FRAM Ontology

An OWL 2 vocabulary for the Functional Resonance Analysis Method

Version 1.2.0CC BY-SA 4.0

Namespace

Prefix: fram:

IRI: https://flowfram.com/ontology/fram/

Download

JSON-LD Context

context.jsonld

For use in @context references

JSON Schema

fram-model.schema.json

Structural validation (Draft 2020-12)

Turtle

fram.ttl

Canonical ontology definition

GitHub

Source repository

Contribute and report issues

Core Classes

fram:FRAMModel

A complete FRAM model consisting of functions, aspects, and couplings.

fram:Function

A FRAM function representing an activity or task, characterized by six aspects.

Subclasses: HumanFunction, TechnologicalFunction, OrganisationalFunction, BackgroundFunction, EntryFunction, ExitFunction

fram:Aspect

One of the six characterizing aspects of a function: I, O, P, R, C, T.

Subclasses: InputAspect, OutputAspect, PreconditionAspect, ResourceAspect, ControlAspect, TimeAspect

fram:Coupling

A directed connection between the Output of one function and an aspect of another.

fram:Variability

Performance variability characterized by timing and precision phenotypes.

Subclasses: InternalVariability, ExternalVariability, UpstreamVariability, DownstreamVariability

fram:Distribution

Probability distribution for quantitative analysis.

Subclasses: NormalDistribution, UniformDistribution, TriangularDistribution, LogNormalDistribution

fram:Phenotype

Qualitative characterization of output variability.

Subclasses: TimingPhenotype, PrecisionPhenotype

fram:PerformanceCondition

A Common Performance Condition (CPC) that influences function variability.

fram:FunctionalResonance

Emergent phenomenon from the interaction of everyday performance variability.

fram:Constant

A named constant value in the quantitative metadata of a FRAM function. Fixed value with name, data type, and optional unit.

fram:Variable

A computed variable defined by an expression in the quantitative metadata. Can depend on constants or other variables.

fram:OutputMessage

A message output from a function specifying which data is sent to a target function via a coupling. Carries constants, variables, and passthrough fields.

fram:InterpretationProfile

Defines how a function interprets incoming messages on each aspect. Activation logic: ALL, ANY, or NONE.

fram:FRAMScenario

A scenario variant of a FRAM model with specific parameter settings for comparative analysis.

fram:Passthrough

A passthrough field that forwards data from a source function without transformation, maintaining traceability.

Object Properties

Property	Domain	Range
hasFunction	FRAMModel	Function
hasCoupling	FRAMModel	Coupling
hasAspect	Function	Aspect
hasVariability	Function	Variability
hasPerformanceCondition	Function	PerformanceCondition
sourceFunction	Coupling	Function
targetFunction	Coupling	Function
sourceAspect	Coupling	OutputAspect
targetAspect	Coupling	Aspect
hasDistribution	Variability	Distribution
hasPhenotype	Variability	Phenotype
hasContributingFactor	Variability	PerformanceCondition
hasConstant	Function	Constant
hasVariable	Function	Variable
hasOutput	Function	OutputMessage
hasInterpretationProfile	Function	InterpretationProfile
hasPassthrough	OutputMessage	Passthrough
hasScenario	FRAMModel	FRAMScenario
originChain	FunctionalResonance	Function
resonancePoint	FunctionalResonance	Function
criticalPath	FunctionalResonance	Function
variabilityHotspot	FunctionalResonance	Function
isFunctionOf	Function	FRAMModel
isCouplingOf	Coupling	FRAMModel
isAspectOf	Aspect	Function
isSourceOf	Function	Coupling
isTargetOf	Function	Coupling
isVariabilityOf	Variability	Function
isPerformanceConditionOf	PerformanceCondition	Function
isSourceAspectOf	OutputAspect	Coupling
isTargetAspectOf	Aspect	Coupling
isDistributionOf	Distribution	Variability
isPhenotypeOf	Phenotype	Variability
isContributingFactorTo	PerformanceCondition	Variability
isConstantOf	Constant	Function
isVariableOf	Variable	Function
isOutputOf	OutputMessage	Function
isScenarioOf	FRAMScenario	FRAMModel
isInterpretationProfileOf	InterpretationProfile	Function
isPassthroughOf	Passthrough	OutputMessage
isOriginChainIn	Function	FunctionalResonance
isResonancePointIn	Function	FunctionalResonance
isCriticalPathIn	Function	FunctionalResonance
isVariabilityHotspotIn	Function	FunctionalResonance

Usage Example

{
  "@context": "https://flowfram.com/ontology/fram/context.jsonld",
  "@type": "FRAMModel",
  "name": "My FRAM Model",
  "hasFunction": [
    {
      "@type": ["Function", "HumanFunction"],
      "name": "Perform task",
      "hasAspect": [
        { "@type": "InputAspect", "name": "Task request" },
        { "@type": "OutputAspect", "name": "Task completed" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}