5,819 research outputs found
Do Process Modelling Techniques Get Better? A Comparative Ontological Analysis of BPMN
Current initiatives in the field of Business Process Management (BPM) strive for the development of a BPM standard notation by pushing the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). However, such a proposed standard notation needs to be carefully examined. Ontological analysis is an established theoretical approach to evaluating modelling techniques. This paper reports on the outcomes of an ontological analysis of BPMN and explores identified issues by reporting on interviews conducted with BPMN users in Australia. Complementing this analysis we consolidate our findings with previous ontological analyses of process modelling notations to deliver a comprehensive assessment of BPMN
Modelling Requirements for Content Recommendation Systems
This paper addresses the modelling of requirements for a content
Recommendation System (RS) for Online Social Networks (OSNs). On OSNs, a user
switches roles constantly between content generator and content receiver. The
goals and softgoals are different when the user is generating a post, as
opposed as replying to a post. In other words, the user is generating instances
of different entities, depending on the role she has: a generator generates
instances of a "post", while the receiver generates instances of a "reply".
Therefore, we believe that when addressing Requirements Engineering (RE) for
RS, it is necessary to distinguish these roles clearly.
We aim to model an essential dynamic on OSN, namely that when a user creates
(posts) content, other users can ignore that content, or themselves start
generating new content in reply, or react to the initial posting. This dynamic
is key to designing OSNs, because it influences how active users are, and how
attractive the OSN is for existing, and to new users. We apply a well-known
Goal Oriented RE (GORE) technique, namely i-star, and show that this language
fails to capture this dynamic, and thus cannot be used alone to model the
problem domain. Hence, in order to represent this dynamic, its relationships to
other OSNs' requirements, and to capture all relevant information, we suggest
using another modelling language, namely Petri Nets, on top of i-star for the
modelling of the problem domain. We use Petri Nets because it is a tool that is
used to simulate the dynamic and concurrent activities of a system and can be
used by both practitioners and theoreticians.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure
A review of information flow diagrammatic models for product-service systems
A product-service system (PSS) is a combination of products and services to
create value for both customers and manufacturers. Modelling a PSS based on
function orientation offers a useful way to distinguish system inputs and
outputs with regards to how data are consumed and information is used, i.e.
information flow. This article presents a review of diagrammatic information
flow tools, which are designed to describe a system through its functions. The
origin, concept and applications of these tools are investigated, followed by an
analysis of information flow modelling with regards to key PSS properties. A
case study of selection laser melting technology implemented as PSS will then be
used to show the application of information flow modelling for PSS design. A
discussion based on the usefulness of the tools in modelling the key elements of
PSS and possible future research directions are also presented
An Evaluation of Inter-Organizational Workflow Modelling Formalisms
This paper evaluates the dynamic aspects of the UML in the context of inter-organizational workflows. Two evaluation methodologies are used. The first one is ontological and is based on the BWW (Bunge-Wand-Weber) models. The second validation is based on prototyping and consists in the development of a workflow management system in the aerospace industry. Both convergent and divergent results are found from the two validations. Possible enhancements to the UML formalism are suggested from the convergent results. On the other hand, the divergent results suggest the need for a contextual specification in the BWW models. Ce travail consiste en une évaluation des aspects dynamiques du language UML dans un contexte de workflow inter-organisationnel. Le choix du language par rapport à d'autres est motivé par sa richesse grammaticale lui offrant une très bonne adaptation à ce contexte. L'évaluation se fait par une validation ontologique basée sur les modèles BWW (Bunge-Wand-Weber) et par la réalisation d'un prototype de système de gestion de workflows inter-organisationnels. À partir des résultats convergents obtenus des deux différentes analyses, des améliorations au formalisme UML sont suggérées. D'un autre coté, les analyses divergentes suggèrent une possibilité de spécifier les modèles BWW à des contextes plus particuliers tels que ceux des workflows et permettent également de suggérer d'autres améliorations possibles au langage.Ontology, Conceptual study, Prototype Validation, UML, IS development methods and tools., Ontologie, étude conceptuelle, validation du prototype, UML, méthodes et outils de développement IS
Learning Hybrid Process Models From Events: Process Discovery Without Faking Confidence
Process discovery techniques return process models that are either formal
(precisely describing the possible behaviors) or informal (merely a "picture"
not allowing for any form of formal reasoning). Formal models are able to
classify traces (i.e., sequences of events) as fitting or non-fitting. Most
process mining approaches described in the literature produce such models. This
is in stark contrast with the over 25 available commercial process mining tools
that only discover informal process models that remain deliberately vague on
the precise set of possible traces. There are two main reasons why vendors
resort to such models: scalability and simplicity. In this paper, we propose to
combine the best of both worlds: discovering hybrid process models that have
formal and informal elements. As a proof of concept we present a discovery
technique based on hybrid Petri nets. These models allow for formal reasoning,
but also reveal information that cannot be captured in mainstream formal
models. A novel discovery algorithm returning hybrid Petri nets has been
implemented in ProM and has been applied to several real-life event logs. The
results clearly demonstrate the advantages of remaining "vague" when there is
not enough "evidence" in the data or standard modeling constructs do not "fit".
Moreover, the approach is scalable enough to be incorporated in
industrial-strength process mining tools.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure
Formal and efficient verification techniques for Real-Time UML models
The real-time UML profile TURTLE has a formal semantics expressed by translation into a timed process algebra: RT-LOTOS. RTL, the formal verification tool developed for RT-LOTOS, was first used to check TURTLE models against design errors. This paper opens new avenues for TURTLE
model verification. It shows how recent work on translating RT-LOTOS specifications into Time Petri net model may be applied to TURTLE. RT-LOTOS to TPN translation patterns are presented. Their formal proof is the subject of another paper. These patterns have been implemented in a RT-LOTOS to TPN translator which has been interfaced with TINA, a Time Petri Net Analyzer which implements several reachability analysis procedures depending on the class of property to be verified. The paper illustrates the benefits of the TURTLE->RT-LOTOS->TPN transformation chain on an avionic case study
Isotactics as a foundation for alignment and abstraction of behavioral models
There are many use cases in business process management that require the comparison of behavioral models. For instance, verifying equivalence is the basis for assessing whether a technical workflow correctly implements a business process, or whether a process realization conforms to a reference process. This paper proposes an equivalence relation for models that describe behaviors based on the concurrency semantics of net theory and for which an alignment relation has been defined. This equivalence, called isotactics, preserves the level of concurrency of aligned operations. Furthermore, we elaborate on the conditions under which an alignment relation can be classified as an abstraction. Finally, we show that alignment relations induced by structural refinements of behavioral models are indeed behavioral abstractions
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