The activity is the atomic unit of work. The pro- cess logic connects the activities with events and gateways for structuring the control flow and interacting with the environment. These elements allow efficient and compact process models. BPM solutions in laboratory automa- tion focus on the process control and also consider the data flow.
Concept for BPMS-assisted
workflow automation In the proposed concept for end-to-end work- flow automation, a BPMS is the central building block in the form of the integration platform based on BPMN 2.0 (Figure 1). BPMS is a generic automation system for workflows. It supports the standard definition of interdisciplinary, interrelated business processes, including the data flow and interfaces to external services and third-party applications, with a process modeler and additional tools and wizards for data modeling, interface definition, and cre- ation of Web forms.
The process engine is an integral part of the BPMS. The BPMS handles the function of an execution-oriented integration platform. The integration environment includes manual tasks that are specified and controlled with messages or other IT support options. Therefore, the standard model of BPMS-based workflow automation is founded on a number of necessary service–system relationships around the BPMN-executing BPMS. A BPMS should not necessarily be used as a complete system as in this evaluation. Components such as modeler and engine can be integrated into their own applications. Appropriate program- ming interfaces (APIs) are generally provided by BPMS vendors.
Regarding the integration of the structured laboratory automation system, the end-to-end workflow automation connects distributed subprocesses of the control level, the device level, the instrument level, and, if necessary, the intelligent field level. A BPMN process model integrates all distributed workflows as a black box. In the end-to-end BPMN process model, the detailed behavior of these subprocesses is not modeled. This use of existing modules meets the requirements of structured labora- tory automation with extensive device-specific
AMERICAN LABORATORY • 27 • MAY 2014
validated methods and automated data pro- cessing (pre- and postprocessing).
Coupling BPMS and LIMS In this solution for end-to-end workflow au-
tomation, a generic LIMS is preferred as the documentation platform and data store for workflow runs. Thus, with BPMN 2.0-based workflow automation using a LIMS/ELN (electronic laboratory notebook), complete process documentation can be generated and controlled.
The preferred approach of a combination generic LIMS in the form of an enterprise ap- plication integration (EAI) solution and BPMN 2.0 as an intersystem and interdisciplinary automation language offers the possibility to use the systems integration that already exists in the LIMS. Many LIMS vendors provide numerous system interfaces, particularly for analytical measurement systems. This leads
to a considerable simplification of the system architecture for the BPM-based work- flow automation.
This results in the architecture shown in Figure 1 for BPM-based laboratory automation. The programming effort relating to information technology (the service adapter shown in Figure 1) between the BPMS-driven workflow as a service consumer and more or less com- patible components should be reduced in standards-based SOA environments. In addi- tion to the typical IT services of lab automation and the laboratory information management, further communication services are used to support the manually completed process flow, such as notification, information supply, and signaling.
The preferred approach for BPMS-LIMS coupling imposes certain requirements on the information system. These are explained below using the example of a specific LIMS.
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