Showing papers on "Business Process Model and Notation published in 2002"

Web services and business process management

Abstract: Web services based on the service-oriented architecture framework provide a suitable technical foundation for making business processes accessible within enterprises and across enterprises. But to appropriately support dynamic business processes and their management, more is needed, namely, the ability to prescribe how Web services are used to implement activities within a business process, how business processes are represented as Web services, and also which business partners perform what parts of the actual business process. In this paper, the relationship between Web services and the management of business processes is worked out and presented in a tutorial-like manner.

An e-Business Model Ontology for Modeling e-Business

Abstract: After explaining why business executives and academics should consider thinking about a rigorous approach to e-business models, we introduce a new e-Business Model Ontology Using the concept of business models can help companies understand, communicate and share, change, measure, simulate and learn more about the different aspects of e-business in their firm The generic e-Business Model Ontology (a rigorous definition of the e-business issues and their interdependencies in a company’s business model), which we outline in this paper is the foundation for the development of various useful tools for e-business management and IS Requirements Engineering The e-Business Model Ontology is based on an extensive literature review and describes the logic of a “business system” for creating value in the Internet era It is composed of four main pillars, which are Product Innovation, Infrastructure Management, Customer Relationship and Financial Aspects These elements are then further decomposed

Business Process Change: A Manager's Guide to Improving, Redesigning & Automating Process

Abstract: Foreword by Geary Rummler. Preface. Introduction. Business Process Change. Part I: Process Management: Strategy, Value Chains, and Competitive Advantage Process Architecture and Organizational Alignment. Part II: Modeling Organizations And Processes: Modeling Organizations Modeling Processes Analyzing Activities. Part III: Managing And Improving Business Processes: Managing and Measuring Business Processes Managing Business Processes Process Improvement with Six Sigma. Part IV: Business Process Redesign: A Business Process Redesign Methodology Process Redesign Patterns. Part V: Business Process Automation: Workflow and XML Business Process Languages ERP-Driven Redesign Software Development. Part VI: The E-Business Challenge: E-Business: Portals and Customer-Oriented Applications Supplier and Internally Oriented E-Business Applications. VII: Putting It All Together: The Ergonomic Systems Case Study Software Tools for Business Process Development Conclusions and Recommendations. Glossary. Notes and References. Bibliography. Index.

Scenario based creation and device agnostic deployment of discrete and networked business services using process-centric assembly and visual configuration of web service components

Abstract: The invention provides a process-centric, scenario-driven business service assembly software environment that uses encapsulated, iconographic building blocks—each representing a discrete Web Service component to be executed within a business service—to logically depict service processes as well as complex relationships between these processes, their audiences, and means of deployment. Fundamental to the invention are an Interactive Flow Assembler, an Interactive Flow Engine, a design-time Service Manager, and an implicit XML-based data and process model. Business users employ the Interactive Flow Assembler to create online business services that are executed by the Interactive Flow Engine by chaining a series of logical business steps that codify business rules, collect data, and take actions. The Services Manager leverages Web Service standards to provide collaborating business analysts and IT resources with an environment in which to centralize business-relevant decisions such as business rules, authorized data sources, design-time and runtime roles and profiles, and deployment characteristics to change the appearance and behavior of applications built using the Interactive Flow Assembler. The invention's intrinsic data and process model facilitate easy integration of networked business services built using the invention as well as the underlying datasets captured by the online business services.

An Extended Model of Knowledge-Flow Dynamics

Abstract: The modern enterprise depends upon timely and effective flows of knowledge through its organizations for success. But knowledge is not evenly distributed through the enterprise, and a dearth of information systems is available to enable such timely and effective flows. Further, the few theoretical knowledge-flow models available have not yet been developed to a point where they can effectively inform the design of information systems and business processes to support knowledge flow in the enterprise. A survey of current practice shows that such system and process design is accomplished principally by trial and error, one of the least effective approaches known. The research described in this article builds upon and extends current theory about knowledge flow. It focuses in particular on investigating flow dynamics to inform the design of information systems and business processes to enhance the flow of knowledge through the enterprise. Leveraging the good understanding of flows in other domains, we strive to extend theory that can lead to "devices" of considerable utility in the enterprise knowledge domain. The result is a four-dimensional, dynamic model that can be used to classify and visualize a diversity of knowledge-flow patterns through the enterprise. These patterns can, in turn, be analyzed to inform the design of useful information systems and business processes. The implications of this dynamic model are explored and a number of hypotheses are generated to motivate and guide future research into the phenomenology of knowledge flow.

A generic structure for business process modeling

Abstract: Among different BPR strategies and methodologies, one common feature is to capture existing processes and represent new processes adequately. Business process modeling plays a crucial role on such effort. This paper proposes a generic structure for modeling business processes in order to capture essential concepts of business process and represent them structurally. The generic structure possesses two main features suitable for business process modeling: one is that it can represent a business process in various concerns and multiple layers of abstraction, and the other is that it lowers the barriers between process representation and model analysis by embedding verification and validation with the model. The generic modeling method is illustrated by an order fulfillment process in supply chain networks.

Modelling and analysis of business process reengineering

Abstract: Business process design and business process reengineering (BPR) depend crucially on linking production procedures and organizational services to business goals and objectives. There is currently very little formula support for this kind of reasoning as analytical tasks are usually carried out informally and individual design decisions are hard to relate to business objectives. If BPR is carried out without understanding the way it is done, then the most likely outcome would be continuing less-than-satisfactory current practice and automating outdated processes. This kind of practice misses opportunities for innovation and rationalization. The modelling and analysis of business processes along with business strategies and organizational structures are essential to study the implications of BPR. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the modelling, analysis and tools/techniques used for modelling of BPR with the help of a survey on the recently (1993-2000) employed methods and tools used for BPR ...

Method and systems for facilitating creation, presentation, exchange, and management of documents to facilitate business transactions

Abstract: Techniques for integrating software systems, application tools, and business modules into a unified platform and open framework for building, deploying, and maintaining business applications of different types and varying nature in a heterogeneous computing environment. This is achieved by configuring the semantics of business entities, the presentation of structured and semi-structured information, the processing rules and logics among business modules, and the relationships of the participating users and organizations with other business entities. Integration of the software systems, application tools and business modules is achieved through integration of the key elements, which are business semantics, presentation logics, business rules, user entities and system models.

Making Work Flow: On the Application of Petri Nets to Business Process Management

Abstract: Information technology has changed business processes within and between enterprises. More and more work processes are being conducted under the supervision of information systems that are driven by process models. Examples are workflow management systems such as Staffware, enterprise resource planning systems such as SAP and Baan, but also include many domain specific systems. It is hard to imagine enterprise information systems that are unaware of the processes taking place. Although the topic of business process management using information technology has been addressed by consultants and software developers in depth, a more fundamental approach has been missing. Only since the nineties, researchers started to work on the foundations of business process management systems. This paper addresses some of the scientific challenges in business process management. In the spirit of Hilbert's problems, 10 interesting problems for people working on Petri-net theory are posed.

System and methods for business process modeling

Abstract: A method for providing closed-loop analysis of a business process includes using modeling objects to extend a modeling language to obtain a representation language. The representation language is used to obtain at least one model of the process. The model is implemented using at least one of simulation, project management analysis, workflow analysis and computer-aided software engineering. The method allows a variety of COTS products to be integrated into a single tool for process modeling and closed-loop analysis of business processes.

Achieving dynamic inter-organizational workflow management by integrating business processes, events and rules

Abstract: In the competitive global marketplace, business organizations often need to team up and operate as a virtual enterprise to achieve common business goals. Since the business environment of a virtual enterprise is highly dynamic, it is necessary to develop a workflow technology that is capable of handling dynamic workflows across enterprise boundaries. The paper describes a dynamic workflow model and a dynamic workflow management system for modeling and controlling the execution of inter-organizational business processes. The model extends the underlying model of WfMC's WPDL by adding connectors, events, triggers and rules as its modeling constructs, encapsulating activity definitions, and allowing e-service requests as a part of the activity specification. The workflow management system makes use of an event and rule server to trigger business rules during the enactment of workflow processes to enforce business constraints and policies and/or to modify the process model at run-time. It also provides a mechanism to dynamically bind e-service requests to e-services.

From business process model to consistent implementation: a case for formal verification methods

Abstract: Today's business applications and their underlying process models are becoming more and more complicated, making the implementation of these processes an increasingly challenging task. On the one hand, tools and methods exist to describe the business processes. On the other hand, different tools and method exist to describe the IT artifacts implementing them. But a significant gap exists between the two. To overcome this gap, new methodologies are sought. In this paper we discuss a pattern-based modeling and mapping process. Starting from a business process model, which emphasizes the underlying structural process pattern and its associated requirements, we map this model into a corresponding IT model based on nondeterministic automata with state variables. Model checking techniques are used to automatically verify elementary requirements on a process such as the termination and reachability of states. Using an example involving coupled, repetitive activities we discuss the advantages of an iterative process of correcting and refining a model based on insights gained in the interleaved verification steps.

Conceptual modeling and specification generation for B2B business processes based on ebXML

Abstract: In order to support dynamic setup of business processes among independent organizations, a formal standard schema for describing the business processes is basically required. The ebXML framework provides such a specification schema called BPSS (Business Process Specification Schema) which is available in two stand-alone representations: a UML version, and an XML version. The former, however, is not intended for the direct creation of business process specifications, but for defining specification elements and their relationships required for creating an ebXML-compliant business process specification. For this reason, it is very important to support conceptual modeling that is well organized and directly matched with major modeling concepts. This paper deals with how to represent and manage B2B business processes using UML-compliant diagrams. The major challenge is to organize UML diagrams in a natural way that is well suited with the business process meta-model and then to transform the diagrams into an XML version. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of conceptually modeling business processes by prototyping a business process editor tool called ebDesigner.

Cross-organizational workflow integration using contracts

Abstract: Enterprises are lining up into virtual enterprises to meet the ever-increasing customer's demands in a more flexible and effective way than before. Hence, the business processes as well as supporting workflow systems need to be tightly embedded into streamlined, virtual value chains that can transcend organizational boundaries. It is generally recognized that the combination of workflow with business-object component technology provides the required solution. However, today's widespread business workflow modeling techniques suffer from an object bias, ignoring the most essential coordination vehicle in the enterprise: communication, and the resulting commitments. In this paper, we present contracts that encapsulate (formal) commitments laid down as a set of obligations to coordinate and control the interaction between business workflows. We use the business contract specification language XLBC to formally link the Component Definition Language (CDL) specification of business object-based workflow systems. XLBC is an extension of the Formal Language for Business Communication (FLBC) and a framework for the semantics of XLBC transactions is described. Finally, we indicate a feasible implementation architecture on the basis of an emerging internet-enabled business process architecture, ebXML and Trading Partner Agreements (TPAs).

Investigating business processes

Abstract: Systems and methods of investigating business processes are described. These systems and methods support real-time monitoring, analysis, management, and optimization of business processes. A graphical user interface enables users to apply data warehousing and data mining techniques to business process execution data and to visualize process execution data along multiple configurable dimensions and at different configurable levels of granularity.

Introducing eservices in business process models

Abstract: The need for automatic support of business processes that extend over the boundaries of an enterprise is a recognized need of emerging virtual organizations. To make workflow technologies useful during the enactment of business processes involving many partners that reciprocally provide and consume services, it is important to provide a model, and supporting technologies, to manage the introduction of services in workflow models.This paper introduces a framework for the introduction of eServices in business process models. The framework comprises RDF based languages to model processes, services, and service composition, and supporting technologies to generate executable workflow models, including interfaces to the actual services, from the models.

Model driven collaborative business application development environment and collaborative applications developed therewith

Abstract: A model driven environment for creating collaborative applications for executing collaborative business processes (Figure 1). Interrelated models are configured to define the application. A business process model defines steps and rules of the business process (Figure 1, Business Process Execution Module n32). A vocabulary model (Figure 1, Vocabulary Module n34) defines document flows corresponding to the business process. A service model exposes external events of the business process to other parties in the form of specifications. Trading partners can subscribe to the specifications to collaborate.

Integrating workflow management systems with business-to-business interaction standards

Abstract: Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce is emerging as a new market with tremendous potential. Organizations are trying to link services across organizational boundaries in order to electronically trade goods and services. Standards such as RosettaNet, CBL, ED1, OB1, and cXML, describe how electronic B2B interactions should be carried on so that dynamic trade partnerships can be established and transactions can be executed across organizations. While the development of standards is a fundamental step towards enabling e-business, the problem of linking B2B interactions with internal business processes is still a challenge. In addition, as the industry standards evolve continuously based on changing needs, organizations have to adopt new standards quickly. In this paper we describe how workflow technology can be extended in order to support B2B interactions and to link them with the internal workflows. The proposed framework can be used to speed up both the development of new business processes that support B2B interaction standards and the enhancement of the existing business processes by the addition of B2B interaction capability.

Integrating business and software development models

Abstract: Developing the right products the right way is challenging, not least in software product development. It requires sound business decisions as well as good engineering practices. Various software development life-cycle models can be mapped to business decision models by mapping business decision gates and major development milestones. Two well-known life-cycle models have been mapped to the ABB Gate Model, a business decision model for product development projects that was developed to ensure that released products could be successfully deployed into the marketplace.

Method and system for simulating a business process using historical execution data

Abstract: The present invention pertains to a system for simulating business processes. The system has data warehouse for storing historical execution data from executions of a first business process. The system also has a business process simulator coupled to the data warehouse and for simulating a second business process using the historical execution data as input parameters and for outputting simulated business process data.

Extending the concept of transaction compensation

Abstract: The ability to compensate for previous activities, often in the case of failure or exceptional events, is an important feature of long-running business transactions. In this paper, we present several extensions to existing notions of compensation for business transactions. The extensions are described using a business process modeling language called StAC (Structured Activity Compensation) but are also placed in the context of IBM's BPBeans (Business Process Beans) enterprise technology. The meaning of the compensation mechanisms is made precise, as are issues of compensation scoping in multilevel transactions. The compensation extensions result in flexible and powerful mechanisms for modeling and implementing long-running business transactions.

Assessment of E-Business Transformation Using Simulation Modeling

Abstract: Business renovation is a key aspect of electronic business and a high-level strategy for managing change that generally cannot be handled by continuous improvement and organizational restructuring methods. Business process modeling and the evaluation of different alternative scenarios for improvement are usually the driving factors of the business reengineering process. This study investigates business process simulation as a tool for deriving new knowledge about current business processes, such as additional in-depth understanding of how the process is executed and identifying sources of the problems observed during the process execution. The main objective of the paper is to investigate the potential benefits and outcomes of e-business transitioning that can be assessed in advance by using simulation modeling. An example is presented of how simulation modeling can be used to understand a procurement process and evaluate how the proposed improvements and the introduction of electronic business will influence system performance.

Semantic Analysis of Business Process Executions

Abstract: Business Process Management Systems log a large amount of operational data about processes and about the (human and automated) resources involved in their executions. This information can be analyzed for assessing the quality of business operations, identify problems, and suggest solutions. However, current process analysis systems lack the functionalities required to provide information that can be immediately digested and used by business analysts to take decisions. In this paper we discuss the limitations of existing approaches and we present a system and a set of techniques, developed at Hewlett-Packard, that overcome this limitations, enabling the use of log data for efficient business-level analysis of business processes.

Enterprise Modeling and Decision-Support for Automating the Business Rules Lifecycle

Abstract: Business rules represent policies, procedures and constraints regarding how an enterprise conducts its business. To get the full benefits of modeling business rules requires an approach to managing them through their full lifecycle, from acquisition through deployment and evolution. The research reported in this paper is aimed at determining what infrastructure capabilities are needed to provide this lifecycle support. The solution embodies a modeling framework that captures the structure of the enterprise, in terms of which the business rules can be expressed, and decision-support capabilities for reasoning about and deriving business rules. The paper demonstrates the possibility of automatic support of the business rules lifecycle by automatically generating business rules from the captured information, along with data representing domain assumptions in a case study (the London Ambulance System). A system was implemented to illustrate the methodology and to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. The methodology also gives guidance on how to deal with pragmatically important situations such as rules that involve both automated and human tasks, nondeterministic rules, and goal-oriented versus operational rules.

Framework to model and execute business processes within a collaborative environment

Abstract: A mechanism of specification of business process templates, to capture commonly performed business activities/workflows/projects within a business organization and encourage reuse of best practices. Long transaction workspaces based business process template execution mechanism are presented, which have several advantages over existing business process execution mechanisms in web collaboration frameworks. This execution approach provides support for an isolated environment for business process execution. This isolates the changes made on different resources while executing a business process from the external world until the business process completes. It enables the ability to concurrently manipulate same resources in different components of a business process, and later resolve conflicts if any and merge the different views of the same resource manipulated by different components of a business process. It also enables easy and effective mechanisms for error recovery and rollback during business process execution.

XML message monitor for managing business processes

Abstract: An apparatus for monitoring XML messages within a business process is disclosed. The illustrative embodiments allow a user to define rules and export these rules to a business process management platform, where they can be embedded within a business process. XML messages that are part of the business process (e.g., between an inventory application and a sales forecasting application, etc.) are automatically intercepted and matched against the appropriate rule. When a message matches a rule, the rule's actions are executed and an XML return value is returned to the business process management platform.

Towards a flexible deployment of business rules

Abstract: Business rules give rise to an important set of requirements on any system being developed or procured for an enterprise. While most of the work done in this area focuses on identifying and documenting business rules, we have proposed a methodology that addresses several aspects of the business rules lifecycle: acquisition, deployment and evolution. The methodology assumes that business rules are expressed in terms of business concepts and corporate knowledge that are captured in a high level architecture. The architecture proposed consists of three interconnected components: the enterprise model, the business rules model and the decision support model. This approach permits a greater variety of rules to be specified while providing an opportunity to automate the production of deployable business rules. The ability to deal with the inconsistent and ambiguous rules is crucial in capturing the conflicting requirements placed on the operation of any large scale enterprise. This paper presents a flexible deployment of business rules, which not only supports decision making in the face of conflicting requirements, but also the evolution of those requirements in the face of changing regulatory environments, competitive markets and corporate goals.