Towards a BPMN semantics using UML models

Abstract

Standardization initiatives on the field claim to be a consequence of the long expected maturity of Business Process Management (i.e. BPM) market and they try to impose a precise semantics for an unique and common understanding. Standard specifications provide usually less or more informal description of the involved languages. Open-source/proprietary tools often do not succeed to generate an executable code by following only the specifications requirements. Therefore, they could not make a clear distinction between the specification technology they implement, and their own requirements vis-a-vis the enactment. For the sake of a common understanding of the concepts, and for future improvements of the languages, a high-level modelling using UML is needed. The aim of the paper is to discuss Service Interaction Patterns directly supported by BPMN 1.1, and to use UML models in order to describe the abstract syntax of the involved concepts. An informal correspondence with WS-BPEL 2.0 elements is provided, together with their associated UML models description. As a consequence of the limited support for Service Interaction Patterns, another purpose of the paper is to discuss the directions in which the BPMN Standard seems to evolve, in order to suit the industry demands. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.