Tool-Assisted Conformance Checking to Reference Process Models

Abstract

Reference models convey best practices and standards. The reference frameworks necessitate conformance checks to ensure adherence to established guidelines and principles, which is crucial for maintaining quality and consistency in various processes. This paper explores automated conformance checks for concrete process models against reference models using causal dependency analysis of tasks and events. Existing notions of conformance checking for process models focus on verifying process execution traces and lack the expressiveness and automation needed for semantic model comparison, leaving this question unresolved. We integrate our approach into a broader semantic framework for defining reference model conformance. We outline an algorithm for reference process model conformance checking, evaluate it through a case study, and discuss its strengths and limitations. Our research provides a tool-assisted solution enhancing accuracy and flexibility in process model conformance verification.