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2019 | Book

Introduction Read chapter Read first chapter

Integrating Business Process Models and Rules

Empirical Evidence and Decision Framework

Author: Wei Wang

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Book Series : Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

This book combines multiple research methods, experiment, survey, and design science, as well as traditional measurements and neurophysiological techniques that can capture a variety of cognitive behaviors in human information processing, providing more solid and comprehended research findings. While the focus of the book is the modelling of process models and rules, the methods and techniques used in this book can also be adopted and applied to broader conceptual modelling research incorporating a variety of notations (e.g. UML, ER diagrams) or ontologies.

It is a revised version of the PhD dissertation written by the author at the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering of the University of Queensland, Australia. In 2018, the PhD dissertation won the “CAiSE PhD Award,” granted to outstanding PhD theses in the field of information systems engineering.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
Enterprise information, such as policies and procedures, enterprise data, enterprise social networks, and emails, to name a few, all reside in different information systems. This situation results in information silos, which in turn lead to the increased cost of information integration and reduced capacity for exploiting synergies within the organization. In fact, information silos in organizational information systems can result in inefficiency of information retrieval, redundancy and conflicts between information assets of the company, leading to duplication of efforts and job roles, as well as an incomplete understanding of the organization.
Wei Wang
Chapter 2. Literature Review
Abstract
This chapter first presents the fundamental concepts of business process models and factors that affect business process model understanding. Then we introduce business rules, which play an important role in process understanding, and we include the definitions and classifications of business rules. Finally, we introduce the arguments for the integration of business process models and business rules, and three types of integration approaches.
Wei Wang
Chapter 3. Methodology
Abstract
As introduced in Chap. 1, the three objectives of the thesis are to: (1) investigate whether business rule integration can improve business process model understanding; (2) identify and evaluate factors that will influence the decision of whether or not a business rule should be integrated with a business process model; (3) develop a decision framework that guides modellers on whether or not to integrate a business rule with a business process model based on the research results from the first two objectives. Accordingly, we carried out three studies to fulfil each of these objectives:
Wei Wang
Chapter 4. Rule Integration and Model Understanding: A Theoretical Underpinning
Abstract
In Chap. 2 we introduced the arguments for integration and a variety of integration methods. However, whether such integration improves user understanding of the process models has not been investigated. In particular, while researchers have argued that integrated modelling can improve the understanding of business processes, this proposition has neither been theoretically analysed, nor empirically evaluated. Yet, such understanding is crucial for the advancement of process modelling methods. As a lacking of a cognitive model in terms of how model users learn process models and rules in current body of knowledge, in this chapter, we propose a four-stage cognitive process based on a cognitive model in human information searching and processing [88], and explore theoretical foundations that underpin the understanding of process models.
Wei Wang
Chapter 5. The Effect of Rule Linking on Business Process Model Understanding
Abstract
In this chapter, we develop hypotheses that rule linking can improve process model understanding accuracy, time efficiency, and reduce mental effort. Then we present our experiment investigating the effect of rule linking, a specific rule integration approach which uses graphical links to connect process model symbols with rules, on process model understanding. Our objective is two-fold. First, we test if linked rules can improve a model user’s understanding of business process and rules. Second, by using eye-tracking technology in the experiment, we break down the statistics to the Process Model Area, Rule Area and Question Area and see what kind of information (process model, or rules) contributes most to our hypotheses. Third, we investigate the differences between other aspects of human cognitive behaviour such as single visit time and attention switching between groups, further exploring whether linked rules can improve process model understanding.
Wei Wang
Chapter 6. Identification of Factors Affecting Business Process and Business Rule Integration
Abstract
In this chapter, we present the identification and evaluation of factors that can affect the decision of whether or not to integrate business process modelling and business rule modelling. First we present the methodology for factor identification, evaluation and decision analysis. Then we present the factors, followed by the empirical evaluation. Finally, we provide six guidelines based on the data analysis from the evaluation.
Wei Wang
Chapter 7. A Business Rule Modelling Decision Framework
Abstract
In this chapter, we present the development and outcome of the rule modelling decision framework. The objective of the decision framework is to guide modellers on whether to integrate a business rule with a business process model and how to integrate towards achieving the benefits of integrated modelling. As this study related to the design of an artefact, the research methodology of this study is Design Science. Design Science is the research method used to create artefacts aimed to solve identified problems in practice [86]. The artefacts of design science can be constructs, models, methods, or instantiations [87]. In this study, the artefact is the decision framework that will help business rule modellers decide whether to model a business rule within a business process model.
Wei Wang
Chapter 8. Conclusion
Abstract
Both business processes and business rules focus on creating a representation of the organization’s policies and practices. They are complementary modelling approaches as they address distinct aspects of organizational practices. The conceptual and pragmatic overlap between business process models and business rules indicates a need to model the two related aspects together. While researchers have argued that integrated modelling of business process models and business rules can improve the understanding of business processes, this proposition has neither been theoretically analysed nor empirically evaluated. Moreover, there are situations in which a business rule is better modelled independently of a business process model, but also situations in which it is more appropriate to integrate the rule with a business process model.
Wei Wang
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Integrating Business Process Models and Rules
Author
Wei Wang
Copyright Year
2019
Electronic ISBN
978-3-030-11809-9
Print ISBN
978-3-030-11808-2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11809-9

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