Microsoft Word fidis-wp2-de models doc

FIDIS 

Future of Identity in the Information Society (No. 507512)

 

D2.3 

  

[Final], Version: 2.0 

File: fidis-wp2-del2.3.models.doc 

Page 7 

 

6.5 

Mobile user (CC/PP & UAProf) .............................................................................. 63 

6.6 

Customer information with CIQ .............................................................................. 68 

6.7 

Social information with FOAF, XFN, FTML .......................................................... 70 

6.8 Human 

characteristics 

representation with HumanML............................................ 72 

7 

Glossary........................................................................................................................... 74 

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FIDIS 

Future of Identity in the Information Society (No. 507512)

 

D2.3 

  

[Final], Version: 2.0 

File: fidis-wp2-del2.3.models.doc 

Page 8 

 

Executive Summary 

 

The objective of this document is to provide an overview of different models of person 

representation that can be used in different application domains. 

 

In particular it presents: 

•

 

Different perspectives for modelling of the person in Information Systems.  

•

 

Different  categories of attributes (or data schema) that can be used to define a 

person, and the different domains in which they are used; 

 

It also points out 

•

 

Different processes that can be used to manage person’s information; 

•

 

Different approaches used to acquire person’s information 

Note: these two later aspects (processes and acquisition) are not considered as central in this 

document, and are only present to facilitate the comprehension of the modelling of the person. These 

two aspects are more precisely covered respectively in WP3 (IMS Technologies) and WP7 (Profiling). 

 

This document is aimed at an audience of non-experts and experts who are interested in a 

broad overview of the existing models. A more in-depth presentation of models and 

approaches will be presented in the more specialised workpackages of FIDIS

1

. 

This document does not aim to be exhaustive, rather it aims to help the reader better 

understand the level (and detail) to which the identity of a person can be represented in 

different domains and what the processes used for dealing and manipulating it are. 

 

This document is organised into sections providing: 

•

 

An introduction presenting the objective and identifying the issues of this document 

•

 

An overall presentation of the management of identity categorisation, of the identity 

representation, as well as the different approaches used to acquire this identity 

information (person’s information) 

•

 

An overview on different categories of attributes used to represent the persons, and 

how the attributes are used in different application domains 

•

 

An overview of the representation of the person in different application domains, and 

of the different standards that can be used “identity-informed” Information Systems. 

•

 

A concluding section 

•

 

An appendix listing standards for the representation of the person 

 

                                                 

1

  For instance WP3 provides in D3.1 a more technical overview of identity management systems, WP4 is 

concerned with interoperability issues, and WP7 with profiling 

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FIDIS 

Future of Identity in the Information Society (No. 507512)

 

D2.3 

  

[Final], Version: 2.0 

File: fidis-wp2-del2.3.models.doc 

Page 9 

 

1 Introduction 

1.1 Scope 

This document, created in the context of the workpackage 2 of the FIDIS Network of 

Excellence, proposes to give an overview of the different models (schemas) that are used to 

represent people’s information in different application domains. 

This document also points out some peripheral aspects to this representation, such as the 

management of identity, or the acquisition of this identity. However these aspects –which are 

more thoroughly covered in WP3 (Technologies) and WP7 (Profiling) of FIDIS- are only 

present as a means for facilitating the comprehension of this document. 

Besides, this document aims at making a (partial) inventory of different standards and schema 

that are used for the representation of the person in Information Systems. This inventory 

which is presented in the Annex includes a variety of standards of representation of the person 

(and includes “schemas” that are used in many application domains such as mobility, justice 

or human resources). It does not however cover the different protocols standards that are used 

for the manipulation of this “Identity” (for instance SIP, SAML or PKIX are not covered and 

only PKCS#9 of PKCS is presented). 

 

The audience of this document comprises both non-experts (citizens, employees, civil 

servants, …), who need to have an understanding of the way that identity is managed in 

different application domains (and in particular what the categories of people’s attributes that 

are dealt with or manipulated are); and experts who want to get a more global 

(multidisciplinary) understanding of the different models that are used to manage identity (in 

particular in the application domains that they are less familiar with). 

This document tries to be comprehensible (but not simplistic) even to the non-specialist, and 

favours easy comparison of the different approaches for dealing with identity. The emphasis 

has been put on comprehensibility of the different models, rather than completeness (more 

detailed descriptions are to be found in the more specialised workpackages). 

This document is part of a series of deliverables aiming at facilitating the comprehension of 

the identity concept including “D2.1 Inventory of identity terms” aiming at identifying the 

terminology used for dealing with identity and “D2.2 Set of Use Cases and Scenarios”, which 

provides examples, cases, stories and scenarios which deal with identity issues. 

 

1.2 Objective 

 

The objective of this document is twofold: firstly, to contribute to the awareness and the 

understanding of the models of representation of personal information that are currently used 

in Information Systems, and in particular in IMS (Identity Management Systems). Secondly, 

more as a consequence, to facilitate cross fertilisation of the approaches dealing with identity 

representation in various application domains. 

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