Translating semantic web service based business process models

We describe a model-driven translation approach between Semantic Web Service based business process models in the context of the SUPER project. In SUPER we provide a set of business process ontologies for enabling access to the business process space inside the organisation at the semantic level. One major task in this context is to handle the translations between the provided ontologies in order to navigate from different views at the business level to the IT view at the execution level. In this paper we present the results of our translation approach, which transforms instances of BPMO to instances of sBPEL

Ontology-based patterns for the integration of business processes and enterprise application architectures

Increasingly, enterprises are using Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) as an approach to Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). SOA has the potential to bridge the gap between business and technology and to improve the reuse of existing applications and the interoperability with new ones. In addition to service architecture descriptions, architecture abstractions like patterns and styles capture design knowledge and allow the reuse of successfully applied designs, thus improving the quality of software. Knowledge gained from integration projects can be captured to build a repository of semantically enriched, experience-based solutions. Business patterns identify the interaction and structure between users, business processes, and data. Specific integration and composition patterns at a more technical level address enterprise application integration and capture reliable architecture solutions. We use an ontology-based approach to capture architecture and process patterns. Ontology techniques for pattern definition, extension and composition are developed and their applicability in business process-driven application integration is demonstrated

Discovery and Selection of Certified Web Services Through Registry-Based Testing and Verification

Reliability and trust are fundamental prerequisites for the establishment of functional relationships among peers in a Collaborative Networked Organisation (CNO), especially in the context of Virtual Enterprises where economic benefits can be directly at stake. This paper presents a novel approach towards effective service discovery and selection that is no longer based on informal, ambiguous and potentially unreliable service descriptions, but on formal specifications that can be used to verify and certify the actual Web service implementations. We propose the use of Stream X-machines (SXMs) as a powerful modelling formalism for constructing the behavioural specification of a Web service, for performing verification through the generation of exhaustive test cases, and for performing validation through animation or model checking during service selection

Supporting Semantically Enhanced Web Service Discovery for Enterprise Application Integration

The availability of sophisticated Web service discovery mechanisms is an essential prerequisite for increasing the levels of efficiency and automation in EAI. In this chapter, we present an approach for developing service registries building on the UDDI standard and offering semantically-enhanced publication and discovery capabilities in order to overcome some of the known limitations of conventional service registries. The approach aspires to promote efficiency in EAI in a number of ways, but primarily by automating the task of evaluating service integrability on the basis of the input and output messages that are defined in the Web service’s interface. The presented solution combines the use of three technology standards to meet its objectives: OWL-DL, for modelling service characteristics and performing fine-grained service matchmaking via DL reasoning, SAWSDL, for creating semantically annotated descriptions of service interfaces, and UDDI, for storing and retrieving syntactic and semantic information about services and service providers

The business process modelling ontology

In this paper we describe the Business Process Modelling Ontology (BPMO), which is part of an approach to modelling business processes at the semantic level, integrating knowledge about the organisational context, workflow activities and Semantic Web Services. We harness knowledge representation and reasoning techniques so that business process workflows can: be exposed and shared through semantic descriptions; refer to semantically annotated data and services; incorporate heterogeneous data though semantic mappings; and be queried using a reasoner or inference engine. In this paper we describe our approach and evaluate BPMO through a use case

Quality-aware model-driven service engineering

Service engineering and service-oriented architecture as an integration and platform technology is a recent approach to software systems integration. Quality aspects ranging from interoperability to maintainability to performance are of central importance for the integration of heterogeneous, distributed service-based systems. Architecture models can substantially influence quality attributes of the implemented software systems. Besides the benefits of explicit architectures on maintainability and reuse, architectural constraints such as styles, reference architectures and architectural patterns can influence observable software properties such as performance. Empirical performance evaluation is a process of measuring and evaluating the performance of implemented software. We present an approach for addressing the quality of services and service-based systems at the model-level in the context of model-driven service engineering. The focus on architecture-level models is a consequence of the black-box character of services

Generic unified modelling process for developing semantically rich, dynamic and temporal models

Models play a vital role in supporting a range of activities in numerous domains. We rely on models to support the design, visualisation, analysis and representation of parts of the world around us, and as such significant research effort has been invested into numerous areas of modelling; including support for model semantics, dynamic states and behaviour, temporal data storage and visualisation. Whilst these efforts have increased our capabilities and allowed us to create increasingly powerful software-based models, the process of developing models, supporting tools and /or data structures remains difficult, expensive and error-prone. In this paper we define from literature the key factors in assessing a model’s quality and usefulness: semantic richness, support for dynamic states and object behaviour, temporal data storage and visualisation. We also identify a number of shortcomings in both existing modelling standards and model development processes and propose a unified generic process to guide users through the development of semantically rich, dynamic and temporal models

Ontology-based modelling of architectural styles

The conceptual modelling of software architectures is of central importance for the quality of a software system. A rich modelling language is required to integrate the different aspects of architecture modelling, such as architectural styles, structural and behavioural modelling, into a coherent framework. Architectural styles are often neglected in software architectures. We propose an ontological approach for architectural style modelling based on description logic as an abstract, meta-level modelling instrument. We introduce a framework for style definition and style combination. The application of the ontological framework in the form of an integration into existing architectural description notations is illustrated

Designing Visually Effective and Intuitive Modelling Notations for Security Risk Management

Turvariski juhtimine on toimingute kogum, mille eesmärk on tuvastada ja vähendada turvariske tarkvaraarenduse varastest etappidest alates. Modelleerimisel võivad nii lõppkasutajad kui ka turvaanalüütikud kasutada turvariskidele orienteeritud modelleerimiskeeli. Siiski puudub olemasolevatel keeltel semantiline läbipaistvus, mis tekitab õppimiskõverale täiendavaid takistavaid barjääre ja sügavust. Veelgi enam, hetkel saadaolevad modelleerimiskeeled töötati välja ilma mingit kindlat disaini arvestamata ja nende intuitiivsus on vilets. Kuna modelleerimiskeele oluline tunnusjoon on kognitiivne efektiivsus, keskendub see uuring saadavalolevate turvariskidele orienteeritud modelleerimiskeelte (Secure BPMN, Secure Tropos, Misuse Cases, Mal-activity Diagrams) mõistmise parandamisele. Sellel eesmärgil pakutakse välja ikoonide komplekt, mille võiks integreerida olemasolevatesse modelleerimiskeeltesse. Ikoonide ühtlustatud komplekt suurendaks domeenikohaste kontseptide äratuntavust, mis on toodud infosüsteemide turvariskide juhtimise domeenimudelis, lühendaks õppimiskõverat ning parandaks olemasolevate teadete üldist intuitiivsust. Soovitatav ikoonide komplekt on koostatud mitme empiirilise uuringu põhjal, mis on tehtud kolmes kohas, mis asuvad eri geograafilistes piirkondades ja esindavad erinevaid kultuurilisi taustu. Teadete parandatud kognitiivset efektiivsust, täiendatuna soovitatud ikoonide komplektiga, on kontrollitud hindamisuuringuga, mis näitas olemasolevate teadetega võrreldes paremat mõistmistaset.Security risk management is a set of activities, aimed at identifying and mitigating security risks starting from the early stages of software development. A set of security risk-oriented modelling languages could be used by both end users and security analysts to perform modelling activities. However, existing languages lack semantical transparency, which re-sults in additional grasping barriers and steepness of learning curve. Moreover, presently available modelling languages were developed with no explicit design rationale in mind and perform poorly in terms of effectiveness and intuitiveness. Since the vital characteris-tic of modelling language is cognitive effectiveness, this research is focused on improving visual perception of the available security risk-oriented modelling languages (Secure BPMN, Secure Tropos, Misuse Cases, Mal-activity Diagrams). This goal is fulfilled by proposing a set of icons, which could be incorporated into existing modelling languages. Unified set of icons would enhance the recognizability of domain-specific concepts, out-lined in Information Systems Security Risk Management Domain Model, as well as reduce the learning curve and improve the overall cognitive efficiency of available notations. Pro-posed icon set is composed based on the outcomes of several empirical studies, performed in 3 distinct locations, belonging to various geographical areas and exhibiting a variety of cultural backgrounds. Improved cognitive effectiveness of notations, augmented with pro-posed icon set, is validated by the conducted evaluation study, which demonstrated in-creased level of comprehension as compared with existing notations