Constraints on Processes: Essential Elements for the Validation and Execution of Processes

Abstract

A process is often described as a sequence of actions that changes the state of a system. To make sure that it is semantically valid, it must abide by semantic constraints defining its proper behavior. These constraints are called behavioral constraints. In the past, [1] presented how to describe and structure constraints on conceptual graphs in a declarative yet operational way; and [2] presented a framework to describe and execute processes using conceptual graphs. This paper combines these two approaches to show how processes can be constrained. It also gives two examples showing why constrained processes are needed in real applications. The first example is a database application where migration constraints must be enforced; the second example shows how agent systems must use behavioral constraints in their interaction. By adding behavioral constraints to conceptual graphs based tools, this paper proposes the CG theory as a powerful modeling language not only for data but also for process modeling.