Method and apparatus for adapting a process instance

• US 20110144775A1
• Filed: 12/10/2009
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Killisperger, Peter, Stumptner, Markus, Stückl, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US12/654,094
• Publication Number:
  US 20110144775A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/041 in which a variable is automatically adjusted to optimise the performance

Abstract

A method and an apparatus are disclosed for adapting a process instance, which guarantee that process instances are conform to a specific process meta model. Therefore constraint violations are detected and furthermore remedied according to a derived violation meta model. In at least one embodiment, the present invention finds application in process modeling, system process optimization and/or controlling of machines or technical devices.

Claims

1. A method for adapting a process instance, the process instance violating at least one constraint, the method comprising:

deriving a violation meta model of a stored process meta model;

identifying a constraint violation in the process instance, the process instance being provided as a function of the stored process meta model; and

adapting the identified constraint violation based on the derived violation meta model.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the derived violation meta model comprises at least one process instance adaption technique.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifying of the constraint violation is performed as a function of the derived violation meta model.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the derived violation meta model describes at least one constraint violation.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one process instance adaption technique is assigned to each constraint violation.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adapting of the identified constraint violation comprises generating a corrected process instance based on the process instance.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the generating of the corrected process instance is performed iteratively and comprises deletion of duplicate corrected process instances.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the constraint is described by at least one of a group of constraint description techniques, the group comprising:

an invariant, a restriction, a condition, a formal model, a semi-formal model, a file, an xml format and an object constraint language.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the constraint comprises at least one of a group of constraint features, the group comprising:

a control flow, an information flow, a cardinality, an entity, a phase, an activity, an artifact, a resource, a process element and a constraint statement.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein a machine is controlled as a function of the process instance.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the machine comprises at least one of a group of entities, the group comprising:

a robot, a technical device, a production line, a plant, a computer system, a server, a client, a mobile device and a vehicle.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the process meta model is described by at least one of a group of modeling techniques, the group comprising:

an event process chain, a business process modeling notation, a unified modeling language and a process meta model specification language.

14. A computer program being adapted to perform the method of claim 1 when executed on a computer.

15. A data carrier comprising a stored computer program according to claim 14.

16. A computer readable medium including program segments for, when executed on a computer device, causing the computer device to implement the method of claim 1.

13. An apparatus for adaption of a process instance, the process instance violating at least one constraint, said apparatus comprising:

a first device to derive a violation meta model from a process meta model stored in a memory;

a second device to identify a constraint violation in the process instance, the process instance being provided as a function of the stored process meta model; and

a third device to adapt the identified constraint violation based on the derived violation meta model.

17. A method for adapting a process instance, the process instance violating at least one constraint, the method comprising:

providing a stored process meta model;

deriving a violation meta model of a stored process meta model;

identifying a constraint violation in the process instance, the process instance being provided as a function of the stored process meta model; and

adapting the identified constraint violation based on the derived violation meta model.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein a machine is controlled as a function of the process instance.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the machine comprises at least one of a group of entities, the group comprising:

a robot, a technical device, a production line, a plant, a computer system, a server, a client, a mobile device and a vehicle.

20. A computer readable medium including program segments for, when executed on a computer device, causing the computer device to implement the method of claim 17.