Diagnosing correctness of semantic workflow models

To model operational business processes in an accurate way, workflow models need to reference both the control flow and dataflow perspectives. Checking the correctness of such workflow models and giving precise feedback in case of errors is challenging due to the interplay between these different perspectives. In this paper, we propose a fully automated approach for diagnosing correctness of semantic workflow models in which the semantics of activities are specified with pre and postconditions. The control flow and dataflow perspectives of a semantic workflow are modeled in an integrated way using Artificial Intelligence techniques (Integer Programming and Constraint Programming). The approach has been implemented in the DiagFlow tool, which reads and diagnoses annotated XPDL models, using a state-of-the-art constraint solver as back end. Using this novel approach, complex semantic workflow models can be verified and diagnosed in an efficient way.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2009-1371

An integer programming based approach for diagnosing workflows

Workflow analysis is indispensable to capture modeling errors in workflow designs. While in the past several analysis approaches for workflows have been defined, these approaches do not give precise feedback, making it hard for a designer to pinpoint the exact cause of modeling errors. In this paper we introduce a novel approach for analyzing and diagnosing workflows based on integer programming (IP). Each workflow model is translated into a set of IP constraints. Faulty control flow connectors can be easily detected using the approach by relaxing the corresponding constraints. We show that this approach is correct, and illustrate it with realistic examples where the CPLEX tool is used to solve the IP formulations. Moreover, the approach is flexible and can be extended to handle a variety of new constraints, as well as to support new workflow patterns. Its features complement those of existing approaches

Diagnosing Business Processes

Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIN2015-63502-C3-2-

A comparative assessment of collaborative business process verification approaches.

Industry 4.0 is a key strategic trend of the economy. Virtual factories are key building blocks for Industry 4.0 where product design processes, manufacturing processes and general collaborative business processes across factories and enterprises are integrated. In the context of EU H2020 FIRST (vF Interoperation suppoRting buSiness innovaTion) project, end users of vFs are not experts in business process modelling to guarantee correct collaborative business processes for realizing execution. To enable automatic execution of business processes, verification is an important step at the business process design stage to avoid errors at runtime. Research in business process model verification has yielded a plethora of approaches in form of languages and tools that are based on Petri nets family and temporal logic. However, no report specifically targets and presents a comparative assessment of these approaches based on criteria as one we propose. In this paper we present an assessment of the most common verification approaches based on their expressibility, flexibility, suitability and complexity. We also look at how big data impacts the business process verification approach in a data-rich world

Business Process Configuration According to Data Dependency Specification

Configuration techniques have been used in several fields, such as the design of business process models. Sometimes these models depend on the data dependencies, being easier to describe what has to be done instead of how. Configuration models enable to use a declarative representation of business processes, deciding the most appropriate work-flow in each case. Unfortunately, data dependencies among the activities and how they can affect the correct execution of the process, has been overlooked in the declarative specifications and configurable systems found in the literature. In order to find the best process configuration for optimizing the execution time of processes according to data dependencies, we propose the use of Constraint Programming paradigm with the aim of obtaining an adaptable imperative model in function of the data dependencies of the activities described declarative.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIN2015-63502-C3-2-RFondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regiona

Guiding the Creation of Choreographed Processes with Multiple Instances Based on Data Models

Choreography in business processes is used as a mechanism to communicate various organizations, by providing a method to isolate the behaviour of each part and keeping the privacy of their data. Nev ertheless, choreography diagrams can also be necessary inside an orga nization when a single instance of a process needs to interact and be synchronized with multiple instances of another process simultaneously. The description, by business experts, and the implementation, by devel opers, of these choreographed models are highly complex, especially when the activities involved in the processes exchange various data objects and with different cardinalities. We propose the automatic detection of the synchronization points, when a choreographed process model is needed. The choreography will be derived from the analysis of the process model, data objects consumed and generated through the process, and the data conceptual model that relates the data objects. A graphical tool has been developed to support where the synchronization points must be included, helping to decide about the patterns that describe how a single model can be transformed into a choreographed model.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIN2015-63502-C3-2-

Enabling Flexibility in Process-Aware Information Systems: Challenges, Methods, Technologies

In today’s dynamic business world, the success of a company increasingly depends on its ability to react to changes in its environment in a quick and flexible way. Companies have therefore identified process agility as a competitive advantage to address business trends like increasing product and service variability or faster time to market, and to ensure business IT alignment. Along this trend, a new generation of information systems has emerged—so-called process-aware information systems (PAIS), like workflow management systems, case handling tools, and service orchestration engines. With this book, Reichert and Weber address these flexibility needs and provide an overview of PAIS with a strong focus on methods and technologies fostering flexibility for all phases of the process lifecycle (i.e., modeling, configuration, execution and evolution). Their presentation is divided into six parts. Part I starts with an introduction of fundamental PAIS concepts and establishes the context of process flexibility in the light of practical scenarios. Part II focuses on flexibility support for pre-specified processes, the currently predominant paradigm in the field of business process management (BPM). Part III details flexibility support for loosely specified processes, which only partially specify the process model at build-time, while decisions regarding the exact specification of certain model parts are deferred to the run-time. Part IV deals with user- and data-driven processes, which aim at a tight integration of processes and data, and hence enable an increased flexibility compared to traditional PAIS. Part V introduces existing technologies and systems for the realization of a flexible PAIS. Finally, Part VI summarizes the main ideas of this book and gives an outlook on advanced flexibility issues. The attached pdf file gives a preview on Chapter 3 of the book which explains the book's overall structure

Ensuring the semantic correctness of a BAUML artifact-centric BPM

Context: Using models to represent business processes provides several advantages, such as facilitating the communication between the stakeholders or being able to check the correctness of the processes before their implementation. In contrast to traditional process modeling approaches, the artifact-centric approach treats data as a key element of the process, also considering the tasks or activities that are performed in it. Objective: This paper presents a way to verify and validate the semantic correctness of an artifact-centric business process model defined using a combination of UML and OCL models - a BAUML model. Method: We achieve our goal by presenting several algorithms that encode the initial models into first-order logic, which then allows to use an existing satisfiability checking tool to determine their correctness. Results: An approach to verify and validate an artifact-centric BPM specified in BAUML, which uses a combination of UML and OCL models. To do this, we provide a method to translate all BAUML components into a set of logic formulas. The result of this translation ensures that the only changes allowed are those specified in the model, and that those changes are taking place according the order established by the model. Having obtained this logic representation, these models can be validated by any existing reasoning method able to deal with negation of derived predicates. Moreover, we show how to automatically generate the relevant tests to validate the models. We also show the feasibility of our approach by implementing a prototype tool and applying it to a running example. Conclusion: It is feasible to ensure the semantic correctness of an artifact-centric business process model in practice.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft