The Hierarchical Research And Analysis Of Workflow Process Model

Workflow management system (WfMS) is a special kind of asychronized parallel CSCW software. This kind CSCW software can understand, interpret and enact a predefined business process (also called process definition), so it doesn't need to develop special software system for special business process. This mechanism makes it possible for an enterprise to quickly respond to the outside requirement, to improve the management level, to reduce production costs, and to improve the quality.After the database management system (DBMS) and user interface management system (UIMS), process management system (PMS), or workflow management system (WfMS), is the third time separation freely from one application and become a very important subsystem of one application. This kind separations not only make the subsystem possible to be studied deeply, but also make one application easy to be developed based on the mature subsystems. It is increase the reusability too.One of the key issues in the workflow management system is how to setup a workflow process model that has powerful present capacity, is easy to use, to exchange and to formalize. A good workflow process model is the key foundation to build a high flexible, reliable, useful, expanded and cooperative workflow management system. Recently, there are many kinds of workflow process models in the world. For example, text models with syntax and semantics, active network graphics models, state chart models and Petri net models. It is studied all kinds of existed models at domestic and abroad, and put forward the hierarchical research of workflow process models. It is believed that the workflow process model should have three abstract levels: the meta model level (the WPDL model), model level (the extended XinPai-driven model) and formal control model level (the Petri net model). Based on the study of the WPDL and Petri net, it is put forward the extended Xinpai-driven model that is easy for process engineer to use. It is also put forward non-determined Petri net and normal Petri net, which are equal to general Petri net, corresponding to the control part of Xinpai-driven model. Those three level models have different functions in different levels and work together to describe the business process completely.Through the research of workflow formal control model, it not only makes the workflow process model base on solid foundation, but also establishes the sound theories to research the characters of workflow, to verify the workflow, and to redevelop high quality process definition. This kind of research makes a new way to model and study the workflow process by the achievement of Petri net to analysis, verify and simulate the XinPai-driven model.The creative ideas of my research work:1. Through the hierarchical research of workflow process model, it is put forward three levels of workflow process models: meta model level, model level and control model level.2. It is put forward the extended Xinpai-driven model that has a powerful capacity todescribe, is easy to use, is compatible to the WPDL, and is based on Petri net.3. It is study the pair, normal pair and extended normal pair in the extended Xinpai-driven model.4. It is put forward the concepts of synchronized area and asynchronized area. This improves the semantic of AND-JOIN in WPDL.5. It is put forward the non-determined Petri net according to the control part of extended Xinpai-driven model. It is also study the characters of the new kind Petri net and the relationship between the nondetermined Petri net and general Petri net.6. It is put forward the concepts of the Petri net with end transition and the normal Petri net. These kinds of Petri net make it possible to describe the defferent abstract levels of Petri net corresponding to the extended Xinpai-driven model.7. Through the transform from the control part of extended Xinpai-driven model to nondetermined Petri net and normal Petri net, and to general Petri net, it is possible to research the characters o...