Untangling Unstructured Cyclic Flows - A Solution Based on Continuations

We present a novel transformation method that allows us to map unstructured cyclic business process models to functionally equivalent workflow specifications that support structured cycles only. Our solution is based on a continuation semantics, which we developed for the graphical representation of a process model. By using a rule-based transformation method originally developed in compiler theory, we can untangle the unstructured flow while solving a set of abstract continuation equations. The generated workflow code can be optimized by controlling the order in which the transformation rules are applied.

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