A rule-based approach to proactive exception handling in business processes

作者：Kim Kwangmyeong; Choi Injun^*; Park Chulsoon

来源：Expert Systems with Applications, 2011, 38(1): 394-409.

DOI：10.1016/j.eswa.2010.06.078

• Proactive exception handling
• Exception handling rule
• Exception expectation
• Exception monitoring
• Exception prevention
• Exception resolution

Effectively handling exceptions in business process is an important capability of enterprises in the current global market environment, since their business processes are becoming more complex. Effective exception handling requires systematic support for the entire scope of exception handling: from exception prediction to exception prevention, and from exception detection to exception resolution. Most existing research approaches to exception handling in business process management and workflow areas have focused on reactive exception handling which resolves exceptions only after their occurrences. Therefore, a proactive exception handling approach is required to predict and prevent business process exceptions as early as possible before they occur, and detect and resolve exceptions as soon as possible after they occur. This paper presents comprehensive behavioral, functional, and informational requirements for proactive exception handling from the lifecycle perspective. Then, it proposes a rule language for proactive exception handling based on the requirements. The proposed rule language will enable effective and flexible exception handling by providing the information required for the entire scope of exception handling, especially, for exception prediction and prevention. Finally, the paper illustrates and validates the rule language with an example of exception prevention and a prototype system.

• 出版日期2011-1