Evaluations of Process Modeling Grammars: Ontological, Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses Using the Example of BPMN (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing)

Jan Recker investigates the notion of quality of business process modeling grammars. His evaluation is based on ontological analysis, qualitative analysis, and quantitative analysis, which are applied to BPMN, a widely used business process modeling grammar. His results first show ontological shortcomings in BPMN, second how these manifest in actual process modeling practice, and third how they eventually influence the usage behavior of modeling practitioners. Seen more general, his book is a landmark for an empirical technology assessment that analyzes how design flaws in technology influence usage behavior.

Business processes have emerged as a well-respected variable in the design of successful corporations. However, unlike other key managerial variables, such as products and services, customers and employees, physical or digital assets, the conceptualization and management of business processes are in many respects in their infancy.

In this book, Jan Recker investigates the notion of quality of business process modeling grammars. His evaluation is based on an ontological-, qualitative-, and quantitative analysis, applied to BPMN, a widely-used business process modeling grammar. His results reveal the ontological shortcomings of BPMN and how these manifest themselves in actual process modeling practice, as well as how they influence the usage behavior of modeling practitioners. More generally, his book constitutes a landmark for empirical technology assessment, analyzing the way in which design flaws in technology influence usage behavior.