Complete firstBounded subject
The scope and purpose of Linked Open Terms are stated as a concrete question.
Without scope, linked term registry becomes arbitrary.
Method guideKnowledge Modeling
Linked Open Terms
A practical method guide: clarify prerequisites and materials, understand the complete process, and look up outputs, pitfalls, and stop criteria.
ComplexityMedium
TimeWochen bis Monate
Participants2-8
FormatWorkshop + async
MaturityEmerging
01
Prerequisite
What needs to be finished first
Complete firstAccess to relevant perspectives
approved vocabulary, namespace policy, licence and governance and domain decision makers are available.
Without these perspectives, central claims in linked term registry remain unsupported.
02
Preparation
What needs to be ready before start
Materials
approved vocabulary, namespace policy, licence and governance, shared workspace, source links, and decision log.
People / roles
Vocabulary steward · domain owner · linked data engineer · publisher
Pre-read
Collect approved vocabulary, namespace policy, licence and governance in advance and mark open assumptions.
Time needed
Initially 1–3 days; ongoing governance
Setup
Prepare HTTP IRI, SKOS/RDF description, content negotiation, provenance, and deprecation policy visibly and calibrate assessment terms before starting.
03
Core question
The one question this method answers
How do we publish each term stably, understandably, linked, and versionable?
04
Flow
Phases with goal, actions, output and pitfall
Linked Open Terms combines vocabulary governance with Linked Data principles. Every term receives a dereferenceable IRI, human- and machine-readable representation, status, and provenance.
linked term registry
Fictional worked example
HTTP IRI, SKOS/RDF description, content negotiation, provenance, and deprecation policy as a precise working structure with a fictional example.
IRI
HTTP IRI · namespace · stability
…/action-status/open.
Semantics
Type · definition · labels · relations
skos:Concept; prefLabel de/en.
Publication
HTML · RDF · licence · provenance
Turtle + HTML via negotiation.
Lifecycle
Status · replaced by · changelog
deprecated; dcterms:isReplacedBy.
The example demonstrates the domain logic of Linked Open Terms; worksheets remain blank.
- 1
Model term
Model term
Goal
Produce term record so the core question “How do we publish each term stably, understandably, linked, and versionable?” can be answered with stronger support.
Inputs for this step
- approved vocabulary
- namespace policy
- licence and governance
Actions
- Define description, labels, status, and relations in SKOS/RDF.
- Record source, rationale, and open uncertainty directly in term record.
Output
term record
term record · source · uncertainty · next decision
Quality check
Are definition and labels language-tagged?
Pitfall
IRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history. Freeze the namespace, retain term history, and test dereferencing and RDF validation.
Timing: 10–20 minutes
- 2
Assign IRI
Assign IRI
Goal
Produce stable IRI so the core question “How do we publish each term stably, understandably, linked, and versionable?” can be answered with stronger support.
Inputs for this step
- term record
- namespace policy
- licence and governance
Actions
- Assign a stable HTTP IRI under a documented namespace policy.
- Record source, rationale, and open uncertainty directly in stable IRI.
Output
stable IRI
stable IRI · source · uncertainty · next decision
Quality check
Does the IRI remain stable across versions?
Pitfall
IRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history. Freeze the namespace, retain term history, and test dereferencing and RDF validation.
Timing: 10–20 minutes
- 3
Publish
Publish
Goal
Produce published term so the core question “How do we publish each term stably, understandably, linked, and versionable?” can be answered with stronger support.
Inputs for this step
- stable IRI
- namespace policy
- licence and governance
Actions
- Serve dereferenceable HTML and RDF with licence and provenance.
- Record source, rationale, and open uncertainty directly in published term.
Output
published term
published term · source · uncertainty · next decision
Quality check
Do 303/200 and content negotiation work?
Pitfall
IRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history. Freeze the namespace, retain term history, and test dereferencing and RDF validation.
Timing: 10–20 minutes
- 4
Govern lifecycle
Govern lifecycle
Goal
Produce versioned registry so the core question “How do we publish each term stably, understandably, linked, and versionable?” can be answered with stronger support.
Inputs for this step
- published term
- namespace policy
- licence and governance
Actions
- Govern change, deprecation, replacement, and changelog.
- Record source, rationale, and open uncertainty directly in versioned registry.
Output
versioned registry
versioned registry · source · uncertainty · next decision
Quality check
Do old IRIs remain resolvable?
Pitfall
IRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history. Freeze the namespace, retain term history, and test dereferencing and RDF validation.
Timing: 10–20 minutes
05
Artifact
What comes out at the end
Sketch: what the artifact looks like
Form
Versioned linked term registry with date, sources, owners, and next review.
Versioning / ownership
Retain date, source, assumption state, and decision for every version of linked term registry.
Tool alternatives
- linked term registry as board or document
- Source and evidence register
- Decision and action log
linked-open-terms-working-template.md
Plan Linked Open Terms around its domain steps and the concrete decision question.
Linked Open Terms: Worksheet
Question
To be confirmed
Desired outcome
To be confirmed
Scope
Establish and review the practice Time: Initially 1–3 days; ongoing governance
Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.
Preparation for this scope
Method setup
- Materials: approved vocabulary, namespace policy, licence and governance, shared workspace, source links, and decision log.
- Roles: Vocabulary steward · domain owner · linked data engineer · publisher
- Advance information: Collect approved vocabulary, namespace policy, licence and governance in advance and mark open assumptions.
- Overall time needed: Initially 1–3 days; ongoing governance
- Setup: Prepare HTTP IRI, SKOS/RDF description, content negotiation, provenance, and deprecation policy visibly and calibrate assessment terms before starting.
Prepare for the work steps
Model term: Model term
- approved vocabulary
- namespace policy
- licence and governance
Assign IRI: Assign IRI
- term record
- namespace policy
- licence and governance
Publish: Publish
- stable IRI
- namespace policy
- licence and governance
Govern lifecycle: Govern lifecycle
- published term
- namespace policy
- licence and governance
linked term registry
IRI
HTTP IRI · namespace · stability
...
Semantics
Type · definition · labels · relations
...
Publication
HTML · RDF · licence · provenance
...
Lifecycle
Status · replaced by · changelog
...
Enter only real input, sources, and decisions.
W3C: Best Practices for Publishing Linked Data
Model term: Model term
Expected artifact: term record
term record · source · uncertainty · next decision
Entry:
...
- Are definition and labels language-tagged?
Assign IRI: Assign IRI
Expected artifact: stable IRI
stable IRI · source · uncertainty · next decision
Entry:
...
- Does the IRI remain stable across versions?
Publish: Publish
Expected artifact: published term
published term · source · uncertainty · next decision
Entry:
...
- Do 303/200 and content negotiation work?
Govern lifecycle: Govern lifecycle
Expected artifact: versioned registry
versioned registry · source · uncertainty · next decision
Entry:
...
- Do old IRIs remain resolvable?
Open questions and next steps
...
Method guide: https://methodatlas.meierhoff-systems.de/en/methods/linked-open-terms/run-sheet
06
Example output
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Fictional example for orientation. Counts and timings describe this case and are not universal requirements.
linked-open-terms-beispiel.md
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
IRI: https://example.org/terms/action-status/open. Type: skos:Concept. prefLabel de 'Offen', en 'Open'. Definition, broader action-status, exactMatch only after semantic review. HTML and Turtle via content negotiation. Old term remains resolvable and points with dcterms:isReplacedBy.
07
Pitfalls
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
Quick overview, the full text is in the matching phase in the flow
- Model termIRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history.View in phase
- Assign IRIIRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history.View in phase
- PublishIRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history.View in phase
- Govern lifecycleIRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history.View in phase
Trap
Model term
Symptom
IRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history.
What to do
Freeze the namespace, retain term history, and test dereferencing and RDF validation.
Trap
Assign IRI
Symptom
IRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history.
What to do
Freeze the namespace, retain term history, and test dereferencing and RDF validation.
Trap
Publish
Symptom
IRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history.
What to do
Freeze the namespace, retain term history, and test dereferencing and RDF validation.
Trap
Govern lifecycle
Symptom
IRIs or meanings change without deprecation, redirect, and retained history.
What to do
Freeze the namespace, retain term history, and test dereferencing and RDF validation.
08
Stop criteria
When to pause, resolve prerequisites, or choose another approach
linked term registry answers the core question with traceable evidence or explicitly marked uncertainty.
Owners, next actions, and review dates are named for open points.
Finished the method guide?
Go to the profile for purpose, similar methods, and sources or continue to the next method in the catalog.