Autonomic Protocol-based Coordination in Dynamic Inter-Organizational Workflow

International audienceGiven the maturity of Internet standards, inter-organizational workflow is expected to be deployed in environments that are more dynamic and open than before. This paper addresses Inter Organizational Workflow (IOW) coordination in such a context, mainly investigating autonomic coordination managed at run-time. It is based on the idea that an agent-based approach is suitable to deal with this issue. More precisely, this paper introduces a framework for dynamic IOW in which involved processes are encapsulated into agents, called Process Agents (PA) in order to give them the capability to autonomously decide with whom, when and how to cooperate, and in which involved processes can access protocol components for their coordination needs. Our approach is based on the capability of PAs in playing different coordination protocols in order to take part in new business opportunities. This solution has numerous advantages. First, it provides extendable and reusable coordination components. Then, it supports run-time protocol integration. Finally, it eases openness since it imposes very few constraints

Autonomic Protocol-based Coordination in Dynamic Inter-Organizational Workflow

Given the maturity of Internet standards, inter-organizational workflow is expected to be deployed in environments that are more dynamic and open than before. This paper addresses Inter Organizational Workflow (IOW) coordination in such a context, mainly investigating autonomic coordination managed at run-time. It is based on the idea that an agent-based approach is suitable to deal with this issue. More precisely, this paper introduces a framework for dynamic IOW in which involved processes are encapsulated into agents, called Process Agents (PA) in order to give them the capability to autonomously decide with whom, when and how to cooperate, and in which involved processes can access protocol components for their coordination needs. Our approach is based on the capability of PAs in playing different coordination protocols in order to take part in new business opportunities. This solution has numerous advantages. First, it provides extendable and reusable coordination components. Then, it supports run-time protocol integration. Finally, it eases openness since it imposes very few constraints

Agente de coligação com definição gráfica de processos habilitados por executor de regras: execução e composição dinâmica de skills num sistema de manufactura multiagente

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de ComputadoresA globalização dos mercados e o nível de exigência imposto pelos clientes, em termos de qualidade de produtos e personalização, estão a mudar a forma como a manufactura tem de ser encarada. Como resultado surge, por parte das empresas, a necessidade de implementar processos produtivos mais ágeis, versáteis, robustos e com performance superior. Os requisitos referidos são normalmente obtidos através do uso de componentes autónomos, inteligentes e distribuídos. Uma das aproximações mais promissora ao desenvolvimento deste tipo de sistemas surge sob a forma de multiagentes. Uma das limitações nos sistemas multi-agentes mais utilizados hoje em dia é o facto de as entidades coordenadores não serem genéricas nem intuitivas. A definição da sequência de actividades para o grupo de agentes constituintes dessa coligação implica a necessidade de combinar conhecimentos de domínio e de programação. Sistemas de fluxogramas e regras não possuem estes requisitos pois separam a lógica do código. Porém, em ambas as tecnologias não existe suporte à noção de comunicação, interacção, autonomia e proactividade características inerentes aos agentes. O Objectivo de criar um agente gestor onde o operador comum possa proceder à definição, modificação e execução de processos de forma simples foi o factor que levou à elaboração desta tese. Um agente de coligação com mecanismo de modelação e execução de tarefas complexas foi implementado. O agente de coligação contém um sistema de regras, destinado à dedução de tarefas complexas e um sistema de fluxogramas, requerido para a definição do processo que permite atingir a tarefa computada. Como prova de conceito foi desenvolvido um “Agente Coligador”. Posteriormente o mesmo foi testado numa célula de manufactura laboratorial onde cada entidade se encontra “agentificada” e as suas capacidades se encontram disponíveis para ser descobertas e executadas

Aide à la conception de workflows personnalisés : application à la prise en charge à domicile

Aujourd'hui, les TIC sont reconnues comme un élément inéluctable pour améliorer les pratiques et les usages du secteur de la santé et particulièrement celui de la PAD. Cependant, malgré tout l'engouement et les avancés accomplies dans ce domaine, un problème de coordination et de continuité des soins personnalisés aux patients subsiste toujours. Un système de gestion de workflow semble approprié pour assurer cette coordination de la PAD. Toutefois, les caractéristiques des processus de la PAD, que nous avons identifié, compliquent la conception de ce workflow. En effet, le processus de la PAD a la particularité d'être un processus, personnalisé pour chaque patient, collaboratif évoluant dans un environnement très dynamique et incertain avec une forte contrainte temporelle. Dans le but d'améliorer la coordination en tenant compte des caractéristiques des processus de la PAD, nous avons proposé une approche de conception d'un workflow personnalisé basé sur les modèles de connaissances et guidée par une approche dirigée par les modèles. Cette approche préconise l'utilisation d'ontologies du domaine de la PAD et du BPMN dans un processus de transformations qui aboutit à la conception d'un workflow personnalisé pour un patient donnée selon son profil. Les travaux développés dans ce mémoire présentent une partie de cette approche qui consiste à construire un processus BPMN personnalisé. Les contributions, que nous y exposons sont : premièrement, la conception d'une ontologie du domaine de la PAD. Cette ontologie inclut : le profil patient (pathologie, entourage, environnement,...), l'aspect organisationnel de la PAD (le rôle de chaque intervenant) et le traitement ou les interventions nécessaires pour chaque pathologie. Deuxièmement une proposition de règles de correspondances entre les termes du domaine de la PAD et du BPMN. Finalement des requêtes permettant la conception d'un processus BPMN personnalisé. Cette approche a été testée sur un cas d'étude de la PAD qui montre son bon fonctionnement.Today, ICT is recognized as a requirement to improve the practices of the health sector and particularly the home care area. However, despite all the advances accomplished in this field, a problem of coordination and continuity of personalized care remains. A workflow management system seems appropriate to ensure the coordination of home care. However, the characteristics of the home care processes complicate the design of the workflow. Indeed, the processes of home care need to be customized for each patient, collaborative, evolving in a very dynamic and uncertain environment with a strong time constraint. In order to improve the coordination taking into account the characteristics of the home care process, we propose an approach to design a custom workflow models based on knowledge and guided by a model driven approach. This approach advocates the use of ontologies in the field of home care and BPMN into a process of transformation that leads to the design of a custom workflow for a given patient according to his profile. The work developed in this thesis are part of this approach is to build a customized BPMN process. Contributions are: first, the design of an ontology for home care. This ontology includes: patient profile (pathology, environment, ...), the organizational aspect of the home care (the role of each actor) and the treatment or interventions necessary for each pathology. Secondly, a proposal of correspondence rules between the terms in the field of home care and BPMN. Finally queries are performed to design a customized BPMN process. This approach has been tested on a significative case study