Metrics for the Case Management Modeling and Notation (CMMN) Specification

General and reference Metrics; Applied com- puting Business process modeling; Software and its engineering System modeling languages; Computing methodologies Model veri cation and validation;The Case Management Modeling and Notation (CMMN) speci cation, published by the Object Management Group (OMG) in 2014, describes a declarative style for modeling business processes. The declarative nature of CMMN is in- tended to supplement the procedural style of the Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN). Although multi- ple metrics have been developed and veri ed for BPMN, the authors are not aware of any metrics developed for CMMN. Being a relative new process speci cation the understanding of complexity metrics for CMMN ought to be bene cial for practitioners and researchers by providing a way to compare case management models. This study provides a formal description of CMMN and three metrics are de ned, namely size, length, and complex- ity. The metrics are theoretically validated using the formal framework for software measurements de ned by Briand et al. and the complexity metric is further validated using Weyuker's properties for software complexity measures.College of Engineering, Science and Technolog

On the feasibility of measuring performance using PPINOT in CMMN

Monitoring and measuring the performance of business pro- cesses are valuable tasks that facilitate the identi cation of possible im- provement areas within the organisation according to the ful llment of its strategic and business goals. A large number of techniques and tools have been developed with the aim of measuring process performance, but most of those processes are structured processes, usually de ned using BPMN. The object of this paper is to identify and to analyse the feasi- bility of using an existing mechanism for the de nition and modelling of process performance indicators (PPINOT) in a di erent context to struc- tured BPMN processes; such as Cases, usually modelled using CMMN. This analysis is based on the similarities between CMMN and BPMN, and on characteristics and attributes used by PPINOT to get values from the process

Using CMMN Model for Software System Project Simulation

Software systems (SS) project failure has been a recurring problem for decades. One of the project success factors is the appropriately chosen project management methodology and its adaption to the project type, company, and employees. Although some methods have been proposed to address this problem, the number of failed projects shows that the problem is still relevant. Therefore, a new and more efficient solution is needed. This paper proposes a new approach for choosing and adopting a project management methodology to a particular context (i.e., the project type, company, and its employee, etc.). It is based on dynamic CMMN (case management model and notation) SS project management process modelling and simulation. The proposed approach is evaluated with an industry case study. The obtained results showed that the proposed approach is implementable and can be used for SS project simulation

Restrições temporais em processos de negócio

More and more organizations are adhering to the Business Processes Management (BPM) in order to reach higher levels of competitiveness and reduce operational costs. The execution of business process has, necessarily, a time dimension. Nevertheless, while recognised as important, the temporal dimension has been neglected by most of the process modelling languages to these days. The BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) language, similarly to the recent CMMN (Case Management Model and Notation) proposal which was developed to complement it, are not the exception. Indeed, while BPMN is one of the most widely used language for business process modelling, there are temporal constraints impossible to describe in BPMN. The work behind this paper aims to contribute to solve this issue by identifying the most relevant business processes temporal constraints. The final purpose of this work is to propose a set of temporal extensions to the BPMN and CMMN languages.Cada vez mais organizações recorrem aos princípios da gestão de processos de negócio (BPM) no intuito de apresentarem maiores níveis de competitividade e redução de custos operativos. A execução de processos de negócio tem, incontornavelmente, uma dimensão temporal associada. No entanto, embora importante, a dimensão temporal tem vindo a ser negligenciada na generalidade das linguagens de modelação de processos de negócio. A notação BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation), assim como a mais recente proposta CMMN (Case Management Model and Notation) que a vem complementar, não são exceção. De facto, sendo a BPMN uma das notações mais usadas na modelação de processos de negócio, existem restrições temporais que não é possível modelar em BPMN. O trabalho subjacente a este artigo vem contribuir para resolver esta lacuna ao fazer um levantamento das restrições temporais mais relevantes associadas aos processos de negócio. O intuito deste trabalho é o de, posteriormente, fazer uma proposta de extensão temporal às linguagens BPMN e CMMN.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, within the Strategic Project plan PEst2015-2020, UID/CEC/00319/201

Enhancing the modelling perspective of process performance management.

La Gestión del Rendimiento de los Procesos, que comprende las etapas de planificación, supervisión y control del rendimiento de los procesos de negocio, se considera una parte esencial de la gestión de los procesos de negocio y proporciona detalles de cómo se pueden diseñar y rediseñar los procesos de negocio para mejorar su rendimiento. El rendimiento de los procesos de negocio suele medirse por medio de indicadores de rendimiento de procesos (PPI, por sus siglas en inglés), que se evalúan y monitorizan con el fin de determinar si los objetivos estratégicos y operativos están siendo alcanzados. Al igual que los procesos de negocio, y en realidad junto con ellos, estos PPIs deben ser definidos y modelados, por lo que en esta tesis, nos centramos en su Perspectiva de Modelado. Esta perspectiva nos permite describir en detalle todos los PPIs asociados a un proceso de negocio, especificando el conjunto de atributos que los definen y la información que se necesita obtener del proceso de negocio para su cálculo. La mayoría de las propuestas relacionadas con la medición del rendimiento de los procesos de negocio se han centrado en la medición del rendimiento de los procesos de negocio estructurados, repetitivos y altamente definidos. Los cambios y los nuevos requisitos de las empresas han dado lugar a nuevas necesidades en la gestión de los procesos de negocio, que requieren más flexibilidad, por ejemplo, para gestionar colecciones de alternativas de procesos de negocio y procesos altamente dinámicos e intensivos en conocimientos. Sin embargo, las técnicas actuales de gestión del rendimiento de los procesos no han evolucionado al mismo ritmo que los procesos de negocio. Esas propuestas no pueden ser utilizadas “tal cual” en escenarios con procesos de negocio que requieren más flexibilidad porque esos procesos tienen una naturaleza diferente. Por ejemplo, esas propuestas no son capaces de definir PPIs en colecciones de procesos de negocio o de definir PPIs teniendo en cuenta elementos del proceso que no suelen estar presentes en procesos tradicionales, tales como decisiones, interacciones o colaboraciones entre participantes; generando así una brecha entre los procesos de negocio y la medición de su rendimiento. Para hacer frente a este reto, esta tesis pretende ampliar los límites actuales de la medición del rendimiento de los procesos. Para ello, nos basamos en técnicas ya existentes y bien fundamentadas, principalmente aplicables a procesos de negocio estructurados cuyo comportamiento se conoce en su mayor parte a priori, y los ampliamos para hacer frente a los nuevos requisitos identificados. Específicamente, proponemos un conjunto de artefactos que se centran en la definición y la perspectiva de modelado de las medidas e indicadores de rendimiento. Primero, proponemos la extensión del metamodelo PPINOT, un metamodelo previamente utilizado para la definición y modelado de indicadores de rendimiento de procesos, en cuatro direcciones: la reutilización total o parcial de definiciones de PPIs; el modelado de PPIs teniendo en cuenta la variabilidad de los procesos y de los propios PPIs; la definición de PPIs sobre procesos intensivos del conocimiento y la relación de la definición de PPIs con un conjunto particular de elementos de los proceso, como las decisiones. Las extensiones del metamodelo son diseñadas para trabajar con propuestas relevantes en cada una de las áreas abordadas, como KIPO (Knowledge-Intensive Process Ontology), una ontología que proporciona constructores para la definición de procesos intensivos en conocimiento; DMN (Decision Model and Notation), un estándar para la definición y modelado de decisiones; Provop y C-iEPC, dos lenguajes de modelado de procesos de negocio asociados a la variabilidad. Para facilitar la representación de las definiciones y modelos de PPIs, también se propone la extensión de las dos notaciones del PPINOT: Visual PPINOT, una notación gráfica y la notación basada en plantillas que utiliza patrones lingüísticos para las definiciones de PPI. Además de estas extensiones, también proponemos dos contribuciones más: una metodología basada en la integración de PPINOT y KIPO, y en los conceptos de indicadores lead y lag con el objetivo de guiar a los participantes en la implementación de PPIs de acuerdo a las metas de negocio, y directrices en forma de un conjunto de pasos que pueden utilizarse para identificar las decisiones que afectan el rendimiento del proceso. Finalmente, también hemos dado los primeros pasos para implementar las extensiones del metamodelo en las herramientas de modelado de PPINOT. Específicamente hemos modificado el editor gráfico para facilitar el modelo de PPIs por medio de la reutilización de definiciones. Hemos validado las propuestas presentadas a través de diferentes escenarios y casos de estudio: analizando los procesos y las medidas de rendimiento del modelo de referencia SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference), utilizando medidas e indicadores proporcionados por el Servicio Andaluz de Salud (España) y a través de un caso de estudio en una empresa de outsourcing de tecnologías de la información y la comunicación en Brasil. Nuestra propuesta de “Mejorar la Perspectiva de Modelado de la Gestión del Rendimiento de Procesos” nos permite: reutilizar definiciones totales o parciales de PPIs en diferentes PPIs o procesos de negocio; definir PPIs en una colección de procesos de negocio (familia de procesos) teniendo en cuenta la variabilidad de los procesos y de los propios PPIs; definir PPIs sobre procesos intensivos en conocimiento; utilizar una metodología para guiar a los participantes en la implementación de PPIs de acuerdo con los objetivos de negocio; analizar el impacto sobre los PPI, de las decisiones relacionadas con los procesos de negocio; definir indicadores de rendimiento de las decisiones (DPIs) para medir el rendimiento de las decisiones relacionadas con los procesos de negocio; y utilizar la información sobre el rendimiento del proceso en la definición de decisiones

Modeling Business Processes on a Blockchain Ecosystem using CMMN

Plokiahela kohta on spekuleeritud, et see on “kõige olulisem leiutis pärast Internetti” ning et sellel on potentsiaal pakkuda märkmisväärset ärilist väärtust nii finants- kui ka teistes sektorites. Sellest tulenevalt on ettevõtted hakanud uurima, kuidas oleks neil võimalik oma äriprotsessides plokiahelatehnoloogiast kasu saada. Siiski, lihtsalt olemasolevate protsesside asendamine uute tehnoloogiatega ei paku soovitud tulemusi. Sellest tulenevalt disainitakse olukordades, kus protsessimudelid on protsessianalüüsi ning selle innovatsiooni aluseks, protsesse täiesti ümber. Käesolevas töös uuritakse, kuidas plokiahelale orienteeritud protsesse saab modelleerida CMMN modelleerimiskeele abil, kuna see on artefakti-põhine modellerimiskeel. Selline lähenemine võib olla eriti kasulik plokiahelale orienteeritud protsesside modelleerimisel, kuna plokiahelate peamine fookus on andmetel, mis on lisatud ahelasse ning jagatud erinevate osapoolte vahel. Käesolev töö põhineb juhtumianalüüsil, mis on läbi viidud mittetulundusühingus, mis tegeleb puidutoodetega kauplevate ettevõtete sertifitseerimisteenuste pakkumisega. Nimetatud organisatsiooni auditeerimisprotsessid kujundati ümber kasutades plokiahelat ning nutikaid lepingutehnoloogiaid, mille järel modelleeriti need kasutades CMMN modelleerimiskeelt. Analüüsimaks, kas CMMN modelleerimiskeel on plokiahelale tuginevate protsesside modelleerimiseks sobilik, kasutati raamistikku, mis hõlmab üldlevinud mustreid, mis on omased plokiahelale tuginevatele rakendustele. Selle tulemusena ilmnes, et CMMN modelleerimiskeele abil on võimalik plokiahelale tuginevaid protsesse üldiselt adekvaatselt kirjeldada, küll aga on siiski puudus elementidest modelleerimaks täpsemaid plokiahelatele ning nutikatele lepingutehnoloogiatele omaseid detaile.Blockchain has been speculated to be “the most important invention since the Internet” and has the potential to deliver significant business value for both financial and non-financial industries. That is why companies have started to explore how their business processes can benefit from this technology. However, a simple substitution of a current process with new technology will not provide desired outcomes. For this purpose, process redesign is used where process models are made the basis of process analysis and its innovation. This paper examines how blockchain-oriented processes can be modelled with CMMN as it is an artefact-centric modelling language. Such an approach might be particularly useful while modeling blockchain-oriented processes as the fundamental focus of blockchain is on data that is added on a chain and shared between participants. This paper is based on a case study of a non-profit organization providing certification services for companies trading timber-relates products. The auditing process of this organization was redesign using blockchain and smart contract technologies and then was modelled with CMMN. For analysis of the suitability of CMMN for modelling blockchain-based processes a framework for commonly occurring patterns that are specific to blockchain-based applications was used. As a result, CMMN can adequately represent blockchain-oriented processes. However, there is a lack of elements in the notation to accurately model certain details specific to blockchain and smart contract technologies

Domain engineering for customer experience management

Customer experience management (CXM) denotes a set of practices, processes, and tools, that aim at personalizing a customer’s interactions with a company around the customer’s needs and desires (Walker in The emergence of customer experience management solutions, 2011). The past few years have seen the emergence of a new generation of context-aware CXM applications that exploit the IoT, AI, and cloud computing to provide rich and personalized customer experiences. Such applications are usually developed in an ad-hoc fashion, typically as technology showcases, often with little validation in the field. Indeed, there is no methodology to elicit and specify the requirements for such applications, nor domain level reusable components that can be leveraged to implement such applications with the context of e-commerce solutions. An e-commerce software vendor asked us to do just that, in a domain with a fragmented scientific literature, and with no portfolio of applications to draw upon. In this paper, we describe our domain engineering strategy, present the main elements of the technical approach, and discuss the main difficulties we faced in this domain engineering effort. Our approach is intended for marketing analysts and customer experience designers. It offers to them a methodology and tools to design customer experiences and generate building blocks of CXM functionalities to be integrated in e-commerce suites of their customers—the retailers.</p

Investigating business process elements: a journey from the field of Business Process Management to ontological analysis, and back

Business process modelling languages (BPMLs) typically enable the representation of business processes via the creation of process models, which are constructed using the elements and graphical symbols of the BPML itself. Despite the wide literature on business process modelling languages, on the comparison between graphical components of different languages, on the development and enrichment of new and existing notations, and the numerous definitions of what a business process is, the BPM community still lacks a robust (ontological) characterisation of the elements involved in business process models and, even more importantly, of the very notion of business process. While some efforts have been done towards this direction, the majority of works in this area focuses on the analysis of the behavioural (control flow) aspects of process models only, thus neglecting other central modelling elements, such as those denoting process participants (e.g., data objects, actors), relationships among activities, goals, values, and so on. The overall purpose of this PhD thesis is to provide a systematic study of the elements that constitute a business process, based on ontological analysis, and to apply these results back to the Business Process Management field. The major contributions that were achieved in pursuing our overall purpose are: (i) a first comprehensive and systematic investigation of what constitutes a business process meta-model in literature, and a definition of what we call a literature-based business process meta-model starting from the different business process meta-models proposed in the literature; (ii) the ontological analysis of four business process elements (event, participant, relationship among activities, and goal), which were identified as missing or problematic in the literature and in the literature-based meta-model; (iii) the revision of the literature-based business process meta-model that incorporates the analysis of the four investigated business process elements - event, participant, relationship among activities and goal; and (iv) the definition and evaluation of a notation that enriches the relationships between activities by including the notions of occurrence dependences and rationales

Business Process Temporal Constraints

More and more organizations are adhering to the Business Processes Management (BPM) in order to reach higher levels of competitiveness and reduce operational costs. The execution of business process has, necessarily, a time dimension. Nevertheless, while recognised as important, the temporal dimension has been neglected by most of the process modelling languages to these days. The BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) language, similarly to the recent CMMN (Case Management Model and Notation) proposal which was developed to complement it, are not the exception. Indeed, while BPMN is one of the most widely used language for business process modelling, there are temporal constraints impossible to describe in BPMN. The work behind this paper aims to contribute to solve this issue by identifying the most relevant business processes temporal constraints. The final purpose of this work is to propose a set of temporal extensions to the BPMN and CMMN languages