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Formal specification and state space analysis of an operational planning process

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Abstract

Formal models of business processes support performance and behavioural analysis of the processes for continuous improvement. Formal models are also useful in guiding the development of software tools to support the processes. This paper presents a formal model of the operational planning process used in an operational headquarters of the Australian Defence Force. The formal process model was developed using coloured petri nets (CPN or CP-nets). The constructed CPN model has allowed the planning process to be validated and analysed using simulation and state spaces. State space analysis was conducted using full state spaces and the sweep-line state space reduction method.

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Correspondence to Lars Michael Kristensen.

Additional information

The work of Lin Zhang was done while he was with the Command and Control Division of the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

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Mitchell, B., Kristensen, L.M. & Zhang, L. Formal specification and state space analysis of an operational planning process. Int J Softw Tools Technol Transfer 9, 255–267 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10009-007-0032-3

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