Semantic Process Modeling – Design and Implementation of an Ontology-based Representation of Business Processes

An extension of process modeling languages is designed which allows representing the semantics of model element labels which are formulated in natural language by using concepts of a formal ontology. This combination of semiformal models with formal ontologies will be characterized as semantic process modeling. The approach is exemplarily applied to the languages EPC (Event-driven Process Chain), BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) and OWL (Web Ontology Language) and is generalized by means of an information model. The proposed formalization of the semantics of individual model elements in conjunction with the usage of inference engines allows the improvement of query functionalities in modeling tools and enables new possibilities of model validation. The integration of the approach in the IT-based work environments of modelers is demonstrated by a system architecture and a prototypical implementation. Evidently, advantages in the areas of modeling, model management, IT-business alignment, and compliance can be achieved by the application of modeling tools augmented with semantic technologies

Managing Changes in Collaborative Networks: A Conceptual Approach

Collaborative Networks represent organizational forms that became omnipresent in today’s way of making business. Such organizational forms are often established in order to satisfy a complex customer need, which one company could not satisfy on its own. This means that the participating companies are to a certain degree dependent on each other. Managing inter-firm relationships by means of inter-organizational interdependencies represents an important Business-IT Alignment issue. In this paper, we present the Dependency-based Alignment Framework, which represents a conceptual approach for managing changes in Collaborative Networks from a holistic perspective. A detailed and methodologically well-founded approach in the definition and design of our framework is accompanied by a detailed investigation of relevant properties of this design artifact. To demonstrate the applicability of our framework in practice, we introduce a case study, which uses Semantic Media Wiki and the SPARQL query language. Finally, we evaluate our results in an argumentative and deductively descriptive way

Towards A Method for Developing Reference Enterprise Architectures

In most economic sectors organizations face rapid environmental changes like regulations. Such changes can force them to adjust both their organizational and operational structure. For instance, in the energy utility sector numerous developments moved German Public Utilities (PUs) towards a liberalized market. Nowadays PUs have to stay competitive while managing a heterogeneous information technology (IT) landscape. We address this demand for aligning business and IT by combining the holistic perspective of Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) with the characteristic of reference modeling to reuse knowledge in a problem domain. Therefore, we utilize configurative reference modeling within Design Science Research (DSR). The artefact at hand is a method for developing a Reference Enterprise Architecture (R-EA), which is applied in the problem domain of PUs. Our contributions are the (i) adaptation of Configurative Reference Modelling (CRM) to develop a R-EA and (ii) a procedure how to elicit knowledge for R-EA development method

BUSINESS PROCESS MODEL ANTI-PATTERNS: A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND TAXONOMY OF PUBLISHED WORK

Patterns have been proven to be useful for documenting reusable solutions to common problems. A recently published bibliography of business process model patterns shed light into the various types of patterns by providing a systematic categorization of these patterns. In this way, such classification improves the understanding of business process model patterns. Anti-patterns document a counterproductive solution to a commonly occurring problem. While a classification for the large body of literature on business process model patterns is available, a structured bibliography of anti-patterns is missing. Related work on anti-patterns discusses patterns for common modeling errors, problems in business process models as well as in the business processes. Modeling experts should be aware of all these types of anti-patterns. To fill this gap, this paper presents a bibliography of business process model anti-patterns and a taxonomy of anti-patterns that has been developed using an established approach for taxonomy development. Both are based on an literature review and are valuable for people during the design and analysis phases of business processes since knowledge about anti-patterns in business process models helps for increasing their quality. Our overview should also be useful for developers of modeling tools who wish to make the modeler aware of potential modeling problems

Human-centered User Interfaces for Automated Driving – (Un-)exploited Potentials

Designing user interfaces for (highly) automated driving is a complex task since users vary considerably regarding their needs and preferences. Therefore, a one-size-fits-all approach will not be sufficient for designing these interfaces. Thus, in this paper we aim to identify unexploited potentials in this area. We do so by performing a systematic literature review. Our contributions are 1) a systematization of human-centered user interface design for automated driving in four key aspects, 2) the research intensity per aspect, 3) the unexploited potential within each aspect and 4) the potentials of the relations between them. Concretely, current research lacks frameworks supporting the customization of the named interfaces based on user characteristics. Among others, personalization of displayed information shows unexploited potentials for acceptance and usability. Thus, we recommend future research to focus on human-centricity accounting for individual needs instead of the interface itself

Intelligent Assistants

Intelligent assistants are an increasingly commonplace class of information systems spanning a broad range of form and complexity. But what characterizes an intelligent assistant, and how do we design better assistants? In the paper, the authors contribute to scientific research in the domain of intelligent assistants in three steps, each building on the previous. First, they investigate the historical context of assistance as human work. By examining qualitative studies regarding the work of human assistants, the authors inductively derive concepts crucial to modeling the context of assistance. This analysis informs the second step, in which they develop a conceptual typology of intelligent assistants using 111 published articles. This typology explicates the characteristics (what or how) of intelligent assistants and their use context (who or which). In the third and final step, the authors utilize this typology to shed light on historical trends and patterns in design and evaluation of intelligent assistants, reflect on missed opportunities, and discuss avenues for further exploration

Requirements Catalog for Business Process Modeling Recommender Systems

The manual construction of business process models is a time-consuming and error-prone task. To improve the quality of business process models, several modeling support techniques have been suggested spanning from strict auto-completion of a business process model with pre-defined model elements to suggesting closely matching recommendations. While recommendation systems are widely used and auto-completion functions are a standard feature of programming tools, such techniques have not been exploited for business process modeling although implementation strategies have already been suggested. Therefore, this paper collects requirements from different perspectives (literature and empirical studies) of how to effectively and efficiently assist process modelers in their modeling task. The condensation of requirements represents a comprehensive catalog, which constitutes a solid foundation to implement effective and efficient Process Modeling Recommender Systems (PMRSs). We expect that our contribution will fertilize the field of modeling support techniques to make them a common feature of BPM tools