A SIMPLE EXAMPLE OF PROCESS SEMANTIC ANNOTATION 79

Figure 4.6: EEML process model example: purchase process

following the mapping rules for meta-model annotation. For example, the EEML Task is one-to-one mapped to the GPO Activity. Based on the meta model annotation, the GPO concepts will take the place of the corresponding process modeling constructs to describe the process. A domain ontology is employed to annotate the model contents which are described in the process annotation model. For instance, the EEML task

"purchases" is a GPO activity, and this activity is annotated as a kind of domain ontol-ogy concept "buy" in the PSAM model. Figure 4.7 illustrates the annotation results of the purchase model.

We exemplify parts of the PSAM instance of annotation results which are repre-sented in OWL. The example here is only a demo of the OWL representation. In the demo the data type of model_fragment is defaulted as URI and the data types of other properties are not specified, which can be compared with the PSAM instances in OWL from exemplars in Appendix H².

<GPO:Activity rdf:ID="av1">

<GPO:model_fragment rdf:resource="&eeml_purchase;#oid6"/>

<GPO:name>purchases</GPO:name>

<GPO:alternative_name>Purchase</GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:has_Actor-role>

<GPO:Actor-role rdf:resource="#ar1">

<GPO:has_Actor-role>

<GPO:has_Actor-role>

<GPO:Actor-role rdf:resource="#ar2">

<GPO:has_Actor-role>

<GPO:has_Input>

<GPO:Input rdf:resource="#in1">

<GPO:has_Input>

2The exemplars are introduced in Chapter 7.

80 CHAPTER 4. SEMANTIC ANNOTATION FRAMEWORK

Figure 4.7: Annotated EEML process model example: purchase process

<GPO:has_output>

<GPO:Output rdf:resource="#out1">

<GPO:has_Output>

<GPO:kind_of rdf:resource="&domonto;#buy"/>

</GPO:Activity>

<GPO:Actor-role rdf:ID="ar1">

<GPO:model_fragment rdf:resource="&eeml_purchase;#oid181"/>

<GPO:name>Client</GPO:name>

<GPO:alternative_name>Buyer</GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:alternative_name>Purchaser</GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:alternative_name>Customer</GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:same_as rdf:resource="&domonto;#customer"/>

</GPO:Actor-role>

<GPO:Actor-role rdf:ID="ar2">

<GPO:model_fragment rdf:resource="&eeml_purchase;#oid182"/>

<GPO:name>Seller</GPO:name>

<GPO:alternative_name>Salesperson</GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:alternative_name>Salesman</GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:alternative_name>Vender</GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:same_as rdf:resource="&domonto;#vendor"/>

</GPO:Actor-role>

<GPO:Input rdf:ID="in1">

<GPO:model_fragment rdf:resource="&eeml_purchase;#oid11"/>

<GPO:name>Order</GPO:name>

<GPO:alternative_name></GPO:alternative_name>

4.8. SUMMARY 81

<GPO:datatype rdf:resource="&xsd;#anyURI"

<GPO:same_as rdf:resource="&domonto;#purchase_order"/>

</GPO:Input>

<GPO:Artifact rdf:ID="af1">

<GPO:model_fragment rdf:resource="&eeml_purchase;#oid122"/>

<GPO:name>Order</GPO:name>

<GPO:alternative_name></GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:alternative_name>Salesman</GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:alternative_name>Vender</GPO:alternative_name>

<GPO:same_as rdf:resource="&domonto;#vendor"/>

</GPO:Artifact>

4.8 Summary

In this chapter, we have proposed a semantic annotation framework to manage seman-tic heterogeneity of process models from the following perspectives: basic description of process models (profile annotation), process modeling languages (meta-model annota-tion), and process models (model annotation). Two ontologies are used for annotation purposes: General Process Ontology for meta-model annotation, and a domain ontol-ogy for model annotation. Furthermore, we have defined a set of mapping strategies for guiding users to annotate models.

As a formal result of the proposed framework, the process semantic annotation model (PSAM) provides a common semantic annotation schema for annotating semi-structured IS solutions. A PSAM model describes the process properties of a process model fragment in a way of representing process knowledge, and contents in the PSAM model are mapped to context references for domain semantic reconciliation. Process models are therefore transformed into process knowledge of IS solutions which are represented in the PSAM models after annotation. The PSAM models are supposed to be able to help the human and machine to understand heterogeneous process models with reconciled process semantics.

An extension of the semantic annotation framework will be elucidated in next chap-ter. The framework is extended by adding pragmatic metadata, namely providing a method to specify intentions of systems’ owners, which are achieved through process models.

82 CHAPTER 4. SEMANTIC ANNOTATION FRAMEWORK

Chapter 5