In this paper, we attempt to study and investigate ontology development and maintenance frameworks from a domain-centric point of view. By frameworks we mean the structures which have been designed to allow ontology engineers and domain experts to develop and maintain domain ontologies. Such frameworks usually specify particular phases for developing ontologies and provide implemented components for each phase. Our purpose is to analyze the suitability of a framework for developing ontologies which can fulfill the necessities of a specific domain. We have designed a comparison model for analyzing ontological frameworks. Using the model, we inspect how an ontological framework utilizes domain information resources for creating and maintaining ontologies, how much fineness and granularity the designed ontology can reach, and with how much maturity it supports the maintenance and integration capabilities in the development process.

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