In a collaborative context, the integration of industrial partners deeply depends on the ability to use a collaborative architecture to interact efficiently. In this paper, we propose to tackle this point according to the fact that partners of the collaboration respect the SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) paradigm. We propose to design such a collaborative architecture according to MDA (model-Driven Architecture) principles. We aim at using business models (the needs) to design a logical model of a solution (logical architecture) as a principal step to reach the final collaborative solution. This paper presents the theoretical aspects of this subject and the dedicated transformation rules. Finally, we show the prototype of a demonstration tool embedding the transformation rules and running those principles.

This paper presents an ontology-based approach for the design of a collaborative business process model (CBP).This CBP is considered as a specification of needs in order to build a collaboration information system (CIS) for a network of organisations. The study is a part of a model driven engineering approach of the CIS in a specific enterprise interoperability framework that will be summarised. An adaptation of the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is used to represent the CBP model. We develop a knowledge-based system (KbS) which is composed of three main parts: knowledge gathering, knowledge representation and reasoning, and collaborative business process modelling. The first part starts from a high abstraction level where knowledge from business partners is captured. A collaboration ontology is defined in order to provide a structure to store and use the knowledge captured. In parallel, we try to reuse generic existing knowledge about business processes from the MIT Process Handbook repository. This results in a collaboration process ontology that is also described. A set of rules is defined in order to extract knowledge about fragments of the CBP model from the two previous ontologies. These fragments are finally assembled in the third part of the KbS. A prototype of the KbS has been developed in order to implement and support this approach. The prototype is a computer-aided design tool of the CBP. In this paper, we will present the theoretical aspects of each part of this KbS as well as the tools that we developed and used in order to support its functionalities.

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International audienceThe Mediation Information System Engineering project is currently finishing its second iteration (MISE 2.0). The main objective of this scientific project is to provide any emerging collaborative situation with methods and tools to deploy a Mediation Information System (MIS). MISE 2.0 aims at defining and designing a service-based platform, dedicated to initiating and supporting the interoperability of collaborative situations among potential partners. This MISE 2.0 platform implements a model-driven engineering approach to the design of a service-oriented MIS dedicated to supporting the collaborative situation. This approach is structured in three layers, each providing their own key innovative points: (i) the gathering of individual and collaborative knowledge to provide appropriate collaborative business behaviour (key point: knowledge management, including semantics, exploitation and capitalization), (ii) deployment of a mediation information system able to computerize the previously deduced collaborative processes (key point: the automatic generation of collaborative workflows, including connection with existing devices or services) (iii) the management of the agility of the obtained collaborative network of organizations (key point: supervision of collaborative situations and relevant exploitation of the gathered data). MISE covers business issues (through BPM), technical issues (through an SOA) and agility issues of collaborative situations (through EDA)

International audienceThe modern business environment tends to involve a large network of heterogeneous people, devices and organizations that engage in collaborative processes among themselves. Given the nature of this type of collaboration and the high degree of interoperability between partner Information Systems, these processes need to be agile in order to respond to changes in context, which may occur at any time during the collaborative situation.The objective is to build a Mediation Information System (MIS), in support of collaborative situations, whose architecture must be (i) built to be relevant to the collaborative situation under consideration, (ii) more easily integrated into the existing systems, and (iii) sufficiently agile, through its awareness of the environment and of process events, and through the way it reacts to events detected as being relevant.To apply agility mechanisms, it is crucial to detect the significant events that will lead to a subsequent evolution of the situation (detection step). Event-Driven Architecture (EDA) is used to design the structure of the part of the system that is in charge of MIS agility. This architecture takes the events into account, manages them and, if needed, uses them to trigger the adaptation of the MIS.We have defined a means to monitor the evolution of the situation. If relevant changes are detected, and if the situation does not evolve in the expected way, an adaptation is proposed. It is concluded that the principles of detection and adaptation, combined with the responsiveness of the system (provided by the automation of transitions), and based on Event Driven Architecture principles, together provide the agility required for collaborative processes

The increasing number of disruptions to critical infrastructure, like natural disasters, terrorist attacks or internal failure is today a major problem of society. Concern is even greater when considering the interconnected nature of critical infrastructure, which might lead to failure propagation, causing domino and cascade effects. To mitigate such outcomes, critical infrastructure must recover its capacity to function with regard to several criteria. Stakeholders must therefore analyse and improve the resilience of critical infrastructure before any disruption occurs, and base this analysis on different models so as to guarantee society's vital needs. Current resilience assessment methods are mainly oriented toward the context of a single system, thus narrowing their criteria metrics, limiting flexibility and adaptation to other contexts and overlooking the interconnected nature of systems. This article introduces a new tool-equipped approach that makes it possible to define a model to evaluate the functionalities of interconnected systems. The model is then used to assess the resilience of these systems based on simple and generic criteria that can be extended and adapted. Several assertions related to the concept of resilience and some resilience indicators are also introduced. A case study provides the validation performed by experts from several domains.

In a context where enterprises and organizations aim to optimise their behaviour, obtain certifications and labels, and benefit from the smart use of information systems and technology, two considerations drive this research: (1) the weak maturity level of worldwide Business Process Management (BPM), which exposes the need to reconcile academic theories with industrial contexts, and (2) the need for upcoming software functionalities that prioritize removing the barriers frequently encountered by industrialists when trying to implement the method. To reach such goals, this research work has developed a conceptual framework to represent the BPM implementation state. It is built along three axes: the BPM Cycle (Design, Enact, Maintain), the Field (Culture, Business, IT) and the Abstraction Level (Data, Jobs, Behaviour). An organization's overall BPM maturity can thus be evaluated by positioning its capabilities along the framework's axes. It is also suggested that the framework be used to track the implementation of new procedures in an organisation. The framework is presented and detailed before being applied to a complete case study.

The MISE Project (Mediation Information System Engineering) aims at providing collaborating organizations with a Mediation Information System (MIS) in charge of supporting interoperability of a collaborative network. MISE proposes an overall MIS design method according to a model--driven approach, based on model transformations. This MIS is in charge of managing (i) information, (ii) functions and (iii) processes among the information systems (IS) of partner organizations involved in the network. Semantic issues are accompanying this triple objective: How to deal with information reconciliation? How to ensure the matching between business functions and technical services? How to identify workflows among business processes? This article aims first, at presenting the MISE approach, second at defining the semantic gaps along the MISE approach and third at describing some past, current and future research works that deal with these issues. Finally and as a conclusion, the very "design-oriented" previous considerations are confronted with "run--time" requirements.