Unknown Exception Handling Tool Using Humans as Agents

In a typical workflow process, exceptions are the norm. Exceptions are defined as deviations from the normal sequence of activities and events. Exceptions can be divided into two broad categories: known exceptions (i.e., expected and predefined deviations) and unknown exceptions (i.e., unexpected and undefined deviations). Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) has become the de facto standard for executing business workflows with the use of web services. BPEL includes exception handling methods that are sufficient for known exception scenarios. Depending on the exception and the specifics of the exception handling tools, processes may either halt or move to completion. Instances of processes that are halted or left incomplete due to unhandled exceptions affect the performance of the workflow process, as they increase resource utilization and process completion time. However, designing efficient process handlers to avoid the issue of unhandled exceptions is not a simple task. This thesis provides a tool that handles unknown exceptions using provisions for exception handling with the involvement of human activities by using the BPEL4PEOPLE specification. BPEL4PEOPLE, an extension of BPEL, offers the ability to specify human activities within BPEL processes. The approach considered in this thesis involves humans in exception handling tools by providing an alternate sub process within a given business process. A prototype application has been developed implementing the tool that handles unknown exceptions. The prototype application monitors the progress of an automated workflow process and permits human involvement to reroute the course of a workflow process when an unknown exception occurs. The utility of the prototype and the tool using the Scenario Walkthrough and Inspection Methods (SWIMs) are demonstrated. We demonstrate the utility of the tool through loan application process scenarios, and offer a walkthrough of the system by using examples of instances with examples of known and unknown exceptions, as well as a claims analysis of process instances results

Integration of BPM systems

New technologies have emerged to support the global economy where for instance suppliers, manufactures and retailers are working together in order to minimise the cost and maximise efficiency. One of the technologies that has become a buzz word for many businesses is business process management or BPM. A business process comprises activities and tasks, the resources required to perform each task, and the business rules linking these activities and tasks. The tasks may be performed by human and/or machine actors. Workflow provides a way of describing the order of execution and the dependent relationships between the constituting activities of short or long running processes. Workflow allows businesses to capture not only the information but also the processes that transform the information - the process asset (Koulopoulos, T. M., 1995). Applications which involve automated, human-centric and collaborative processes across organisations are inherently different from one organisation to another. Even within the same organisation but over time, applications are adapted as ongoing change to the business processes is seen as the norm in today’s dynamic business environment. The major difference lies in the specifics of business processes which are changing rapidly in order to match the way in which businesses operate. In this chapter we introduce and discuss Business Process Management (BPM) with a focus on the integration of heterogeneous BPM systems across multiple organisations. We identify the problems and the main challenges not only with regards to technologies but also in the social and cultural context. We also discuss the issues that have arisen in our bid to find the solutions

Utilising Provenance to Enhance Social Computation

Postprin

Mashups: An Approach to Overcoming the Business/IT Gap in Service-Oriented Architectures

For quite a long time already, great importance has been attached to the concept of Service-Oriented Architectures for future IT-architectures. However, a major challenge in implementing this concept lies in the gap between the functional department and IT department. Mashups, an architecture also based on services, try to avoid this gap by letting the user himself integrate the services. The following article analyzes similarities and differences between both architecture approaches, and explains to what extent and in which cases Mashups could complement a Service-Oriented Architecture

Workflow resource pattern modelling and visualization

Workflow patterns have been recognized as the theoretical basis to modeling recurring problems in workflow systems. A form of workflow patterns, known as the resource patterns, characterise the behaviour of resources in workflow systems. Despite the fact that many resource patterns have been discovered, people still preclude them from many workflow system implementations. One of reasons could be obscurityin the behaviour of and interaction between resources and a workflow management system. Thus, we provide a modelling and visualization approach for the resource patterns, enabling a resource behaviour modeller to intuitively see the specific resource patterns involved in the lifecycle of a workitem. We believe this research can be extended to benefit not only workflow modelling, but also other applications, such as model validation, human resource behaviour modelling, and workflow model visualization