Data Bricklaying Diary

Aug 21, 2026 · Fundamentals

Why Ontology Projects Must Define Competency Questions First: Verifiable Acceptance from Day One

This article explains why ontology projects should define competency questions before modeling, detailing how these verifiable business questions constrain scope, expose data gaps, guide modeling trade-offs, and enable repeatable acceptance testing through traceability to data, rules, evidence, and test cases.