Using UML for software process modeling

Abstract

Abstract. We examine the benefits of using an object-oriented modeling language for software process modeling. We show how the Unified Modeling Language (UML) can be used to model software processes based on dynamic task nets, which evolve continuously during enactment. We have selected UML for various reasons: it is wide-spread, provides a comprehensive set of diagrams for both structural and behavioral modeling, and supports the early phases of process modeling (analysis and design). Like many other object-oriented modeling languages, UML has no welldefined semantics. We indicate how a process model described in UML can be automatically transformed into an executable form, i.e., we provide dynamic semantics for UML models. To this end, UML models are transformed into programmed graph rewriting systems which are used to drive a process management environment.

Applying UML and software simulation for process definition, verification, and validation

“…Many researchers and practitioners have recently started experimenting with the usage of UML as a PML. Being so popular and widely used, UML has a competitive advantage when compared to any other specialized PML [9]. To increase model understandability and to reduce model maintenance effort, process modeling should be supported by a very high level of abstraction.…”

Modeling and Specification of Web Services Composition Using UML-S

“…Although BPMN is an interesting solution, we preferred to extend UML 2.0 to achieve the same purpose. Indeed, UML was already used as a Process Modeling Language (PML) [9,13,16]. As a matter of fact, UML has some very interesting features as a PML: it is standard, graphical, popular and it contains several diagrams which allows to model different views of a system.…”

Animating ebXML Transactions with a Workflow Engine

“…Next, there are approaches, e.g. [5,13], that use UML diagrams for modelling processes and that, in a fully automated way, derive from these process descriptions the input for some specific process support tools. Difference with our work is that these process support tools have a proprietary interface that is not based on XPDL.…”