ITD122 – Assignment 2 – Process Modelling with Petri Nets(Semester 2, 2019)
ITD122
Modelling Information Systems
Assignment 2 Handout
Process Modelling with Petri Nets
Semester 2, 2019
Due date: Week 13, 27 September 2019 (11:59 pm)
Weight: 30%
INSTRUCTIONS:
The following tasks are to be attempted:
Please attempt all the tasks. Marks are as indicated in the marking scheme.
This is a group assignment, and minimum number of group members is 2 and the maximum is 3. The
same marking criteria will apply irrespective of the size of the groups.
You are required to register your group with your tutor by the end of week 10. The instruction will be
available on blackboard.
Your tutor must approve the group (you can’t just add your name to a group after the due date without
discussing it with your tutor). We will not accept such submission.
Individual project grade may be modified (see Appendix A).
It is expected that students form groups based on their own contacts.
Tutorials can be used as an occasion to find group members. All group members must attend the same
tutorial group.
Do not forget to include your name/s (full name as appears in your ID cards) in your final reports.
Your model/s should not be hand drawn. You should use either WoPed or BPM Academic Initiative
(Signavio) to develop models. Links: Signavio (http://academic.signavio.com/p/login)
WoPed (https://woped.dhbw-karlsruhe.de/?page_id=22)
Please read FAQ section (if any, in assignment folder) and attend all your tutorial classes as we will
have further discussion about these tasks in our tutorial classes.
Please upload at least one hour before the deadline to avoid any last minute contingencies.
You can have one submission per group. It is your responsibility to upload it correctly (no second
chance after the due date).
Submission must be via Blackboard.
Note: Case-by-case decisions could be made on adjustments to marks for all assignments (also see appendix
A). If a unit coordinator has reasonable concerns that a student’s actions could be dealt with as a case of major
academic misconduct, the unit coordinator may require the student to authenticate their learning (QUT MoPP,
2016). The authentication process will provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your competence or
knowledge in the subject matter of the assessment item in question. For example, your tutor could setup an
individual skill check exam to test your knowledge.
ITD122 – Assignment 2 – Process Modelling with Petri Nets
(Semester 2, 2019)
SCENARIO
“Flexi Cyclist” is a well-known manufacturer for customized bikes. Being a medium-size company, their
business is highly focussed on cycling enthusiasts. Instead of getting old bikes, these enthusiasts would spend
a serious amount of money on customized premium bikes.
Flexi Cyclist cooperates with various resellers throughout the country. All of them have online access to the
Cyclist’s product catalogue, listing all available parts and configuration options. This way, shops acting as
resellers can customize a bike together with a customer, which is then ordered from Flexi Cyclist. However,
Flexi Cyclist also offers customers the possibility to order bikes directly. To this end, their homepage allows
for configuring a bike based on the online catalogue. Flexi Cyclist does not offer any consultancy. If customers
are not sure about which configuration they should chose they are expected to contact one of the resellers.
Once Flexi Cyclist receives an order, there are two options on how to proceed. If the order is coming from a
reseller, the reseller either pays the full price directly (apparently resellers get a discount on the catalogue
price) or the customer ordering via the reseller has to do a first payment of 25% of the overall price. If the
order is coming from a customer ordering via the homepage, the same first payment is due. This first payment
shall cover all costs in case the order is cancelled later. Flexi Cyclist is flexible when it comes to the full
payment. The customer may either pay the full amount right after the first payment or wait until the bike is
fully assembled.
Once payments have been received, Flexi Cyclist starts with the manufacturing process. Since Flexi Cyclist
produces multiple bikes at the same time, the assembly of a particular bike is not necessarily done
continuously, but in a series of assembly steps. A mechanic takes up one of the items in the order and gets the
respective part from the warehouse. Subsequently, the part is installed on the bike. If a part is not available in
the warehouse, it is ordered from the suppliers. If available at one of the suppliers, the part is delivered to Flexi
Cyclist and eventually installed on the bike; otherwise the order cannot be fulfilled.
If the bike is fully assembled and the full payment has been received, the bike is shipped to the customer.
Once the bike is shipped, the order is archived, which ends the manufacturing process. If the bike was not
fully assembled, Flexi Cyclist reimburses all the received payments, the bike is disassembled, the parts are
placed in the warehouse, and the order is archived.
ITD122 – Assignment 2 – Process Modelling with Petri Nets
(Semester 2, 2019)
3
Task 1. (20 Marks)
Imagine you are a process consultant for Flexi Cyclist. Model the given process as a Workflow net; do your
best to stay as close to the proposed process specification as possible. Check that your model is free of
syntax issues. Ensure that every occurrence sequence in the resulting Workflow net can be extended to an
occurrence sequence that leads to the marking that puts one token in the only terminal place and no tokens
elsewhere.
Since the staffs at Flexi Cyclist are not process experts, there may be some open points in the description.
For those cases, take assumptions that seem to be appropriate against the background of optimally
supporting Flexi Cyclist’s business. Please support assumptions (if any) that you introduce with clear textual
descriptions (to be submitted together with the developed Workflow net).
Task 2. (10 Marks)
a) Analyse the workflow net you developed in Task 1 and discuss possible improvements. For example, are
there any bottlenecks in the process? If so, what can be done to remove them? Also, describe any subsystems
identified.
b) Discuss any difficulties or limitations you may have experienced when capturing the scenario in a workflow
net. Were there any aspects of the scenario that were difficult to effectively capture? If so, explain why do you
think Petri nets are not appropriate for modelling that aspect? Also, discuss the advantages and disadvantages
of using a Petri net diagram, such as the one modelled, as a means of defining, analysing and communicating
processes within an information system.
ITD122 – Assignment 2 – Process Modelling with Petri Nets
(Semester 2, 2019)
4
HAND-IN REQUIREMENT
Submit Assignment 2 via Blackboard. It is your responsibility to upload it correctly (no second chance, must
be uploaded before the due date).
Each submission must contain a declaration, signed by the student, stating that it is his/her original work (see
Appendix A), otherwise will not be marked (i.e. 0/100)
Sample structure for Assignment 2 report is provided below:
Cover page
Answer to Task 1
Answer to Task 2 (two parts)
Reference list
Signed declaration form (see template in Appendix A)
LATE SUBMISSIONS
According to QUT policies, submissions past the deadline will NOT be marked, and will thus attract a mark
of 0/100. Therefore, you are strongly advised to submit your report, even if this is a draft only, by the due
date.
EXTENSIONS
According to QUT policies, an extension to the due date of the assignment may only be granted on
medical/compassionate grounds. All requests for extensions must be in writing with appropriate
documentation (e.g. a medical certificate clearly stating the actual condition, the period of illness, and the
length of the illness – which must be for a continuous period of 5 days or more prior to the due date of the
assignment) to be received at the latest 48 hours before the due date. Reasons such as busy schedules, other
commitments, machine downtime, unexpected work pressures, interstate travels for work, unawareness of the
due date of the assignment, corrupted discs etc. will not qualify as a basis for requesting an extension. NO
extensions will be granted for assignments performed in a group.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Any action or practice on your part which would defeat the purposes of assessment is regarded as academic
dishonesty. The penalties for academic dishonesty are provided in the Student Rules. For more information
consult the QUT Library resources for avoiding plagiarism.
GETTING FEEDBACK
The teaching team will be available to answer your questions about the assignment, but not to pre-mark
assignments. Lecturers and tutors will NOT read report drafts and review detailed models prior to the
submission of the assignment.
ITD122 – Assignment 2 – Process Modelling with Petri Nets
(Semester 2, 2019)
APPENDIX A – Declaration and Statement of Contribution Form
QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (QUT), ITD122 Unit
All group members should complete this form. Include this completed form as an Appendix to your group
submissions. Each member is expected contribute equally to the project to receive equal marks. Case-by-case
decisions will be made on adjustments to marks, as required. Any incomplete details should be explained in
writing with this form. Each member has the responsibility to avoid plagiarism for their contribution.
Individually or team penalties may be imposed for substantiated student misconduct. Please read the Manual
of Policies and Procedures on plagiarism and student misconduct.
Assignment Title/No: _____________________________________________________
How many people worked on this assignment? _______
Full Name Student
Overall individual project grade may be modified to ensure fairness of individual contributions – this
will be decided on a case-by-case basis. If there is a dispute about the performance of a team member,
then this must be evidenced in some manner, such as minutes kept of team meetings with the
member's tasks recorded when they are allocated and completed. The Statement of Contribution
Form will inform this process.