Incremental Process Modeling through Stakeholder-Based Hybrid Process Simulation

Abstract

Both the process modeling and process simulation are necessary components of process automation. A Process Modeling Language (PML) is a set of description tools that define processes attributes and constrains in a specific domain. Process modeling stakeholders may have different levels of dependencies on different types of PMLs. They also have various perspectives for modeling a process. Discrete and continuous PMLs are complimentary in modeling the process at different levels of abstraction and to address different stakeholders’ perspectives. The hybrid process simulation combines micro-level discrete process models with the macro-level continuous process models to capture process dynamics and deploy process optimization. This paper proposes an incremental approach based on the hybrid simulation in modeling a software process at different levels of abstraction in order to address different stakeholders’ perspectives. By addressing stakeholders’ concerns in hybrid simulation at each process segment, this approach incrementally integrates internal process dynamics and modifications due to external changes into process model that cannot be easily achieved by individually using discrete or continuous modeling approaches.