Download UML2.0 AD XPDL

Structuring Business Nested Processes Using
UML 2.0 Activity Diagrams
and Translating into XPDL
Barbara Gallina, Nicolas Guelfi, Amel Mammar
University of Luxembourg
Faculty of Sciences, Technologies and Communication
Laboratory of Advanced Software Systems
6, rue Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi
L-1359 Luxembourg-Kirchberg LUXEMBOURG
{barbara.gallina,nicolas.guelfi,amel.mammar}@uni.lu
Table of Contents
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The issue
Context : The Efficient project
State of the Art
Proposed solution: UML2.0 ADXPDL
Tool development
Conclusion and future work
Bibliography
2
The issue
 Lack of a structuring mechanism
supporting both (nested) transactions
and exception handling in UML 2.0
activity diagrams and XPDL
3
The E-fficient project (2001-2007)
 Tools set (called Animator) for
eBusiness Transactions
 Three layered approach
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Business layer: transactions identification
Specification layer
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UML Activity diagram: business process
UML Class diagram: specification of messages
Technical layer: execution of the
transaction, translated into, XPDL using
an animator
4
State of the art: building blocks
 Transaction models
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Flat (ACID properties)
Advanced (relaxed ACID properties)
 Exception handling
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In a distributed context
Combined with transactions
 Workflow patterns
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Expressivity comparison of Wf languages
 Design notations (project constraint) :
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User level:
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UML 2.0
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Class Diagrams for business domain data
Activity Diagrams for business transactions
FTT-UML: a profile proposal based on UML 1.5 that aimed at
integrating fault tolerance
Engine level: XMLSchema and XPDL
 Transformation rules between UML 1.5 and XPDL
5
UML2.0 ADXPDL: Process
 Automatic routing of documents to the users
responsible for working on them
 Modeled using:


an ActivityDiagram in UML2.0
a WorkflowProcess definition in XPDL
<xpdl:WorkflowProcess AccessLevel="PUBLIC" Id="WF" Name="WF_Name">
<xpdl:DataFields>
...
</xpdl:DataFields>
<xpdl:Activities>
<xpdl:Activity Id="initial" Name="Activity1">
...
</xpdl:Activity>
</xpdl:Activities>
<xpdl:Transitions>
<xpdl:Transition From="Activity1" Id="A_ID" To="Activity2"/>
</xpdl:Transitions>
</xpdl:WorkflowProcess>
6
UML2.0 ADXPDL: Complex Tasks
 Nested tasks
CallBehaviourAction
Name
<Activity Id="ID" Name="Name">
<Implementation><SubFlowExecution="SYNCH"
Id="RelatedWPID">...</SubFlow>
</Implementation></Activity>
 Application or procedure call
CallOperationAction
Operation
<Activity Id="ID"Name="Operation"
<Implementation><Tool Id="IDTool"
Type="APPLICATION">
<ActualParameters>...</ActualParameters>
</Tool></Implementation>...</Activity>
 Nested transactions
CallBehaviourAction
<Description>
Transaction
</Description>
<<Transaction>>
XPDL 2.0 significant changes
7
UML2.0 ADXPDL: Control points
 Pseudo nodesRoot activities
Fork TransitionRestriction Split Type="AND"
 DecisionTransitionRestriction Split
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Type="XOR“
…
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Initial node
no TransitionRestriction
 Possible optimization of XPDL code
8
UML2.0 ADXPDL: Inputs/outputs
 Represent administrative documents
on which operation related to process
tasks are executed
 Modeled using:
Object nodes in UML 2.0
 Data Fields in XPDL and also as
Formal/Actual Parameter if inputs or
outputs of SubFlow or Tool Activity
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<DataField Id="o_schema"
IsArray="FALSE"Name="object">
<DataType>
9
UML2.0 ADXPDL: Exceptions
 Circumstances that diverge from the normal ones
 Modeled using:
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Accept Event Action with an outgoing Interrupting Edge
inside an Interruptible Region in UML 2.0
Deadline specification inside an activity and transition
condition of type Exception in XPDL1.0
in XPDL 2.0 Event concept will be supported
ExceptionName
<Deadline Execution="ASYNCHR">
<DeadlineCondition>date
</DeadlineCondition>
<ExceptionName>ExName
</ExceptionName></Deadline>
<Transition From="Ax" Id="Trans"
Name="XFailure" To="Ay">
<Condition Type="EXCEPTION">
</Condition>...</Transition>
10
UML2.0 ADXPDL: Concurrent
Exceptions
 Exception resolution in case of
concurrency
 Modeled using:
a class diagram containing the resolution
tree in UML 2.0
 XMLSchema

Universal
Exception
Material_lack
j_Material_Lack
i_Material_Lack
11
UML2.0 ADXPDL: Exception Handling
 Backward or Forward Error Recovery
 Modeled using:
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A CallBehaviorAction stereotyped:
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«FER» named by the exception in case there
is a way to go
«BER» named by the exception in case the
only possible way is roll-back
Sub-Process Definition (synchronous)
with stereotype nature indicated in
description element
<<FER>>
<Description>
FER or BER
</Description>
12
UML2.0 ADXPDL: Exceptional Outcome
 Modeled using:
Final ActivityNode with the stereotype
«Exception» and name of the exception
signalled to the enclosing context
 Route Activity with name Exception
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<<Exception>>
<Description>
Exception
</Description>
13
Tool development
 Partial implementation of the solution
as a plug-in for Magic Draw
 Plug-in integration into Animator tools
set
14
Conclusion and future work
 Proposal of a transformation from UML2.0 AD to XPDL
 New release of the tool including partially the transformation
 First investigation in order to understand how to structure
processes in a way such as they may be considered trusted
 First investigation of XPDL2.0
 Plug-in update to the MagicDraw release supporting UML2.0
metamodel
 Formalisation of the proposed solution
 Investigation of concurrent exceptions
 Take deeply into consideration XPDL 2.0:
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support for ACID properties
support for exception handling
15
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
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E-fficient project
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