Chair Architecture of Information Systems (AIS)
Architecture of Information Systems (AIS)
The Architecture of Information Systems (AIS) research group investigates methods, techniques and tools for the design and analysis of process-aware information systems, i.e., systems that support business processes (workflows) in organizations. We are not only interested in these information systems and their architecture, but also try to model and analyze the business processes and organizations they support.
The research concentrates on formalisms for modeling and methods to discover and analyze models. On the one hand formal methods are being used, e.g., the group has a long tradition in Petri-net modeling and analysis. On the other hand, we are interested in modeling languages widely used in industry (EPCs, UML, BPMN, BPEL, etc.). In contrast to many other research groups we do not accept a model as an objective starting point, i.e., we also try to discover process models through process mining and check the conformance of models based on reality.
The AIS group tries to make research results accessible by providing (open-source) software. Notable examples are ProM (process mining and process analysis) and YAWL (workflow management). These implementation efforts illustrate that the problems of tomorrow’s practice are the driving force behind the development of new theory, methods, and tools by AIS.
Midterm Term Review 2012 Praises AIS’s Research
In 2010, AIS was rated as one of the best Computer Science groups in The Netherlands with a perfect score of 5-5-5-5-5. The Midterm Term Review 2012 confirmed the earlier assessment. A committee consisting of Prof dr ir A.W.M. Smeulders (CWI and Universiteit van Amsterdam), Prof dr F.W. Vaandrager (Radboud University Nijmegen), S. de Vries (CEO of Chess ET International BV), and Prof. dr R. Meersman (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) was commissioned by the Rectores of the three technical universities to perform a mid-term review of all Computer Science research at the Dutch technical universities. A quote about AIS from the report:
“This is a super group with a unique reputation which specializes in process modeling and process mining, which topics have been explored in theoretical depths and practical applications. Apart from an enormous output in the scientific literature, also three books, software tools, and numerous PhD students have graduated. The group’s reputation is an asset for TU Eindhoven, which should be supported with full force.”
See the full report.
David Harel Distinguished Professor
David Harel, one of the leading computer scientists in the world, will be a “Distinguished Professor” in our group for the next 4 year (as part of TU/e's “Distinguished Professorship” program). Effectively, he will spend one week per year in Eindhoven (to give one of more talks/lectures, interact with researchers, etc.).
David Harel has received an honorary doctorate from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) on April 27th 2012 during the Dies Natalis of TU/e. On April 26th, his contributions were honored in a symposium, entitled "Pioneers of Computer Science: From Turing to Harel”.
Assessment of Research Quality
In 2010 the AIS Group has been evaluated at the national level. An international committee selected the AIS group as one of the strongest computer science research group of the Netherlands. The Research program, Quality, Productivity, Relevance, and Vitality and Feasibility of AIS were all given the highest score (5). Moreover, the committee indicated that AIS is probably the best BPM group world-wide.