An end-user approach to business process modeling

This paper discusses the main differences between humanistic and mechanistic business process modeling. While the mechanistic approach requires strict process formalization, emphasizes technical details, and constrains the modeling task to technology experts, the humanistic approach is more centered on the end-user. We developed a modeling approach and a collaborative tool supporting end-user business process modeling. Design storyboards were adopted as a paradigm for knowledge representation and visual composition. The main contributions from this research include the knowledge representation structure and a collaborative tool supporting visual composition of business process models.     

Modeling and formal verification of embedded systems based on a Petri net representation

In this paper we concentrate on aspects related to modeling and formal verification of embedded systems. First, we define a formal model of computation for embedded systems based on Petri nets that can capture important features of such systems and allows their representation at different levels of granularity. Our modeling formalism has a well-defined semantics so that it supports a precise representation of the system, the use of formal methods to verify its correctness, and the automation of different tasks along the design process. Second, we propose an approach to the problem of formal verification of embedded systems represented in our modeling formalism. We make use of model checking to prove whether certain properties, expressed as temporal logic formulas, hold with respect to the system model. We introduce a systematic procedure to translate our model into timed automata so that it is possible to use available model checking tools. We propose two strategies for improving the verification efficiency, the first by applying correctness-preserving transformations and the second by exploring the degree of parallelism characteristic to the system. Some examples, including a realistic industrial case, demonstrate the efficiency of our approach on practical applications.     

Syntax highlighting in business process models

Sense-making of process models is an important task in various phases of business process management initiatives. Despite this, there is currently hardly any support in business process modeling tools to adequately support model comprehension. In this paper we adapt the concept of syntax highlighting to workflow nets, a modeling technique that is frequently used for business process modeling. Our contribution is three-fold. First, we establish a theoretical argument to what extent highlighting could improve comprehension. Second, we formalize a concept for syntax highlighting in workflow nets and present a prototypical implementation with the WoPeD modeling tool. Third, we report on the results of an experiment that tests the hypothetical benefits of highlighting for comprehension. Our work can easily be transferred to other process modeling tools and other process modeling techniques.     

On the refactoring of activity labels in business process models

Large corporations increasingly utilize business process models for documenting and redesigning their operations. The extent of such modeling initiatives with several hundred models and dozens of often hardly trained modelers calls for automated quality assurance. While formal properties of control flow can easily be checked by existing tools, there is a notable gap for checking the quality of the textual content of models, in particular, its activity labels. In this paper, we address the problem of activity label quality in business process models. We designed a technique for the recognition of labeling styles, and the automatic refactoring of labels with quality issues. More specifically, we developed a parsing algorithm that is able to deal with the shortness of activity labels, which integrates natural language tools like WordNet and the Stanford Parser. Using three business process model collections from practice with differing labeling style distributions, we demonstrate the applicability of our technique. In comparison to a straightforward application of standard natural language tools, our technique provides much more stable results. As an outcome, the technique shifts the boundary of process model quality issues that can be checked automatically from syntactic to semantic aspects.     

Interaction-centric modeling of process choreographies

With the rise of electronic integration between organizations, the need for a precise specification of interaction behavior increases. Information systems, replacing interaction previously carried out by humans via phone, faxes and emails, require a precise specification for handling all possible situations. Such interaction behavior is described in process choreographies. While many proposals for choreography languages have already been made, most of them fall into the category of interconnection models, where the observable behavior of the different partners is described and then related via message flow. As this article will show, this modeling approach fails to support fundamental design principles of choreographies and typically leads to modeling errors. This motivates an alternative modeling style, namely interaction modeling, for overcoming these limitations. While the main concepts are independent of a concrete modeling language, iBPMN is introduced as novel interaction modeling language. Formal execution semantics are provided and a comprehensive toolset implementing the approach is presented.     

Managing context in business process management systems

Businesses need to continuously focus on change and innovation in order to survive in dynamic environments. The ability of an organization to deploy appropriate business processes requires that the fit between business processes and systems that support the management of these processes is continuously maintained and evolved. Acquisition and use of the knowledge about the context in which business processes are defined, modified, and implemented can help maintain this fit. We identify requirements for a business process management system (BPMS) capable of managing contextual knowledge. Based on these requirements, we have enhanced KOPeR, a knowledge-based system for business process improvement, with an explanation facility that can acquire and maintain knowledge about the context behind process definitions and design choices. A case study that illustrates the functionalities of this system which is designed to improve the fit between business processes and BPMS is presented.

FirstSTEP process modeler — a CIMOSA-compliant modeling tool

Since its market release in late 1994, the FirstSTEP toolset developed by Interfacing Technologies of Montreal, Canada has been proven to be one of the most practical solutions for business process management initiatives. Being a methodology independent enterprise modeling and simulation application, FirstSTEP has been adopted by industry leaders from such diversified sectors as manufacturing, finance, telecom, healthcare, public, and others. Its concept and approach are compatible to the framework. Most notably is the user front-end simplicity that has enabled its acceptance by the typical business manager who is not usually academic in his/her approach. The paper presents the FirstSTEP tool suite, its concept and approach and demonstrates its capabilities using an application with a most recent FirstSTEP user — America Online.     

Activity labeling in process modeling: Empirical insights and recommendations

Few studies have investigated the factors contributing to the successful practice of process modeling. In particular, studies that contribute to the act of developing process models that facilitate communication and understanding are scarce. Although the value of process models is not only dependent on the choice of graphical constructs but also on their annotation with textual labels, there has been hardly any work on the quality of these labels. Accordingly, the research presented in this paper examines activity labeling practices in process modeling. Based on empirical data from process modeling practice, we identify and discuss different labeling styles and their use in process modeling praxis. We perform a grammatical analysis of these styles and use data from an experiment with process modelers to examine a range of hypotheses about the usability of the different styles. Based on our findings, we suggest specific programs of research towards better tool support for labeling practices. Our work contributes to the emerging stream of research investigating the practice of process modeling and thereby contributes to the overall body of knowledge about conceptual modeling quality.     

Process modeling and analysis of manufacturing supply chain networks using object-oriented Petri nets

This paper presents a systematic methodology for modeling and analysis of manufacturing supply chain business processes. The proposed approach first employs Computer Integrated Manufacturing Open System Architecture (CIMOSA) behavior rules to model the business process routing structures of manufacturing supply chain networks. Object-oriented predicate/transition nets (OPTNs) are then developed for the modular modeling and analysis of process models. Based on the structure of OPTNs, a procedure to obtain the system's P-invariants through objects’ P-invariants is suggested. From the P-invariants obtained, system structural properties such as deadlock and overflow can be analyzed. By using Petri net unfolding techniques and by extracting the process model of each object from the entire process model, the sequencing analysis for operations in supply chain processes becomes possible. Several manufacturing supply chain examples are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

The impact of process standardization on business process outsourcing success

What is the impact of business process standardization on business process outsourcing (BPO) success? This paper argues that there is a direct impact of process standardization on BPO success, due to production cost economies, and also an indirect effect via improved contractual and relational governance resulting from better monitoring opportunities and facilitated communication and coordination. This threefold impact of standardization on BPO success is empirically confirmed using data from 335 BPO ventures in 215 German banks.     

Model checking for process rewrite systems and a class of action-based regular properties

We consider the model checking problem for Process Rewrite Systems (PRS), an infinite-state formalism (non Turing-powerful) which subsumes many common models such as Pushdown Processes and Petri Nets. PRS can be adopted as a formal model for programs with dynamic creation and synchronization of concurrent processes, and with recursive procedures. The model-checking problem of PRS against action-based linear temporal logic (ALTL) is undecidable. However, decidability for some interesting fragment of ALTL remains an open question. In this paper, we state decidability results concerning generalized acceptance properties about infinite derivations (infinite term rewriting) in PRS. As a consequence, we obtain decidability of the model-checking problem (restricted to infinite runs) of PRS against a meaningful fragment of ALTL.     

应急预案流程的Petri网建模方法研究

为了提高应急信息系统模型的语义基础,提出了一种基于Petri网的应急预案流程的建模方法。以ABC模型为上位本体建立了应急预案流程本体,提出了应急预案流程的Petri网建模过程,并定义了应急预案流程中本体和层次Petri网的映射规则。使用该方法对某公路桥梁抢修应急预案流程进行Petri网建模,并通过仿真分析验证了建模方法的有效性。     

Modeling, scheduling and simulation of product development process by extended stochastic high-level evaluation Petri nets

This paper presents a methodology for modeling and simulating product development process-based on the extended stochastic high-level evaluation Petri nets (ESHLEP-N). A product development process is composed of many design activities and the ESHLEP-N model can describe some special features of design activity in detail, such as randomness of its duration, uncertainty of its interruption and complexity of design iteration. Therefore, the ESHLEP-N model is employed to simulate a product development process. The initial product development plan obtained by a mathematical method beforehand is taken as the input of the simulation. Then the simulation procedure is proposed, along with four types of rules, i.e. activity-sequencing rules, resource-assigning rules, state-changing rules and the simulation-terminating rule, for scheduling the design activities. An example of the development process of an automobile drive system in concurrent engineering environment is presented to illustrate the method of the ESHLEP-N-based modeling, simulation procedure and scheduling rules. The simulation results show that the simulation procedure and the scheduling rules are effective.     

Detecting approximate clones in business process model repositories

Empirical evidence shows that repositories of business process models used in industrial practice contain significant amounts of duplication. This duplication arises for example when the repository covers multiple variants of the same processes or due to copy-pasting. Previous work has addressed the problem of efficiently retrieving exact clones that can be refactored into shared subprocess models. This paper studies the broader problem of approximate clone detection in process models. The paper proposes techniques for detecting clusters of approximate clones based on two well-known clustering algorithms: DBSCAN and Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC). The paper also defines a measure of standardizability of an approximate clone cluster, meaning the potential benefit of replacing the approximate clones with a single standardized subprocess. Experiments show that both techniques, in conjunction with the proposed standardizability measure, accurately retrieve clusters of approximate clones that originate from copy-pasting followed by independent modifications to the copied fragments. Additional experiments show that both techniques produce clusters that match those produced by human subjects and that are perceived to be standardizable.     

最小变化区域在流程建模中的应用

针对流程建模过程中缺乏合理性验证以及所建模型过于庞大导致验证复杂的问题,在研究建模过程中结构变化的基础上,提出一种将最小变化区域的思想引入到流程建模过程中的方法。对所提出的方法使用Petri网作为分析工具,以具体系统为例进行了建模应用分析,并在建模过程中进行了合理性验证。分析比较结果表明,利用最小变化区域的思想进行建模可以降低复杂度,并能够在流程建模及模型验证等方面提高工作效率。     

Conformance checking and diagnosis for declarative business process models in data-aware scenarios

A business process (BP) consists of a set of activities which are performed in coordination in an organizational and technical environment and which jointly realize a business goal. In such context, BP management (BPM) can be seen as supporting BPs using methods, techniques, and software in order to design, enact, control, and analyze operational processes involving humans, organizations, applications, and other sources of information. Since the accurate management of BPs is receiving increasing attention, conformance checking, i.e., verifying whether the observed behavior matches a modelled behavior, is becoming more and more critical. Moreover, declarative languages are more frequently used to provide an increased flexibility. However, whereas there exist solid conformance checking techniques for imperative models, little work has been conducted for declarative models. Furthermore, only control-flow perspective is usually considered although other perspectives (e.g., data) are crucial. In addition, most approaches exclusively check the conformance without providing any related diagnostics. To enhance the accurate management of flexible BPs, this work presents a constraint-based approach for conformance checking over declarative BP models (including both control-flow and data perspectives). In addition, two constraint-based proposals for providing related diagnosis are detailed. To demonstrate both the effectiveness and the efficiency of the proposed approaches, the analysis of different performance measures related to a wide diversified set of test models of varying complexity has been performed.     

Understanding the effects of requirements volatility in software engineering by using analytical modeling and software process simulation

This paper introduces an executable system dynamics simulation model developed to help project managers comprehend the complex impacts related to requirements volatility on a software development project. The simulator extends previous research and adds research results from an empirical survey, including over 50 new parameters derived from the associated survey data, to a base model. The paper discusses detailed results from two cases that show significant cost, schedule, and quality impacts as a result of requirements volatility. The simulator can be used as an effective tool to demonstrate the complex set of factor relationships and effects related to requirements volatility.     

Behavioral-based performability modeling and evaluation of e-commerce systems

Assuring high quality of web services, especially regarding service reliability, performance and availability of e-commerce systems (unified under the term performability), has turned into an imperative of the contemporary way of doing business on the Internet. Recognizing the fact that customers’ online shopping behavior is largely affecting the conduct of e-commerce systems, the paper promotes a customer-centric, holistic approach: customers are identified as the most essential “subsystem” with a number of important, but less well-understood behavioral factors. The proposed taxonomy of customers and the specification of operational profiles is a basis to building predictive models, usable for evaluating a range of performability measures. The hierarchical composition of sub-models utilizes the semantic power of deterministic and stochastic Petri nets, in conjunction with discrete-event simulation. A handful of variables are identified in order to turn performability measures into business-oriented performance metrics, as a cornerstone for conducting relevant server sizing activities.