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Visual Business Rules and Process Modeling

Krzysztof Kluza kluza@agh.edu.pl, Grzegorz J. Nalepa gjn@agh.edu.pl




Outline

  • Intro
  • Basics
    • UML
    • MOF
    • OCL
  • Challenges
  • Rules in UML
    • URML
    • PRR
  • BPMN & BR
  • HeKatE
    • ARD & XTT rep
    • metamodel
    • future work

Introduction

  • abstract level of design
  • visual modeling → this is not obvious! see Literate_programming
  • programming paradigms → different design paradigms
  • knowledge vs. software engineering
  • declarative vs. procedural, etc.

UML Trajectory

Example of Booch class diagram Example of OMT object diagram

Unified Modeling Language (UML) Today

  • general-purpose modeling language in the field of software engineering,
  • 13 types of diagrams,
  • includes a set of graphical notation techniques to create abstract models of specific systems.

The Meta-Object Facility (MOF)

  • model - representation of something, constructed and used for a particular purpose,
    • the meaning of the model is related to the situation and context wherein the model is used,
  • metamodel - a model that represents a modeling language,
  • MOF
    • an OMG standard for model-driven engineering,
    • designed as a four-layered architecture,
    • UML & OCL are defined in MOF.

MOF Layers

Layers Content Example
M3 metamodeling lang specification Meta-Object Facility (MOF)
M2 model of metalanguage (language specification) SQL, UML, XML specifications
M1 metadata, syntax & semantic desc db schema, class model, DTD (def of XML document)
M0 data data in DB, objects (instances), XML documents

The Object Constraint Language (OCL)

  • language
    • declarative language for describing rules that apply to UML models,
    • a constraint language (OCL 1.4)
    • + general object query language (OCL 2.0)
  • part of OMG UML standard (may be used with any MOF),
  • makes a Meta-Object Facility model more precise,
  • example:
    The academic grade of a persons supervisor must be greater than the academic grade of the supervised person.
context Person
   inv: self.supervisor.grade.value > self.grade.value

Selected challenges

  • UML/MOF → lang + metalang level. universal :?:
  • if MOF is a universal metalang, what about EBNF
  • suitability for process modeling
  • suitability for knowledge modeling with rules

Grammars vs MOF

  • approaches in publications:
    • grammar visualization (mapping)
    • metamodel optimalization (semi-automatic)
      • after auto generation
      • before auto generation

Grammar2MOF example


program:	(vardefinition | assignment)*
vardefinition: 	type IDENT !SEMICOLON
type: 		(INT | FLOAT)
assignment: 	IDENT !BECOMES expression !SEMICOLON
expression: 	(IDENT | NUMBER) (PLUS expression)?

a UML-Based Rule Modeling Language (URML)

  • developed by the REWERSE Working Group I1,
  • allows visual rule modeling based on UML class models,
  • supports the modeling of derivation rules , production rules and reaction rules ,
  • Strelka – a tool for making graphical URML models.

URML examples (DR)

A bachelor is a male that is not a husband.

URML examples (PR)

If the reservation date of a rental is 5 days before the start date of a rental, then grant the rental a discount of 10.

URML summary

The Production Rule Representation (PRR) [specification Beta 1]

A production rule is a statement of programming logic that specifies the execution of one or more actions in the case that its conditions are satisfied.

  • PRR should improve the modeling of production rules, especially with respect to UML,
  • PRR should allow interoperability across different vendors providing production rule implementations.

The production rule is typically represented as:

if [condition-list] then [action-list]

Example of PRR from specification Beta 1:

  • English text: If there is no CD item in the customer shopping cart then add a hyperlink to the CD page in the customer web page.
  • Proprietary rule language:
rule noCDItem {
 when { 
    ?customer1: Customer(); 
    ?shoppingCart1: ShoppingCart(customer == ?customer1); 
    not Item(type == ItemType.CD ; shoppingCart == ?shoppingCart1);
 } then { 
    modify ?customer1{ hyperlinkToCD = true; }
 } 
}
  • PRR OCL:
Rule noCDItem
ruleVariable:
 ?customer: Customer = Customer->any()
 ?sCart: ShoppingCart = ShoppingCart->any(c:customer|c=?customer)
 ?cdItems: Set = ?sCart.items->select(e:items|e.type=ItemType.CD)
Condition:
 ?cdItems.isEmpty()
Action:
 ?customer.hyperlinkToCD = true

PRR Summary

  • no common agreement about the syntax of PRR,
  • different syntaxes, but common metamodel ⇒ translation between different syntaxes,
  • no defined PRR syntax ⇒ can be URML.

The Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)

  • a graphical notation for specifying business processes in a Business Process Diagram (BPD),
  • is intuitive to business users and able to represent complex process semantics,
  • provides a mapping between the graphics of the notation to the underlying constructs of execution languages, particularly Business Process Execution Language.

Example of elements


Example of usage BPMN

BMPN summary

  • notation dedicated for business org (semantic for business org),
  • only one diagram BPD, but many artifacts → allows specify even complex processes,
  • formal notation → simulation, optimalization & error detection,
  • automatic generation of BPEL4WS code,
  • lack of security support for data structure, users hierarchy and access to data.

Business rules

  • describe the operations, definitions and constraints that apply to an organization in achieving its goals,
  • four categories of BR according to Business Rules Group:
    • definitions of business terms,
    • facts relating terms to each other,
    • constraints,
    • derivations.

BR Example

Example of detailed business rule

The description defines the rule exactly (text, flow charts, UML activity diagrams, OCL, ILOG rules language, BRML…).

BR representation

  • UML model

  • OCL – a formal language used to describe expressions on models eg. constraint:

The lower bound must be a non-negative integer literal.

lowerBound()->notEmpty() implies lowerBound() >= 0
  • many dedicated approaches like presented URML, PRR…

UServ

UServ Financial Services case study:

  • a benchmark case study from the Business Rules Forum,
  • provides a full service portfolio of financial products of Insurance Company,
  • contains many business rules and Business Process Models,

UServ BR in URML

Example for Eligibility Business Rules / Automobile Eligibility / Potential Theft Category eg.

  • If all of the following are true, then the car's potential theft rating is moderate:
    • car's price is between $20,000 and $45,000,
    • car model is not on the list of “High Theft Probability Auto”.

UServ Business Rules

UServ Business Process Model

HeKatE

Our goals/tasks

  • ARD & XTT representation in UML,
  • ARD & XTT rules on UML diagrams presentation,
  • integration of software & knowledge engineering methods.

ARD

Proposed model of ARD is based on component diagrams. ARD contains diferent kind of UML dependencies such as:

  • «derive» specifies a derivation relationship among model elements, where one of them can be computed from the another,
  • «refine» specifies a refinement relationship among model elements at different levels of development; refinement can be used to model transformation from one to another phase of a sequential model development,
  • «trace» specifies a trace relationship among model elements represents the same concept in different models; it is mainly used for tracking changes across models.

ARD example (1)

Example of ARD diagram:
<graphviz file=“hekate:therm-a8.dot”></graphviz>

UML model of that ARD diagram:
:pl:miw:miw08_umlandardxtt:umlandard:approach3_ard_8.png

ARD example (2)

Exemplary fragment of TPH diagram showing «trace» dependecy in model:
<<trace>> dependecy in model of TPH

TPH


TPH diagram UML model of TPH diagram
:pl:miw:miw08_umlandardxtt:umlandard:approach3_tph_8.png

XTT

Proposed model of XTT is based on activity diagrams, which are related to flow diagrams and can illustrate the activities taking place in the system.

Algorithm step 1

All input attributes become input parameters and output attribute becomes output parameter of an activity
(for the sake of transparency the diagram can be divided into partitions with a swimlane).

:pl:miw:miw08_umlandardxtt:algorithm_step1.png

Algorithm step 2

For each attribute (activity parameter), if there is more than one unique value in the XTT add a decision node
and for every unique value of attribute needs to be added:

  • the control flow with guard condition (with that unique value),
  • if the value occurs frequently, the flow is finished with a fork node with number of outputs equal to the number of times the value appears in XTT table.
:pl:miw:miw08_umlandardxtt:algorithm_step2.png

Algorithm step 3

For each rule (a row in XTT) draw a join node with the number of inputs equal to the number of input parameters and one output. For each join node:

  • inputs are connected using an adequate flow (in accordance with the values of attributes in the rule),
  • outputs are connected (using a flow) with the action having a value corresponding to the output attribute in the rule:
    • directly, if the value of attribute occurred in XTT only once,
    • otherwise through a merge node.
:pl:miw:miw08_umlandardxtt:algorithm_step3.png

Algorithm step 4

Outputs of all actions are merged in a merge node and a flow is lead to output parameter of activity.

:pl:miw:miw08_umlandardxtt:algorithm_step4.png

XTT th table representation example


Activity diagram for XTT th table:
:pl:miw:miw08_umlandardxtt:xtt_th.png:pl:miw:miw08_umlandardxtt:th_3.png

Thermostat Case

Activity diagram for the whole XTT of thermostat:
:pl:miw:miw08_umlandardxtt:uml_activity_xtt_3.png

Evaluation

Proposed representation:

  • shows both structure of dependecies in ARD and process of rules processing in XTT,
  • doesn't extend UML diagrams (like URML),
  • allows serialization to XMI.

Future work

  • metamodel,
  • XSTL translators,
  • tools for verifing models with metamodel,
  • work in progress…

Thank you





Questions…

hekate/visual_rules_process_modeling.txt · Last modified: 2019/06/27 15:49 (external edit)
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