Abstract
This publication discloses methods and systems for associating context-dependent meaning definitions with terms used in decision evaluation, where the meaning of a given term varies depending on the decision context in which it is evaluated. In one embodiment, a decision evaluation system manages terms through a controlled vocabulary definition in which each governed term identifier maintains a single managed identity across all decision contexts — for purposes of lifecycle management, alternative name resolution, and administrative tracking — while the interpretation rules, typing constraints, and validation logic associated with that term differ depending on which decision context references it. In one embodiment, a baseline term definition provides default interpretation and validation rules for a governed term identifier, and decision-context-specific meaning definitions override this baseline with context-appropriate typing, validation constraints, and interpretation semantics. In one embodiment, the vocabulary version serves as a structural component of the evaluation context identifier, such that vocabulary changes produce distinct evaluation contexts with consequences for decision correctness and reuse eligibility. The disclosed approaches address the problem of semantic heterogeneity in organisational decision systems — where different decision domains legitimately define the same term differently — through contextual vocabulary management and decision context semantic binding rather than global semantic consensus, enabling federated semantics governance, ontology alignment across heterogeneous sources, and cross-context data transformation between meaning environments with different locally-defined terms. The disclosed techniques address the polysemy resolution problem — where identical terms carry legitimately different meanings across organisational domains — through context-partitioned vocabulary binding rather than global ontological consensus.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Winchester, Jayson, "Federated Ontology Management for Polysemous Terms — Context-Dependent Vocabulary Binding", Technical Disclosure Commons, (February 19, 2026)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/9345