工作流程（workflow）是商業流程自動化的一部份。一個工作流程是由完成一件工作所有可能執行的活動（activity）以及活動間在執行時的前後關係所構成。而工作流程的設計或改進舊有的工作流程是商業上很重要的工作，因為工作流程的好與壞會影響企業的競爭力。工作流程探勘（workflow mining）是利用資料探勘的技術，分析工作流程執行時所留下的流程執行記錄，還原出一個能夠產生這些記錄的工作流程模型（workflow model），而這個工作流程模型可做為設計新模型或改進既有模型的參考。 本研究針對我們所定義的工作流程模型，以一個未知的工作流程模型所產生的流程執行記錄（workflow log）當做輸入資料（input data），提出方法利用輸入資料還原一個能夠產生輸入資料中所有資料工作流程模型，且希望這個工作流程模型能與產生流程執行記錄之未知模型越相似越好。我們提出兩個還原工作流程模型的演算法，並利用precision和recall來評估還原的模型與未知模型間的相似程度，驗證我們所提出方法的效果。實驗結果顯示，我們的方法所還原的工作流程模型precision和recall值都能達到80%以上。 / The workflow plays an important role in business process automation. A workflow is composed of activities and causal relations between activities to complete a task. Workflow design and refinement are important tasks in business process reengineering. As a workflow is executed, the orders of the executed activities are recorded in workflow logs. Workflow mining utilizes the technology of data mining to analyze these workflow logs, and reconstruct a workflow model. In this thesis, we investigate the workflow mining problem to reconstrcuct the workflow model. Two algorithms are proposed to reconstruct a workflow model. We evaluate our proposed algorithms by precision and recall to measure the similarity between the constructed and the groundtruth models. The result of the experiment shows that our proposed methods can achieve 80% precision and 80% recall for the reconstruction of workflow models.

Thesis (M.Sc.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000. / Restricted until June 2001. Bibliography: leaves [93]-98.

M. Tech. Industrial Engineering. / Discusses the objective of this research is to develop a scheduling model that can maximize manufacturing system performance in Cameroon tile manufacturing industries.This research is aimed at achieving the following specific objectives. a. Evaluate scheduling model available and their impact on ceramic tile manufacturing industries in Cameroon. b. Develop a simple and efficient production scheduling model and also propose an approach of reacting to disruptions, i.e. whether to reschedule or not. c. Evaluate the performance of the model on different tile manufacturing industries lay-outs in Cameroon and also test it in a selected South African tile manufacturing industry for validation purpose.

The shift from Web of Document into Web of Data based on Linked Data principles defined by Tim Berners-Lee posed a big challenge to build and develop applications to work in Web of Data environment. There are several attempts to build service and application models for Linked Data Cloud. In this paper, we propose a new service model for linked data "Linked-OWL" which is based on RESTful services and OWL-S and copes with linked data principles. This new model shifts the service concept from functions into linked data things and opens the road for Linked Oriented Architecture (LOA) and Web of Services as part and on top of Web of Data. This model also provides high level of dynamic service composition capabilities for more accurate dynamic composition and execution of complex business processes in Web of Data environment.

Today, organizations often need to modify their business processes to cope with changes in the environment, such as mergers/acquisitions, new government regulations, and new customer demand. Most organizations also have a set of business policies defining the way they conduct their business. Although there has been extensive research on process analysis and design, how to systematically extract workflow models from business policies has not been studied, resulting in a missing link between the specification of business policies and the modeling of business processes.Given that process changes are often determined by executives and managers at the policy level, the aforementioned missing link often leads to inefficient and inaccurate implementation of process changes by business analysts and process designers. We refer to this problem as the policy mismatch problem in business process management. For organizations with large-scale business processes and a large number of business policies, solving the policy mismatch problem is very difficult and challenging.In this dissertation, we attempt to provide a formal link between business policies and workflow models by proposing a logic-based methodology for process analysis and design. In particular, we first propose a Policy-driven Process Design (PPD) methodology to formalize the procedure of extracting workflow models from business policies. In PPD, narrative process policies are parsed into precise information on various workflow components, and a set of process design rules and algorithms are applied to generate workflow models from that information.We also develop a logic-based process modeling language named Unified Predicate Language (UPL). UPL is able to represent all workflow components in a single logic format and provides analytical capability via logic inference and query. We demonstrate UPL's expressive power and analytical ability by applying it to process design and process change analysis. In particular, we use UPL to define and classify process change anomalies and develop algorithms to verify and enforce process consistency.The Policy-driven Process Design, Unified Predicate Language, and process change analysis approach found in this dissertation contribute to business process management research by providing a formal methodology for resolving the policy mismatch problem.

The practice of ECDL testing system analysis in the Intitute of Information Technologies is presented in this work. By analyzing modelling methods, LAP (Language/Action Perspectyve) was chosen for the system analysis. The main feature of Language/Action method is process loop, i.e. beginning of process is linked to process ending or emerged problem is linked to solution results. By analyzing the system using another methods, information flows are optimized according to chosen criteria, however these methods doesn’t take into account user convenience. In Language/Action method every communication is treated as four phases loop: preparation, negotiation, performance, acceptance. Every phase can be divided into smaller phases, which in turn can be treated as independent communication loops. After system modelling using LAP method, some workflows where decided to improve.

One of IS engineering problems – are analyses and simulation, in order to define users informative needs. Activity knowledge accumulation method and part of the system has been realized grounded on workflow models. System prototype has been created to extend CASE environment activity knowledge basis. The part of the system will be directly used by analysts, who will simulate the activity of computerized organization, trying to collect and analyze users information requirements. This work is a part of the scientific research “IS engineering method grounded on knowledge” carried out in the department of IS. Information systems engineering is started by the analyses of activity area – workflow model sequences of analyzed processes are made. Workflow model sequences transforming method has been created, that checks completeness and sequence of the data collected. Such checked by created methods and located in CASE system knowledge basis activity model will be called activity knowledge structure. In the storage of CASE system professional knowledge in accumulated and collected using modified work sequence models. The completeness of the information collected is checked using professional knowledge and completeness checking algorithms – information shift, data separation elimination of the breakpoints, function structure setting and import. The activity knowledge accumulation has been programmed. Information data accumulation and completeness checking algorithms are realized... [to full text]

The introduction of the dissertation gives a short overview of the scope of the research. The first chapter discusses the ways and methods of business process modelling and gives summary on exception types and their nature. The second chapter discusses in detail the exception models, occurring in e-business processes. The third chapter describes the results of the research on handling exceptions in B2C environment. The last, fourth, chapter discusses the method of handling exceptions in B2B environment. At the end of the research the general conclusions are made.

The introduction gives a short overview of the scope of the research. The first chapter discusses the ways and methods of business process modelling and gives summary on exception types and their nature. The second chapter discusses in detail the exception models, occurring in e-business processes. The third chapter describes the results of the research on handling exceptions in B2C environment. The last, fourth, chapter discusses the method of handling exceptions in B2B environment. At the end of the research the general conclusions are made.

We take a healthcare knowledge management approach to represent the Clinical Pathway (CP) as workflows. We have developed a semantic representation of CP in terms of a CP ontology that outlines the different clinical processes, their properties, constraints and relationships, and is able to computerize a range of CP. To model business workflows we use the graphical Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) modeling language that generates a BPMN ontology. To represent a CP as a BPMN workflow, we have developed a semantic interoperability (mapping ontology) framework between the CP ontology and the BPMN ontology. The mapping ontology allows the alignment of relations between two ontologies and ensures that a clinical process defined in the CP ontology is mapped to a standard BPMN workflow element. We execute our BPMN-based CP in the Lombardi workflow engine, whereby users can view the execution of the CP and make the necessary adjustments.