A method for converting business process models into semantic knowledge graphs to aid in decision making

Abstract

Business process modeling plays a key role in representing the flow of activities carried out by an organization. This flow is clearly recorded, based on information and knowledge provided by those involved in the process. As a result, the modeled processes can be shared, enabling the institutionalization of this knowledge. In order to make decision-making more efficient and reliable, this work aims to propose a conversion method capable of extracting information from business process models, described with the Business Process Model and Notation notation, registering them in graphs of semantic knowledge, using the Business Process Model and Notation 1.1 Ontology. Therefore, it is proposed the construction of a knowledge base formally structured from the models, in order to enable precise consultations and extraction of indicators. To this end, the methodology used comprises a literature review, followed by the elaboration of the proposed conversion method and its validation through an empirical study. Analyzing the results, it can be stated that the method was successful in converting the process model into the underlying knowledge base, and this, in turn, allowed the automatic extraction of indicators to assist decision-making by the managers involved.

Keywords
BPMN; Knowledge graph; Business process modeling; Ontology