TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ihde, Sven
A1  - Pufahl, Luise
A1  - Völker, Maximilian
A1  - Goel, Asvin
A1  - Weske, Mathias
T1  - A framework for modeling and executing task
BT  - specific resource allocations in business processes
JF  - Computing : archives for informatics and numerical computation
N2  - As resources are valuable assets, organizations have to decide which resources to allocate to business process tasks in a way that the process is executed not only effectively but also efficiently. Traditional role-based resource allocation leads to effective process executions, since each task is performed by a resource that has the required skills and competencies to do so. However, the resulting allocations are typically not as efficient as they could be, since optimization techniques have yet to find their way in traditional business process management scenarios. On the other hand, operations research provides a rich set of analytical methods for supporting problem-specific decisions on resource allocation. This paper provides a novel framework for creating transparency on existing tasks and resources, supporting individualized allocations for each activity in a process, and the possibility to integrate problem-specific analytical methods of the operations research domain. To validate the framework, the paper reports on the design and prototypical implementation of a software architecture, which extends a traditional process engine with a dedicated resource management component. This component allows us to define specific resource allocation problems at design time, and it also facilitates optimized resource allocation at run time. The framework is evaluated using a real-world parcel delivery process. The evaluation shows that the quality of the allocation results increase significantly with a technique from operations research in contrast to the traditional applied rule-based approach.
KW  - Process Execution
KW  - Business Process Management
KW  - Resource Allocation
KW  - Resource Management
KW  - Activity-oriented Optimization
Y1  - 2022
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00607-022-01093-2
SN  - 0010-485X
SN  - 1436-5057
VL  - 104
SP  - 2405
EP  - 2429
PB  - Springer
CY  - Wien
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Yousfi, Alaaeddine
A1  - Batoulis, Kimon
A1  - Weske, Mathias
T1  - Achieving Business Process Improvement via Ubiquitous Decision-Aware Business Processes
JF  - ACM Transactions on Internet Technology
N2  - Business process improvement is an endless challenge for many organizations. As long as there is a process, it must he improved. Nowadays, improvement initiatives are driven by professionals. This is no longer practical because people cannot perceive the enormous data of current business environments. Here, we introduce ubiquitous decision-aware business processes. They pervade the physical space, analyze the ever-changing environments, and make decisions accordingly. We explain how they can be built and used for improvement. Our approach can be a valuable improvement option to alleviate the workload of participants by helping focus on the crucial rather than the menial tasks.
KW  - Business process improvement
KW  - ubiquitous decision-aware business process
KW  - ubiquitous decisions
KW  - context
KW  - uBPMN
KW  - DMN
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1145/3298986
SN  - 1533-5399
SN  - 1557-6051
VL  - 19
IS  - 1
PB  - Association for Computing Machinery
CY  - New York
ER  - 
TY  - BOOK
A1  - Smirnov, Sergey
A1  - Weidlich, Matthias
A1  - Mendling, Jan
A1  - Weske, Mathias
T1  - Action patterns in business process models
N2  - Business process management experiences a large uptake by the industry, and process models play an important role in the analysis and improvement of processes. While an increasing number of staff becomes involved in actual modeling practice, it is crucial to assure model quality and homogeneity along with providing suitable aids for creating models. In this paper we consider the problem of offering recommendations to the user during the act of modeling. Our key contribution is a concept for defining and identifying so-called action patterns - chunks of actions often appearing together in business processes. In particular, we specify action patterns and demonstrate how they can be identified from existing process model repositories using association rule mining techniques. Action patterns can then be used to suggest additional actions for a process model. Our approach is challenged by applying it to the collection of process models from the SAP Reference Model.
N2  - Die zunehmende Bedeutung des Geschäftsprozessmanagements führt dazu, dass eine steigende Anzahl von Mitarbeitern eines Unternehmens mit der Erstellung von Prozessmodellen betraut ist. Um trotz dieser Tendenz die Qualität der Prozessmodelle, sowie ihre Homogenität sicherzustellen, sind entsprechende Modellierungshilfen unabdingbar. In diesem Bericht stellen wir einen Ansatz vor, welcher die Prozessmodellierung durch Empfehlungen unterstützt. Jene basieren auf sogenannten Aktionsmustern, welche typische Arbeitsblöcke darstellen. Neben der Definition dieser Aktionsmuster zeigen wir eine Methode zur Identifikation dieser Muster auf. Mittels Techniken der Assoziationsanalyse können die Muster automatisch aus einer Sammlung von Prozessmodellen extrahiert werden. Die Anwendbarkeit unseres Ansatzes wird durch eine Fallstudie auf Basis des SAP Referenzmodells illustriert.
T3  - Technische Berichte des Hasso-Plattner-Instituts für Digital Engineering an der Universität Potsdam - 30 
Y1  - 2009
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-33586
SN  - 978-3-86956-009-0
PB  - Universitätsverlag Potsdam
CY  - Potsdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Weske, Mathias
A1  - van der Aalst, Wil M. P.
A1  - Verbeek, H. M. W.
T1  - Advances in business process management
Y1  - 2004
SN  - 0169-023X
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Andree, Kerstin
A1  - Ihde, Sven
A1  - Weske, Mathias
A1  - Pufahl, Luise
T1  - An exception handling framework for case management
JF  - Software and Systems Modeling
N2  - In order to achieve their business goals, organizations heavily rely on the operational excellence of their business processes. In traditional scenarios, business processes are usually well-structured, clearly specifying when and how certain tasks have to be executed. Flexible and knowledge-intensive processes are gathering momentum, where a knowledge worker drives the execution of a process case and determines the exact process path at runtime. In the case of an exception, the knowledge worker decides on an appropriate handling. While there is initial work on exception handling in well-structured business processes, exceptions in case management have not been sufficiently researched. This paper proposes an exception handling framework for stage-oriented case management languages, namely Guard Stage Milestone Model, Case Management Model and Notation, and Fragment-based Case Management. The effectiveness of the framework is evaluated with two real-world use cases showing that it covers all relevant exceptions and proposed handling strategies.
KW  - Exception handling
KW  - Knowledge-intensive processes
KW  - Flexible processes;
KW  - Case management
Y1  - 2022
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-022-00993-3
SN  - 1619-1366
SN  - 1619-1374
VL  - 21
IS  - 3
SP  - 939
EP  - 962
PB  - Springer
CY  - Heidelberg
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Meyer, Andreas
A1  - Pufahl, Luise
A1  - Batoulis, Kimon
A1  - Fahland, Dirk
A1  - Weske, Mathias
T1  - Automating data exchange in process choreographies
JF  - Information systems
N2  - Communication between organizations is formalized as process choreographies in daily business. While the correct ordering of exchanged messages can be modeled and enacted with current choreography techniques, no approach exists to describe and automate the exchange of data between processes in a choreography using messages. This paper describes an entirely model-driven approach for BPMN introducing a few concepts that suffice to model data retrieval, data transformation, message exchange, and correlation four aspects of data exchange. For automation, this work utilizes a recent concept to enact data dependencies in internal processes. We present a modeling guideline to derive local process models from a given choreography; their operational semantics allows to correctly enact the entire choreography from the derived models only including the exchange of data. Targeting on successful interactions, we discuss means to ensure correct process choreography modeling. Finally, we implemented our approach by extending the camunda BPM platform with our approach and show its feasibility by realizing all service interaction patterns using only model-based concepts. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KW  - Process modeling
KW  - Data modeling
KW  - Process choreographies
KW  - Data exchange
KW  - BPMN
KW  - SQL
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.is.2015.03.008
SN  - 0306-4379
SN  - 1873-6076
VL  - 53
SP  - 296
EP  - 329
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Pufahl, Luise
A1  - Weske, Mathias
T1  - Batch activity: enhancing business process modeling and enactment with batch processing
JF  - Computing
N2  - Organizations strive for efficiency in their business processes by process improvement and automation. Business process management (BPM) supports these efforts by capturing business processes in process models serving as blueprint for a number of process instances. In BPM, process instances are typically considered running independently of each other. However, batch processing-the collectively execution of several instances at specific process activities-is a common phenomenon in operational processes to reduce cost or time. Currently, batch processing is organized manually or hard-coded in software. For allowing stakeholders to explicitly represent their batch configurations in process models and their automatic execution, this paper provides a concept for batch activities and describes the corresponding execution semantics. The batch activity concept is evaluated in a two-step approach: a prototypical implementation in an existing BPM System proves its feasibility. Additionally, batch activities are applied to different use cases in a simulated environment. Its application implies cost-savings when a suitable batch configuration is selected. The batch activity concept contributes to practice by allowing the specification of batch work in process models and their automatic execution, and to research by extending the existing process modeling concepts.
KW  - Batch activity
KW  - Batch processing
KW  - Business process models
KW  - Process Enactment
KW  - Colored Petri Net
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00607-019-00717-4
SN  - 0010-485X
SN  - 1436-5057
VL  - 101
IS  - 12
SP  - 1909
EP  - 1933
PB  - Springer
CY  - Wien
ER  - 
TY  - BOOK
A1  - Pufahl, Luise
A1  - Meyer, Andreas
A1  - Weske, Mathias
T1  - Batch regions : process instance synchronization based on data
N2  - Business process automation improves organizations’ efficiency to perform work. In existing business process management systems, process instances run independently from each other. However, synchronizing instances carrying similar characteristics, i.e., sharing the same data, can reduce process execution costs. For example, if an online retailer receives two orders from one customer, there is a chance that they can be packed and shipped together to save shipment costs. In this paper, we use concepts from the database domain and introduce data views to business processes to identify instances which can be synchronized. Based on data views, we introduce the concept of batch regions for a context-aware instance synchronization over a set of connected activities. We also evaluate the concepts introduced in this paper with a case study comparing costs for normal and batch processing.
N2  - Die Automatisierung von Geschäftsprozessen unterstützt Unternehmen, die Ausführung ihrer Prozesse effizienter zu gestalten. In existierenden Business Process Management Systemen, werden die Instanzen eines Prozesses völlig unabhängig voneinander ausgeführt. Jedoch kann das Synchronisieren von Instanzen mit ähnlichen Charakteristiken wie z.B. den gleichen Daten zu reduzierten Ausführungskosten führen. Zum Beispiel, wenn ein Onlinehändler zwei Bestellungen vom selben Kunden mit der gleichen Lieferanschrift erhält, können diese zusammen verpackt und versendet werden, um Versandkosten zu sparen. In diesem Papier verwenden wir Konzepte aus dem Datenbankbereich und führen Datensichten für Geschäftsprozesse ein, um Instanzen zu identifizieren, welche synchronisiert werden können. Auf Grundlage der Datensichten führen wir das Konzept der Batch-Regionen ein. Eine Batch-Region ermöglicht eine kontext-bewusste Instanzen-Synchronisierung über mehrere verbundene Aktivitäten. Das eingeführte Konzept wird mit einer Fallstudie evaluiert, bei der ein Kostenvergleich zwischen der normalen Prozessausführung und der Batchverarbeitung durchgeführt wird.
T3  - Technische Berichte des Hasso-Plattner-Instituts für Digital Engineering an der Universität Potsdam - 86 
KW  - BPM
KW  - Batchverarbeitung
KW  - Gruppierung von Prozessinstanzen
KW  - Datensicht
KW  - BPM
KW  - batch processing
KW  - process instance grouping
KW  - data view
Y1  - 2013
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-69081
SN  - 978-3-86956-280-3
PB  - Universitätsverlag Potsdam
CY  - Potsdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Weidlich, Matthias
A1  - Dijkman, Remco
A1  - Weske, Mathias
T1  - Behaviour equivalence and compatibility of business process models with complex correspondences
JF  - The computer journal : a publication of the British Computer Society
N2  - Once multiple models of a business process are created for different purposes or to capture different variants, verification of behaviour equivalence or compatibility is needed. Equivalence verification ensures that two business process models specify the same behaviour. Since different process models are likely to differ with respect to their assumed level of abstraction and the actions that they take into account, equivalence notions have to cope with correspondences between sets of actions and actions that exist in one process but not in the other. In this paper, we present notions of equivalence and compatibility that can handle these problems. In essence, we present a notion of equivalence that works on correspondences between sets of actions rather than single actions. We then integrate our equivalence notion with work on behaviour inheritance that copes with actions that exist in one process but not in the other, leading to notions of behaviour compatibility. Compatibility notions verify that two models have the same behaviour with respect to the actions that they have in common. As such, our contribution is a collection of behaviour equivalence and compatibility notions that are applicable in more general settings than existing ones.
KW  - behaviour equivalence
KW  - behaviour compatibility
KW  - model verification
KW  - behavioural models
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/comjnl/bxs014
SN  - 0010-4620
SN  - 1460-2067
VL  - 55
IS  - 11
SP  - 1398
EP  - 1418
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - BOOK
A1  - Kunze, Matthias
A1  - Weske, Mathias
T1  - Behavioural Models
BT  - From Modelling Finite Automata to Analysing Business Processes
N2  - This textbook introduces the basis for modelling and analysing discrete dynamic systems, such as computer programmes, soft- and hardware systems, and business processes. The underlying concepts are introduced and concrete modelling techniques are described, such as finite automata, state machines, and Petri nets. The concepts are related to concrete application scenarios, among which business processes play a prominent role. 

The book consists of three parts, the first of which addresses the foundations of behavioural modelling. After a general introduction to modelling, it introduces transition systems as a basic formalism for representing the behaviour of discrete dynamic systems. This section also discusses causality, a fundamental concept for modelling and reasoning about behaviour. In turn, Part II forms the heart of the book and is devoted to models of behaviour. It details both sequential and concurrent systems and introduces finite automata, state machines and several different types of Petri nets. One chapter is especially devoted to business process models, workflow patterns and BPMN, the industry standard for modelling business processes. Lastly, Part III investigates how the behaviour of systems can be analysed. To this end, it introduces readers to the concept of state spaces. Further chapters cover the comparison of behaviour and the formal analysis and verification of behavioural models.

The book was written for students of computer science and software engineering, as well as for programmers and system analysts interested in the behaviour of the systems they work on. It takes readers on a journey from the fundamentals of behavioural modelling to advanced techniques for modelling and analysing sequential and concurrent systems, and thus provides them a deep understanding of the concepts and techniques introduced and how they can be applied to concrete application scenarios.
Y1  - 2016
SN  - 978-3-319-44958-6
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
ER  -