Web service-based business process automation using matching algorithms

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on two problems of the Web service-based business process integration: the discovery of Web services based on the capabilities and properties of published services, and the composition of business processes based on the business requirements of submitted requests. We propose a solution to these problems, which comprises multiple matching algorithms, a micro-level matching algorithm and macro-level matching algorithms. The solution from the macro-level matching algorithms is optimal in terms of meeting a certain business objective, e.g., minimizing the cost or execution time, or maximizing the total utility value of business properties of interest. Furthermore, we show how existing Web service standards, UDDI and BPEL4WS, can be used and extended to specify the capabilities of services and the business requirements of requests, respectively.