Application of Workflow Management System to the Modelling of Processes in Land Administration Systems

Cadastral data are maintained through formally defined procedures which need to provide security and consistency. Databases and transactional model enable consistency but lack flexibility in modelling business processes and support for heterogenous IT environments (web services, various programs). Transactional workflow management systems (WFMS) provide flexibility and can provide consistency of data. Land administration domain model (LADM) provides an excellent basis for modelling static component of land administration systems, but doesn’t provide elements to model dynamic component, i.e. processes. In this paper we define conceptual model of a dynamic component of land administration system. We use the WFMS concept with integrated transactional support. Data model enables storing elements of Petri nets and it is divided to generic and extended. Generic model ensures consistency of processes on object level and is applicable on cadastral data generally. Extended model ensures consistency by spatially defining affected area of the process and it is used to model processes on cadastral parcels spatially represented by polygons. Modelling of processes and transactional support is achieved with Petri nets. Workflow elements enable ensuring consistency of a process in a pessimistic or optimistic manner. Pessimistic approach ensures consistency by locking objects affected by the process and optimistic approach leaves checking of concurrent changes until the very end of the process. Finally, we demonstrate how the devised model copes with a simple example of two separate processes where each wants to split one of two adjacent parcels, in a pessimistic manner.