Documentation of Flexible Business Processes - A Healthcare Case Study

In many industries, such as manufacturing and logistics, semi-formal process models have become a common means to reason and communicate about business processes. However, in a dynamic and flexible environment the suitability of semiformal process models as an instrument of process documentation may be challenged. Hospital processes are typical examples of business processes that are characterized by both the existence of well-defined procedures and the need for operational flexibility. This research investigates the current practice of process documentation in healthcare by means of a case study in a German hospital. We aim at getting an understanding of how flexible processes may be documented to give medical staff effective guidance and how this documentation has to be managed in order to provide value in everyday routine. On the basis of our findings we give suggestions on how to effectively implement process documentations in similar settings

Managing Creative Risks

Business process management (BPM) has emerged as an important enabler for managing risks. Organizations use BPM techniques such as process modeling to create transparency and to identify process-related risks. Existent risk management frameworks distinguish between different types of risk, such as people, technical, and management risk. Our study suggests that creativity in business processes leads to a particular subset of risks which organizations respond to by applying specific strategies of risk avoidance and mitigation. These creative risks occur within business processes as different people come together to generate creative products. These people bring in different perceptions of creativity and aesthetics and solve creative tasks in different ways. Thus, business processes that involve creativity are characterized by a high variance both in process flow and process outcome which can lead to unwanted consequences. Based on interpretive case studies we introduce the concept of creative risk and explain what strategies organizations can apply to handle it

Toward Process Modeling in Creative Domains

Process modeling has emerged as a widely accepted approach in order to reduce organizational complexity in organizations. Process models are used for different purposes, including process analysis and redesign, risk management, and the implementation of software systems. However, the majority of existent approaches is restricted to processes that are wellstructured and predictable. Highly creative environments, such as the film industry or R&D departments, however, are characterized by high levels of flexibility. As existent approaches do not provide ample means to model such processes, this paper discusses the capabilities that a conceptual process modeling grammar for processes in creative environments must provide. Furthermore, we suggest an approach to process analysis that aims at the identification and specification of creativity in business processes. The study belongs to the design science paradigm; the discussion is grounded in a theory that explains the nature of processes that rely on creativity

Navigational Design of Web Information Systems - Framework Development and Case Study

As prior empirical and conceptual work indicates, success and usability of web information systems is subject to navigational design. Although web information systems are not a new phenomenon and were examined intensively in the past, holistic in-depth investigations of navigational issues seem to be arbitrary rather than theoretically and conceptually founded. In particular, we argue that we are lacking an appropriate description language serving as a shared conceptualization of our subject of research. We present a conceptual framework for describing and assessing web information systems and their navigational capabilities. Moreover, we provide some empirical evidence of its applicability by reporting on a case study that pays special regard to navigational design and usability improvement

A conceptual framework for information retrieval to support creativity in business processes

Creativity as the prerequisite for innovation is a core competitive factor in contemporary organizations. When creativity happens this involves creative persons who produce creative products in a process that cannot be fully anticipated and predescribed. We introduce the concept of pockets of creativity for those sections of a business process where creativity occurs. These sections are characterized by a high demand for flexibility and knowledge of the involved creative persons. In pockets of creativity previous knowledge is retrieved, transformed and combined into new procedures or artifacts – in short – innovations. Naturally, this raises the question of how pockets of creativity can be supported by information technology. Information retrieval is part of an organizations knowledge processes concerned with the representation, storage, organization, searching and finding of organizational knowledge. Informed by case studies we have conducted with organizations from the Creative Industries and drawing from existing theory, in this paper we introduce a conceptual framework for information retrieval that enables creative persons to access relevant information through a multi-perspective, hierarchical view. Such an approach both appropriately considers different ways of creative thinking and provides stimuli to a person's cognitive network fostering her creativity and thus the development of truly innovative products

Pockets of creativity in business processes

Creative processes, for instance, the development of visual effects or computer games, increasingly become part of the agenda of information systems researchers and practitioners. Such processes get their managerial challenges from the fact that they comprise both well-structured, transactional parts and creative parts. The latter can often not be precisely specified in terms of control flow, required resources, and outcome. The processes’ high uncertainty sets boundaries for the application of traditional business process management concepts, such as process automation, process modeling, process performance measurement, and risk management. Organizations must thus exercise caution when it comes to managing creative processes and supporting these with information technology. This, in turn, requires a profound understanding of the concept of creativity in business processes. In response to this, the present paper introduces a framework for conceptualizing creativity within business processes. The conceptual framework describes three types of uncertainty and constraints as well as the interrelationships among these. The study is grounded in the findings from three case studies that were conducted in the film and visual effects industry. Moreover, we provide initial evidence for the framework’s validity beyond this narrow focus. The framework is intended to serve as a sensitizing device that can guide further information systems research on creativity-related phenomena