Enabling Conformance Checking for Object Lifecycle Processes

Abstract. In object-aware process management, processes are represented as multiple interacting objects rather than a sequence of activities, enabling data-driven and highly flexible processes. In such flexible scenarios, however, it is crucial to be able to check to what degree the process is executed according to the model (i.e., guided behavior). Conformance checking algorithms (e.g., Token Replay or Alignments) deal with this issue for activity-centric processes based on a process model (e.g., specified as a petri net) and a given event log that reflects how the process instances were actually executed. This paper applies conformance checking algorithms to the behavior of objects. In object-aware process management, object lifecycle processes specify the various states into which corresponding objects may transition as well as the object attribute values required to complete these states. The approach accounts for flexible lifecycle executions using multiple workflow nets and conformance categories, therefore facilitating process analysis for engineers.