Keywords: process, business process management, scattered context grammars, context dependencies, parsing.

The paper presents an application of scattered context grammars (SCG) in the business process management and modeling domain [1,2]. In particular, we demonstrate using an example coming from car repair stations that in-time planning may be handled in a feasible way and with local predictions of follow-up procedures. The whole process begins if a customer defines his or her requirements that are recorded (formation of an order). After that, there are many other processes that are related to this process.

We can summarize and divide them into two main categories: primary and support activities (value chain analysis [3]). The "primary activities" include: logistics, operations (production), marketing and sales, and services (maintenance). The "support activities" include: administrative infrastructure management, human resource management, technology, and procurement.

In case of the car repair model, there are other processes: an order from a customer - decision about acceptance/rejection (output: confirmed order sheet), taking over a car by a service station (outputs: proof of handover a car), preliminary deadline for a car repair, handover of the car into a suitable department - tyre service, car body works, etc. (each department has a mechanic and other auxiliary staff, e.g. receiving engineer), an order of material, car spare parts, etc. - internal-external delivery (output: confirmed order), final inspection after a repair accomplishment (verified document), final accounts of all tasks and consumed material (account-invoice), announcements of order ending, confirmation about handover a car by a customer and finally, settlement of the invoice.

Efficient business process modeling and exploitation of models in practice enables new approaches in management and control [4]. Scattered context grammars enable compact description of such problems with algorithmic derivation from a very compact definition [5]. Moreover, following the features required by the parser of the SCG, we can easily derive a parser that can validate a sequence of activities or sub-processes. A simple modification of the parser can help us in the prediction of which activities or sub-processes should be committed for the particular process in the future, as they have not been completed yet. The implementation of the transformation algorithms is implemented in the language Haskell.

1

T.H. Davenport, "Process Innovation: Reengineering Work through Information Technology", Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 1993.

2

M. Robson, P. Ullah, "A Practical Guide to Business Process Re-engineering", Gower Publishing Company, England, 1996.

3

M.E. Porter, "Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance", Free Press, 1998.

4

R. Anupindi, S. Chopra, S.D. Deshmukh, J.A. Van Mieghem, E. Zemel, "Managing Business Process Flows. Principles of Operations Management", Pearson, 2006.

5

D. Kolár, "Scattered Context Grammars Parsers", In: Proceedings of the 14th International Congress of Cybernetics and Systems of WOCS, Wroclaw, PL, PWR WROC, 491-500, 2008.

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