Modeling IoT-aware Business Processes - A State of the Art Report

This research report presents an analysis of the state of the art of modeling Internet of Things (IoT)-aware business processes. IOT links the physical world to the digital world. Traditionally, we would find information about events and processes in the physical world in the digital world entered by humans and humans using this information to control the physical world. In the IoT paradigm, the physical world is equipped with sensors and actuators to create a direct link with the digital world. Business processes are used to coordinate a complex environment including multiple actors for a common goal, typically in the context of administrative work. In the past few years, we have seen research efforts on the possibilities to model IoT- aware business processes, extending process coordination to real world entities directly. This set of research efforts is relatively small when compared to the overall research effort into the IoT and much of the work is still in the early research stage. To create a basis for a bridge between IoT and BPM, the goal of this report is to collect and analyze the state of the art of existing frameworks for modeling IoT-aware business processes.Comment: 42 page

A Process Modelling Framework Based on Point Interval Temporal Logic with an Application to Modelling Patient Flows

This thesis considers an application of a temporal theory to describe and model the patient journey in the hospital accident and emergency (A&E) department. The aim is to introduce a generic but dynamic method applied to any setting, including healthcare. Constructing a consistent process model can be instrumental in streamlining healthcare issues. Current process modelling techniques used in healthcare such as flowcharts, unified modelling language activity diagram (UML AD), and business process modelling notation (BPMN) are intuitive and imprecise. They cannot fully capture the complexities of the types of activities and the full extent of temporal constraints to an extent where one could reason about the flows. Formal approaches such as Petri have also been reviewed to investigate their applicability to the healthcare domain to model processes. Additionally, to schedule patient flows, current modelling standards do not offer any formal mechanism, so healthcare relies on critical path method (CPM) and program evaluation review technique (PERT), that also have limitations, i.e. finish-start barrier. It is imperative to specify the temporal constraints between the start and/or end of a process, e.g., the beginning of a process A precedes the start (or end) of a process B. However, these approaches failed to provide us with a mechanism for handling these temporal situations. If provided, a formal representation can assist in effective knowledge representation and quality enhancement concerning a process. Also, it would help in uncovering complexities of a system and assist in modelling it in a consistent way which is not possible with the existing modelling techniques. The above issues are addressed in this thesis by proposing a framework that would provide a knowledge base to model patient flows for accurate representation based on point interval temporal logic (PITL) that treats point and interval as primitives. These objects would constitute the knowledge base for the formal description of a system. With the aid of the inference mechanism of the temporal theory presented here, exhaustive temporal constraints derived from the proposed axiomatic system’ components serves as a knowledge base. The proposed methodological framework would adopt a model-theoretic approach in which a theory is developed and considered as a model while the corresponding instance is considered as its application. Using this approach would assist in identifying core components of the system and their precise operation representing a real-life domain deemed suitable to the process modelling issues specified in this thesis. Thus, I have evaluated the modelling standards for their most-used terminologies and constructs to identify their key components. It will also assist in the generalisation of the critical terms (of process modelling standards) based on their ontology. A set of generalised terms proposed would serve as an enumeration of the theory and subsume the core modelling elements of the process modelling standards. The catalogue presents a knowledge base for the business and healthcare domains, and its components are formally defined (semantics). Furthermore, a resolution theorem-proof is used to show the structural features of the theory (model) to establish it is sound and complete. After establishing that the theory is sound and complete, the next step is to provide the instantiation of the theory. This is achieved by mapping the core components of the theory to their corresponding instances. Additionally, a formal graphical tool termed as point graph (PG) is used to visualise the cases of the proposed axiomatic system. PG facilitates in modelling, and scheduling patient flows and enables analysing existing models for possible inaccuracies and inconsistencies supported by a reasoning mechanism based on PITL. Following that, a transformation is developed to map the core modelling components of the standards into the extended PG (PG*) based on the semantics presented by the axiomatic system. A real-life case (from the King’s College hospital accident and emergency (A&E) department’s trauma patient pathway) is considered to validate the framework. It is divided into three patient flows to depict the journey of a patient with significant trauma, arriving at A&E, undergoing a procedure and subsequently discharged. Their staff relied upon the UML-AD and BPMN to model the patient flows. An evaluation of their representation is presented to show the shortfalls of the modelling standards to model patient flows. The last step is to model these patient flows using the developed approach, which is supported by enhanced reasoning and scheduling

Customizing BPMN Diagrams Using Timelines

BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) is widely used standard modeling technique for representing Business Processes by using diagrams, but lacks in some aspects. Representing execution-dependent and time-dependent decisions in BPMN Diagrams may be a daunting challenge [Carlo Combi et al., 2017]. In many cases such constraints are omitted in order to preserve the simplicity and the readability of the process model. However, for purposes such as compliance checking, process mining, and verification, formalizing such constraints could be very useful. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for annotating BPMN Diagrams with Temporal Synchronization Rules borrowed from the timeline-based planning field. We discuss the expressivity of the proposed approach and show that it is able to capture a lot of complex temporally-related constraints without affecting the structure of BPMN diagrams. Finally, we provide a mapping from annotated BPMN diagrams to timeline-based planning problems that allows one to take advantage of the last twenty years of theoretical and practical developments in the field

A modular approach to the specification and management of time duration constraints in BPMN

The modeling and management of business processes deals with temporal aspects both in the inherent representation of activity coordination and in the specification of activity properties and constraints. In this paper, we address the modeling and specification of constraints related to the duration of process activities. In detail, we consider the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) standard and propose an approach to define re-usable duration-aware process models that make use of existing BPMN elements for representing different nuances of activity duration at design time. Moreover, we show how advanced event-handling techniques may be exploited for detecting the violation of duration constraints during the process run-time. The set of process models specified in this paper suitably captures duration constraints at different levels of abstraction, by allowing designers to specify the duration of atomic tasks and of selected process regions in a way that is conceptually and semantically BPMN-compliant. Without loss of generality, we refer to real-world clinical working environments to exemplify our approach, as their intrinsic complexity makes them a particularly challenging and rewarding application environment

A metamodel to integrate business processes time perspective in BPMN 2.0

Context: Business Process Management (BPM) is becoming a strategic advantage for organizations tostreamline their operations. Most business experts are betting for OMG Business Process Model and No- tation (BPMN) as de-facto standard (ISO/IEC 19510:2013) and selected technology to model processes. Thetemporal dimension underlies in any kind of process however, technicians need to shape this perspectivethat must also coexist with task control flow aspects, as well as resource and case perspectives. BPMNpoorly gathers temporary rules. This is why there are contributions that extend the standard to coversuch dimension. BPMN is mainly an imperative language. There are research contributions showing timeconstraints in BPMN, such as (i) BPMN patterns to express each rule with a combination of artifacts, thusthese approaches increase the use of imperative BPMN style, and (ii) new decorators to capture timerules semantics giving clearer and simpler comprehensible specifications. Nevertheless, these extensionscannot yet be found in the present standard.Objective: To define a time rule taxonomy easily found in most business processes and look for an ap- proach that applies each rule with current BPMN 2.0 standard in a declarative way.Method: A model-driven approach is used to propose a BPMN metamodel extension to address time- perspective.Results: We look at a declarative approach where new time specifications may overlie the main controlflow of a BPMN process. This proposal is totally supported with current BPMN standard, giving a BPMNmetamodel extension with OCL constraints. We also use AQUA-WS as a software project case study whichis planned and managed with MS Project. We illustrate business process extraction from project plans.Conclusion: This paper suggests to handle business temporal rules with current BPMN standard, alongwith other business perspectives like resources and cases. This approach can be applied to reverse engi- neering processes from legacy databases.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2013-46928-C3-3-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2015- 71938-RED

Process-Based Design and Integration of Wireless Sensor Network Applications

Abstract Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks (WSNs) are distributed sensor and actuator networks that monitor and control real-world phenomena, enabling the integration of the physical with the virtual world. They are used in domains like building automation, control systems, remote healthcare, etc., which are all highly process-driven. Today, tools and insights of Business Process Modeling (BPM) are not used to model WSN logic, as BPM focuses mostly on the coordination of people and IT systems and neglects the integration of embedded IT. WSN development still requires significant special-purpose, low-level, and manual coding of process logic. By exploiting similarities between WSN applications and business processes, this work aims to create a holistic system enabling the modeling and execution of executable processes that integrate, coordinate, and control WSNs. Concretely, we present a WSNspecific extension for Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) and a compiler that transforms the extended BPMN models into WSN-specific code to distribute process execution over both a WSN and a standard business process engine. The developed tool-chain allows modeling of an independent control loop for the WSN.

Lightning Fast Business Process Simulator

Äriprotsesside juhtimine on teatud hulk järjepidevalt korratavaid tegevusi alustades äriprotsessi analüüsist, millele järgneb modelleerimine, väljaarendamine, elluviimine ning jälgimine. Korrektne äriprotsesside juhtimine on aluseks efektiivsele ning produktiivsele ettevõttele ning võimaldab kiirelt muutuvas keskkonnas kohandada vastavalt ka ettevõtte äriprotsesse. Rutakalt, läbimõtlemata või –proovimata tehtud muudatused ettevõtte töövoo korralduses võivad halvemal juhul lõppeda veel ebaefektiivsemate tulemustega, mis põhjustavad oodatud kasu asemel hoopis kahju. Seetõttu on oluline tehtavaid muudatusi enne reaalset rakendamist põhjalikult analüüsida, mida omakorda saab teha läbi virtuaalse äriprotsesside simuleerimise. Protsesside simuleerimine on laialdaselt levinud metoodika katsetamaks kavandatavaid mudeleid ning analüüsimaks mõju erinevatele ettevõtte tulemuslikkuse näitajatele, mis tuleneb tehtud muudatustest. Käesoleval ajahetkel on olemas erinevaid äriprotsesside simuleerimise rakendusi nii teadusliku kallakuga kui ka kommertslahendusi nagu näiteks IBM Websphere Business Modeler, Savvion Process Modeler ja teised. Osutub aga, et olemasolevad rakendused on tihtipeale väga aeglased, nendega ei saa modelleerida või simuleerida keerukamaid äriprotsesse või need ei tule toime suuremahulisemate simulatsioonidega. Käesoleva magistritöö esimeses osas on räägitud üldiselt äriprotsesside juhtimisest, nende simuleerimisest ning olemasolevast tarkvarast. Seejärel esitletakse täiesti uut lahendust, kuidas ehitada äriprotsesside simulaator, mis toetab ka keerukamaid konstruktsioone äriprotsesside mudelite de facto esitusstandardist BPMN ning on kordi kiirem kui olemasolevad tasuliselt pakutavad simulatsioonitarkvarad. Kolmandas osas kirjeldatakse lähemalt loodud simulaatorit ja selle arhitektuuri ning viimases peatükis võrreldakse saavutatud tulemust eelpool nimetatud olemasolevate äriprotsesside simuleerimisrakendustega ja antakse ülevaade simulaatori jõudlusest üldiselt.Business process management is a discipline to make an organization’s workflow more efficient and more capable of adapting to changes in an ever-changing global environment. Making changes in real-life business processes could lead to undesired results if potential impact of change is not completely analyzed before the changes are applied. Business process simulation is a widely used technique for analyzing business process models with respect to performance metrics such as cycle time, cost and resource utilization before putting them to production. Many commercial state of the art business process modeling tools incorporate a simulation component, e.g. IBM Websphere Business Modeler, Savvion Process Modeler and others. However, these process simulators are often slow, cannot simulate complex real-life business processes and sometimes cannot even deal with large-scale simulations. For example, it is not possible to simulate process models with sub-processes, intermediate events or inclusive merge gateways (Or-joins). The objective is to build a lightning fast business process simulator engine which could also handle advanced constructions in the process models that are used to represent real-life processes. The simulator is designed and implemented from scratch in the Java programming language and it will support the simulation of business process models defined in the BPMN 2.0 standard. This work presents a novel approach to business process simulation field by using the architecture of a scalable and high-performance business process simulation engine. The contribution of this thesis is a set of design principles, architecture supporting simulations of models containing advanced BPMN constructions like loops, sub-processes, intermediate events and Or-joins

CF4BPMN: a BPMN extension for controlled flexibility in business processes

The need for flexibility in business process languages and tools has evolved over the past few decades, from totally rigid approaches, to totally flexible ones. The need to allow process designers to control this flexibility has risen due to the fact that, in the everyday practice, people do not wish for total flexibility. They rather prefer to be guided, even when they feel the need to change some part of business process. In this paper we propose CF4BPMN, a BPMN language extension to allow modeling and execution of controlled flexibility in business processes. Using this extension, process designers can express how a certain process element can or cannot be changed in execution time, taking into account their experience or other organizational restriction. Then, other process participants can visually learn and follow the advised changes onto a business process in a controlled manner. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Formalization and Model Checking of BPMN Collaboration Diagrams with DD-LOTOS

Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is a standard graphical notation for modeling complex business processes. Given the importance of business processes, the modeling analysis and validation stage for BPMN is essential. In recent years, BPMN notation has become a widespread practice in business process modeling because of these intuitive diagrams. BPMN diagrams are built from basic elements. The major challenge of BPMN diagrams is the lack of formal semantics, which leads to several interpretations of the concerned diagrams. Hence, this work aims to propose an approach for checking BPMN collaboration diagrams to guarantee some properties of smooth functioning of systems modeled by BPMN notation. The verification approach used in this work is based on model checking techniques. The approach proposes as a first step a formal semantics of the collaboration diagrams in terms of the formal language DD-LOTOS, i.e., a phase of the transformation of collaboration diagrams into DD-LOTOS. This transformation is guided by applying the inference rules of the formal semantics of the DD-LOTOS formal language, and we then use the UPPAAL model checker to check the absence of deadlock, safety properties, and liveness properties