Using Concurrent Task Trees for Stakeholder-centered Modeling and Visualization of Business Processes

The different stakeholders in Business Process Management have to deal with various process models in order to understand the business processes being relevant for them. Especially inexperienced stakeholders often have difficulties in comprehending large and complex process models. In this paper a stakeholder-centered approach for modeling, changing and visualizing business processes is introduced. It is based on the Concurrent Task Tree (CTT), which constitutes a task modeling language widely applied in the field of end-user development. In particular, CTT considers stakeholder needs in modeling the behaviour of user interfaces. In the context of our work we apply CTT for modeling, changing and visualizing business processes. To evaluate whether CTT is appropriate for stakeholder-centered process modeling we compare it with imperative process modeling, and introduce a mapping between CTT process models and imperative process models expressed in terms of the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). Finally, we provide an advanced stakeholder-centered visualization concept based on CTT

Collaborative Business Process Management - A Literature-based Analysis of Methods for Supporting Model Understandability

Due to the growing amount of cooperative business scenarios, collaborative Business Process Management (cBPM) has emerged. The increased number of stakeholders with minor expertise in process modeling leads to a high relevance of model understandability in cBPM contexts. Despite extensive works in the research fields of cBPM and model understandability in BPM, there is no analysis and comprehensive overview of methods supporting process model understandability in cBPM scenarios. To address this research gap, this paper presents the results of a literature review. The paper identifies concepts for supporting model understandability in BPM, provides an overview of methods implementing these concepts, and discusses the methods’ applicability in cBPM. The four concepts process model transformation, process model visualization, process model description, and modeling support are introduced. Subsequently, 69 methods are classified and discussed in the context of cBPM. Results contribute to revealing existing academic voids and can guide practitioners in cBPM scenarios

Automatically Generating and Updating User Interface Components in Process-Aware Information Systems

The increasing adoption of process-aware information systems (PAISs) has resulted in a large number of implemented business processes. To react on changing needs, companies need to be able to quickly adapt these process implementations. Current PAISs only provide mechanisms to evolve the schema of a process, but do not support the automated creation and adaptation of user interfaces (UIs). The latter may have a complex logic and comprise conditional elements or database queries. Creating and evolving UIs manually is a tedious and error-prone task. This paper introduces a set of patterns for transforming fragments of a business process, whose activities are performed by the same user role, to UIs of the PAIS. In particular, UI logic can be expressed using the same notation as for process modeling. Furthermore, a transformation method is introduced, which applies these patterns to automatically derive UIs by establishing a bidirectional mapping between process model and UI. This mapping allows propagating UI changes to the process model and vice versa. Overall, our approach enables process designers to rapidly develop and update complex UIs in PAISs

Visualizing Large Business Process Models: Challenges, Techniques, Applications

Large process models may comprise hundreds or thousands of process elements, like activities, gateways, and data objects. Presenting such process models to users and enabling them to interact with these models constitute crucial tasks of any process-aware information systems (PAISs). Existing PAISs, however, neither provide adequate techniques for visualizing and abstracting process models nor for interacting with them. In particular, PAISs do not provide tailored process visualizations as needed in complex application environments. This paper presents examples of large process models and discusses some of the challenges to be tackled when visualizing and abstracting respective models. Further, it presents a comprehensive framework that allows for personalized process model visualizations, which can be tailored to the specific needs of the different user groups. First, process model complexity can be reduced by abstracting the models, i.e., by eliminating or aggregating process elements not relevant in the given visualization context. Second, the appearance of process elements can be customized independent of the process modeling language used. Third, different visualization formats (e.g., process diagrams, process forms, and process trees) are supported. Finally, it will be discussed how tailored visualizations of process models may serve as basis for changing and evolving process models at a high level of abstraction

Towards Gesture-based Process Modeling on Multi-Touch Devices

Contemporary tools for business process modeling use menu-based interfaces for visualizing process models and interacting with them. However, pure menu-based interactions have been optimized for applications running on desktop computers and are limited regarding their use on multi-touch devices. At the same time, the increasing distribution of mobile devices in business life as well as their multi-touch capabilities offer promising perspectives for intuitively defining and adapting business process models. Additionally, multi-touch tables could improve collaborative business process modeling based on natural gestures and interactions. In this paper we present the results of an experiment in which we investigate the way users model business processes with multi-touch devices. Furthermore, a core gesture set is suggested enabling the easy definition and adaption of business process models on these devices. Overall, gesture-based process modeling and multi-touch devices allow for new ways of (collaborative) business process modeling

Gesture-based Process Modeling Using Multi-Touch Devices

Contemporary business process modeling tools provide menu-based user in-terfaces for defining and visualizing process models. Such menu-based in-teractions have been optimized for applications running on desktop comput-ers, but are limited regarding their use on multi-touch devices. At the same time, the widespread use of mobile devices in daily business life as well as their multi-touch capabilities offer promising perspectives for intuitively de-fining and changing business process models. Additionally, multi-touch ta-bles will foster collaborative business process modeling based on natural as well as intuitive gestures and interactions. This paper presents the results of an experiment that investigated the way users define and change business process models using multi-touch devices. Based on experiment results, a core gesture set is designed enabling the easy definition and change of busi-ness process models with multi-touch devices. Finally, a proof-of-concept implementation of this core gesture set is presented. Overall, gesture-based process modeling and multi-touch devices will foster new ways of (collabo-rative) business process modeling

Model-Driven User Interface Generation and Adaptation in Process-Aware Information Systems

The increasing adoption of process-aware information systems (PAISs) has resulted in a large number of implemented business processes. To react on changing needs, companies should be able to quickly adapt these process implementations if required. Current PAISs, however, only provide mechanisms to evolve the schema of a process model, but do not allow for the automated creation and adaptation of their user interfaces (UIs). The latter may have a complex logic and comprise, for example, conditional elements or database queries. Creating and evolving the UI components of a PAIS manually is a tedious and error-prone task. This technical report introduces a set of patterns for transforming fragments of a business process model, whose activities are performed by the same user role, to UI components of the PAIS. In particular, UI logic can be expressed using the same notation as for process modeling. Furthermore, a transformation method is introduced, which applies these patterns to automatically derive UI components from a process model by establishing a bidirectional mapping between process model and UI. This mapping allows propagating UI changes to the process model and vice versa. Overall, our approach enables process designers to rapidly develop and update complex UI components in PAISs

Process Change Patterns: Recent Research, Use Cases, Research Directions

In previous work, we introduced change patterns to foster a systematic comparison of process-aware information systems with respect to change support. This paper revisits change patterns and shows how our research activities have evolved. Further, it presents characteristic use cases and gives insights into current research directions

Collaborative Process Modeling with Tablets and Touch Tables — A Controlled Experiment

Collaborative process modeling involves business analysts and subject matter experts in order to properly capture and document process knowledge. In this context, appropriate tool support is required to motivate these user groups to actively participate in collaborative process modeling. This paper presents a collaborative process modeling tool that enables the experts to create, visualize and evolve process models based on multi-touch devices (e.g., tablets and touch tables). In particular, users may edit process models on their tablets and share the created or changed process models with other team members on a common touch table. For this purpose, a sophisticated and intuitive interaction concept is provided. Furthermore, results of a controlled experiment, evaluating the influence the use of tablets has on collaborative process modeling based on touch tables, are presented. Altogether the experimental results emphasize the high potential of multi-touch tools for collaborative process modeling

Navigating in Process Model Repositories and Enterprise Process Information

Although process-aware information systems have been adopted in enterprises for many years, they still do not properly link the business processes they implement with related enterprise process information (e.g., guidelines, checklists, templates, and e-mails). On one hand, process management technology is used to design, implement, enact, and monitor processes. On the other, enterprise process information is spread over various sources like shared drives, databases, and enterprise information systems. As a consequence, users often manually link process information with particular process objects (e.g., using process portals). What is needed instead, however is an integrated access to both processes and related enterprise process information. This paper establishes such a link by introducing an integrated navigation space for process model collections and related enterprise process information. In particular, this navigation space allows process participants to flexibly navigate within process model collections, single process models, and related process information. In turn, this enables advanced end-user support for process repositories