User recommendations for the optimized execution of business processes

Barba, Irene; Weber, Barbara; Valle, Carmelo Del; Ramirez, Andres J.

doi:10.1016/j.datak.2013.01.004

Cited by 49 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…In addition, in a previous approach [44], such a technique was applied and it achieved good results. Furthermore, the base algorithm to be used in the e-constraint method were developed and analyzed in previous approaches [7,9] and results showed its effectiveness for improving performance. However, other promising multi-objective optimization techniques (e.g., stochastic algorithms) could be also applied.…”

Section: Planning Scheduling and Constraint Programmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Generating optimized configurable business process models in scenarios subject to uncertainty

Ramirez

Weber

Barba

et al. 2015

Information and Software Technology

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Keywords:Configurable business process models Constraint-based business process models Flexibility Robustness Planning and scheduling Constraint programming a b s t r a c tContext: The quality of business process models (i.e., software artifacts that capture the relations between the organizational units of a business) is essential for enhancing the management of business processes. However, such modeling is typically carried out manually. This is already challenging and time consuming when (1) input uncertainty exists, (2) activities are related, and (3) resource allocation has to be considered. When including optimization requirements regarding flexibility and robustness it becomes even more complicated potentially resulting into non-optimized models, errors, and lack of flexibility. Objective: To facilitate the human work and to improve the resulting models in scenarios subject to uncertainty, we propose a software-supported approach for automatically creating configurable business process models from declarative specifications considering all the aforementioned requirements. Method: First, the scenario is modeled through a declarative language which allows the analysts to specify its variability and uncertainty. Thereafter, a set of optimized enactment plans (each one representing a potential execution alternative) are generated from such a model considering the input uncertainty. Finally, to deal with this uncertainty during run-time, a flexible configurable business process model is created from these plans. Results: To validate the proposed approach, we conduct a case study based on a real business which is subject to uncertainty. Results indicate that our approach improves the actual performance of the business and that the generated models support most of the uncertainty inherent to the business. Conclusions: The proposed approach automatically selects the best part of the variability of a declarative specification. Unlike existing approaches, our approach considers input uncertainty, the optimization of multiple objective functions, as well as the resource and the control-flow perspectives. However, our approach also presents a few limitations: (1) it is focused on the control-flow and the data perspective is only partially addressed and (2) model attributes need to be estimated.

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Section: Planning Scheduling and Constraint Programmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5 shows 2 graphs which are merged into a configurable BP model. 9 The first gateway in Fig. 5(b) is a configurable node which corresponds to an 'OR' gateway in the process 1 and an 'AND' gateway in the process 2.…”

Section: Configurable Bp Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generating optimized configurable business process models in scenarios subject to uncertainty

Ramirez

Weber

Barba

et al. 2015

Information and Software Technology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For supporting users working on declarative BP models, we proposed in previous works [2,1] an approach for generating an optimized execution plan (i.e., an optimized variant) from a given declarative BP model at design time (cf. Fig.…”

Section: Fig 1 Current Contribution Vs Existing Proposalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To support users working on declarative BP models while a high flexibility is maintained, we propose unlike [2,1] to not select a single variant, but to keep the best variants before the BP enactment. For managing these variants during runtime, they can be automatically merged into a configurable BP (CBP) model (i.e., a modeling artifact that captures families of BP models in an integrated manner [16,15]) by using the techniques presented in [9].…”

Section: Fig 1 Current Contribution Vs Existing Proposalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automatic Generation of Questionnaires for Supporting Users during the Execution of Declarative Business Process Models

Ramirez

Barba

Weber

et al. 2014

Business Information Systems

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Abstract. When designing an imperative business process (BP) model, analysts have to face many design requirements (e.g., managing uncertainty, optimizing conflicting objective functions). To facilitate such design, declarative BP models are increasingly used. However, how to execute a given declarative model can be quite challenging since there are typically several variants related to such model, each one presenting different degree of goodness. To support users working on declarative models while a high flexibility is maintained, we propose removing the worst variants from the source declarative model at design time while keeping the best variants. This way, the variants which are kept are narrowed down incrementally during run-time. For managing these variants during run-time we suggest to build upon configurable BP models. To configure such models, we additionally propose to automatically generate questionnaires. The results over a real case study are promising.

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“…While imperative process models specify exactly how things must be done, declarative models focus on the logic that governs the interplay of process actions by describing activities that may be performed as well as constraints prohibiting undesired behavior. Existing research has addressed technical issues of declarative process models, such as maintainability [4], verification [5] and execution [6]. Understandability concerns of declarative models, on the contrary, have been considered only to a limited extent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Differences between Graphical and Textual Declarative Process Models

Haisjackl

Zugal

2014

Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing

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Abstract. Declarative approaches to business process modeling are regarded as well suited for highly volatile environments, as they enable a high degree of flexibility. However, problems in understanding declarative process models often impede their adoption. Particularly, a study revealed that aspects that are present in both imperative and declarative process modeling languages at a graphical level-while having different semantics-cause considerable troubles. In this work we investigate whether a notation that does not contain graphical lookalikes, i.e., a textual notation, can help to avoid this problem. Even though a textual representation does not suffer from lookalikes, in our empirical study it performed worse in terms of error rate, duration and mental effort, as the textual representation forces the reader to mentally merge the textual information. Likewise, subjects themselves expressed that the graphical representation is easier to understand.

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User recommendations for the optimized execution of business processes

Cited by 49 publications

References 43 publications

Generating optimized configurable business process models in scenarios subject to uncertainty

Generating optimized configurable business process models in scenarios subject to uncertainty

Automatic Generation of Questionnaires for Supporting Users during the Execution of Declarative Business Process Models

Investigating Differences between Graphical and Textual Declarative Process Models

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