Customizing BPMN Diagrams Using Timelines

Authors Carlo Combi, Barbara Oliboni, Pietro Sala



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Author Details

Carlo Combi
  • Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Italy
Barbara Oliboni
  • Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Italy
Pietro Sala
  • Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Italy

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Carlo Combi, Barbara Oliboni, and Pietro Sala. Customizing BPMN Diagrams Using Timelines. In 26th International Symposium on Temporal Representation and Reasoning (TIME 2019). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 147, pp. 5:1-5:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2019)
https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.TIME.2019.5

Abstract

BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) is widely used standard modeling technique for representing Business Processes by using diagrams, but lacks in some aspects. Representing execution-dependent and time-dependent decisions in BPMN Diagrams may be a daunting challenge [Carlo Combi et al., 2017]. In many cases such constraints are omitted in order to preserve the simplicity and the readability of the process model. However, for purposes such as compliance checking, process mining, and verification, formalizing such constraints could be very useful. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for annotating BPMN Diagrams with Temporal Synchronization Rules borrowed from the timeline-based planning field. We discuss the expressivity of the proposed approach and show that it is able to capture a lot of complex temporally-related constraints without affecting the structure of BPMN diagrams. Finally, we provide a mapping from annotated BPMN diagrams to timeline-based planning problems that allows one to take advantage of the last twenty years of theoretical and practical developments in the field.

Subject Classification

ACM Subject Classification
  • Applied computing → Business process modeling
  • Applied computing
Keywords
  • Business Processes
  • BPMN
  • Timelines
  • Temporal Constraints

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