Diploma Thesis DIP-2618

BibliographyPfitzner, Kerstin: Choreography Configuration for BPMN.
University of Stuttgart, Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Information Technology, Diploma Thesis No. 2618 (2007).
127 pages, english.
CR-SchemaD.2.3 (Software Engineering Coding Tools and Techniques)
C.2.4 (Distributed Systems)
H.4.1 (Office Automation)
Abstract

Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) is an architectural style for heterogeneous distributed systems based on services. Services are loosely coupled components and can be orchestrated for implementing business processes. In the web service platform architecture the Business Process Execution Language is used as standard for describing business processes orchestrations.

Business processes are more and more running over a long period of time. This results in business processes that are engaged in long running conversations with other processes. To handle these complex conversations, a new view point on interactions between business processes is needed. This view point describes the interactions from a global point of view and not from a process perspective like in orchestrations. The resulting global models are called process choreographies.

A process choreography is used for expressing a business-to-business collaboration. It provides a model that specifies the nature of a collaboration. In this way it defines an agreement on how business partners need to interact with each other. Thus, a choreography is the starting point for developing the executable process orchestrations for each business partner.

There can be distinguished two different modeling approaches for choreographies: interaction models and interconnected interface behavior models. Interaction models are built up of elementary interactions. Dependencies between these interactions are grouped into more complex interactions. The Web Service Choreography Description Language and Let’s Dance are representatives for defining choreographies following this approach. Interconnected interface behavior models define the control flow for each participant that is taking part in the choreography. Interactions between these participants are defined based on this control flow. BPEL4Chor and BPMN can be used for defining choreographies this way. BPMN also allows the modeling of interaction models, even though it is not common usage.

Like BPEL, BPEL4Chor lacks a graphical representation, whereas BPMN is a typical visual notation for business processes. Since BPEL4Chor and BPMN support the same modeling approach, this thesis integrates both to enable a visual modeling of BPEL4Chor choreographies. BPMN does not provide the definition of detailed technical configurations like BPEL4Chor. However, this thesis targets the generation of fully defined BPEL4Chor choreographies where no further refinement is necessary. That is why a choreography configuration for BPMN is introduced. Moreover, the transformation of the configured BPMN diagrams to BPEL4Chor is described. To integrate the configured BPMN and the transformation, an existing BPMN editor is adapted.

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Department(s)University of Stuttgart, Institute of Architecture of Application Systems, Architecture of Application Systems
Superviser(s)Kopp, Oliver; Decker, Gero
Project(s)Tools4BPEL
Entry dateDecember 5, 2007
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