Semantic Annotation for Process Models: - Department of Computer ...

26 CHAPTER 2. PROBLEM SETTING
modifying existing models rather than recreating it from scratch [9]. A process model
fragment is a part of a business process model which is designed and managed to be
reusable. Generally, reuse of pre-existing model fragments can facilitate and speed-up
the construction of a new model.
As reusable knowledge, process models can be discovered and reused in a goal-driven
approach through matching process models to the desired goals. Goals lead to the
exploration and consideration of alternatives, decision spaces, tradeoffs and decisions.
Goals have been used as an important mechanism for connecting requirements to design
and supporting reuse [213]. Goal-driven search of design components [54] and goaldriven
discovery of services [90] use such kind of mechanism, where the components or
services are selected based on capability to fulfill the desired goals (requirements).
A process model represents how to do things not why to do things. Although a
process must achieve certain goals, the relationships between goals and processes are not
explicitly represented in many process models because few process modeling languages
and modeling tools offer such mechanism. With few process modeling languages, goals
can be modeled and linked to elements of process models, e.g. EEML process and goal
models [77]. Some goal modeling methods for requirement engineering such as KAOS
[21], i*/GRL [55], GBRAM [56] need to be adapted for process modeling. However,
the representations of the goals and processes are various in different models.
2.6 Process Knowledge Management
2.6.1 Knowledge and process knowledge
Knowledge is information that comes laden with experience, judgment, intention and
values, in short, knowledge is information that is digested and internalized by human
beings [169]. However, a simply collection of information is not knowledge. In [185],
information and knowledge is distinguished as follows. Information only tells what it
is, with great dependence on context for its meaning and with little implication for the
future. Pattern [6] has the potential to represent knowledge when one is able to realize
and understand the patterns and their implications. For example, the information —
interest rate 5% — is the factor used by the bank to compute interest on the principal.
Based on the information, there is a pattern that for $100 in a savings account the bank
pays 5% interest yearly and then at the end of one year the principal in the account will
be $105. Such pattern represents knowledge of the amount of the interest will be earned
depends on the interest rate, the amount of the principle in the account and the period
of the saving. Therefore, a pattern tends to create its own context rather than being
context dependent to the same extent that information is. Pattern also serves as an
Archetype [165] with both an implied repeatability and predictability. Understanding
the pattern knows one what is knowledge.
Process knowledge is also known as process-related knowledge. Taking the pattern
view of knowledge, process knowledge is the pattern about processes which are understandable,
repeatable and predictable. Another way to specify process knowledge is to
ask the question "Where is the knowledge in processes?". The answers are provided
in [112] such as: