Optimization of purchasing business process in Moroccan public universities based on COBIT and artificial intelligence techniques

Reliability of BPMN Business Processes

A metamodel to integrate business processes time perspective in BPMN 2.0

During software maintenance, software models play a fundamental role, as they assist in understanding the software that will be corrected or evolved. Business process models, generally produced using Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN), help understanding the business processes supported by software. Therefore, these models are instrumental in maintaining corporate software. However, it is common that during software maintenance, models related to the software are not updated. Thus, the models are inconsistent with the version in use of the software, becoming increasingly obsolete over time. Given that, we developed the e-VOL BPMN technique to support BPMN models' evolution during software maintenance. The objective of e-VOL BPMN is to assist software engineers and developers, with little experience in BPMN notation, to carry out the necessary evolutions in the processes supported by the software. We evaluated the e-VOL BPMN in two experiments, and the results showed evidence that e-VOL BPMN helps the evolution of BPMN models in an appropriate manner. With this technique, such professionals can keep BPMN models up to date. This makes it easier to understand the processes supported by the software, which reduces the time and cost of future maintenance. Furthermore, understanding these processes correctly can reduce undue modifications to the software, contributing to the quality of the maintained software.

In this study, we argue that important of strategy, business, design, and technology alignment affecting an organization’s ICT enterprise architecture is also reflected by business management perspective and business process model. Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an effective way to develop current and future views of the entire enterprise. EA does this primarily by integrating the processes for strategic, business and technology planning in a way that also integrates with other business and technology process. The seamless collaborate and synergize working between technology and non-technology executives and professionals are needed in the designing and formulating enterprise architecture. Therefore, in order to facilitate this analysis, we propose an approach to relate EA specified business architecture to business process innovation, modeled using Service blueprint and Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). Our approach is accompanied by a method that supports the process automation of business process model and is illustrated by a Healthcare service practice as a case study.

The Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) has become the de facto standard for process modeling. Currently, BPMN models can be (a) analyzed or simulated using specialized tools, (b) executed using business process management systems (BPMSs), or (c) used for requirements elicitation. Although there are many studies comparing BPMN to other modeling techniques for analyzing and executing processes, there are few showing the suitability of BPMN models as a source for requirements comprehension in projects where process-aware software is built without using BPMSs. This chapter presents a study aimed at comparing the comprehension of software requirements regarding a business process using either BPMN or traditional techniques, such as use cases. In our study, we analyzed responses of 120 undergraduate and graduate students regarding the requirements comprehension achieved when using only BPMN models, only use cases, or both. The results do not show significant impact of the artifacts on the comprehension level. However, when the understanding of the requirement involves sequence of activities, using the BPMN shows better results on the comprehension time.

Business Process Model and Notation—BPMN

Currently, the number of patients with neurological diseases is increasing, especially those older than 65 suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. This development increases the emphasis on understanding and mapping treatment and care processes, not only for the elderly. Service providers (of both treatment and care) are under general pressure to decrease charges and maintain or improve existing levels of care. This situation is significantly influenced by a comprehensive knowledge of the whole process and its values. This publication therefore aims to describe the fundamental procedural aspects of caring for patients with Alzheimer’s disease, using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). It also aims to show the possibilities of using BPMN in the description of treatment and care. Modeling of the business process is more frequently being applied not only by businesses but also by scientists involved in process models. It is used to model medical topics, with approximately 10% of its publications only, and most of these publications deal only with clinical pathways, not with overall treatment and care processes. However, the BPMN model allows the whole process of medical and nonmedical care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease to be described, including the decomposition of partial activities into individual threads and sub-processes or atomic tasks. This paper presents the BPMN modeling and mapping of the specific care path for neurodegenerative patients. The text provides a new perspective on the BPMN modeling of Alzheimer’s disease. The presented model offers the option of expanding treatment cost calculation to simulate the process using graphical tools and languages. The overall view of this system creates a much more complex concept of the system and its surroundings.

PurposeThe authors use the extension mechanism provided by the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) to define roles, which allows roles to be fully aligned with the BPMN standard. The authors describe how a pattern can be defined in terms of roles and present the formal semantics of pattern realization and refinement to support systematic reuse of patterns in business process development.Design/methodology/approachIt is widely agreed that the use of business process patterns improves the efficiency and quality of business process development. However, few techniques are available to describe business process patterns at an appropriate level of abstraction to facilitate the reuse of patterns. To address this, this paper presents the role-based Business Process Model and Notation (R-BPMN), an extension of BPMN for abstract modeling of business process patterns based on a novel notion of role.FindingsThe authors apply R-BPMN in case studies for pattern realization and refinement and discuss tool support via an existing tool. The case studies demonstrate the practical benefits of R-BPMN in capturing pattern variability and facilitating pattern reuse.Practical implicationsThe findings imply a potential impact of R-BPMN on practical benefits when it is supported at the metamodel level in tool development.Originality/valueThis study addresses the need for abstract modeling of process patterns at the metamodel level, which facilitates the formalization of pattern variability and tool development to support various realizations of process patterns at the model level.


 
 
 The most important result to standardize the notation for graphical representation of Business Processes (BPs) is the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). Despite the BPs modeled with BPMN being able to support business designers, BPMN models are not appropriate to support the analysis phase. BPMN models have no formal seman- tics to conduct qualitative analysis (validation and verification). In this work is presented how Model Checking (MC) verification technique for software and Timed Automata (TA) formal language are integrated within a formal verification approach to check BPs mod- eled with BPMN. Also, are introduced a set of guideline to transform BPMN models into TA. The use of our approach allow to business analysts and designers to perform evaluation (i.e., qualitative analysis) of BPs, based on the formal specification of BP–task model with TA. The application of the approach is aimed to evaluate the behavior of the BP–task model with respect to business performance indicators (for instance, service time, waiting time or queue size) derived from business needs, as is shown in an instance of an enterprise–project related to Customer Relationship Management.
 
 

Business Process and Practice Alignment Meta-model

Modeling based on a graphical notation understandable for different specialists has become very popular. Within the area of business processes, the most common one is the Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN). BPMN is aimed at all business users who design, analyze, manage and monitor business processes. BPMN specification is relatively precise, but it provides a descriptive form presented at some abstract, graphical level. The main focus of this chapter is an attempt to present an overview of the anomalies which are likely to occur when modeling with use of BPMN.

Several firms are defining their Business Processes (BPs) using the standard Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). BPs modelled with BPMN are maintained and used by different workers within a company, thus the correctness of critical BPs should be validated and verified. In this work we present how Model Checking verification technique for software has been integrated within a Formal Compositional Verification Approach (FVCA) and Timed Automata (TA) to allow the automatic verification of critical BPs modelled with BPMN. The use of our FVCA support business analysts and designers in the formal specification of BP-task model with TA. The application of the FVCA is aimed at guaranteeing the correctness of the BP-task model with respect to initial properties specification derived from business rules. In order to show a practical use of our proposal and Uppaal tool, one instance of an enterprise-project related to Customer Relationship Management business is discussed.

Business process modeling and management approaches are increasingly used and disclosed between organizations as a means of optimizing and streamlining the business activities. Among the various existing modeling languages, we stress the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), currently in version 2.0. BPMN is a widespread OMG standard that is actually used either in academia and in organizations. BPMN enables business process modeling, but does not facilitate the modeling of the information infrastructure involved in the process. However, interest in the data and its preservation has increased in BPMN's most recent version. The aim of this paper is to study BPMN 2.0, particularly on the usage and persistence of data, and present an approach for obtaining an early data model from the business process modeling, which may then be used as a starting data model in the software development process.

Enhancing existing business process modeling languages with security concepts has attracted increased attention in research and several graphical notations and symbols have been proposed. How these extensions can be comprehended by users has not been evaluated yet. However, the comprehensibility of security concepts integrated within business process models is of utmost importance for many purposes such as communication, training, and later automation within a process-aware information system. If users do not understand the security concepts, this might lead to restricted acceptance or even misinterpretation and possible security problems in the sequel. In this paper, we evaluate existing security extensions of Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) as BPMN constitutes the de facto standard in business modeling languages nowadays. The evaluation is conducted along two lines, i.e., a literature study and a survey. The findings of both evaluations identify shortcomings and open questions of existing approaches. This will yield the basis to convey security-related information within business process models in a comprehensible way and consequently, unleash the full effects of security modeling in business processes.

The Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is a widely used standard for business process modelling and maintained by the Object Management Group (OMG). However, the BPMN 2.0 specification is quite comprehensive and spans more than 500 pages. The definition of an element is distributed across different sections and sometimes conflicting. In addition, the structure of the elements and their relationships are described within the metamodel, however, further syntactical rules are defined within the natural text. Therefore, this paper defines an ontology that formally represents the BPMN specification. This ontology is called the BPMN 2.0 Ontology and can be used as a knowledge base. The description of an element is combined within the corresponding class and further explanations are provided in annotations. This allows a much faster understanding of BPMN. In addition, the ontology is used as a syntax checker to validate concrete BPMN models.