An Introduction to MultiAgent Systems.

We present PROB, an animation and model checking tool for the B method PROB's animation facilities allow users to gain confidence in their specifications, and unlike the animator provided by the B-Toolkit, the user does not have to guess the right values for the operation arguments or choice variables PROB contains a model checker and a constraint-based checker, both of which can be used to detect various errors in B specifications We present our first experiences in using PROB on several case studies, highlighting that PROB enables users to uncover errors that are not easily discovered by existing tools

ProB: A model checker for B

UML models consistency management

A survey of modeling language specification techniques

UML is widely accepted and extensively used in software modeling. However, using different diagrams to model different aspects of a system brings the risk of inconsistency among diagrams. In this paper, we investigate an approach to check the consistency between the sequence diagrams and statechart diagrams using the SPIN model checker. To deal with the hierarchy structure of statechart diagrams, we propose a formalism called Split Automata, a variant of automata, which is helpful to bridge the statechart diagrams to SPIN efficiently. Compared with the existing work on model checking UML which do not have formal verification for their translation from UML to the model checker, we formally define the semantics and prove that the automatically translated model (i.e. Split Automata) does simulate the UML model. In this way, we can guarantee that the translated model does represent the original model.

Model Checking Dynamic UML Consistency

MDE (Model Driven Engineering) is an emerging software engineering paradigm that relies on models as primary artifacts to build complex software and hardware systems. It basically aims at overcoming the inability of third-generation languages to alleviate the complexity of platforms and express domain concepts effectively. One particular vision of MDE was proposed by OMG (Object Management Group) under the name of MDA (Model Driven Architecture). MDA consists of a set of standardized rules and practices to promote good modeling and fully exploit the models in order to gain in sustainability, consideration of execution platforms and productivity. To achieve these objectives, the models to be used within an MDA approach should be consistent (i.e., complete, free of ambiguities, free of contradictions and anomalies, etc.). In this paper, we identify and describe possible inconsistencies that can be encountered in UML models while applying MDA, propose a new taxonomy for such inconsistencies and precise those supported by the most known verification approaches found in literature. Simple examples are used throughout the paper to illustrate our contribution.

A New Taxonomy of Inconsistencies in UML Models : with their Detection Methods for Better MDE.

Business processes are usually defined by business experts who require intuitive and informal graphical notations such as BPMN (Business Process Management Notation) for documenting and communicating their organization activities and behavior. However, BPMN has not been provided with a formal semantics, which limits the analysis of BPMN models to using solely informal techniques such as simulation. In order to address this limitation and use formal verification, it is necessary to define a certain “mapping” between BPMN and a formal language such as Concurrent Sequential Processes (CSP) and Petri Nets (PN). This paper proposes a method for the verification of BPMN models by defining formal semantics of BPMN in terms of a mapping to Time Petri Nets (TPN), which are equipped with very efficient analytical techniques. After the translation of BPMN models to TPN, verification is done to ensure that some functional properties are satisfied by the model under investigation, namely liveness and reachability properties. The main advantage of our approach over existing ones is that it takes into account the time components in modeling Business process models. An example is used throughout the paper to illustrate the proposed method. ACM CCS (2012) Classification : Applied computing → Enterprise computing → Business process management → Business process modeling *To cite this article: A. Rachdi et al ., "Liveness and Reachability Analysis of BPMN Process Models", CIT. Journal of Computing and Information Technology , vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 195–207, 2016.

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Liveness and Reachability Analysis of BPMN Process Models

Software systems are often modeled as a set of related UML diagrams. Due to the overlapping multi-view nature of UML and due to the incremental and iterative nature of the used software development process, these diagrams might contain inconsistencies. Thus, it is of utmost importance to detect, analyze and fix these inconsistencies before implementing the system. In this paper, we elaborate a transverse view of the aforementioned activities. More explicitly, this work proposes a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) that evaluates the existing techniques for managing inconsistencies using different research questions. The ultimate objective of this review is to come up with new recommendations that should be taken into consideration when conceiving a new proposal for checking inconsistencies.

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Managing Inconsistencies in UML Models: A Systematic Literature Review

Real-time and embedded systems (RTES) have become a necessity in almost every aspect of our daily live. These systems are characterized by their complexity due to the integration of several hardware and software components, and their extreme need of reliability because they are usually used in safety and critical missions. These issues have been for a long time a major concern of researchers, practitioners and engineers, and have pushed them to develop rigorous methodologies and well-defined processes for the design and validation of RTES. This paper presents a unified approach to model and analyze real-time embedded systems using MARTE/UML profile to take care of both software and hardware aspects of the system being developed. The proposed approach follows the general guidelines and principles of platform-based design (PBD). An example is used to illustrate our contribution.

Towards a unified approach for modeling and analysis of real-time Embedded systems using MARTE/UML.

Business Process Management and Notation (BPMN) is the defacto standard used in enterprises for modeling business processes.However, this standard was not provided with a formal semantics, which makes the possibility of analysis limited to informal approaches such as observation. While most of the existing formal approaches for BPMN models verification focus on the control-flow, only few has treated the data-flow angle. The latter is important since the correct execution of activities in BPMN models is based on data’s availability and correctness. In this paper, we present a new approach that uses the DataRecord concept, adapted for the BPMN standard. The main advantage of our approach is that it locates the stage where the data flow anomaly has taken place as well as the source of data flow problem. Therefore the designer can easily correct the data flow anomaly.The model’s data flow problems are detected using an algorithm specific for the BPMN standard.

Abdeslam En-Nouaary

Papers

A New Taxonomy of Inconsistencies in UML Models : with their Detection Methods for Better MDE.

Liveness and Reachability Analysis of BPMN Process Models

Managing Inconsistencies in UML Models: A Systematic Literature Review

Towards a unified approach for modeling and analysis of real-time Embedded systems using MARTE/UML.

DataFlow Analysis in BPMN Models.