A Hybrid Framework for Automated and Adaptive E-Business Platforms

The automation of business transactions between corporations has been dominated by proprietary and inflexible EDI solutions for a long time. During the last years, novel XML-based standards emerged which have a wider scope than EDI but strongly differ with regard to granularity and industry-focus. Due to the abundance of many complex standards with limited diffusion among users and industries, especially small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have not yet managed to automate the execution of business transactions and to seamlessly interconnect their respective IT applications. In this work, we propose a novel approach which builds on a composite of existing standards and combines them towards a hybrid architecture facilitating electronic business transactions. The Web Service stack represents the technical foundation of this approach, while parts of the ebXML standard are leveraged to ensure a common understanding of business information and processes between trading partners. A central server acts as repository of formal agreements, common data and process modeling artifacts and allows for intermittent connectivity of the users. Decentral adapter components enable connecting heterogeneous legacy applications of the users to the central server. The resulting approach can thus be considered as hybrid regarding the degree of centralism involved and with respect to the combination of the Web services stack and the ebXML standard as an infrastructural foundation

A rule driven approach for developing adaptive service oriented business collaboration

Current composite web service development and management solutions, e.g. BPEL, do not cater for flexible and adaptive business collaborations due to their pre-defined and inflexible nature that precludes them accommodating business dynamics. In this paper we propose a rule driven approach for adaptive business collaboration development in which rules drive and govern the development process. We introduce the Business Collaboration Development Framework (BCDF), which provides enterprizes with the context to define their capabilities and business collaboration agreements. Subsequently, we explain how rules can drive and control the business collaboration development process to develop complete, correct and consistent business collaboration agreements that are conform the conditions under which parties wish to cooperate.12 page(s

A framework for promoting interoperability in a global electronic market-space

The primary contributions to the area of electronic business integration, propounded by this thesis, are (in no particular order):  A novel examination of global Business-to-Business (B2B) interoperability in terms of a "multiplicity paradox" and of a "global electronic market-space" from a Complex Systems Science perspective.  A framework for an, integrated, global electronic market-space, which is based on a hierarchical, incremental, minimalist-business-pattern approach. A Web Services-SOA forms the basis of application-to-application integration within the framework. The framework is founded in a comprehensive study of existing technologies, standards and models for secure interoperability and the SOA paradigm. The Complex Systems Science concepts of "predictable structure" and "structural complexity" are used consistently throughout the progressive formulation of the framework.  A model for a global message handler (including a standards-based message-format) which obviates the common problems implicit in standard SOAP-RPC. It is formulated around the "standardized, common, abstract application interface" critical success factor, deduced from examining existing models. The model can be used in any collaboration context.  An open standards-based security model for the global message handler. Conceptually, the framework comprises the following:  An interoperable standardized message format: a standardized SOAP-envelope with standardized attachments (8-bit binary MIME-serialized XOP packages).  An interoperable standardized message-delivery infrastructure encompassing an RPC-invoked message-handler - a Web service, operating in synchronous and/or asynchronous mode, which relays attachments to service endpoints.  A business information processing infrastructure comprised of: a standardized generic minimalist-business-pattern (simple buying/selling), comprising global pre-specifications for business processes (for example, placing an order), standardized specific atomic business activities (e.g. completing an order-form), a standardized document-set (including, e.g. an order-form) based on standardized metadata (common nomenclature and common semantics used in XSD's, e.g. the order-form), the standardized corresponding choreography for atomic activities (e.g. acknowledgement of receipt of order-form) and service endpoints (based on standardized programming interfaces and virtual methods with customized implementations).Theoretical ComputingPHD (INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Modelling and Validating Business Collaborations: A Case Study on RosettaNet

The way business processes are organised heavily influences the flexibility and the expenses of enterprises. The capability to address changing market needs in a timely manner and to provide appropriate pricing is indispensable in a world of internationalisation and growing competition. Optimising processes that cross enterprise boundaries potentially is a key success factor in achieving this goal but it requires the information systems of the participating enterprises to be consistently integrated. This gives rise to some challenging tasks. The personnel involved in building up business collaborations comes from different enterprises with different business vocabulary and background which requires extensive communication support. The lack of central technical infrastructure, typically prohibited by business politics, often calls for a distributed and computer-aided collaboration structure, so that the resulting complexity must be handled somehow. Nevertheless robustness is an important factor in building business collaborations as these may exchange goods of considerable value. This technical report proposes the use of a two step modelling approach that separates business logic, modelled in the so-called centralised perspective (CP), from its distributed implementation, modelled in the so-called distributed perspective (DP). The separation of these perspectives enables business people to concentrate on business issues and to solve communication problems in the CP whereas technical staff can concentrate on distribution issues. The use of stringent modelling rules is advised in order to provide the basis for formal analysis techniques as one means to achieve robustness. Considering the choreography of RosettaNet Partner Interface Processes (PIPs) as the subject of my analysis, UML activity diagrams for modelling the CP and WSBPEL for modelling the DP are described as enabling techniques for implementing the proposed two step modelling approach. Further, model checking is applied to validate the CP and DP models in order to detect errors in early design phases. As the adequacy of model checking tools highly depends on the detailed modelling techniques as well as the properties to be checked, a major part of our discussion covers relevant properties and requirements for a model checker.Die Organisation von Geschäftsprozessen hat substantiellen Einfluss auf Flexibilität und Kosten eines Unternehmens. Die Fähigkeit, flexibel auf neue Marktanforderungen mit angemessenen Preisen reagieren zu können, ist in Zeiten der Internationalisierung und wachsenden Wettbewerbs überlebenswichtig. Die Optimierung unternehmensübergreifender Geschäftsprozesse ist ein potentieller Erfolgsfaktor für die Sicherstellung dieser Fähigkeit. Dazu müssen jedoch die Informationssysteme der beteiligten Unternehmen in konsistenter Weise integriert werden. So ergeben sich herausfordernde Aufgaben für Unternehmen. Typischerweise gehören Personen, die an der Realisierung einer Geschäftskollaboration mitwirken, unterschiedlichen Unternehmen an und haben ein unterschiedliches Verständnis von Geschäftsprozessen sowie unterschiedliches Vokabular zur Beschreibung von Geschäftsprozessen. Daher muss die Kommunikation zwischen diesen Personen besonders unterstützt werden. Weiterhin muss die Realisierung von Geschäftskollaborationen häufig verteilt vorgenommen werden, da keine zentrale technische Infrastruktur zur Verfügung steht oder aufgrund unternehmenspolitischer Restriktionen nicht möglich ist. Daher muss die entstehende Komplexität bewältigt werden. Schließlich werden im Rahmen einer Geschäftskollaboration häufig Güter beträchtlichen Werts ausgetauscht, sodass Robustheit eine maßgebende Anforderung an deren Realisierung ist. In diesem Arbeitsbericht wird ein zweistufiger Modellierungsansatz zur Bewältigung dieser Aufgaben vorgeschlagen, in dem die Modellierung von Geschäftslogik aus der so genannten "centralised perspective" (CP) von der Modellierung der verteilten Implementierung aus der so genannten "distributed perspective" (DP) getrennt wird. Durch die Trennung dieser Perspektiven können kaufmännische Experten Geschäftslogik aus der CP modellieren und Kommunikationsprobleme lösen wohingegen technische Experten die verteilte Implementierung aus der DP modellieren können. Weiter werden stringente Modellierungsregeln für die jeweilige Perspektive eingeführt, um die zu erstellenden Modelle formalen Analysetechniken zugänglich zu machen und so Robustheit als Ziel zu verwirklichen. Die in diesem Arbeitsbericht vorgestellte Fallstudie behandelt die Choreographie von RosettaNet Partner Interface Processes (PIPs). Für die Fallstudie werden als mögliche Technologien UML Aktivitätsdiagramme zur Modellierung aus der CP und WSBPEL zur Modellierung aus der DP eingesetzt. Zusätzlich werden Model-Checking-Tools (Model Checker) zur Validierung der Modelle in frühen Entwicklungsphasen eingesetzt. Da die Adäquatheit eines Model Checkers wesentlich von der Art des Eingabemodells und den zu validierenden Eigenschaften abhängt, ist ein wichtiger Teil dieses Berichts der Identifikation relevanter Modelleigenschaften und der Analyse der Anforderungen an einen Model Checker gewidmet

ebXML: Global Standard for Electronic Business

Business-to-business integration is transforming the market and has already begun to increase the efficiency of those companies involved. EDI (Electronic Document Interchange) became very popular during 1970’s; Today EDI transactions total about $750 billion year. EDI is being used by 90% of Fortune 1000 companies. It has indeed become a dominant technology for the largest companies, on the other hand it has been adopted by less than 5% of small and medium sized companies in general and, of these, many use EDI only because their larger customers require it. The reason behind is that EDI is a difficult, complex technology to implement usually comes with high transactional cost. Hence it is suitable for large companies with large volume of transactions. EDI uses fixed, rigid and compressed data format that is difficult to decipher and debug. The data exchange in EDI happens in proprietary VAN (value added network) which is an expensive solution. EbXML (Electronic Business XML) envisioned creating a single global electronic marketplace where enterprises of any size and in any geographic location can meet and conduct business with each other through exchange of xml based messages. The XML (the Extensible Markup Language) has rapidly imposed itself as a popular format for exchange of information on the web. The very nature of XML is that it is a structured document format, in that it represents not only the information to be exchanged, but the metadata encapsulating its meaning. XML technology has potential to solve the existing problems in current EDI systems. Using ebXML, companies have a standard method to exchange business messages, conduct trading relationships, communicate data in common terms and define and register business processes. EbXML is designed to provide a simple way for companies to find one another and conduct business over the Web, allowing those with different platforms to speak a common language. EbXML targets to provide low cost solutions for small and medium enterprises as well as complex solution for large enterprises. This project attempts to implement a prototype of ebXML messaging service as per ebXML specification to obtain the insight look of feasibility and suitability of XML solution for EDI