An Ontology-Aided Process Constraint Modeling Framework for Workflow Systems

Abstract – Specification of non-functional and domain-specific constraints in workflow processes and incorporating them within workflow applications have posed persistent problems for workflow designers. In order to address these problems, we propose a constraint handling framework consisting of a Process Constraint Ontology and a Process Constraint Language. The extensible ontology allows workflow designers to specify constraint knowledge and vocabulary specific to their domain of interest. Subsequently, process constraints are formulated in the constraint language by utilizing the constraint concepts from the ontology. The constraints are connected to the affected process elements (activities, data, and performers), deployed along with the process definition, and enforced and handled at runtime by the workflow enactment system. Based on the proposed framework, we have implemented a prototype of a constraint-enabled workflow management system and used it to incorporate and enforce geospatial constraints for an emergency management workflow process