Towards Role-Distributed Collaborative Business

Process Elicitation Stefan Oppl

Johannes Kepler University of Linz

Context• Retrieve process knowledge where it actually

resides - at the people involved in the work process

• Account for different understandings of how work is/should be performed and who is collaborating with whom

• Create model that is valid for further processing (e.g. executable)

History

Problem

• Lay-modelers are rarely used to step out of their immediate work system and take a bird-eyes-view

• Very heterogenous involvement of people

• Created models are of limited use for further processing

Idea

• Separate modeling along involved roles

• Describe individual contributions to work regarding activities and communication with others

• Consolidate role-models to form a common model of the work process

Approach

• Actors in each involved role describe their contribution to the work process (i.e. activities) per role

• Overall model is created by collaboratively bringing together the model parts and resolving conflicts that become apparent during coupling

Modeling Elements• Roles

• Activities

• Messages

• send / receive

• expected from others / requested by others

Methodology

Variants

• ex-ante communication negotiation

• ex-post communication negotiation

• ongoing communication negotiation

Example: ex-post communication negotiation

Develop model of work environment

Develop models of individual work contributions

Consolidate models of individual contributions

Steps

Example: ex-post communication negotiation

Develop model of work environment

Develop models of individual work contributions

Consolidate models of individual contributions

Steps

Example: ex-post communication negotiation

Develop model of work environment

Develop models of individual work contributions

Consolidate models of individual contributions

Steps

Example: ex-post communication negotiation

setting the stage

reflection on own work

negotiation of interfaces and contributions

Objectives

Develop model of work environment

Develop models of individual work contributions

Consolidate models of individual contributions

Steps

Example: ex-post communication negotiation

setting the stage

reflection on own work

negotiation of interfaces and contributions

Objectives

conceptualization, no constraints

procedural modeling

communication-oriented modeling

Skills

Develop model of work environment

Develop models of individual work contributions

Consolidate models of individual contributions

Steps

Tool support (I)

Tool support (II)

Findings• produces incomplete process models

• immediate executability allows to complete models while playing them through for validation

• different variants are suitable for different objectives and target groups

• ongoing communication negotiation requires experienced users and/or technical support

Contribution

• Low initial modeling complexity for lay-modelers

• Resolution of different understandings of work during elicitation

• Produces directly executable models

Ongoing Work

• More thorough evaluation of methodology in all three variants in organizational and teaching settings

• Tools support for elicitation and further processing, especially refinement of models through enactment validation