A Multi-Dimensional
Compositional Approach for
Business Process
Ang Chen
1

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
2

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
2

4

4

4

4

4

4

Separation of Dimensions
Multi-Dimensional analysis is
natural in science e.g.
mathematics, physics, and
engineering
5

Separation of Dimensions
Multi-Dimensional analysis is
natural in science e.g.
mathematics, physics, and
engineering
In software development, it is about the
Separation of Concerns and Reusability, but
their applications are more abstract and
conceptual
5

6

6

7

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
8

Business Process
Preliminary Transaction &
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
8

Business Process
(Workflow)
9

Business Process
10

Business Process: E-
Commerce
Process production
schedule
receive collect send
order payment invoice
shipping
schedule
Each color represents an organization
Activity
Flow
Participant
11

Process: Pass the Thesis
Exam
12

Process: Pass the Thesis
Exam
Inscription of
exam (faculty)
Send thesis to Approvals of Authorization
AND AND
the juries juries of faculty
30+ days before Hard copy for
department
20 days before Thesis
Defence
12

Traceability
For an objective
13

Traceability
For an objective
When Who
What How
13

Process Oriented
Systems
• Healthcare systems
• Scientific workflows: following experiments
• E-Government: administration procedures
• E-Commerce, trading platforms
• Any Case Handling Systems: Logistics,
Insurance

Software Development
Cycle
15

Software Development
Cycle
15

Software Development
Cycle
15

Software Development
Cycle
Requireme
15

Software Development
Cycle
Analysis
& Design
Requireme
15

Software Development
Cycle
Analysis
& Design
Requireme
Implement
15

Software Development
Cycle
Analysis
& Design
Requireme
Implement
Test &
15

Software Development
Cycle
Analysis
& Design
Requireme
Implement
Execution
Test &
15

Challenges in Software
Development
16

Challenges in Software
Development
Execution
Test &
Implement
Analysis
& Design
Requireme
16

Challenges in Software
Development
Execution
Test &
Implement
Analysis
& Design
Requireme
16

Challenges in Software
Development
Execution
Test &
dependency
Implement
Analysis
& Design
Requireme
16

Challenges in Software
Development
Execution
Complexity of
Test & models
dependency
Implement
Analysis
& Design
Requireme
16

Challenges in Software
Development
Execution
Complexity of
Test & models
dependency
Implement
Analysis Frequent changes
& Design
of requirements
Requireme
16

Challenges in Software
Development
Exe
cut
ion
Complexity of
Tes
t& models
dependency
Imp
lem
ent
Ana
& D lysis
esi
Frequent changes
gn
Req
of requirements
uire
me
16

Challenges
17

Challenges
Business processes are complex entities which
need to change frequently to adopt
requirements from business domains
17

Challenges
Business processes are complex entities which
need to change frequently to adopt
requirements from business domains
The development of business processes is
about developing concurrent and distributed
programs across different platforms
17

Requirements of BP
Modeling: Workflow Patterns
Inscription of
exam (faculty)
Approvals of Authorization
AND AND
juries of faculty
AND-SPLIT Hard copy for
department
AND-JOIN
18

Requirements of BP
Modeling: Workflow Patterns
Inscription of
exam (faculty)
Approvals of Authorization
AND AND
juries of faculty
AND-SPLIT Hard copy for
department
AND-JOIN
18

Requirements of BP
Modeling: Workflow Patterns
Inscription of
exam (faculty)
Approvals of Authorization
AND AND
juries of faculty
AND-SPLIT Hard copy for
department
AND-JOIN
18

Requirements of BP
Modeling: Workflow Patterns
Inscription of
exam (faculty)
Approvals of Authorization
AND AND
juries of faculty
AND-SPLIT Hard copy for
department
AND-JOIN
18

Requirements of BP
Modeling: Workflow Patterns
Inscription of
exam (faculty)
Approvals of Authorization
AND AND
juries of faculty
AND-SPLIT Hard copy for
department
AND-JOIN
18

Requirements of BP
Modeling: Workflow Patterns
B B
A B A AND A XOR
sequence C C
AND split XOR Split
A A B
AND C A MUL
XOR C
B C
B
AND join XOR join Multi-Choice
B
B
A start C A XOR AND D
end E
C
D XOR Split AND join
Interleaved parallel routing a not well-formed process
19

Requirements of BP
Modeling
20

Requirements of BP
Modeling
• Workflow patterns: increasing references for
the requirements of expressiveness in BP
modeling
20

Requirements of BP
Modeling
• Workflow patterns: increasing references for
the requirements of expressiveness in BP
modeling
• Informal description
20

Requirements of BP
Modeling
• Workflow patterns: increasing references for
the requirements of expressiveness in BP
modeling
• Informal description
• No single language can satisfy all the
requirements
20

What are the primitives for BP modeling?
21

Proposition: Dimensions
of Business Process
22

Proposition: Dimensions
of Business Process
• Control flow: for the execution (scheduling) of
processes (parallel)
22

Proposition: Dimensions
of Business Process
• Control flow: for the execution (scheduling) of
processes (parallel)
• Data model: information which are not part of the
control flow
22

Proposition: Dimensions
of Business Process
• Control flow: for the execution (scheduling) of
processes (parallel)
• Data model: information which are not part of the
control flow
• Transaction (synchronization): short-running (ACID),
long-running (relaxed ACID)
22

Proposition: Dimensions
of Business Process
• Control flow: for the execution (scheduling) of
processes (parallel)
• Data model: information which are not part of the
control flow
• Transaction (synchronization): short-running (ACID),
long-running (relaxed ACID)
By combining the dimensions we obtain new
aspects, e.g. :
control + data model => data flow, concurrency
22

Dimensions of Business
Process
23

Dimensions of Business
Process
Control
23

Dimensions of Business
Process
0..* 1 1 0..1
Item Order Shipping
1 1
0..1
0..* Production
Control Data
Payment
23

Dimensions of Business
Process
Transaction
//, +, ..
0..* 1 1 0..1
Item Order Shipping
1 1
0..1
0..* Production
Control Data
Payment
23

Dimensions of Business
Process
Transaction
//, +, ..
0..* 1 1 0..1
Item Order Shipping
1 1
0..1
0..* Production
Control Data
Payment
23

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
24

Preliminary Transaction
Business Process
Engineering
ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
24

Main Contributions

Main Contributions
• Synchronization mechanism (Transaction) for the
composition of dimensions.

Main Contributions
• Synchronization mechanism (Transaction) for the
composition of dimensions.
• Formal notation: ID-net
• Semantics of the control dimension, true concurrency
• Tokens are identifications of resources, monitor the
resources invovled in business proceses

Main Contributions
• Synchronization mechanism (Transaction) for the
composition of dimensions.
• Formal notation: ID-net
• Semantics of the control dimension, true concurrency
• Tokens are identifications of resources, monitor the
resources invovled in business proceses
• Model process oriented system as ID-net Controlled
System (IDCS): multi-dimensional model

Transaction
(Simultaneous)
26

Transaction
(Simultaneous)
Reserve a
flight ticket
26

Transaction
(Simultaneous)
Reserve a
flight ticket
//
validate client’s payment reserve a place
Bank service Airline ticket service
26

Transaction
(Exclusive Choice)
Payment
+
By Paypal By Credit Card
27

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
28

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
Typed places
Arc inscriptions
x y
P1 P2
28

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
Data model (e.g. global variables)
a 3
b 4
c 0
Typed places
Arc inscriptions
x y
P1 P2
28

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
Data model (e.g. global variables)
a 3
b 4
c 0
y:=[x]+2 Typed places
Arc inscriptions
x y
P1 P2
28

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
Data model (e.g. global variables)
a 3
b 4
c 0
y:=[x]+2 Typed places
Arc inscriptions
x y
P1 a,b,c P2
28

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
Data model (e.g. global variables)
a 3
b 4
c 0
y:=[x]+2 Typed places
Arc inscriptions
x y
P1 a,b, c P2
28

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
Data model (e.g. global variables)
a 3
b 4
c 0
Typed places
Arc inscriptions
x y
P1 a,b, c P2
y:=[c]+2=2
28

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
Data model (e.g. global variables)
a 3
b 4
c 0
Typed places
Arc inscriptions
x y
P1 a,b, 2 P2
y:=[c]+2=2
28

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
Data model (e.g. global variables)
a 3
b 4
c 0
Typed places
Arc inscriptions
x y
P1 a,b, 2 P2
y:=[c]+2=2
28

ID-net: Separation of Control
Flow and Data Model
Data model (e.g. global variables)
a 3
b 4
c 0
Typed places
Arc inscriptions
x y
P1 a,b, 2 P2
y:=[c]+2=2
Dynamic synchronization between
control flow and data model
28

ID-net Transitions: Pipes
v1
v1 v1 v1
v1
v1 v2 v1
v1
v2 v1 v1
Pipe transitions must preserve all input tokens for output

ID-net Transitions:
Generators
v1 v2
v1 v1
v2 v3
v1
v1 v2
v2
Generator transitions may generate new (fresh) tokens,
e.g. dynamic allocation of resources

Token Flow in ID-net
p3
p1 t1 t2
v1 v1 v1
v1
v2
p2 v2 v2 p6
p4 v3
v3
p5

ID-net: Principles
32

ID-net: Principles
Transaction
Separation of
Control and Data
dimension
Control Data
32

ID-net: Principles
Transaction
Separation of
Control and Data
dimension
Control Data
Synchronization
of dimensions
32

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
33

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
33

BP Modeling: Example
34

BP Modeling: Example
shipping
schedule
Informal receive collect send
description oder payment invoice
production
schedule
34

BP Modeling: Example
shipping
schedule
Informal receive collect send
description oder payment invoice
production
schedule
shipping
order schedule
create
Formalized receive o schedule invoice invoice
Control-Flow order o ps ss i i send
invoice
collect p
payment p ss ps
payment production
schedule
Receive order and collect payment can be parallel or
sequential, depending on the interpretation of the informal
model. parallel might be more flexible in this case
34

BP Modeling: Data
Model
shipping
order schedule
create
receive o schedule invoice invoice
order o ss ss i i send
invoice
collect p
payment p ps ps
payment production
schedule
1..* 1 1 0..1
Item Order Shipping
1 1
0..1
0..* Production
Payment
35

BP Modeling:
Synchronization of ID-net and Data
Models
36

BP Modeling:
Synchronization of ID-net and Data
Models
schedule shipping
order a,b o ss schedule
p production
payment c ps schedule
36

BP Modeling:
Synchronization of ID-net and Data
Models
schedule shipping
order a,b o ss schedule
p production
payment c ps schedule
inscription based on the data model
1 1 0..1 // evaluate and use input variables
Order Shipping
if ([o].clientID != [p].clientID) notFirable;
1
1
0..1
0..* Production
// fill output variables, create shipping and production from order
Payment ss := Shipping.Create([o], ... );
ps := Production.Create([o], ...);
36

Business Process
Modeling Framework
37

Business Process
Modeling Framework
Control-Flow Model
shipping
schedule
order
create
receive schedule invoice invoice
order send
invoice
collect
payment
payment production
schedule
Data Model
1..* 1 1 0..1
Item Order Shipping
1 1
0..1
0..*
Production
Payment
37

Business Process
Modeling Framework
Control-Flow Model
shipping
schedule
order
create
receive schedule invoice invoice
order send
invoice
collect
payment
payment production
schedule
synchronizations
Data Model
1..* 1 1 0..1
Item Order Shipping
1 1
0..1
0..*
Production
Payment
37

Business Process
Modeling Framework
Control-Flow Model
shipping
schedule
order
create
receive schedule invoice invoice
order send
invoice
collect
payment
payment production
schedule
Model
synchronizations Composition
Data Model
1..* 1 1 0..1
Item Order Shipping
1 1
0..1
0..*
Production
Payment
37

Business Process
Modeling Framework
Control-Flow Model
shipping
schedule
order
create
receive schedule invoice invoice
order send
invoice
collect
payment
payment production
schedule
Model Executable
synchronizations Composition BP
Data Model
1..* 1 1 0..1
Item Order Shipping
1 1
0..1
0..*
Production
Payment
37

Concurrent Program: Peterson’s
Algorithms for Mutual Exclusion
38

Concurrent Program: Peterson’s
Algorithms for Mutual Exclusion
Global variables a = false;
b = false;
victim = a;
Process a: Process b:
a = true; b = true;
victim = b; victim = a;
while( b && victim == b ); while( a && victim == a );
// blocked, do nothing // blocked, do nothing
// critical section // critical section
... ...
// end of critical section // end of critical section
a = false; b = false;
38

Concurrent Program: Peterson’s
Algorithms for Mutual Exclusion
Global variables Relation between the variables
a = false; N(a)=b;
b = false; N(b)=a;
victim = a;
x:=false
x x
ab x x x x x x
victim!=[x] || Critical
x:=true victim:=N([x]) Section
N(x)!=true
39

Concurrent Program: Peterson’s
Algorithms for Mutual Exclusion
Global variables Relation between the variables
a = false; N(a)=b;
b = false; N(b)=a;
victim = a;
x:=false
x x
ab x x x x x x
victim!=[x] || Critical
x:=true victim:=N([x]) Section
N(x)!=true
Property: maximum one token in the critical section
39

Concurrent Program: Peterson’s
Algorithms for Mutual Exclusion
Global variables Relation between the variables
a = false; N(a)=b; With 2 processes, this system
b = false; N(b)=a; is deadlock-free and
victim = a; starvation-free
x:=false
x x
ab x x x x x x
victim!=[x] || Critical
x:=true victim:=N([x]) Section
N(x)!=true
Property: maximum one token in the critical section
39

Model Verification
Properties of control Properties of each
flow model data model
Reasoning the
properties of the
synchronized system
40

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
41

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
41

Conclusion
• ID-net: Separation of Control and Data during the
modeling phase
• Transaction for the synchronization of dimensions
• Facilitate the verification and complexity management of
process-oriented models
• Model-Driven Development. Help to improve the cycle of
business process engineering, from modeling to execution
42

Future Perspectives
• Based on the dimensions, propose heuristics for
the model checking of complex systems
• A user-friendly language based on ID-net for the
syntax integration of DSLs (e.g. a concurrent
parallel programming language)
• Tools support, e.g. Push-Button compilation and
model verification, compilers tool-chains for high-
level languages
43

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
44

Business Process Transaction &
Preliminary
Engineering ID-net
Questions Conclusion Applications
44