Actor Based Business Process Modeling and Execution: A Reference Implementation Based on Ontology Models and Microservices

Abstract

In this work, we present a proposal for a reference architecture for the modeling and execution of business processes. We define business processes following the subject-oriented business process management (S-BPM) methodology, which recently has been amalgamated in a Web Ontology Language (OWL) definition. Consequently, all created process definitions are serialized as OWL files. The S-BPM approach understands business processes as a network of distributed and independent actors (human or machine) which interact via the exchange of messages. The proposed architecture is therefore designed as a collection of microservices. All concepts have been realized as a prototypical software application (modeling and execution of business processes) for reference and further research. It is proved that the generated OWL business process models can be executed on the developed workflow engine.