Similarity-based retrieval and automatic adaptation of semantic workflows

Abstract

The increasing demand for individual and more flexible process models and workflows asks for new intelligent process-oriented information systems. Such systems should, among other things, support domain experts in the creation and adaptation of process models or workflows. For this purpose, repositories of best practice workflows are an important means as they collect valuable experiential knowledge that can be reused in various ways. In this chapter we present process-oriented case-based reasoning (POCBR) as a method to support the creation and adaptation of workflows based on such knowledge. We provide a general introduction to process-oriented case-based reasoning and present a concise view of the POCBR methods we developed during the past ten years. This includes graph-based representation of semantic workflows, semantic workflow similarity, similarity-based retrieval, and workflow adaptation based on automatically learned adaptation knowledge. Finally, we sketch several application domains such as traditional business processes, social workflows, and cooking workflows.