Conceptual Module

A conceptual module is a partition of an ontology or knowledge graph that groups classes, properties, and axioms relevant to a key notion as understood by domain experts.

Unlike purely logical partitions (which optimize for computational properties), conceptual modules optimize for human comprehension. They represent how domain experts actually think about the subject matter, not how the data happens to be structured.

The boundaries aren’t precisely defined by rules. Instead, they must “make sense” from multiple perspectives: the domain expert’s mental model, the use case requirements, and the available data. This fuzziness is a feature, not a bug, it allows modules to serve as bridges between human conceptualization and machine-processable structure.

Related: 06-atom—ontology-design-pattern