Business Process Model and Notation

About: Business Process Model and Notation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 9038 publications have been published within this topic receiving 190712 citations. The topic is also known as: Business Process Modeling Notation & BPMN.

Norm compliance in business process modeling

Abstract: We investigate the concept of norm compliance in business process modeling. In particular we propose an extension of Formal Contract Logic (FCL), a combination of defeasible logic and a logic of violation, with a richer deontic language capable of capture many different facets of normative requirements. The resulting logic, called Process Compliance Logic (PCL), is able to capture both semantic compliance and structural compliance. This paper focuses on structural compliance, that is we show how PCL can capture obligations concerning the structure of a business process.

Business processes for web services: principles and applications

Abstract: The Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL4WS or BPEL for short) is an XML-based language for defining business processes that provides an interoperable, portable language for both abstract and executable processes and that was designed from the beginning to operate in the heterogeneity and dynamism that is commonplace in information technology today. BPEL builds on the layers of flexibility provided by the Web Services stack, and especially by XML. In this paper, we provide a brief introduction to BPEL with emphasis on architectural drivers and basic concepts. Then we survey ongoing BPEL work in several application areas: adding quality of service to BPEL, extending BPEL to activities involving humans, BPEL for grid computing, and BPEL for autonomic computing.

A coordination theory approach to process description and redesign

Abstract: Managers must understand, influence, and redesign organizational processes to improve business performance. In this paper we present a technique for documenting a business process. The technique has six steps: defining process boundaries, collecting data, determining actors and resources, determining activities, determining dependencies and model verification. While similar to other processmapping techniques, our approach is novel in incorporating ideas from coordination theory, thus the attention to dependencies. As a result, the technique is useful both for documenting a process and suggesting ways in which the process could be redesigned. We present an extended illustration with the hope that the technique can be used by readers of this article.

Modeling, Simulation and Analysis of Business Processes

Abstract: Building and analyzing models of business processes has gained increased importance for any activity that requires a close examination of the business processes involved, e.g., Business Process Reengineering efforts. In this chapter we introduce a Petri net based approach to support such activities. Business processes are modeled using standard place/transition nets enhanced with some notions needed to integrate all aspects of business processes that are relevant with respect to analysis purposes, e.g., the notion of time and costs. The Petri net models of business processes are simulated by generating partially ordered runs. We will show how these runs can then be used for performance analysis of important key indicators such as throughput time. All introduced concepts are summarized in a 3-step approach that supports users to base their decision between possible alternatives for the design of a business process on facts.

On the Usage of Labels and Icons in Business Process Modeling

Abstract: The value of business process models is dependent on the choice of graphical elements in the model and their annotation with additional textual and graphical information. This research discusses the use of text and icons for labeling the graphical constructs in a process model. The authors use two established verb classification schemes to examine the choice of activity labels in process modeling practice. Based on the author's findings, this paper synthesizes a set of twenty-five activity label categories. Proposed is a systematic approach for graphically representing these label categories through the use of graphical icons, such that the resulting process models are easier and more readily understandable by end users. The author's findings contribute to an ongoing stream of research investigating the practice of process modeling and thereby contribute to the body of knowledge about conceptual modeling quality overall.