Modeling business processes : a petri net-oriented approach

This comprehensive introduction to modeling business-information systems focuses on business processes. It describes and demonstrates the formal modeling of processes in terms of Petri nets, using a well-established theory for capturing and analyzing models with concurrency. The precise semantics of this formal method offers a distinct advantage for modeling processes over the industrial modeling languages found in other books on the subject. Moreover, the simplicity and expressiveness of the Petri nets concept make it an ideal language for explaining foundational concepts and constructing exercises. After an overview of business information systems, the book introduces the modeling of processes in terms of classical Petri nets. This is then extended with data, time, and hierarchy to model all aspects of a process. Finally, the book explores analysis of Petri net models to detect design flaws and errors in the design process. The text, accessible to a broad audience of professionals and students, keeps technicalities to a minimum and offers numerous examples to illustrate the concepts covered. Exercises at different levels of difficulty make the book ideal for independent study or classroom use.

Author Notes

Wil M.P. van der Aalst is Distinguished University Professor at Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. He is the coauthor of Workflow Management- Models, Methods, and Systems and Modeling Business Processes- A Petri Net-Oriented Approach (both published by the MIT Press).

Christian Stahl is a postdoctoral researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology.

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
1 Information Systems: Introduction and Concepts	p. 1
1.1 Information Systems	p. 2
1.2 Types of Information Systems	p. 5
1.3 The Life Cycle of an Information System	p. 13
1.4 System Models	p. 24
1.5 Roles of Models	p. 32
1.6 Test Yourself	p. 35
1.7 Summary	p. 39
1.8 Further Reading	p. 40
2 Business Processes and Information Systems	p. 41
2.1 The Relationships between Business Processes, Information Systems, and Models	p. 41
2.2 On the Process Awareness of Information Systems	p. 45
2.3 Tool Support for the Business Process Life Cycle	p. 49
2.4 How about Data?	p. 56
2.5 Test Yourself	p. 60
2.6 Summary	p. 62
2.7 Further Reading	p. 62
3 Basic Concepts of Petri Nets	p. 65
3.1 An Introduction to Petri Nets	p. 66
3.2 The Structure of Petri Nets	p. 71
3.3 The Behavior of Petri Nets	p. 73
3.4 Representing Petri Nets as Transition Systems	p. 78
3.5 Examples of Petri Net Models	p. 79
3.6 Test Yourself	p. 84
3.7 Summary	p. 89
3.8 Further Reading	p. 90
4 Application of Petri Nets	p. 91
4.1 Two Claims about Modeling	p. 91
4.2 Modeling with Petri Nets	p. 96
4.3 Typical Network Structures	p. 102
4.4 Additional Model Constructs	p. 106
4.5 Example: Language Institute	p. 111
4.6 Reachability Graphs	p. 115
4.7 Test Yourself	p. 119
4.8 Summary	p. 127
5 Extending Petri Nets by Adding Color and Time	p. 129
5.1 Why Petri Nets Are Not Sufficient	p. 129
5.2 Extending Petri Nets by Adding Color	p. 134
5.3 Determining Place Types	p. 147
5.4 Extending Petri Nets by Adding Time	p. 150
5.5 Petri Nets with Color and Time	p. 156
5.6 Test Yourself	p. 159
5.7 Summary	p. 166
5.8 Further Reading	p. 167
6 Colored Petri Nets: The Language	p. 169
6.1 Types and Values	p. 170
6.2 Defining Color Sets	p. 171
6.3 Defining Markings	p. 174
6.4 Arc Inscriptions and Guards	p. 175
6.5 Time	p. 180
6.6 More on Functions	p. 181
6.7 Examples of Colored Petri Net Models	p. 192
6.8 Test Yourself	p. 195
6.9 Summary	p. 203
6.10 Further Reading	p. 204
7 Hierarchical Petri Nets	p. 205
7.1 Hierarchical Modeling: Top-Down versus Bottom-Up Modeling	p. 205
7.2 Informal Introduction to the Extension with Hierarchy	p. 208
7.3 Hierarchical Colored Petri Net Models	p. 213
7.4 Example: Production System	p. 220
7.5 Example: Logistic Networks	p. 227
7.6 Test Yourself	p. 239
7.7 Summary	p. 245
7.8 Further Reading	p. 246
8 Analyzing Petri Net Models	p. 249
8.1 What Do We Want to Analyze?	p. 250
8.2 Reachability Analysis	p. 254
8.3 Structural Analysis	p. 268
8.4 Simulation-Based Analysis	p. 281
8.5 Process Mining	p. 296
8.6 Tool Support	p. 307
8.7 Test Yourself	p. 310
8.8 Summary	p. 319
8.9 Further Reading	p. 320
9 Concluding Remarks	p. 323
9.1 Lessons Learned	p. 323
9.2 Summary	p. 324
9.3 Discussion	p. 325
Appendix A Solutions	p. 329
A.1 Solutions to Chapter 1	p. 329
A.2 Solutions to Chapter 2	p. 334
A.3 Solutions to Chapter 3	p. 335
A.4 Solutions to Chapter 4	p. 339
A.5 Solutions to Chapter 5	p. 347
A.6 Solutions to Chapter 6	p. 351
A.7 Solutions to Chapter 7	p. 359
A.8 Solutions to Chapter 8	p. 365
Bibliography	p. 371
Index	p. 379

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