Rule-based business process modeling and execution

Abstract

Abstract — A process model is called rule-based if the semantics of its case data and activity flows are expressed by means of rules. Rules have been recognized before as powerful representation forms that can potentially define the semantics of data and process resources. To date, however, there is no consensus on how to link the enforcement of rules, the manipulation of data and the execution of processes. Moreover, it is witnessed that complex data and process resource descriptions in the form of a number of constraints, deduction and reaction rules lack expressivity and comprehensibility. In this paper, we set out for using process and rule set metamodels to concisely represent the semantics of case data and activity flows in business process models. In addition we show how to generate a syntactically verified and semantically validated corpus of definite Horn clauses that can be used in the execution of the modeled process. I.