Jeewani Anupama Ginige

A Mechanism for Efficient Management of Changes in BPEL based Business Processes: An Algebraic Methodology

Business process execution language (BPEL) is an XML-based Web service composition language that is commonly used for the orchestration of business processes. Orchestration refers to the sequencing of services, usually defined in a separate Web services definition language (WSDL) document, in order to provide additional logic to process data, which essentially creates the application logic. In certain situations, when business goals or policies change, these services (external to the orchestrated process) may change in a way that it affects the orchestrated process. For example, some services may be removed and new ones introduced. In situations like this, BPEL models need to be changed accordingly. In large and complex business processes, due to the verbose nature of BPEL, making alterations to BPEL descriptions is an arduous task, and can often lead to inconsistencies and errors. This paper demonstrates a way to map BPEL processes and related WSDL service descriptions into algebraic expressions, which encapsulate all process elements into a single phrase. The purpose of these algebraic expressions is to easily identify the effect of service changes in the orchestrated process, which in turn enables the required changes to be carried out efficiently in-situ within a given context, without disturbing the consistency of the overall BPEL document. The proposed algebraic methodology is based on Kleene algebra with tests (KAT), which is a new branch of algebra that lends itself for practical modeling purposes

Towards Criteria Based Allocation of Capstone Projects for an Enhanced Learning Experience

The success of industry-based projects (capstone projects) used in computing course depends on a number of factors. These are: i) characteristics of the information system and the client perception, ii) individual student and group characteristics, iii) development methodology used, and iv) the support and supervision provided. Generally academics use a dasiatrial-by-errorpsila approach in striking the right balance between these factors for the success of capstone projects. As oppose to this approach, here we lay the foundation for a criteria-based allocation of projects, with the objective of enhancing student leaning experience. As the first step, this paper analyzes the correlation of two dimensions: a) the complexity level of the IS (one dimension of characteristics of the IS) and b) group mean Grade Point Average-GPA (one dimension of characteristics of the student group); and the success of a project. Data collected from 32 projects is presented and analyzed here in exploring the above-mentioned correlation.

Evaluating success of mobile health projects in the developing world

Many mobile health (mHealth) projects, typically deploying pilot or small scale implementations, have been undertaken in developing world settings and reported with a widely varying range of claims being made on their effectiveness and benefits. As a result, there is little evidence for which aspects of such projects lead to successful outcomes. This paper describes a literature review of papers from PubMed undertaken to identify strong contributions to execution and evaluation of mHealth projects in developing world settings, and suggests a template for classifying the main success factors to assist with collating evidence in the future.

An Algorithm for Propagating-Impact Analysis of Process Evolutions

Business processes evolve due to different reasons. Evolution of business processes essentially means changing its process elements namely: actions, participants, and process objects; which are associated to each other in various ways. In the event of one process element change, the above-mentioned associations create propagating-impact. Therefore in process evolution management, it is imperative to have a business process modelling tool that can completely and cohesively capture associations among process elements. In our previous research [1] we have developed such a process modelling tool using Kleene Algebra with Tests - KAT [2]. In this paper, we present an algorithm that facilitates locating the propagating-impact, of a process element change, across the entire process. The proposed mechanism initially, maps the KAT expression of a process, into a binary-tree structure. Then using this binary-tree, the created propagating-impact is extracted under four categories as Direct, Indirect, Secondary and Non-cautionary (DISN) impacts [1].

CAD model of Process Elements: Towards Effective Management of Process Evolution in Web-based Workflows

The issue of process automation is their desire to change. When business processes are automated using Web-based workflow systems (WWS), process evolutions and changes need to be reflected in these implemented systems. Evolutions in business processes essentially mean altering process elements - actions, participants, object, and rules. In a process, elements are interlinked and woven together to achieve business objectives of an organization. Thus, a change in one element creates propagating impact on the other elements that are linked to it. Therefore, it is critical to understand constraints, associations and dependencies (CAD) among process elements for effective management of process evolution in WWS. Previous studies on CAD among process elements mostly focus on (at most) one or two process elements at a time. This paper brings together these isolated works into a single CAD model of process elements. Cohesive and complete nature of this model, lays the foundation to effective management of process evolution in WWS.

Workflow Management Issues in Virtual Enterprise Networks

Increasing competitive pressure and availability of Internet and related technologies have stimulated the collaboration of independent businesses. Such collaborations, aimed at achieving common business goals, are referred to as virtual enterprise networks (VENs). Though web is an excellent platform to collaborate, the requirements of VENs regarding workflow management systems are in excess those of autonomous organizations. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of numerous issues related to workflow managements in VENs. These issues are discussed in the three phases of virtual enterprise lifecycle: configuration, operation and dissolution; and corroborated by two real case studies of VENs in Australia.

A Framework to Enhance Email based Business Processes

Despite the consensus that email is an important tool to handle a business process (BP), this prevailing tool poorly supports the tasks it needs to accomplish in a BP. A collection of interrelated business activities which solve a particular issue is commonly known as a BP. The performance of BP is vital for the growth and development of a business. The ineffective performance of BP is a major, yet avoidable, obstacle to the business productivity. Diverse technologies bear weight in enhancing the performance of BP. The technology involved in BP plays a dominant role in BP streamlining. Over the last decade, email has been embraced, not only by the organizations of every shape and form, but also by individuals as a very popular communication technology. The ubiquitous and simple nature of email makes it a suitable candidate to be used as a technology to support BP related communication. However, email poorly supports the task of handling BPes, due to its ad-hoc and heavily distributed nature. In addition, the primary messaging metaphor of most email clients is not optimized for the activities of a BP. But they only address the problem of managing the volume of email. Therefore this paper provides a solution to enhance the use of email for performing BP related activities efficiently and effectively, without changing emails fundamental technical infrastructure. The proposed solution is expected to achieve its objectives by means of a cognitive approach reducing human intervention to the BP.