DEMO enhanced BPMN

TL;DR

This paper introduces an integrated approach combining DEMO's formal, ontology-based framework with BPMN's intuitive process modeling to enhance the precision and reliability of business process representations.

Contribution

It proposes a novel method that merges DEMO's theoretical rigor with BPMN's practical usability, improving process modeling clarity and formal semantics.

Findings

Enhanced BPMN diagrams with DEMO's transaction patterns

Improved formal semantics and ambiguity reduction in process models

Better support for multi-party collaboration modeling

Abstract

This paper presents an integration between DEMO (Design and Engineering Methodology for Organizations) and BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation). While BPMN is widely used for its intuitive, flow-based representation of business processes, it suffers from a lack of formal semantics, ambiguity, and limitations in modeling multi-party collaborations. In contrast, DEMO offers a theoretically robust, ontology-driven framework that focuses on abstracting the essential structure of business processes. A novel approach combining the rigor of DEMO's transaction patterns with the more practical, widely adopted BPMN framework is proposed and demonstrated. This integration allows for the benefits of DEMO's theoretical foundations to be utilized within BPMN diagrams, providing a more comprehensive and precise understanding of business processes. We argue that this combination enriches the modeling of business processes, providing a more coherent and reliable tool for both practitioners and researchers.