Ingo Weber

Bio: Ingo Weber is an academic researcher from Technical University of Berlin. The author has contributed to research in topics: Business process & Business process management. The author has an hindex of 34, co-authored 161 publications receiving 4951 citations. Previous affiliations of Ingo Weber include University of Massachusetts Amherst & University of New South Wales.

A Taxonomy of Blockchain-Based Systems for Architecture Design

Abstract: Blockchain is an emerging technology for decentralised and transactional data sharing across a large network of untrusted participants. It enables new forms of distributed software architectures, where agreement on shared states can be established without trusting a central integration point. A major difficulty for architects designing applications based on blockchain is that thetechnology has many configurations and variants. Since blockchains are at an early stage, there is little product data or reliable technology evaluation available to compare different blockchains. In this paper, we propose how to classify and compare blockchains and blockchain-based systems to assist with the design and assessment of their impact on software architectures. Our taxonomy captures major architectural characteristics of blockchains and the impact of their principal design decisions. This taxonomy is intended to help with important architectural considerations about the performance and quality attributes of blockchain-based systems.

Untrusted business process monitoring and execution using blockchain

Abstract: The integration of business processes across organizations is typically beneficial for all involved parties. However, the lack of trust is often a roadblock. Blockchain is an emerging technology for decentralized and transactional data sharing across a network of untrusted participants. It can be used to find agreement about the shared state of collaborating parties without trusting a central authority or any particular participant. Some blockchain networks also provide a computational infrastructure to run autonomous programs called smart contracts. In this paper, we address the fundamental problem of trust in collaborative process execution using blockchain. We develop a technique to integrate blockchain into the choreography of processes in such a way that no central authority is needed, but trust maintained. Our solution comprises the combination of an intricate set of components, which allow monitoring or coordination of business processes. We implemented our solution and demonstrate its feasibility by applying it to three use case processes. Our evaluation includes the creation of more than 500 smart contracts and the execution over 8,000 blockchain transactions.

Devops: A Software Architect's Perspective

Abstract: The First Complete Guide to DevOps for Software Architects DevOps promises to accelerate the release of new software features and improve monitoring of systems in production, but its crucial implications for software architects and architecture are often ignored In DevOps: A Software Architects Perspective, three leading architects address these issues head-on The authors review decisions software architects must make in order to achieve DevOps goals and clarify how other DevOps participants are likely to impact the architects work They also provide the organizational, technical, and operational context needed to deploy DevOps more efficiently, and review DevOps impact on each development phase The authors address cross-cutting concerns that link multiple functions, offering practical insights into compliance, performance, reliability, repeatability, and security This guide demonstrates the authors ideas in action with three real-world case studies: datacenter replication for business continuity, management of a continuous deployment pipeline, and migration to a microservice architecture Comprehensive coverage includes Why DevOps can require major changes in both system architecture and IT roles How virtualization and the cloud can enable DevOps practices Integrating operations and its service lifecycle into DevOps Designing new systems to work well with DevOps practices Integrating DevOps with agile methods and TDD Handling failure detection, upgrade planning, and other key issues Managing consistency issues arising from DevOps independent deployment models Integrating security controls, roles, and audits into DevOps Preparing a business plan for DevOps adoption, rollout, and measurement

Blockchains for Business Process Management - Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract: Blockchain technology offers a sizable promise to rethink the way interorganizational business processes are managed because of its potential to realize execution without a central party serving as a single point of trust (and failure). To stimulate research on this promise and the limits thereof, in this article, we outline the challenges and opportunities of blockchain for business process management (BPM). We first reflect how blockchains could be used in the context of the established BPM lifecycle and second how they might become relevant beyond. We conclude our discourse with a summary of seven research directions for investigating the application of blockchain technology in the context of BPM.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Ontology Matching

Abstract: Ontologies tend to be found everywhere. They are viewed as the silver bullet for many applications, such as database integration, peer-to-peer systems, e-commerce, semantic web services, or social networks. However, in open or evolving systems, such as the semantic web, different parties would, in general, adopt different ontologies. Thus, merely using ontologies, like using XML, does not reduce heterogeneity: it just raises heterogeneity problems to a higher level. Euzenat and Shvaikos book is devoted to ontology matching as a solution to the semantic heterogeneity problem faced by computer systems. Ontology matching aims at finding correspondences between semantically related entities of different ontologies. These correspondences may stand for equivalence as well as other relations, such as consequence, subsumption, or disjointness, between ontology entities. Many different matching solutions have been proposed so far from various viewpoints, e.g., databases, information systems, and artificial intelligence. The second edition of Ontology Matching has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the most recent advances in this quickly developing area, which resulted in more than 150 pages of new content. In particular, the book includes a new chapter dedicated to the methodology for performing ontology matching. It also covers emerging topics, such as data interlinking, ontology partitioning and pruning, context-based matching, matcher tuning, alignment debugging, and user involvement in matching, to mention a few. More than 100 state-of-the-art matching systems and frameworks were reviewed. With Ontology Matching, researchers and practitioners will find a reference book that presents currently available work in a uniform framework. In particular, the work and the techniques presented in this book can be equally applied to database schema matching, catalog integration, XML schema matching and other related problems. The objectives of the book include presenting (i) the state of the art and (ii) the latest research results in ontology matching by providing a systematic and detailed account of matching techniques and matching systems from theoretical, practical and application perspectives.

Blockchain technology and its relationships to sustainable supply chain management

Abstract: Globalisation of supply chains makes their management and control more difficult. Blockchain technology, as a distributed digital ledger technology which ensures transparency, traceability, and sec...

A Survey of Attacks on Ethereum Smart Contracts SoK

Abstract: Smart contracts are computer programs that can be correctly executed by a network of mutually distrusting nodes, without the need of an external trusted authority. Since smart contracts handle and transfer assets of considerable value, besides their correct execution it is also crucial that their implementation is secure against attacks which aim at stealing or tampering the assets. We study this problem in Ethereum, the most well-known and used framework for smart contracts so far. We analyse the security vulnerabilities of Ethereum smart contracts, providing a taxonomy of common programming pitfalls which may lead to vulnerabilities. We show a series of attacks which exploit these vulnerabilities, allowing an adversary to steal money or cause other damage.