V-BPMI: A variability-oriented framework for web-based business processes modeling and implementation

This paper advocates a new paradigm, V-BPMI, for flexible web-based business processes modeling and implementation. This paradigm emphasizes both variability and composability, which are very important in large and evolving organizations. Through process modeling and process operationalization, it proposes to establish a real engineering phase of the process variability. It is based on concepts such as process lines, process variants, process fragments and contextualization that support adaptation and relevancy qualities. V-BPMI is also based on reuse of web-based business process fragments. Thus, we consider here business processes as large compositions of sub-processes or process fragments. Composition is realized on-the-fly according to the context constraints where the process is deployed. This paradigm is developed in AP-HM (Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille) hospitals throughout process of circulation of the drugs. In this context, our objective is to improve the efficiency of such processes and also to increase their security level. Indeed, in such large establishments/enterprises as AP-HM, a business process can be performed in several medical units. Our approach allows deploying a business process in an adapted way in each one of these medical units.