An algorithm for propagating-impact analysis of process evolutions

Abstract

Business processes evolve due to different reasons. Evolution of business processes essentially means changing its process elements namely: actions, participants, and process objects; which are associated to each other in various ways. In the event of one process element change, the above-mentioned associations create propagating-impact. Therefore in process evolution management, it is imperative to have a business process modelling tool that can completely and cohesively capture associations among process elements. In our previous research [1] we have developed such a process modelling tool using Kleene Algebra with Tests - KAT [2]. In this paper, we present an algorithm that facilitates locating the propagating-impact, of a process element change, across the entire process. The proposed mechanism initially, maps the KAT expression of a process, into a binary-tree structure. Then using this binary-tree, the created propagating-impact is extracted under four categories as Direct, Indirect, Secondary and Non-cautionary (DISN) impacts [1]. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.