Creon: A Capability Reference Ontology for the Analysis and Design of Systems Capabilities

Rodrigo F. Calhau; João Paulo A. Almeida; Raquel Hoffmann; Giancarlo Guizzardi

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-08623-5_5

Creon: A Capability Reference Ontology for the Analysis and Design of Systems Capabilities

Rodrigo F. Calhau^*
, João Paulo A. Almeida
, Raquel Hoffmann
, Giancarlo Guizzardi

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

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Abstract

Enabling system-wide capabilities is a key aspiration of systems engineering. It comes as no surprise then that a number of system modeling techniques have turned their attention to the analysis and design of capabilities. Despite that, these tasks have remained challenging due to the interactive and emergent nature of capabilities, as evidenced by the cases of agility, resilience, adaptability and security. Modeling capabilities requires a proper understanding of capability-related concepts and also how capabilities interact and emerge. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a capability reference ontology (Creon) grounded in system science, emergence explanations, and disposition theories. The ontology aims to enhance the modeling of emergent capabilities and capability relationships in systems engineering. By leveraging concepts from the Unified Foundational Ontology (UFO), Creon supports a comprehensive representation of capabilities. We illustrate the use of the ontology in a transportation context, and present some implications for system capability modeling.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Conceptual Modeling
Subtitle of host publication	44th International Conference, ER 2025, Proceedings
Editors	Dominik Bork, Roman Lukyanenko, Shazia Sadiq, Ladjel Bellatreche, Oscar Pastor
Place of Publication	Cham
Publisher	Springer
Pages	85-105
Number of pages	21
Edition	1
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-032-08623-5
ISBN (Print)	978-3-032-08622-8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-08623-5_5
Publication status	Published - 2026
Event	44th International Conference on Conceptual Modeling, ER 2025: Industrial Track, ER Forum, 8th SCME, Doctoral Consortium, Tutorials, Project Exhibitions, Posters and Demos - Futuscope, Poitiers, France Duration: 20 Oct 2025 → 23 Oct 2025 Conference number: 44 https://er2025.ensma.fr/

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Publisher	Springer
Volume	16189 LNCS
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	44th International Conference on Conceptual Modeling, ER 2025
Abbreviated title	ER 2025
Country/Territory	France
City	Poitiers
Period	20/10/25 → 23/10/25
Internet address	https://er2025.ensma.fr/

Keywords

2026 OA procedure
dispositions
emergence
ontologies
systems modeling
capabilities

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-032-08623-5_5

Conference paperFinal published version, 1.55 MBLicence: Taverne

Cite this

Calhau, R. F., Almeida, J. P. A., Hoffmann, R., & Guizzardi, G. (2026). Creon: A Capability Reference Ontology for the Analysis and Design of Systems Capabilities. In D. Bork, R. Lukyanenko, S. Sadiq, L. Bellatreche, & O. Pastor (Eds.), Conceptual Modeling: 44th International Conference, ER 2025, Proceedings (1 ed., pp. 85-105). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 16189 LNCS). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-08623-5_5

Calhau, Rodrigo F. ; Almeida, João Paulo A. ; Hoffmann, Raquel et al. / Creon : A Capability Reference Ontology for the Analysis and Design of Systems Capabilities. Conceptual Modeling: 44th International Conference, ER 2025, Proceedings. editor / Dominik Bork ; Roman Lukyanenko ; Shazia Sadiq ; Ladjel Bellatreche ; Oscar Pastor. 1. ed. Cham : Springer, 2026. pp. 85-105 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science).

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Calhau, RF, Almeida, JPA, Hoffmann, R & Guizzardi, G 2026, Creon: A Capability Reference Ontology for the Analysis and Design of Systems Capabilities. in D Bork, R Lukyanenko, S Sadiq, L Bellatreche & O Pastor (eds), Conceptual Modeling: 44th International Conference, ER 2025, Proceedings. 1 edn, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 16189 LNCS, Springer, Cham, pp. 85-105, 44th International Conference on Conceptual Modeling, ER 2025, Poitiers, France, 20/10/25. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-08623-5_5

Creon: A Capability Reference Ontology for the Analysis and Design of Systems Capabilities. / Calhau, Rodrigo F.; Almeida, João Paulo A.; Hoffmann, Raquel et al.
Conceptual Modeling: 44th International Conference, ER 2025, Proceedings. ed. / Dominik Bork; Roman Lukyanenko; Shazia Sadiq; Ladjel Bellatreche; Oscar Pastor. 1. ed. Cham: Springer, 2026. p. 85-105 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 16189 LNCS).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

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Calhau RF, Almeida JPA, Hoffmann R, Guizzardi G. Creon: A Capability Reference Ontology for the Analysis and Design of Systems Capabilities. In Bork D, Lukyanenko R, Sadiq S, Bellatreche L, Pastor O, editors, Conceptual Modeling: 44th International Conference, ER 2025, Proceedings. 1 ed. Cham: Springer. 2026. p. 85-105. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science). Epub 2025 Oct 19. doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-08623-5_5