Generating event-condition-action rules from process models

Details Generating event-condition-action rules from process models Generating event-condition-action rules from process models

2000-02-04

2004-11-30

Hafiz, Tariq R. (Department: 3623)

Data processing: database and file management or data structures

Database design

Data structure types

C717S132000, C717S103000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06826579

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an approach of automatically transforming the process-model of a workflow-management-system into trigger-specifications executable within a trigger-system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A new area of technology with increasing importance is the domain of Workflow-Management-Systems (WFMS). WFMS support the modeling and execution of business processes. Business processes executed within a WFMS environment control which piece of work of a network of pieces of work will be performed by whom and which resources are exploited for this work. The individual pieces of work might be distributed across a multitude of different computer systems connected by some type of network.
The product “IBM MQSeries Workflow” (also called FlowMark) represents such a typical modern, sophisticated, and powerful workflow management system. It supports the modeling of business processes as a network of activities. This network of activities, the process model, is constructed as a directed, acyclic, weighted, colored graph. The nodes of the graph represent the activities or workitems which are performed. The edges of the graph, the control connectors, describe the potential sequence of execution of the activities. Definition of the process graph is via the IBM MQSeries Workflow Definition Language (FDL) or the built-in graphical editor. The runtime component of the workflow manager interprets the process graph and distributes the execution of activities to the right person at the right place, e.g. by assigning tasks to a work list according to the respective person, wherein said work list is stored as digital data within said workflow or process management computer system.
Another area of technology is that of trigger systems. The paradigm for execution of activities within these systems is based on that of a trigger. A trigger is a rule defined to the trigger system specifying, in case of a raised event and in case an associated condition evaluates to TRUE, a certain action is to be started by the trigger system. The trigger system comprises a set of such triggers. It is continually monitoring raised events and determines the corresponding triggers, which then are executed (“fired”) and may result in initiation of a trigger action. An action may raise further events during its execution, thereby inducing further activity. Based on this mimic, effective work is processed by a trigger system.
Triggers can be understood to often reflect business rules, and business processes may be seen as collections of business rules. According to this approach business processes are collections of triggers.
Triggers have been introduced for instance to help managing consistency in database systems. Originally, it has been described as an abstraction of (internal) services to be implemented by a Database management System (DBMS) to ensure consistency of database manipulations via transactions. But this scope has been extended to manage long running transactions in non-traditional exploitations of DBMS (refer for instance to A. Kotz,
Triggermechanismen in Datenbanken
, Springer, 1989); DBMSs providing general purpose trigger environments are often referred to as active DBMSs. One example of an active database is IBM's DB2 Universal Database (UDB). Today, most commercial relational DBMS provide restricted variants of triggers to allow the enforcement of business rules within transactions, and consequently, triggers are foreseen for SQL3 standardization. Though trigger systems provide an effective implementation environment in many application fields they are accompanied from a global point of view with deficiencies in terms of clarity—with a growing number of triggers the difficulties are increasing to understand the interrelation of the various actions responsive to trigger events. On the other hand process models of WFMS are capable to provide exactly this global picture precisely defining and showing which activity is followed by which other activity under which conditions.
What would be desirable is to model and define business processes completely in terms of and based on WEMS technology but, on the other hand, open the option to use the technology of trigger systems as a mere implementation environment.
It is an objective of the invention to automatically transform the process models of a Workflow-Management-System (WFMS) into trigger specifications automatically generating an executable implementation of the business processes modeled by said process models.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objectives of the invention are solved by the invention comprising a computerized method for automatically transforming the process model of a workflow-management-system into trigger-specifications executable within a trigger system. The process model comprises at least one source activity S, a target activity T, and a control connector defining a potential control flow from said source activity to said target activity associated with a transition condition P. According to the proposed teaching, said source activity S is transformed into a trigger event. The trigger-event, if raised at run-time, indicates to said trigger system that an instance of said source activity has been terminated. Moreover, said control connector is transformed into a trigger condition, causing said trigger system at run-time, once said trigger event has been raised, to evaluate the truth value of said transition condition. Furthermore, said target activity is transformed into a trigger action causing said trigger system at run-time, in case said trigger condition evaluates to TRUE, to start an instance of said target activity.
The current invention provides a combination of WFMS technology and trigger technology. The current invention teaches how to map control flows of business process models to ECA rules. The interpretation of the generated ECA rules themselves can be implemented in a variety of ways, e.g. in active database systems, agent systems, or publish/subscribe environments. Consequently, the invention can be deployed for implementing a workflow system based on a multitude of different technologies. The invention teaches an approach to model and define business processes completely in terms of, and based on, WEMS technology; but, on the other hand, open the option to use, as a mere implementation environment, the technology of trigger systems by automatically generating trigger specifications which are directly executable by the trigger system.


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