Activity Patterns in Process-aware Information Systems: Basic Concepts and Empirical Evidence

Recently, a variety of workflow patterns was suggested for capturing different aspects in process-aware information systems (PAISs) including control and data flow, resources, process change, and exception handling. All these patterns are highly relevant for implementing PAISs and for designing process modeling languages. However, current patterns provide only a partial answer to the question which business functions a designer might want to reuse when modeling processes. This paper presents a revised version of a collection of activity patterns to deal with this challenge. Each of them is related to a recurrent business function as it can be frequently found in process models (e.g., task execution request, notification, approval). We describe the identified activity patterns and their variants in detail. The main purpose of our paper is to discuss results from empirical studies, in which we analyzed more than 200 process models in order to evidence the practical relevance of the patterns. This includes a detailed analysis of the context in which activity patterns occur as well the frequency of this occurrence. These empirical findings can be used for the design of more intelligent, pattern-based process modeling tools

On the Support of Workflow Activity Patterns in Process Modeling Tools: Purpose and Requirements

Patterns increase the reuse of existing knowledge (e.g., design solutions, source code) within organizations and help to achieve consistency between applications. Patterns for process design have received considerable attention by both business analysts and researchers. Several pattern categories have been proposed including patterns for control and data flow, resources, process change, and exception handling. Workflow activity patterns, which can be used as building blocks for business process models (e.g., approval, task execution request), however, have not been explored in-depth so far. Related to this problem we have proposed a set of workflow activity patterns in the ProWAP project. Each activity pattern represents a recurrent business function as it can be frequently found in business processes. The completeness and existence of our activity patterns has been evaluated through an extensive analysis of real process models. In this paper we discuss how to implement activity patterns within a BPM tool. In particular, we describe major goals and requirements of the BPM tool we are currently developing and in which we apply workflow activity patterns. In this context, we also provide a discussion regarding the notion we use for representing activity patterns (BPMN 1.2 vs. UML 2.0)

Estudo e elaboração de um conjunto de regras para sintonia de performance em aplicações de banco de dados

Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar parte do estudo realizado sobre sintonia de performance de banco de dados que consiste em levantar e propor um conjunto de regras que melhore o desempenho de aplicações de banco de dados. São apresentadas algumas considerações sobre sintonia de performance e os aspectos de implementação de sistema de banco de dados que causam impacto no desempenho da aplicação. As regras estudadas referemse á arquitetura do sistema gerenciador de banco de dados ORACLE utilizado como estudo de caso e uma delas é analisada para ilustrar o problema. Além disso, é definido um conjunto de cenários que representam contextos específicos de aplicações reais e que serão utilizados para validar a aplicabilidade das regras propostas. O conjunto de regras será testado para o conjunto de cenários através de um protótipo de ferramenta de tuning baseada em conhecimento. Tal ferramenta deverá auxiliar o administrador de banco de dados no diagnóstico de problemas de performance.The purpose of this article is to present a part of a study on database performance which consists of a survey of tuning situations and propose of a set of rules to improve performance of database applications. Some considerations about tuning will be done and the aspects of database system that cause impact on application performance will be presented. The studied rules rely on the ORACLE database management system architecture that has been used as a case study. Furthermore, one of rules is detailed in order to ilustrate the problem. In addition, a set of database production scenarios is defined which represents specific applications contexts that will be used to validate the proposed rules. The development of a prototype relying on a knowledge based diagnosys tool is under way. It shall be able to help database administrators in the identification of performance problems.Eje: Ingeniería de software. Bases de datosRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Estudo e elaboração de um conjunto de regras para sintonia de performance em aplicações de banco de dados

Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar parte do estudo realizado sobre sintonia de performance de banco de dados que consiste em levantar e propor um conjunto de regras que melhore o desempenho de aplicações de banco de dados. São apresentadas algumas considerações sobre sintonia de performance e os aspectos de implementação de sistema de banco de dados que causam impacto no desempenho da aplicação. As regras estudadas referemse á arquitetura do sistema gerenciador de banco de dados ORACLE utilizado como estudo de caso e uma delas é analisada para ilustrar o problema. Além disso, é definido um conjunto de cenários que representam contextos específicos de aplicações reais e que serão utilizados para validar a aplicabilidade das regras propostas. O conjunto de regras será testado para o conjunto de cenários através de um protótipo de ferramenta de tuning baseada em conhecimento. Tal ferramenta deverá auxiliar o administrador de banco de dados no diagnóstico de problemas de performance.The purpose of this article is to present a part of a study on database performance which consists of a survey of tuning situations and propose of a set of rules to improve performance of database applications. Some considerations about tuning will be done and the aspects of database system that cause impact on application performance will be presented. The studied rules rely on the ORACLE database management system architecture that has been used as a case study. Furthermore, one of rules is detailed in order to ilustrate the problem. In addition, a set of database production scenarios is defined which represents specific applications contexts that will be used to validate the proposed rules. The development of a prototype relying on a knowledge based diagnosys tool is under way. It shall be able to help database administrators in the identification of performance problems.Eje: Ingeniería de software. Bases de datosRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Verifying Existence, Completeness and Sequences of Semantic Process Patterns in Real Workflow Processes

In this paper we present a collection of high level workflow activity patterns based on the semantic of specific business functions (e.g., notification, task execution request, approval). In particular we discuss three pattern samples (approval, unidirectional and decision patterns). Moreover we gather the results of an analysis of their adoption on a wide set of real workflow processes (models). The analyses showed that the patterns are not only enough but also necessary to model all the 190 workflow processes which were subject of the investigation. We also show and discuss specific sequences or combination of patterns which were more often in the workflow processes analyzed. In larger research we apply these patterns as well as the analyses results in the development of a suite for process modeling and normalization

Uma estrutura para o desenvolvimento de sistemas de workflow que integra técnicas para identificar, tratar e minimizar problemas culturais

Sistemas de workflow têm como objetivo auxiliar as organizações na especificação, execução,monitoramento e coordenação do fluxo de trabalho em um ambiente distribuído. No entanto, a implantação de um sistema de workflow provoca transformações nos elementos que formam a dinâmica de uma organização. Tais elementos referem-se á estrutura organizacional, padrões de comportamento da organização e os resultados alcançados pela mesma. Este artigo apresenta uma estrutura para o de desenvolvimento de sistemas de workflow que considera técnicas para identificar, minimizar e tratar os principais problemas culturais que influenciam a qualidade do produto final, ou seja, o sistema de workflow. A base do artigo está centrada nas experiências adquiridas no desenvolvimento de um sistema real de workflow para o Processo de Licenciamento Ambiental (SINPLI) da Fundação Estadual de Proteção Ambiental Henrique Luis Roessler (FEPAM-RS). As principais contribuições do artigo são relatar as fases do desenvolvimento do SINPLI, destacando extensões na estrutura de desenvolvimento e as técnicas utilizadas neste, para identificar, tratar e minimizar os problemas culturais.Eje: Ingeniería de softwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Transacoes de bancos de dados : novos requisitos de processamento de aplicacoes nao convencionais

Motivados pelo sucesso da tecnologia de banco de dados para siste mas comerciais, pesquisadores da área de banco de dados têm voltado sua atenção para as aplicações ditas não convencionais. Como re sultado deste esforço, diversos novos modelos de transação têm sido propostos na literatura, com o objetivo de atender aos novos requisitos de processamento desta nova classe de aplicações. Este trabalho apresenta uma análise sistemática dos novos requisitos de processamento das aplicações não convencionais. Cinco novos mo delos de transação, propostos na literatura, são analisados quanto a aspectos tais como tipos de transações por ele suportados, estrutura das transações, controle de concorrência e recuperação em caso de fa lhas. Finalmente, os modelos analisados são comparados quanto à sua capacidade para suportar os requisitos listados.Motivated the by the success achieved by database systems tecno logy in comercial applications, database researchers show ever growing interest in non-standard applications. Some results of this new re search effort are new database transaction models to support the re quirements of this new application class, This work presents a sistematic analysis oí processing requirements posed by rion-standard applications. Five new transaction models are investigated concerningimportant aspects like transaction types, tran saction structure, concurrency control and recovery. Finally, the new transaction models are compared in order to identify wich of them can better cope with the new requirements

Discovery and Analysis of Activity Pattern Cooccurrences in Business Process Models

Research on workflow activity patterns recently emerged in order to increase the reuse of recurring business functions (e.g., notification, approval, and decision). One important aspect is to identify pattern cooccurrences and to utilize respective information for creating modeling recommendations regarding the most suited activity patterns to be combined with an already used one. Activity patterns as well as their cooccurrences can be identified through the analysis of process models rather than event logs. Related to this problem, this paper proposes a method for discovering and analyzing activity pattern co-occurrences in business process models. Our results are used for developing a BPM tool which fosters the modeling of business processes based on the reuse of activity patterns. Our tool includes an inference engine whichconsiders the patterns co-occurrences to give design time recommendations for pattern usage

A Method For Rewriting Legacy Systems Using Business Process Management Technology

Legacy systems are systems which execute useful tasks for the organization. Unfortunately, to maintain a legacy system running is a complex and costly task. Thus, in recent years several approaches were suggested to rewrite legacy systems using contemporary technologies. In this paper we present a method for rewriting legacy systems based on Business Process Management (BPM). The use of BPM for migrating legacy systems facilitates the monitoring and continuous improvement of the information systems existing in the organization

Why Rigid Process Management Technology Hampers Computerized Support of Healthcare Processes

Healthcare processes are characterized by frequent changes, numerous exceptions and complex deviations from the norm. Despite the increasing adoption of process-aware healthcare information systems (PAHIS), there still exist numerous issues related to the handling of exceptions in clinical processes that are not effectively supported in contemporary PAHIS. This paper presents preliminary results of a research whose goal is to get a deeper understanding of clinical work practices and to better understand how IT process support should look like for them. Altogether, adequate handling of failure and exceptions in PAHIS, while still enabling a certain level of control and assistance to clinical staff