Paper: Human resource behaviour simulation in business processes

Rune Rasmussen and I have just had a new ERA A journal paper accepted with Future Generation Computer Systems (FGCS). QUT EPrints Link

Title: Human resource behaviour simulation in business processes

Abstract: The structure and dynamics of a modern business environment are very hard to model using traditional methods. Such complexity raises challenges to effective business analysis and improvement. The importance of applying business process simulation to analyze and improve business activities has been widely recognized. However, one remaining challenge is the development of approaches to human resource behavior simulation. To address this problem, we describe a novel simulation approach where intelligent agents are used to simulate human resources by performing allocated work from a workflow management system. The behavior of the intelligent agents is driven a by state transition mechanism called a Hierarchical Task Network (HTN). We demonstrate and validate our simulator via a medical treatment process case study. Analysis of the simulation results shows that the behavior driven by the HTN is consistent with design of the workflow model. We believe these preliminary results support the development of more sophisticated agent-based human resource simulation systems.

Ross

Video: Two Videos from Gartner BPM Summit

Have just uploaded two videos we showed back in August at the Gartner BPM Summit in Sydney.

The first video is a refresh of our Augmented Reality Process Modelling tool.

The second video shows us using an MS Surface as a collaborative modelling tool.

Ross

Boast: 2011 Final Year QUT Games Projects

This week I am very proud to present this years games published by our final year students within the QUT Bachelor of Games and Interactive Entertainment. On Friday, 4th November, our students showcased their work at the State Library of Qld in Brisbane. Fourteen games were on display, and a great night was had by all. A special highlight was an excellent motivational presentation by Assoc. Professor Jeff Brand from Bond University.

The QUT Games staff award for best game went to Manastorm (Lust for Guts), while Halfbrick Studios (Brisbane developer of the Fruit Ninja game) gave their award to Awien Ambush. Photos of the event, by Michael Miller, are found here.

Matt Ford, Michael Docherty and I have been working very hard with these students for a year now, and we are VERY proud of the results. This year's cohort has exceeded all expectations.

Some highlights are:

• Stranded and Awien Ambush making the top ten on IndieDB - just to compare, Minecraft is the top game on IndieDB, this is a great achievement;
• Manastorm making the top fifty on Youtube Australia with just their trailer video.

But don't just take my word for it. The following are links to all our freely available student work. Download them for yourself, and have a play! :-)

Ross

http://www.indiedb.com/games/manastorm-lust-for-guts - macho spell casting wizard fps

http://www.indiedb.com/games/awien-ambush - home alone with lots of aliens

http://www.indiedb.com/games/art-of-defence - tower defence with amazing 3D environments

http://www.indiedb.com/games/schools-out - escape your science teacher's clutches

http://www.indiedb.com/games/stranded - escape a planet inhabited by deadly beasts

http://www.indiedb.com/games/synergy - collaborate to solve 3D platform puzzles

http://www.indiedb.com/games/abzorb - solve puzzles by absorbing physical attributes

http://www.indiedb.com/games/scrapped - robot puzzler with cool detachable arm

http://www.indiedb.com/games/stick-ninja - ninja combat with an insane grapple mechanic

http://www.indiedb.com/games/spectrum - solve puzzles by transforming into light itself

http://www.indiedb.com/games/morvennan - defend against zombies and take the trebuchet

http://www.indiedb.com/games/unleashed - hack and slash with skills, skills and more skills

http://www.indiedb.com/members/hover-game - hovercraft-based 3D shoot-em up

Paper: Virtual world process perspective visualization

Just had a paper accepted for eKNOW in Valencia, Spain in Jan 2012. This is the first output of a collaboration I have with Johannes Herter and Daniel Eichhorn at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Abstract: Product Lifecycle Management has been developed as an approach to providing timely engineering information. However, the number of domain specializations within manufacturing makes such information communication disjointed, inefficient and error-prone. In this paper we propose an immersive 3D visualization of linked domain- specific information views for improving and accelerating communication processes in Product Lifecycle Management. With a common and yet understandable visualization of several domain views, interconnections and dependencies become obvious. The conceptual framework presented here links domain-specific information extracts from Product Lifecycle Management systems with each other and displays them via an integrated 3D representation scheme. We expect that this visualization framework should support holistic tactical decision making processes between domain-experts in operational and tactical manufacturing scenarios.

Ross

Video: BPMVE in Qld Games Doco

A QUT student has just put together a documentary about the games industry in Brisbane, featuring yours truly, and some of my BPMVE research videos.

You also get to see my games degree teaching and research colleague Dr Daniel Johnson, the local game oriented "Mana Bar", and a very bushy moustache I had growing at the time of the interview. :-)

Ross

CFP: ISVC'12 (Visual Computing), Crete, Greece, July 16-18, 2012

CALL FOR PAPERS and SPECIAL TRACKS

8th International Symposium on Visual Computing (ISVC'12)
Aquila Rithymna Beach Hotel
Crete, Greece
July 16-18, 2012
http://www.isvc.net

The purpose of the International Symposium on Visual Computing (ISVC)
is to provide a common forum for researchers, scientists, engineers
and practitioners to present their latest research findings, ideas,
developments and applications in visual computing. ISCV'12 seeks
papers describing contributions to the state of the art and practice
in the four central areas of visual computing: (1) computer vision,
(2) computer graphics, (3) virtual reality, and (4) visualization.
For a list of specific topics, please see http://www.isvc.net

ISVC'12 will consist of invited and contributed presentations dealing
with all aspects of visual computing. In addition to the main
technical program, the symposium will include several keynote
speakers, posters sessions, and special tracks.

***Important Dates***
Special track proposals: 1/20/2012
Paper submissions: 3/10/2012
Notification of acceptance: 4/10/2012
Final camera ready paper: 5/1/2012
Advance Registration: 5/1/2012
ISVC'12 Symposium: July 16-18, 2012


***Keynote Speakers:***
Schmid Cordelia, INRIA, France
Cremers Daniel, Technical Univ of Munich, Germany
Faloutsos Petros, York Univertsity, Canada
Coquillart Sabine, INRIA, France
Doleisch Helmut, VRVis Research Center, Austria (pending)


***Computer Vision Chairs:***
Fowlkes Charless, Univ of California Irvine,USA
Wang Sen, Kodak Research Labs, USA


***Computer Graphics Chairs:***
Choi Min-Hyung, Univ of Colorado Denver, USA
Mantler Stephan, VRVis Research Center, Austria


***Virtual Reality Chairs:***
Schulze Jurgen, Univ of California, San Diego, USA
Acevedo Daniel, KAUST, Saudi Arabia


***Visualization Chairs:***
Mueller Klaus, Stony Brook University, USA
Papka Michael, Argonne National Laboratory, USA


***Special Tracks***

Proposals are invited for special tracks on any topic relevant to the
symposium. Special tracks are intended to stimulate in-depth
discussions in special areas relevant to the symposium theme. A
special track may span multiple sessions, depending on the quantity
and quality of the papers submitted. All papers accepted in a special
track will be published in the symposium proceedings. If you are
interested in organizing a special track, please email a special track
proposal to admin@isvc.net by January 20, 2012. Proposals should include the
following information:

1. Title
2. Scope and Topics
3. Names of organizers and contact information
4. Initial special track committee
5. Anticipated number of papers

For a list of special tracks organized in previous years, please visit
http://www.isvc.net and click on "Special Tracks".

***Submission Procedure***

Papers submitted to ISVC'12 must not have been previously published
and must not be currently under consideration for publication
elsewhere. A complete paper should be submitted in camera-ready
format. The length should match that intended for final publication. The
page limit is 12 pages. In submitting a paper the author(s) agree that,
upon acceptance, they will prepare the final manuscript in time for
inclusion into the proceedings and will present the paper at the
symposium.


***Paper Publication***

This is a fully refereed symposium. Papers will be reviewed with an
emphasis on potential to contribute to the state of the art in the
field. Each paper will receive two-three blind reviews and should not
contain names or other information revealing authors' identity. Selection
criteria include accuracy and originality of ideas, clarity and
significance of results, and presentation quality. All papers accepted
will appear in the symposium proceedings which will be published by
Springer-Verlag in the Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series.

Competition: Fantastic Femmes

From my QUT colleague - Penny Kyberz

Hi Everyone,

Our third and final Women in Games event for the year is an art competition and exhibition. Please let your students know about it.

We are inviting people of all ages to participate in our Fantastic Femmes character design competition. The competition is to design the artwork for a female games character that would make a great role model for gaming girls. Entries can include line art, hand drawn, computer generated and/or 3D renders in any style. The competition entry closes at 5pm, Friday November 25.

Entries will be displayed at our end-of-year exhibition at 5pm, Wednesday December 7, where the winners will be announced. Entrants must be able to attend the event to be eligible to win. Detailed competition rules and entry specifications are attached.

There is up to $500 worth of JB-HIFI gift vouchers to be won, so get designing!

http://rsvp.scitech.qut.edu.au

Thanks,

Penny.