Semantic reengineering of business processes

Abstract

This paper discusses transforming ontological models into non-ontological models of business processes, when the process of articulating different data models is known as reengineering domains. As a crucial factor in achieving interoperability and semantic reengineering of the domains with the different levels of semantic representation (expressiveness), we point out the role of foundational ontology that serves to enable global meaning of the process knowledge and that is, in this paper, additionally connected with the process theory (process algebra). The main focus of the process theory is on the system that interacts with one another, such as the business processes, whereas the main idea of semantic reengineering is transforming ontological models into the semantic business processes that can be (semi-)automatically executed via a workflow engine. Therefore, as a promising solution in achieving interoperability between the real enterprise needs and the business process models, we involve the Pi-Calculus as a process theory to provide semantics between the ontological models based on the DOLCE Description and Situation (D&S) Plan and Tasks Ontology (DDPO) and the business process models that are expressed in Business Process Execution Language (BPEL).