Higher-Order Process Modeling: Product-Lining, Variability Modeling and Beyond

We present a graphical and dynamic framework for binding and execution of (business) processmodels. It is tailored to integrate 1) ad hoc processes modeled graphically, 2) third party servicesdiscovered in the (Inter)net, and 3) (dynamically) synthesized process chains that solve situation-specific tasks, with the synthesis taking place not only at design time, but also at runtime. Key toour approach is the introduction of type-safe stacked second-order execution contexts that allow forhigher-order process modeling. Tamed by our underlying strict service-oriented notion of abstrac-tion, this approach is tailored also to be used by application experts with little technical knowledge:users can select, modify, construct and then pass (component) processes during process execution asif they were data. We illustrate the impact and essence of our framework along a concrete, realistic(business) process modeling scenario: the development of Springer’s browser-based Online Confer-ence Service (OCS). The most advanced feature of our new framework allows one to combine onlinesynthesis with the integration of the synthesized process into the running application. This abilityleads to a particularly flexible way of implementing self-adaption, and to a particularly concise andpowerful way of achieving variability not only at design time, but also at runtime.