Programmatic Perturbation of Business Process Models

Abstract

As the business goals evolve, the actions, decisions, and events that define the related business processes are also modified. In order to capture those changes at the level of process models, previous work has proposed generic standardizations in the form of change patterns, which will allow the process-aware information systems to become flexible for changing business needs. However, the issue is that the suggested formalizations are still at a theoretical stage, and there is no practical solution available for the implementation of change patterns. The outcome of this Master's thesis is a tool called "Process Model Perturbator," which allows the application of change patterns programmatically. As input, the software tool accepts one or multiple BPMN models and a specification of changes to be done in the Process, and it outputs a perturbed process model resulting from applying the specified changes on the input model. The tool is intended to act as a base for the research towards programmatic perturbation, which will provide a framework for further development of other change patterns and possible usage as an engine in optimizers and process-aware information systems.