Business Process Simulation: Transformation of BPMN 2.0 to Discrete Event System Specification

Theoretical modeling is a complicated characteristic of a simulation study that straight affects the quality and effectiveness of simulation projects. This paper presents a model to model transformation from a conceptual modeling language to a simulation model specification. BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) is worn for theoretical modeling and DEVS (Discrete Event System Specification) is elected for simulation model requirement. Simulation is a dynamic feature of MDSE and which explains the need of coherent M&S formalisms for simulation activities.Accordingly, this paper presents the simulation of service systems based on DEVS models. It defines a transformation approach of BPMN models into DEVS simulation models based on the metamodel approach, and describes the enrichment of obtained DEVS models through performance indicators (time and costs)

Adding Executable Context to Executable Architectures: Enabling an Executable Context Simulation Framework (ECSF)

A system that does not stand alone is represented by a complex entity of component combinations that interact with each other to execute a function. In today\u27s interconnected world, systems integrate with other systems - called a system-of-systems infrastructure: a network of interrelated systems that can often exhibit both predictable and unpredictable behavior. The current state-of-the-art evaluation process of these system-of-systems and their community of practitioners in the academic community are limited to static methods focused on defining who is doing what and where. However, to answer the questions of why and how a system operates within complex systems-of-systems interrelationships, a system\u27s architecture and context must be observed over time, its executable architecture, to discern effective predictable and unpredictable behavior. The objective of this research is to determine a method for evaluating a system\u27s executable architecture and assess the contribution and efficiency of the specified system before it is built. This research led to the development of concrete steps that synthesize the observance of the executable architecture, assessment recommendations provided by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Code of Best Practice for Command and Control (C2) Assessment, and the metrics for operational efficiency provided by the Military Missions and Means Framework. Based on the research herein, this synthesis is designed to evaluate and assess system-of-systems architectures in their operational context to provide quantitative results

Understanding the Elements of Executable Architectures Through a Multi-Dimensional Analysis Framework

The objective of this dissertation study is to conduct a holistic investigation into the elements of executable architectures. Current research in the field of Executable Architectures has provided valuable solution-specific demonstrations and has also shown the value derived from such an endeavor. However, a common theory underlying their applications has been missing. This dissertation develops and explores a method for holistically developing an Executable Architecture Specification (EAS), i.e., a meta-model containing both semantic and syntactic information, using a conceptual framework for guiding data coding, analysis, and validation. Utilization of this method resulted in the description of the elements of executable architecture in terms of a set of nine information interrogatives: an executable architecture information ontology. Once the detail-rich EAS was constructed with this ontology, it became possible to define the potential elements of executable architecture through an intermediate level meta-model. The intermediate level meta-model was further refined into an interrogative level meta-model using only the nine information interrogatives, at a very high level of abstraction

Model Continuity in Discrete Event Simulation: A Framework for Model-Driven Development of Simulation Models.

Most of the well known modeling and simulation methodologies state the importance of conceptual modeling in simulation studies and they suggest the use of conceptual models during the simulation model development process. However, only a limited number of methodologies refers to howto move from a conceptual model to an executable simulation model. Besides, existing modeling and simulation methodologies do not typically provide a formal method for model transformations between the models in different stages of the development process. Hence, in the current M&S practice, model continuity is usually not fulfilled. In this article, a model driven development framework for modeling and simulation is in order to bridge the gap between different stages of a simulation study and to obtain model continuity. The applicability of the framework is illustrated with a prototype modeling environment and a case study in the discrete event simulation domain

A Framework for Executable Systems Modeling

Systems Modeling Language (SysML), like its parent language, the Unified Modeling Language (UML), consists of a number of independently derived model languages (i.e. state charts, activity models etc.) which have been co-opted into a single modeling framework. This, together with the lack of an overarching meta-model that supports uniform semantics across the various diagram types, has resulted in a large unwieldy and informal language schema. Additionally, SysML does not offer a built in framework for managing time and the scheduling of time based events in a simulation. In response to these challenges, a number of auxiliary standards have been offered by the Object Management Group (OMG); most pertinent here are the foundational UML subset (fUML), Action language for fUML (Alf), and the UML profile for Modeling and Analysis of Real Time and Embedded Systems (MARTE). However, there remains a lack of a similar treatment of SysML tailored towards precise and formal modeling in the systems engineering domain. This work addresses this gap by offering refined semantics for SysML akin to fUML and MARTE standards, aimed at primarily supporting the development of time based simulation models typically applied for model verification and validation in systems engineering. The result of this work offers an Executable Systems Modeling Language (ESysML) and a prototype modeling tool that serves as an implementation test bed for the ESysML language. Additionally a model development process is offered to guide user appropriation of the provided framework for model building

Resource-based modeling and simulation of business processes

International audienceThe simulation-based analysis of business processes (BPs) is a key activity at various phases of the BP lifecycle, from the design phase, to predict the process behavior, down to the execution and improvement phases, to recover from possible performance downgrades and/or improve the process performance. The BP analysis is usually carried out taking as input the BP description in a given BP modeling language. This paper specifically addresses BPs described in BPMN (Business Process Model & Notation) and introduces an approach that exploits both model-driven principles and the DEVS (Discrete Event System Specification) formalism to first annotate the BPMN model with the allocation of task resources described in terms of performance and reliability properties and then transform the annotated BPMN model into a DEVS-based model, which can be eventually executed to get the analysis results of interest. The BPMN annotation is carried out by use of PyBPMN, a lightweight BPMN extension that allows business analysts to specify the allocation of task resources and their properties in terms of both time-related attributes and reliability attributes. The paper overviews the proposed approach and gives the details of the DEVS components that are used to model the behavior of the corresponding BPMN primitives

A Language-centered Approach to support environmental modeling with Cellular Automata

Die Anwendung von Methodiken und Technologien aus dem Bereich der Softwaretechnik auf den Bereich der Umweltmodellierung ist eine gemeinhin akzeptierte Vorgehensweise. Im Rahmen der "modellgetriebenen Entwicklung"(MDE, model-driven engineering) werden Technologien entwickelt, die darauf abzielen, Softwaresysteme vorwiegend auf Basis von im Vergleich zu Programmquelltexten relativ abstrakten Modellen zu entwickeln. Ein wesentlicher Bestandteil von MDE sind Techniken zur effizienten Entwicklung von "domänenspezifischen Sprachen"( DSL, domain-specific language), die auf Sprachmetamodellen beruhen. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt, wie modellgetriebene Entwicklung, und insbesondere die metamodellbasierte Beschreibung von DSLs, darüber hinaus Aspekte der Pragmatik unterstützen kann, deren Relevanz im erkenntnistheoretischen und kognitiven Hintergrund wissenschaftlichen Forschens begründet wird. Hierzu wird vor dem Hintergrund der Erkenntnisse des "modellbasierten Forschens"(model-based science und model-based reasoning) gezeigt, wie insbesondere durch Metamodelle beschriebene DSLs Möglichkeiten bieten, entsprechende pragmatische Aspekte besonders zu berücksichtigen, indem sie als Werkzeug zur Erkenntnisgewinnung aufgefasst werden. Dies ist v.a. im Kontext großer Unsicherheiten, wie sie für weite Teile der Umweltmodellierung charakterisierend sind, von grundsätzlicher Bedeutung. Die Formulierung eines sprachzentrierten Ansatzes (LCA, language-centered approach) für die Werkzeugunterstützung konkretisiert die genannten Aspekte und bildet die Basis für eine beispielhafte Implementierung eines Werkzeuges mit einer DSL für die Beschreibung von Zellulären Automaten (ZA) für die Umweltmodellierung. Anwendungsfälle belegen die Verwendbarkeit von ECAL und der entsprechenden metamodellbasierten Werkzeugimplementierung.The application of methods and technologies of software engineering to environmental modeling and simulation (EMS) is common, since both areas share basic issues of software development and digital simulation. Recent developments within the context of "Model-driven Engineering" (MDE) aim at supporting the development of software systems at the base of relatively abstract models as opposed to programming language code. A basic ingredient of MDE is the development of methods that allow the efficient development of "domain-specific languages" (DSL), in particular at the base of language metamodels. This thesis shows how MDE and language metamodeling in particular, may support pragmatic aspects that reflect epistemic and cognitive aspects of scientific investigations. For this, DSLs and language metamodeling in particular are set into the context of "model-based science" and "model-based reasoning". It is shown that the specific properties of metamodel-based DSLs may be used to support those properties, in particular transparency, which are of particular relevance against the background of uncertainty, that is a characterizing property of EMS. The findings are the base for the formulation of an corresponding specific metamodel- based approach for the provision of modeling tools for EMS (Language-centered Approach, LCA), which has been implemented (modeling tool ECA-EMS), including a new DSL for CA modeling for EMS (ECAL). At the base of this implementation, the applicability of this approach is shown

Multidomain Simulation Model for Analysis of Geometric Variation and Productivity in Multi-Stage Assembly Systems

Nowadays, the new era of industry 4.0 is forcing manufacturers to develop models and methods for managing the geometric variation of a final product in complex manufacturing environments, such as multistage manufacturing systems. The stream of variation model has been successfully applied to manage product geometric variation in these systems, but there is a lack of research studying its application together with the material and order flow in the system. In this work, which is focused on the production quality paradigm in a model-based system engineering context, a digital prototype is proposed to integrate productivity and part quality based on the stream of variation analysis in multistage assembly systems. The prototype was modelled and simulated with OpenModelica tool exploiting the Modelica language capabilities for multidomain simulations and its synergy with SysML. A case study is presented to validate the potential applicability of the approach. The proposed model and the results show a promising potential for future developments aligned with the production quality paradigm

Multi-level agent-based modeling - A literature survey

During last decade, multi-level agent-based modeling has received significant and dramatically increasing interest. In this article we present a comprehensive and structured review of literature on the subject. We present the main theoretical contributions and application domains of this concept, with an emphasis on social, flow, biological and biomedical models.Comment: v2. Ref 102 added. v3-4 Many refs and text added v5-6 bibliographic statistics updated. v7 Change of the name of the paper to reflect what it became, many refs and text added, bibliographic statistics update

Model Driven Upgrade Campaign Specification Generation and Evaluation

Oussama Jebbar High availability is an important non-functional requirement for carrier grade services. The applications/systems providing and protecting such services undergo frequent upgrades which makes meeting this requirement very challenging. A system upgrade is the migration process from the system’s current configuration to a new one. This migration may include configuration changes, installation and removal of software, etc.. The Service Availability Forum (SAF) published a set of standards that describe a high availability enabling middleware for Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components based systems. In such a middleware, the Software Management Framework (SMF) is the service responsible for orchestrating the upgrades. These upgrades are performed according to a road map called an upgrade campaign specification. The Availability Management Framework (AMF) is another service defined in the SAF standards and which is responsible of managing the availability of the services and the service providers. To take a SAF compliant system from one configuration to another, one has first to come up with an upgrade campaign specification for that purpose. Moreover, there are multiple upgrade campaign specifications that can take the system from the same source configuration to the same target configuration, but they differ in the duration they take and the service outage they may induce. Designing an upgrade campaign specification for a SAF compliant system is not a straight forward process. Indeed, this is an error prone task that becomes more challenging when the system and the set of changes to perform get larger. Besides, selecting which upgrade campaign specification to apply among all the valid ones is either expensive (running the same upgrade campaign specification on a replica of the real system), or tedious (evaluating, comparing and selecting upgrade campaign specifications manually). In this thesis we propose automation as a solution to ease and minimize human intervention in the design and evaluation of upgrade campaign specifications. We devise a model driven approach to automatically generate upgrade campaign specifications. Our approach consists of several activities in order to ensure the SAF compliance of the generated upgrade campaign specification on one hand. On the other hand, we use the dependencies between system components to apply a set of rules that can improve the quality of the upgrade campaign specification by avoiding some of the unnecessary service outage. These rules include rules to order changes to be performed as well as a set of heuristics that make use of the dependencies. We also address the upgrade campaign evaluation related issues. We extend an existing discrete event systems based simulation approach for upgrade campaign evaluation. We expose the limitations of a random simulation as its results are unreliable for comparison. To overcome these limitations we define best case and worst case scenarios that we use to guide upgrade campaign simulations to see how the upgrade campaigns perform in edge cases. We also devise a method for upgrade campaign specification selection/elimination based on applicability checks according to two criteria: the maintenance window, and the acceptable outage during this window. Finally, we implemented prototypes for upgrade campaign specification generation and evaluation