Abstract
In this paper we examine the suitability of the Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) for business process modelling, using the Workflow Patterns as an evaluation framework. The Workflow Patterns are a collection of patterns developed for assessing control-flow, data and resource capabilities in the area of Process Aware Information Systems (PAISs). In doing so, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of the capabilities of BPMN, and its strengths and weaknesses when utilised for business process modelling. The analysis provided for BPMN is part of a larger effort aiming at an unbiased and vendor-independent survey of the suitability and the expressive power of some mainstream process modelling languages. It is a sequel to previous work in which languages including BPEL and UML Activity Diagrams were evaluated.
This work is funded in part by VR 621-2001-2768 and by ARC DP0451092.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
van der Aalst, W.M.P., Dumas, M., ter Hofstede, A.H.M., Russell, N., Verbeek, H.M.W., Wohed, P.: Life After BPEL? In: Bravetti, M., Kloul, L., Zavattaro, G. (eds.) EPEW/WS-EM 2005. LNCS, vol. 3670, pp. 35–50. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)
van der Aalst, W.M.P., ter Hofstede, A.H.M., Kiepuszewski, B., Barros, A.P.: Workflow Patterns. Distributed and Parallel Databases 14(1), 5–51 (2003)
Jablonski, S., Bussler, C.: Workflow Management: Modeling Concepts, Architecture, and Implementation. International Thomson Computer Press, London (1996)
Kloppmann, M., Koenig, D., Leymann, F., Pfau, G., Rickayzen, A., von Riegen, C., Schmidt, P., Trickovic, I.: WS-BPEL Extension for People – BPEL4People (July 2005) (accessed March 16, 2005), http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/webservices/library/specification/ws-bpel4people
Mulyar, N.A.: Pattern-based Evaluation of Oracle-BPEL (v.10.1.2). Technical report, Center Report BPM-05-24, BPMcenter.org. (2005)
Ouyang, C., Dumas, M., Breutel, S., ter Hofstede, A.H.M.: Translating Standard Process Models to BPEL. In: Dubois, E., Pohl, K. (eds.) CAiSE 2006. LNCS, vol. 4001. Springer, Heidelberg (2006)
Recker, J., Indulska, M., Rosemann, M., Green, P.: Do Process Modelling Techniques Get Better? A Comparative Ontological Analysis of BPMN. In: 16th Australasian Conference on Information Systems
Russell, N., van der Aalst, W.M.P., ter Hofstede, A.H.M., Edmond, D.: Workflow Resource Patterns: Identification, Representation and Tool Support. In: Pastor, Ó., Falcão e Cunha, J. (eds.) CAiSE 2005. LNCS, vol. 3520, pp. 216–232. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)
Russell, N., van der Aalst, W.M.P., ter Hofstede, A.H.M., Wohed, P.: On the Suitability of UML 2.0 Activity Diagrams for Business Process Modelling. In: Third Asia-Pacific Conference on Conceptual Modelling (APCCM 2006). CRPIT, vol. 53, pp. 95–104. ACS, Hobart (2006)
Russell, N., ter Hofstede, A.H.M., Edmond, D., van der Aalst, W.M.P.: Workflow Data Patterns. In: Delcambre, L.M.L., Kop, C., Mayr, H.C., Mylopoulos, J., Pastor, Ó. (eds.) ER 2005. LNCS, vol. 3716, pp. 353–368. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)
Wahl, T., Sindre, G.: An Analytical Evaluation of BPMN Using a Semiotic Quality Framework. In: Pastor, Ó., Falcão e Cunha, J. (eds.) CAiSE 2005. LNCS, vol. 3520, pp. 533–544. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)
WfMC. Workflow Management Coalition Terminology & Glossary, Document Number WFMC-TC-1011, Document Status - Issue 3.0. Technical report, Workflow Management Coalition, Brussels, Belgium (1999)
White, S.: Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). Version 1.0 - May 3, 2004, BPMI.org. (2004), www.bpmi.org
White, S.: Process Modeling Notations and Workflow Patterns. In: Workflow Handbook 2004, USA, pp. 265–294. Future Strategies Inc., Lighthouse Point (2004)
Wohed, P., van der Aalst, W.M.P., Dumas, M., ter Hofstede, A.H.M.: Analysis of Web Services Composition Languages: The Case of BPEL4WS. In: Song, I.-Y., Liddle, S.W., Ling, T.-W., Scheuermann, P. (eds.) ER 2003. LNCS, vol. 2813, pp. 200–215. Springer, Heidelberg (2003)
Wohed, P., van der Aalst, W.M.P., Dumas, M., ter Hofstede, A.H.M., Russell, N.: Pattern-based Analysis of BPMN - an extensive evaluation of the Control-flow, the Data and the Resource Perspectives. BPM Center Report BPM-05-26, BPMcenter.org. (2005)
Wohed, P., van der Aalst, W.M.P., Dumas, M., ter Hofstede, A.H.M., Russell, N.: Pattern-Based Analysis of the Control-Flow Perspective of UML Activity Diagrams. In: Delcambre, L.M.L., Kop, C., Mayr, H.C., Mylopoulos, J., Pastor, Ó. (eds.) ER 2005. LNCS, vol. 3716, pp. 63–78. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)
Wynn, M.T., Edmond, D., van der Aalst, W.M.P., ter Hofstede, A.H.M.: Achieving a General, Formal and Decidable Approach to the OR-Join in Workflow Using Reset Nets. In: Ciardo, G., Darondeau, P. (eds.) ICATPN 2005. LNCS, vol. 3536, pp. 423–443. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Wohed, P., van der Aalst, W.M.P., Dumas, M., ter Hofstede, A.H.M., Russell, N. (2006). On the Suitability of BPMN for Business Process Modelling. In: Dustdar, S., Fiadeiro, J.L., Sheth, A.P. (eds) Business Process Management. BPM 2006. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4102. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11841760_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11841760_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-38901-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-38903-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)