A framework for selecting business process modeling methods

TLDR

Business process modeling techniques are used to represent and analyze processes, but existing methods differ in perspective and capabilities. The study seeks to guide process designers in selecting appropriate modeling methods for business process reengineering initiatives. The authors present a framework that selects methods based on modeling objectives, outlines a general selection procedure, and demonstrates its use with an expense claim process example. The framework enables evaluation of modeling methods and generation of selection procedures, as illustrated by the expense claim case.

Abstract

The techniques for representing and analyzing business processes are referred to as business process modeling. Many business process modeling methods and their associated tools have been used to capture the characteristics of business processes. However, most methods view business processes from different perspectives and have different features and capabilities. Thus, an important research question is how process designers should select appropriate modeling methods for their BPR initiatives. In this paper, we propose a framework for selecting business process modeling methods based on modeling objectives. This framework can serve as the basis for evaluating modeling methods and generating selection procedures. A general selection procedure is also described. We use an expense claim process as an example to illustrate the application of the selection procedure.