Pattern-Based Translation of BPMN Process Models to BPEL Web Services

Abstract

Abstract. The Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) is a graph-oriented language in which control and action nodes can be connected almost arbitrarily. It is primarily targeted at domain analysts and is supported by many modelling tools, but in its current form, it lacks the semantic precision required to capture fully executable business processes. The Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL) on the other hand is a mainly block-structured language, targeted at software developers and supported by several execution platforms. In the current setting, translating BPMN models into BPEL code is a necessary step towards standards-based business process development environments. This translation is challenging since BPMN and BPEL represent two fundamentally different classes of languages. Existing BPMN-to-BPEL translations rely on the identification of block-structured patterns in BPMN models that are mapped into block-structured BPEL constructs. This paper advances the state of the art in BPMN-to-BPEL translation by defining methods for identifying not only perfectly block-structured fragments in BPMN models, but also quasi-structured fragments that can be turned into perfectly structured ones and flow-based acyclic fragments that can be mapped into a combination of block-structured constructs and control links. Beyond its direct relevance in the context of BPMN and BPEL, this paper addresses issues that arise generally when translating between graph-oriented and block-structured flow definition languages.

Automatic Extraction of Process Control Flow from I/O Operations

“…13 Each trace is generated by a different C program that outputs the various operations reflecting its own execution. 14 Table 1 presents the experimental results for the various traces.…”

“…Third, recent developments in Web service technology and SOA 3 have also contributed to shorten the distance between process modeling and programming, as business processes may be implemented as compositions of web services [12]. Fourth, business analysts may be encouraged to use graphical languages when there are mechanisms to automatically translate them to executable models; for example, it is possible to translate process models in BPMN 4 to executable descriptions in BPEL 5 [13].…”

Towards the Use of XPDL as Planning and Scheduling Modeling Tool: The Workflow Patterns Approach

“…The generated code is used as input of the HTNP planner triggering a reasoning and search process that, guided by the knowledge included in the domain, finally returns a workers allocation and an action plan, to carry out the tasks defined as goal. Finally, the resulting plans could also be converted again into BPEL, a language which is readable by most BPM engines, developed for the execution of processes and web services composition, and that has been subject of prior research related to our work [8]. This would help to complete the cycle, seamlessly introducing P&S technology within the BPM life cycle.…”

“…There are a lot of modeling tools that already incorporate XPDL natively or as an additional plug-in. Some of the tools evaluated store process models either using a proprietary format or directly BPEL [8], but ideally this should be done in XPDL, as it was thought for modeling, not for execution [9]. We have used "TIBCO Business Studio" 2 , since it supports XPDL v2.0 and it is offered for free.…”

“…An XPDL file offers a one-to-one representation of the original Business Process Management Notation (BPMN) [8] process diagram. The main advantage of using XPDL as modeling language is that it is a common language used among business analysts, and it can be used to represent the organisation activity easily, storing it in an XML standard format.…”