This paper presents a Capability Ontology (CapOnt)
and a rule-based reasoning mechanism, which support service
management within adaptable service systems. The ontology
concepts comprise capability types, capability parameters and
service management functions related to capabilities.
Capability parameter values can be defined by constraints on
other capability parameters. The service management
functions included in the ontology are Capability
Administration, Capability Configuration, Capability
Allocation and Capability Performance Diagnosis. The service
management functions are defined by rules consisting of
constraints and management actions. The ontology concepts
are represented in OWL (Web Ontology Language) and
OWL/XDD (XML Declarative Description Language) – a ruleoriented
knowledge representation. An intelligent conference
room example with simulation results, that demonstrates the
CapOnt and the rule-based reasoning, is also presented.