What is PROV?
Core classes:
- Entity
- thing of interest
(‘endurant’)
- Activity
- transformation event
(‘occurrent’)
- Agent
- responsible party or
process
PROV and real things | Cox & Car7 |
T. Lebo, S. Sahoo, D.L. McGuinness, PROV-O: The PROV Ontology, (2013). http://www.w3.org/TR/prov-o/

8. PROV applications
The entities of interest are usually
• Datasets
• Publications, papers, reports, products
i.e. information objects
How about the ‘internet of things’?
PROV and real things | Cox & Car8 |

9. Specimen  PROV mapping
Specimen sub-class-of prov:Entity .
Process sub-class-of prov:Agent .
Preparation-step sub-class-of prov:Activity .
Specimen is a real thing!
PROV and real things | Cox & Car9 |

10. Example:
carbonate
analysis
PROV and real things | Cox & Car10 |
Entities:
specimens,
data, reports
Agents:
people,
machines
Activities:
preparation-steps,
observations

11. Example: insect
taxonomy
PROV and real things | Cox & Car11 |
Entities:
specimens,
data, reports
Agents:
people,
machines
Activities:
preparation-steps,
observations

12. URIs for agents  some ‘vocabularies’ required
• People, including functional positions
(‘the lab technician at the time’)
• Machines, other pieces of kit
• URIs for specimens – see IGSN
PROV and real things | Cox & Car12 |

13. Elaborations
PROV and real things | Cox & Car13 |
These examples use only ‘core’ PROV:
qualifiedInfluence properties
enable recording of more detail

14. Provenance vs provenance
Provenance in GLAM world
= chain-of-custody of non-reproducible things
To verify identity, but also important for assay data, drug-testing, forensics
Provenance in data world
= transformations of reproducible things
Provenance in the world of specimens
= transformations of non-reproducible things ….?
PROV and real things | Cox & Car14 |

15. Summary
• Original application of PROV to real things
• Core PROV model capable of capturing specimen prep & analysis
• Specialization might make it stronger, but little needed
• Bringing ‘data’ provenance home to the GLAM application …
PROV and real things | Cox & Car15 |

16. Land and Water
Simon Cox
Research Scientist
t +61 3 9545 2365
e simon.cox@csiro.au
w www.csiro.au/lorem
Geoscience Australia
Nick Car
Presenter Title
t +61 2 9123 4567
e firstname.surname@csiro.au
w www.csiro.au/lorem
LAND AND WATER
Thank you