A Context-Aware Architecture for the Management of Laundry Business Processes

Abstract

Business processes capture the experiences, insights and the knowledge of how a company conducts its business. Because this knowledge is embodied in business processes, it is important that this knowledge is managed effectively and efficiently by the business to reach its goals. While, business processes are essential in understanding how businesses operate, they also play a major role in how information technology is used in the implementation of information systems. Therefore, Business Process Management Systems have been developed to identify, understand, manage and coordinate business processes. The need for management software have had an effect on the role of software architects, who are becoming more involved in developing business process, in addition to their traditional role of describing the software. In this paper, the authors propose a conceptual Laundry Management System solution and architectural framework to monitor and autonomously manage the laundry process. The washing of laundry on an industrial scale has become highly automated, carried out by machines using sensors generating very detailed data. Data from these sensors allow the precise control of the laundry operation, often remotely. The combination of new machines with information technology has created a more efficient and cost effective process which requires software based on extensible architecture. Our proposal for such a system incorporates the features of a context aware architecture since the operations of a laundry exhibit the properties of a typical context-aware system. The laundry context data is classified and categorized as being primary and secondary. Primary context types are further categorized as location (where), identity (who), time (when) and activity (what). The context modeling is based on ontology, as this is the most expressive model. The system defines clear boundaries among data acquisition, data management and the business logic which are encapsulated in their respective layers. The system employs an inference and a workflow engine which conveys the overall status of the system to the user through a convenient user interface. The proposed architecture is based on Service Oriented Architecture. The business oriented functionality and business rules are captured as a service for to be used by the system components internally and by the customers externally. Moreover, the use of web services eliminates the tight coupling between subsystem components. Weak coupling supports flexibility and reusability. Using service-oriented architectures to integrate and unify various departments within a laundry business is also very straightforward. For instance, the logistics department can easily discover whether an item is ready to be shipped or the finance department can have very detailed report on the cost of the resources used to clean a particular garment.