The document introduces EPClets, a lightweight textual language that can be used to augment event-driven process chains (EPC) modeling. EPClets allows users to specify the pre- and post-conditions of business activities declaratively, separating the process specification from the graph construction. An EPClets tool then automatically constructs the EPC graph based on the declarative rules. An evaluation showed that using EPClets reduced the time users spent repositioning graphs and was less error-prone compared to traditional graphical EPC modeling tools.

1. EPClets
A Lightweight and Flexible Textual Language to
Augment EPC Process Modeling
By
Malinda Kapuruge, Jun Han, Alan Colman and Ulf Rüegg
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2. Outline
• Event-driven Process Chains (EPC)
• Emergence of Textual representations
• EPC Markup Language (EPML)
• Limitations of EPML
• EPClets
• Tool support
• Evaluation results
• Conclusions
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3. Event-driven Process Chain
• Represent a process/flow.
• Very basic constructs.
– Function
– Event
– Arc
– Connectors (AND, OR, XOR)
• Easy to learn.
• Few constraints.
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4. Event-driven Process Chain
• A graphical modeling
notation.
• Used by Graphical
modeling tools
– ARIS Tool set
– Visio
– Semtalk
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5. In a parallel universe…
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6. Textual representations are emerging
for Graphical notations…
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7. • Allows modifying/defining graphical models
using a textual language.
• Agility and efficiency.
• Less dismantling/assembling of graphs.
– Separation of concerns
– Algorithmic graph construction
• E.g., UML Modeling.
– UMLets (http://www.umlet.com/)
– PlantUML (http://plantuml.sourceforge.net/)
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Textual representations

8. 8

9. How about EPC?
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10. A textual representations for EPC?
• EPC Markup Language (EPML)
– Mendling et al., 2006
– http://www.mendling.com/EPML/
• An excellent solution to interchange EPC
process models.
– Export from one tool and import into another.
– Describes an EPC graph.
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11. EPML
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12. EPML as a textual representation?
• EPML describes graph semantics.
– Node* connections
– Direction of arcs
– Node positioning
• No explicit process semantics.
– When the function “order meal” become
executable?
– What happens when function “order meal” is
executed?
12* Node = Event, Function or a Connector (AND, OR, XOR)

13. EPClets
• A textual language to augment EPC.
• Explicit process semantics (instead of graph semantics).
– The post- and pre-conditions of each business activity
– A set of declarative Event-action-event rules
• Graph construction concerns are handled by the EPClets tool.
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14. EPClets
• NOT an alternative to EPML.
– EPML keeps its place as an interchange format
– EPML descriptions can be exported from EPClets
• Tool support
– An eclipse plugin
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15. EPClets
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16. 16

17. EPClets
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• Each declarative EPClets statement in the
process description is converted to an atomic
graph

18. EPClets
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• All the atomic graphs are iteratively linked to
create the process graph.
• Linking patterns
– A linking event has a predecessor or a successor or both?

19. Linking patterns
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1
V
V
2
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V
+ =
1
V
V
2
V
V
V
X
X
X
1 2
V
V
+ =
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V
21 X
X
1
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V
2
+
=
1
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V
2
X
1
+
2
=
1 2
X
X X X
X
X
X
X X
1
V
V
2
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V
+ =
1
V
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2
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1 2
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+ =
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21 X
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2 X
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V
X X X X
X
X
X X
Ø Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø Ø
Predecessor Processing Patterns Successor Processing Patterns
PatternAPatternBPatternCPatternD
PatternFPatternEPatternGPatternH
Cond : Both events have a predecessor.
Action: Add OR connector. Add new arcs pred1→ OR,
pred2→ OR and OR→ event1. Discard event2.
Cond : Both events have successor.
Action: Add AND connector. Add new arcs event1→ AND,
AND→ succ1, AND→ Succ2. Discard event2.
Cond : Only event2 has a predecessor.
Action: Add new arc pred2→ event1. Discard event2.
Cond : Only event2 has a successor.
Action: Add new arc event1→ succ2.
Cond : Only event1 has a predecessor.
Action: Discard event2.
Cond : Only event1 has a successor.
Action: Discard event2.
Cond : Neither events has a predecessor.
Action: Discard event2.
Cond : Neither events has a successor.
Action: Discard event2.
1
2
Event 1
Event 2
V
V X
Function/
connector
Ø
Arc
X Delete
Add
No Edge

20. Advantages
• Suitable for heterogeneous and agile process modeling
environments.
– Declarative statements can be added or removed
– Tool automatically adjust/re-align the graph
• Separation of concerns
– User only specifies pre- and post-conditions of a business activity.
• Less error prone
– Graph construction algorithm make sure a correct graph is
constructed.
• Eye candy
– Compact (10 lines vs 300+ lines)
– No XML
– No graph semantics
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21. Disadvantages
• Not suitable as an interchangeable format.
– Loss of coordinates upon export
– The coordinates are determined by the tool upon
import
• Typos can lead to broken graphs
– E.g., a typo in a pre-condition can make the tool to
assume two different events
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22. Evaluation
• Controlled experiments
• EPClets tool vs Any EPC modeling tool
• Participants are asked to
– Model a process
– Perform 3 adaptations
• The time taken to perform each task is noted.
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23. Evaluation
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38.19 34.17 36.19 28.89

24. Discussion
• We observed…
• With graph-based approach,
– Users spent more time re-positioning graphs
– Dismantling graphs can be error prone (syntactic)
• With EPClets approach,
– Graph re-positioning is handled by the algorithm
– Always produces a syntactically valid graph
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26. Question…!
• How to integrate an N number of related
business processes into one?
– (A) Using a Graphical tool (VISIO/ARIS)?
– (B) Using textual tool (EPClets)?
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27. Conclusions
• EPClets is a textual language to augment EPC
process modeling.
• EPClets provides the ability to efficiently
model and adapt EPC process models.
• EPClets separates the process specification
concerns from graph construction concerns.
• EPClets capabilities have been experimentally
evaluated.
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29. Photo credit
• http://addictedto24.blogspot.com/
• http://imconfident.wordpress.com/
• http://wscounselblog.com/
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