SOA Collaboration Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation in PSML-C

This paper focuses on the service-oriented system engineering issues using PSML (process specification and modeling language) framework. The key innovations of the framework are the PSML-based service-oriented software development and single model with multiple analyses (SMMA) model-driven architecture. SMMA uses one integrated core model, the PSML model, to derive other models for code generation simulation, and various analyses, which leads to the service-oriented system engineering

This document describes Version 1.0 of the Process Specification Language (PSL). PSL is an interchange format designed to help exchange process information automatically among a wide variety of manufacturing applications such as process modeling, process planning, scheduling, simulation, workflow, project management, and business process re-engineering tools. These tools would interoperate by translating between their native format and PSL. Then, any system would be able to automatically exchange process information with any other system via PSL.

Towards a collaborative modeling and simulation platform on the Internet

This contribution describes a rule-based method for modeling business processes and workflows. Business rules are defined as statements about guidelines and restrictions with respect to states and processes in an organization. After introducing an extended Event-Condition-Action (ECA) notation, an approach for the refinement of business rules is developed in order to achieve a consistent decomposition of the business processes. Thus, ECA rules serve as an integration layer between different process modeling and (workflow) specification languages. Finally, we propose an architecture of a rule-oriented repository supporting the modeling and refinement process.

A multi-methodological collaborative simulation for inter-organizational supply chain networks

This document describes Version 1.0 of the Process Specification Language (PSL). PSL is an interchange format designed to help exchange process information automatically among a wide variety of manufacturing applications such as process modeling, process planning, scheduling, simulation, workflow, project management, and business process re-engineering tools. These tools would interoperate by translating between their native format and PSL. Then, any system would be able to automatically exchange process information with any other system via PSL. This document focuses specifically on PSL's rationale, semantic architecture, informal documentation, and the vision of how one would translate in and out of PSL. 1 Overview 1.1 Purpose

The PROCESS SPECIFICATION LANGUAGE (PSL) has been designed to facilitate correct and complete exchange of process information among manufacturing systems, such as scheduling, process modeling, process planning, production planning, simulation, project management, work flow, and business-process reengineering. We give an overview of the theories within the PSL ontology, discuss some of the design principles for the ontology, and finish with examples of process specifications that are based on the ontology.

The collaborative fieldwork supervision model is one supervisory approach that is used to prepare future healthcare providers. Currently, the literature describing the model is limited, making it difficult to identify key factors impacting its use. Further, there is not a known measurement tool of factors influencing collaborative model use. The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, the Collaborative Fieldwork Supervision Tool was created and disseminated nationally to occupational therapy practitioners to collect data about their beliefs regarding the benefits and limitations of the collaborative fieldwork supervision model, their use of the model’s strategies, and collaborative fieldwork supervision supports. The second goal was to create a model which was entitled The Collaborative Fieldwork Supervision Process Model. Within the graphic Model, four factors were identified which included Perceived Value of the Collaborative Fieldwork Supervision Model, Pragmatic Considerations for the Collaborative Fieldwork Supervision Model, Fieldwork Educator Considerations for the Collaborative Fieldwork Supervision Model, and Site Considerations for the Collaborative Fieldwork Supervision Model. This Model has potential to be used as a foundation for academic fieldwork coordinators to train both students and fieldwork educators when using the collaborative fieldwork supervision approach.

With cooperation among the partners, the supply chain can coordinate its operations and improve the efficiency. The cooperated partners could collaboratively forecast demand and replenish product along the supply chain under the collaborative planning framework. The collaborative forecasting method studied is based on the Bayesian combination model in this paper. The collaborative forecasting model simulation is implemented using the actual order data of a retail item shared among the supply chain partners. The collaborative model is combined with three single forecasting methods, which include the simple moving average, the exponential smoothing and ARIMA methods. The simulation results show the effectiveness of collaborative forecasting method and improvement of forecasting accuracy in the supply chain.

The importance of high data quality and the need to consider data quality in the context of business processes are well acknowledged. Process modeling is mandatory for process-driven data quality management, which seeks to improve and sustain data quality by redesigning processes that create or modify data. A variety of process modeling languages exist, which organizations heterogeneously apply. The purpose of this article is to present a context-independent approach to integrate data quality into the variety of existing process models. The authors aim to improve communication of data quality issues across stakeholders while considering process model complexity. They build on a keyword-based literature review in 74 IS journals and three conferences, reviewing 1,555 articles from 1995 onwards. 26 articles, including 46 process models, were examined in detail. The literature review reveals the need for a context-independent and visible integration of data quality into process models. First, the authors present the enhancement of existing process models with data quality characteristics. Second, they present the integration of a data-quality-centric process model with existing process models. Since process models are mainly used for communicating processes, they consider the impact of integrating data quality and the application of patterns for complexity reduction on the models’ complexity metrics. There is need for further research on complexity metrics to improve the applicability of complexity reduction patterns. Lacking knowledge about interdependency between metrics and missing complexity metrics impede assessment and prediction of process model complexity and thus understandability. Finally, our context-independent approach can be used complementarily for data quality integration with specific process modeling languages.

The PROCESS SPECIFICATION LANGUAGE (PSL) has been designed to facilitate correct and complete exchange of process information among manufacturing systems, such as scheduling, process modeling, proc...

Business process modeling is used to model business processes using Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), which is a widely accepted standard for process modeling. BPMN elements are visually represented by the existing model, but the expressiveness of elements in terms of communication between the participants of the business process is a problem reported in modeling literature. Business processes use collaboration models to gain increasing importance in software development, describing their behavior and interaction. Recent years have seen the presentation of various approaches to ensure communication between business process pools. Despite the widespread adoption of BPMN for business process modeling, existing collaboration models often suffer from significant limitations in accurately capturing complex collaborative business processes. The existing approaches do not ensure proper structure and syntax for collaboration elements. The flow of information among multiple pools causes ambiguity in the developed business process. A Collaborative Business Process Model (CBPM) is proposed to address this issue, based on modeling rules that ensure proper syntax and structure of the models. The proposed CBPM also guarantees that the model is a better approach for participant interaction. This approach contributes to improving the communication mechanism between the participants of collaborative business processes. Moreover, we formally analyze and verify the working of CBPM by specifying the model in Z specification language. Performance evaluation regarding the flow of messages through test case coverage criteria indicates that the model is capable of ensuring successful communication among the multiple participants of business processes.

Using domain-specific modeling languages to capture business processes can greatly enhance quality and efficiency of process modeling, because language and models are more expressive, concise and easy to understand. The development of domain-specific languages (DSLs) with accompanying tools and transformations is, however, a complex, time-consuming, and costly task. An efficient and simple approach to creating process modeling languages (PMLs) for specific business domains by reusing common parts is needed, where each resulting language is still optimally adjusted to its domain. For each of these languages, the abstract and concrete syntax have to be defined as well as transformations to more general languages. This paper presents DSLs4BPM, a generic framework for PMLs, which employs DSL modularization concepts to allow the derivation of domain-specific PMLs. The framework provides elements common to process modeling and a basic transformation to the generic Business Process Model and Notation 2.0. DSLs are created by adding own types to the framework language and own rules to the transformation at predefined extension points. The approach has been implemented based on the Eclipse Modeling Framework.

The IPSE 2.5 project is concerned with the problem of how computer systems can be used in the development of information systems.The project is being carried out under the UK Alvey Programme Software Engineering Strategy by a consortium comprising STC Technology Limited, International Computers Limited, University of Manchester, Dowty Defense and Air Systems Limited, SERC Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, Plessey Research Roke Manor Ltd. and British Gas plc. Praxis Systems has worked as a subcontractor to STC and ICL. It finishes at the end of 1989.The project is concerned to provide facilities in support of people and organisations engaged in all aspects of computer systems development. Of course this is a vast field and thus the project has focussed on “process modelling” and “formal methods”. The former is concerned with coordination of the many processes undertaken in computer systems development. Formal methods are mathematically based approaches to software development.This synopsis (a summary of [1]) of the project emphasises “process modelling”. More details on the Formal Reasoning work of the project can be found in [2].Process Modelling is the act of participating in processes. Each and every member of an IPSE 2.5 community is a process modeller, a programmer, a secretary, the chief programmer, a project manger, a salesperson, the personnel manager, the accountant, etc. Furthermore, the devices of an office environment, printers, fax machines, photocopiers, etc., each perform roles in the office environment, and thus each of these is a process modeller. This view has the important property that a Process Modelling Language must be 'reflective' so that anything which has a purpose and place in a process model can be introduced in terms of the objects which are already supported in the language.Modelling actions include: creating abstract processors — roles; defining role behaviours — Role Classes; defining inter and intra-role behaviours; instigating inter-role interactions; selecting agenda actions; performing selected actions.The IPSE 2.5 project supports process modelling through the use of a Process Control Engine (PCE). A PCE can be loaded with knowledge (a process model) of the roles (activities) to be carried out by the staff and tools of the organisation using the PCE and thereafter the PCE can control the progress of the organisation's processes; coordinating, aiding, enforcing, and triggering the desired actions between the organisations processing resources — they thus cooperate in a meaningful fashion and work at a balanced rate.The Process Modelling Language (PML) is used to interact with the PCE and hence to 'load' process model fragments. PML development is based on work reported in [3]. A process model provides an appropriate context for each of the resources of a project to undertake the work ascribed to them and hence to enable development of a system.A further objective of the project has been the integration of Managerial and Technical procedures to enable controlled development of software systems using extant and new methodologies. The project focussed on the basic goal satisfaction (or planning) cycle of analyse the goal, create plan of action, resource and activate, monitor and revise actions. An important aspect of this approach is that revision constitutes 'Process Model Evolution' — a new behaviour!The project has spent some time on the challenging problem and implications of dynamic bindings and scoping of process model changes. In studying these problems the project developed models of a Mini-company with three management levels of Board, Business Centre, Project. Business Centres sell software services and as a result start projects. The projects employ their own chosen technical methods, but report as directed from the business centre, which in turn reports to the board. Much of the reporting is automated, and ensures timely and accurate reports of progress, accounting details, and specific items included on per project or business centre basis. Staff may also be supplied semi-automatically through prompting for resourcing as and when the need arises.IPSE 2.5 work has also used the above mentioned technology in the development of prototype IPSEs to support Formal (OBJ/Malpas) and Informal (SSADM like methods) development methods.The project is now progressing on the evaluation of both Formal Reasoning IPSE (MURAL), and the Demonstrator PCE. These evaluations will be reported as part of the project deliverables to Alvey.

Safety and dependability are major design objectives for offshore operations such as the construction of wind farms or oil and gas exploration. Today processes and related risks are typically described informally and process specification are neither reusable nor suitable for risk assessment. Here, we propose to use a specification language for processes. We integrate this specification language in a generic modeling approach in combination with an analysis tool and a tool to construct health, safety and environment (HSE) plans — a mandatory document for granting a construction/operation permit. Specifically, for each planned scenario a process is modeled, describing the detailed operation of the involved actors as well as the interaction with resources and environmental conditions. We enrich this process model with hazardous events which is facilitated by integration with an offshore operation generic hazard list, thereby giving access to expert knowledge for the specific situation to be planned. This in turn allows us to perform an automatic quantitative risk assessment using fault tree analysis. We exemplify our approach on a standard offshore operation of personnel transfer from an offshore building to another naval unit by modeling, annotating with hazards, performing the fault-tree analysis, and finally generating HSE plans.