Transformation methodology for UML 2.0 activity diagram into colored Petri nets

Model transformation is a basic insight of OMG's Model Driven Architecture. Activity Diagram (AD) is one of the behavioral diagrams in UML and used for capturing dynamic aspects of the system. In UML2, Activity Diagram has gone through major changes and introduced a Petri Nets like token flow semantic. AD provides comprehensive notations for process modeling and potentially suitable for wide range of application areas like service-oriented applications, workflows and other function oriented applications. A methodology for automatic transformation of UML2-AD into colored Petri Nets is described in this paper. The proposed approach is significant as it provides an automatic and seamless progression from the design artifacts to a formal representation. The rational of AD to CPN transformation based on the fact that the derived formal model can potentially be exploit for formal verification and validation using tools and techniques available for Colored Petri Nets.