01
Where it fits and where it does not
Use these four checks before committing implementation time.
- Use it when
- Consent-aware discovery, data access review, and machine-readable permitted-use conditions in genomics and health research.
- Limits
- Ontology matching cannot resolve jurisdiction, contract, consent nuance, expiry, or downstream duties without authoritative policy and human governance.
- Best for
- Omics and Clinical and AI / ML teams working across Plan → Exchange → Learn + reuse.
- Maturity
- EstablishedSuitable for production assessment. Pin the exact release and any implementation profile.
02
See it in the workflow
This view shows the input, the change the standard introduces, and the resulting output.
- InputWhat starts
Omics and Clinical and AI / ML source data, metadata, and local mappings
- DUOWhat changes
Use DUO as a pinned ontology / data model across Plan → Exchange → Learn + reuse
- OutputWhat becomes possible
A handoff the next system or team can validate against the same release
03
A concrete example
A repository annotates datasets and access requests with DUO terms, then uses the match as decision support within an accountable approval process.
Why it matters: Helps agents screen permitted uses, but does not establish lawful access, fairness, privacy protection, or security by itself.
04
What it fits with
Can be carried by Croissant use conditions and paired with GA4GH access infrastructure; policy metadata never replaces enforcement or legal review.
- Metadata vocabularyDPV
Both support Clinical and Omics and AI / ML work and meet around Plan, Exchange, Learn + reuse. Compare their roles before treating them as interchangeable.
Explore relationship - StandardCWL
Both support Omics and AI / ML work and meet around Plan, Exchange, Learn + reuse. Compare their roles before treating them as interchangeable.
Explore relationship - Ontology ecosystemOBO Foundry
Both support Clinical and Omics work and meet around Plan, Learn + reuse. Compare their roles before treating them as interchangeable.
Explore relationship - Reference architectureDRS + WES
Both support Omics and Clinical work and meet around Exchange, Learn + reuse. Compare their roles before treating them as interchangeable.
Explore relationship
05
Implementation starter
Start with one bounded handoff. Pin, test, and review it before scaling.
Define one handoff, its accountable owner, and the decision DUO must support.
Pin the exact version and companion artifacts: 1.0 · maintained GA4GH product.
Map one representative input to the required ontology / data model artifacts.
Test the result against the canonical source and record every exception.
Preserve the source data, mappings, and review evidence before scaling.
06
Test the main limitation
Ontology matching cannot resolve jurisdiction, contract, consent nuance, expiry, or downstream duties without authoritative policy and human governance.
Run one representative end-to-end pilot and record exactly where DUO loses context, needs an extension, or depends on another standard.
Machine-readable output may still be unfit for analysis or ML.
Test the output for missing context, provenance, terminology alignment, time leakage, and the intended downstream decision. Helps agents screen permitted uses, but does not establish lawful access, fairness, privacy protection, or security by itself.
07
Official resources
Specifications, diagrams, examples, and guides from the organizations that maintain them.
GA4GH Data Use Ontology
Official publisher or steward guidance for this ontology / data model profile.
- Publisher
- GA4GH