Kopernik : modeling business processes for digital customers

This paper presents the Kopernik methodology for modeling business processes for digital customers. These processes require a high degree of flexibility in the execution of their tasks or actions. We achieve this by using the artifact-centric approach to process modeling and the use of condition-action rules. The processes modeled following Kopernik can then be implemented in an existing commercial tool, Balandra.Preprin

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

Conformance checking in UML artifact-centric business process models

Business artifacts have appeared as a new paradigm to capture the information required for the complete execution and reasoning of a business process. Likewise, conformance checking is gaining popularity as a crucial technique that enables evaluating whether recorded executions of a process match its corresponding model. In this paper, conformance checking techniques are incorporated into a general framework to specify business artifacts. By relying on the expressive power of an artifact-centric specification, BAUML, which combines UML state and activity diagrams (among others), the problem of conformance checking can be mapped into the Petri net formalism and its results be explained in terms of the original artifact-centric specification. In contrast to most existing approaches, ours incorporates data constraints into the Petri nets, thus achieving conformance results which are more precise. We have also implemented a plug-in, within the ProM framework, which is able to translate a BAUML into a Petri net to perform conformance checking. This shows the feasibility of our approach.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

EU-Rent as an artifact-centric process model: technical report

Business process modeling using an artifact-centric approach has raised a significant interest over the last few years. This approach is usually stated in terms of the BALSA framework which defi nes the four dimensions of an artifact-centric business process model: Business Artifacts, Lifecycles, Services and Associations. One of the research challenges in this area is looking for diff erent diagrams to represent these dimensions. Bearing this in mind, this technical report shows how various UML diagrams can be used to represent all the elements in the BALSA framework by applying them to the EU-Rent case study.Preprin

Specifying artifact-centric business process models in UML: technical report

In recent years, the artifact-centric approach to process modeling has attracted a lot of attention. One of the research lines in this area is finding a suitable way to represent the dimensions in this approach. Bearing this in mind, this paper proposes a way to specify artifact-centric business process models by means of well-known UML diagrams, from a high-level of abstraction and with a technology-independent perspective. UML is a graphical language, widely used and with a precise semantics.Preprin

Reasoning on the usage control security policies over data artifact business process models

The inclusion of security aspects in organizations is a crucial aspect to ensure compliance with both internal and external regulations. Business process models are a well-known mechanism to describe and automate the activities of the organizations, which should include security policies to ensure the correct performance of the daily activities. Frequently, these security policies involve complex data which cannot be represented using the standard Business Process Model Notation (BPMN). In this paper, we propose the enrichment of the BPMN with a UML class diagram to describe the data model, that is also combined with security policies defined using the UCONABC framework annotated within the business process model. The integration of the business process model, the data model, and the security policies provides a context where more complex reasoning can be applied about the satisfiability of the security policies in accordance with the business process and data models. To do so, wetransform the original models, including security policies, into the BAUML framework (an artifact-centric approach to business process modelling). Once this is done, it is possible to ensure that there are no inherent errors in the model (verification) and that it fulfils the business requirements (validation), thus ensuring that the business process and the security policies are compatible and that they are aligned with the business security requirements.This work has been supported by Project PID2020-112540RB-C44 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033, Project TIN2017-87610-R funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa”, Project 2017-SGR-1749 by the Generalitat de Catalunya, Projects COPERNICA (P20 01224) and METAMORFOSIS by the Junta de Andalucía.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Process conformance checking by relaxing data dependencies

Given the events modeled by a business process, it may happen in the presence of alternative execution paths that the data required by a certain event determines somehow what event is executed next. Then, the process can be modeled by using an approximate functional dependency between the data required by both events. We apply this approach in the context of conformance checking: given a business process model with a functional dependency (FD) that no longer corresponds to the observed reality, we propose corrections to the FD to make it exact or at least to improve its confidence and produce a more accurate model.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A semantic model to fight social exclusion

This work presents a semantic model meant to help with the identification and prediction of individuals at risk of social exclusion. The model is based on the self-sufficiency matrix, a tool that evaluates a person's self-sufficiency in different areas, and that is used by Barcelona's City Council. Existing data sources can then be mapped to this model, in order to analyze, query, and visualize the data.This work is partially supported by the Semiotic project, funded by Ministerio de Economia, Industria, y Competitividad (TIN2016-78473-C3-2-R).Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft