Artifact-based modeling approach for business processes management

Abstract

Business process modeling is a building block for design and management of business processes. Two fundamental aspects of business process modeling are: a formal framework that well integrates both control flow and data, and a set of tools to assist all aspects of a business process life cycle. A typical business process life cycle includes at least a design phase where the key concerns are around "correct" realization of business logic in a resource constrained environment, and an operational phase where a main objective is to optimize and improve the realization during the execution (operation). Over the last decade, the idea of coupling control and data in an "artifact- centric" approach emerged in the practice of business process design. The key focus is on the "moving" data as they are manipulated throughout a process. The idea works well with many applications, typical examples include customer order processing, insurance claim handling, etc. We aim at studying issues concerning the design, analysis, and evolution of business processes base on a formal artifact-centric model. base on an artifact based formal model. We briefly illustrate the approach with an example and discuss several key issues. © CGU 2007.