After Effects of Ontology Evolution

Use of ontology in Information Systems and Knowledge Sharing Systems are increasing that gives more importance to proper maintenance of these ontologies in use. Ontology change management is a collaborative process that incorporate areas like; ontology engineering, evolution versioning, merging, integration, and maintenance. As experts develop better understanding of the domain, incorporate changes accordingly to the body of knowledge, as a result the body of knowledge evolves from one state to another. Preserving consistency while accommodating changes is a crucial task that needs special attention. In this paper we provide a brief review of state of the art in the field of ontology evolution that set the stage for the unfolded challenges in ontology evolution to complete the process automatically. Then we also discuss very important issues that need special attention to minimize the after effects of ontology evolution.