Process Representation and Reasoning Using a Logic Formalism with Object-Oriented Features

A novel approach to model processes and workflows is presented. It is based on the OntoDLP language, an extension of Disjunctive Logic Programming with object-oriented features. Compared to traditional models, the approach enables knowledge inference on dynamic structures of the process, thanks to the reasoning capabilities of OntoDLP. Moreover, the approach can be also used to redefine and classify existing workflow schemes. Indeed, their execution traces, produced by workflow engines, can be easily imported through the mapping facilities of the underlying metamodel, and eventually organized into taxonomic structures for modeling different execution-patterns.