Modeling dynamic changes of workflow: A composite approach

Abstract

Workflow is a promising technology for realizing process-oriented information systems. However, the traditional workflow management systems are designed to handle the static business processes. How to model dynamic changes of workflow is one of hotspots of current research. The unified modeling language (UML) and polychromatic sets (PS) theory are introduced and their advantages and disadvantages are analyzed, and a composite approach to modeling dynamic changes of workflow is proposed. Based on this composite approach, the UML activity diagram models and PS contour matrix models of the most common dynamic workflow changes, such as addition, deletion and structural transform of nodes, are established and described formally. Research results show that the proposed modeling approach of dynamic workflow changes has an easy-to-understand graphical feature and a well-defined mathematical foundation. Furthermore, it can provide a significant progress and advantage in problem formalization for running instances migration.