Towards a shared ledger business collaboration language based on data-aware processes

Abstract

Shared ledger technologies, as exemplified by Blockchain, provide a new framework for supporting business collaborations that is based on having a high-reliability, shared, trusted, privacy-preserving, nonrepudiable data repository that includes programmable logic in the form of “smart contracts”. The framework has the potential to dramatically transform business collaboration across numerous industry sectors, including finance, supply chain, food production, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare. Widespread adoption of this technology will be accelerated by the development of business-level languages for specifying smart contracts. This paper proposes that data-aware business processes, and in particular the Business Artifact paradigm, can provide a robust basis for a shared ledger Business Collaboration Language (BCL). The fundamental rationale for adopting data-aware processes is that shared ledgers focus on both data and process in equal measure. The paper examines potential advantages of the artifact-based approach from two perspectives: conceptual modeling, and opportunities for formal reasoning (verification). Broad research challenges for the development, understanding, and usage of a shared ledger BCL are highlighted.