
In energy research facilities, such as the Energy Lab at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the systematic acquisition of high-quality metadata remains a significant challenge because manual documentation can be error-prone and time-consuming. To ensure data findability and reproducibility according to the FAIR principles, we present an innovative approach that utilizes Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) to orchestrate research workflows and automate metadata capture. By using Operaton as a lightweight, open-source BPMN engine, metadata acquisition can be transformed into an inherent component of the experimental lifecycle. Within the Energy Lab infrastructure, experimental sequences, ranging from sensor calibration to data storage, are modeled as executable BPMN diagrams. These models serve a dual purpose: they provide a visual documentation layer for researchers and act as technical instructions for the Operaton engine. By integrating specialized metadata tasks directly into the automated workflow, the engine extracts technical parameters and provenance information in real-time and maps them to standardized schemas without requiring manual intervention. The initial results demonstrate that this orchestration significantly increases metadata completeness and consistency while reducing the administrative burden on researchers. Furthermore, the graphical nature of BPMN facilitates a crucial bridge between domain-specific research and data engineering. This integration provides a scalable framework for "Metadata-by-Design," ensuring that complex datasets generated within the Helmholtz Association are accompanied by high-quality, machine-readable documentation. Ultimately, the use of Operaton for process-driven metadata acquisition represents a robust solution for the long-term usability of energy-research data.
ddc:004, DATA processing & computer science, BPMN, Data Stewardship, info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/004, Workflows
ddc:004, DATA processing & computer science, BPMN, Data Stewardship, info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/004, Workflows
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 0 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
