Validation of Business Process Models Using Graph Databases.

Business processes represent an essential part of every business as they create the structure within which a company operates. In order to capture, understand, and improve these processes, business process models are created using various modeling notations such as BPMN. One of the key challenges is validating that these models reflect the reality of the business in a correct and accurate manner. Only then it is possible to develop information systems based on these models that truly support the workflow of their users. Based on our previous research, this paper presents a novel approach that enables the validation of business process models through simulation in graph databases. As a starting point for our approach, we propose a conversion of models expressed in BPMN into OntoUML, a modeling notation that provides a higher level of abstraction as well as unique integration of the process and structural perspectives on the problem domain. Conversion to OntoUML also enables us to utilize our tool for automated generation of integrity constraints for Neo4j graph databases, ensuring consistency and adherence to the defined rules. We are then able to validate these models by simulating object instantiation, progressively creating and modifying graph representations of entities and relationships to detect inconsistencies. This simulation not only reveals potential flaws in the original business process models but also offers actionable insights for their refinement. By shifting the focus to the underlying data and its lifecycle, our approach provides a novel perspective on business process model validation, also bridging the gap between models and their practical implementation.