DOI: 10.17587/prin.9.99-108

On the Theory of Business Processes

G. N. Kalyanov, kalyanov@mail.ru, Institute of Control Sciences Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation

Corresponding author: Kalyanov Georgyi N., Professor, Institute of Control Sciences Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation, E-mail: kalyanov@mail.ru

The current state of the theory of business processes is analyzed. The brief historical background, sources and fundamentals of the theory are classified. For each of these areas a brief overview of the main models and methods is provided. The necessity of forming an independent theory of BP is due to the following reasons:

• there are new tasks, not put before and not solved in the general theory of processes (e. g., reengineering BP);
• the formal apparatus absent in some areas (for example, to convert models to model the requirements for their automation);
• the other directions have a lot of non-formalized methods and models, there is the need for their systematization.

This article discusses the following parts of the theory:

• modeling languages and BP-models,
• BP modeling technology,
• methods of structuring/decomposition of BP,
• methods of engineering/re-engineering of BP,
• methods of analysis and verification of BP,
• methods of transition from BP-models to requirements for automation of BP.

The theory of business processes is an integral part of the general theory of processes, which is a branch of mathematical theory of programming, studying mathematical models of the behavior of dynamical systems. The formal apparatus underlying the theory of BP was based on the theory of programming: formal grammar and languages; parallel processes and methods of paralleling; the theory of software testing; methods of optimization, verification, analysis and evaluation of quality; the theory of databases and knowledge bases; structural and object-oriented analysis and design etc..

Keywords: process, business process, model, verification, engineering /reengineering, requirements to automation

pp. 99–108

For citation:
Kalyanov G. N. On the Theory of Business Processes, Programmnaya Ingeneria, 2018, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 99—108.