Business process modelling and analysis using UML and polychromatic sets

Business process analysis and modeling is a crucial step in formulating information systems user requirements. The practice of information technology (IT) development does not indicate a lack of problems in spite of the growing number of modeling techniques. This article gives an action research account of formulating and applying a new business process modeling framework to manufacturing processes to guide software development. It is based on a combination of soft systems methodology (SSM) and the Unified Modeling Language (UML) business process modeling extensions suggested by Eriksson and Penker. SSM has been linked to information systems provision in the past. The examination of prior research shows that there is no underlying reasoning about the justification from a methodological point of view of the combination of SSM and UML. This article justifies the mixing of SSM and Eriksson and Penker’s UML extensions using the ideas of Mingers’ Multimethodology. The latter helps to overcome the ontological complexities of combining soft and hard techniques in a single intervention. The proposed framework was applied to modeling the production process in an aluminum rolling plant as a step in the development of a new information system for it. The reflections on the intervention give details on how actual learning and appreciation is facilitated using SSM, leading to better UML models in this complex problem.

In order to be able to use the standardized multipurpose modeling language UML (Unified Modeling Language) for the integrated development of business and software systems based on OMG's business object technology, a specialized process model is needed to ensure purposeful and effective development activities. BOOSTER*Process, which is part of a project called BOOSTER (Business Object-Oriented Software Technology for Enterprise Reengineering), describes a multi-level software development process model which meets these requirements and especially emphasizes reuse aspects resulting from the component character of business objects. This paper presents the basic architecture of BOOSTER*Process, consisting of four main engineering levels and, in addition, picks out the business process modeling activities at the business engineering level as an example. It is shown how UML activity diagrams can be applied in this context, replacing independent process modeling notations.

Business process design and business process reengineering (BPR) depend crucially on linking production procedures and organizational services to business goals and objectives. There is currently very little formula support for this kind of reasoning as analytical tasks are usually carried out informally and individual design decisions are hard to relate to business objectives. If BPR is carried out without understanding the way it is done, then the most likely outcome would be continuing less-than-satisfactory current practice and automating outdated processes. This kind of practice misses opportunities for innovation and rationalization. The modelling and analysis of business processes along with business strategies and organizational structures are essential to study the implications of BPR. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the modelling, analysis and tools/techniques used for modelling of BPR with the help of a survey on the recently (1993-2000) employed methods and tools used for BPR modelling and analysis. A framework for modelling and analysis, and guidelines for the selection of tools/techniques of business process reengineering are presented.

This chapter reveals the roles of business process modeling (BPM) and business process reengineering (BPR) in eGovernment, thus describing the concepts of eGovernment and BPM; BPM methodologies; business process modeling notation (BPMN); the importance of BPR in government-to-citizen (G2C) e-commerce; the relationship between BPM and eGovernment-based citizen satisfaction; the application of BPR in eGovernment; and the implementation of eGovernment through BPM. eGovernment is a modern trend that is driven by the advances in BPM and BPR as well as the aspirations of citizens who place increasing demands on governments' service. By modeling business processes in eGovernment, public sector organizations can achieve improvements in transparency and reduction in costs and resource requirements, resulting in improved business performance and compliance. The chapter argues that applying BPM and BPR in eGovernment has the potential to enhance public sector performance and achieve organizational goals in public sector organizations.

Object constraint language for code generation from activity models

Semi-formal transformation of secure business processes into analysis class and use case models: An MDA approach

The most important phenomenon of 21^st century, digital transformation, depends on emerging technologies driven by industry 4.0. Every industry must adapt to the changes that this digital age has brought us in order to offer faster and improved solutions to customers. New technology adoption also changes the business process models by offering additional products and services. Therefore, companies opting to adopt industry 4.0 need to re-engineer their current processes. Existing Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) methodologies lack the important concept of industry 4.0 adoption. Also, these methodologies take ideal business processes gathered with the help of subjective information either from industry expert interviews or organization’s documentation rather than the actual processes gathered from real data. This research provides a quick summary of industry 4.0 revolution and the need of a new BPR methodology which considers the challenges that arise because of industry 4.0 adoption. The focus is given to one of the major concepts in industry 4.0, data analytics, as process mining techniques can be applied to get actual view of existing business processes through real time event log data thereby increasing the success ratio of the re-engineering process. The proposed industry 4.0 enabled BPR and optimization methodology will serve as bases for planning digital transformation and will provide an easy and effective industry 4.0 adoption plan to manufacturing companies.

Business process modelling is an important part of system design. When designing or redesigning a business process, stakeholders specify, negotiate, and agree on business requirements to be satisfied, including non-functional requirements that concern the quality of the business process. This thesis addresses the question of how to specify and compute the quality of a business process, given the model that stakeholders use. The motivation for this thesis is the increasing importance of the quality of business processes. Knowing the quality of specific business processes enables stakeholders to judge if these processes need improvement. Knowing the quality of the constructs of those processes (viz., events, inputs, activities, and outputs) and the way they are structured enables a more detailed analysis of their shortcomings and provides a basis for the design of improvements. The research challenge of this thesis is grounded in the assumption that: “Organisations need an appropriate means to effectively compute achievement of their goals and objectives by their business processes.” Given this challenge, the main research question on which this thesis focuses is: “Can the quality of a business process be computed quantitatively at different levels of granularity?” The research objective is: “To develop frameworks, factors, and metrics for computing non-functional requirements (quality) of business processes quantitatively at different levels of granularity.” The outcomes of this thesis are: 1) BPIMM, a language-independent business process integrating meta-model, based on the concepts of seven mainstream business process modelling languages: BPMN, EPC, RAD, UML AD, SADT, IDEF0, and IDEF3. 2) BPC-QC (Business Process Concept - Quality Computation), an approach to quality computation at the lowest level of granularity of a business process. The approach consists of: i. BPC-QEF (Business Process Concept - Quality Evaluation Framework), a language-independent generic framework and algorithm to compute the quality of the constructs of a business process: event, input, activity, and output. ii. A set of business process quality dimensions and factors. The following quality dimensions are distinguished: performance, efficiency, reliability, recoverability, permissibility, and availability. Each dimension categorises different quality aspects in terms of factors. A non-exhaustive set of sixteen quantitative factors is provided. iii. Quality metrics for each of the quality factors, to facilitate a quantitative computation of the quality of a specific construct of a business process. 3) BP-QC (Business Process - Quality Computation), an approach to compute the quality at the highest level of granularity of a business process. The approach consists of: i. BP-CQCF (Business Process - Compositional Quality Computation Framework), a language-independent generic framework and algorithm to compute the quality of a business process as a whole, given the quality of its constructs. ii. A set of generic business process modelling patterns to decompose a business process into more succinct parts, namely: sequential, parallel with synchronisation, exclusive, inclusive, simple loop, and complex loop. iii. A set of over one hundred computational formulae. For each combination of modelling pattern and a quality factor, there is a formula to compute the quality. 4) AAV (Approach to Application and Validation), an evaluation plan to evaluate BPIMM, BPC-QC and BP-QC in practice, together with expert stakeholders. The plan consists of the units of measure, a measurement model, and a case study procedure. To evaluate the applicability of the contributions of this thesis to real world business needs, four case studies have been conducted in different environments: a Dutch educational institution, a global financial institution, an international financial service provider, and a Dutch research project on crisis management. Each of these case studies concerns a different, single business process. This thesis shows that: 1) A quality computation approach can be adopted independent of a business process modelling language. 2) Quantitative quality factors can be introduced specifically for the constructs of a business process. 3) Quantitative metrics and computational formulae can be developed for specific quality factors, allowing the computation of different aspects of the quality of a business process quantitatively at different levels of granularity. 4) An evaluation plan can be developed to evaluate the applicability of the contributions of this thesis (viz., BPIMM, BPC-QC, and BP-QC). The contributions of this thesis are designed to be beneficial to the areas of business and management, requirements engineering, software engineering, and business process modelling. In the areas of requirements engineering and software engineering, these contributions are intended to help practitioners to consider non-functional requirements at the earliest stage. In the area of business process modelling, information systems, service computing, and cloud computing, the contributions can be used for quality-driven modelling, design, and redesign. To conclude, knowing the quality value of a business process at different levels of granularity provides a basis for its improvement.

The article explores the relevance of changes in the modern business environment and the role of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) in achieving competitiveness and digital transformation in enterprises. In the context of increasing competition and market instability, the article presents arguments that changes have become a necessity for organizations, and BPR is a crucial tool for adaptation and achieving strategic goals. The article's objective is to assess the impact of BPR on efficiency improvement and successful implementation of digital transformation in contemporary organizations. The authors employed interdisciplinary research methods, including the comparative method to evaluate modern approaches to BPR in the context of digital transformation. The analysis method was used to determine the influence of BPR on the effectiveness of digital transformations. Systemic and structural analysis methods were utilized to provide an in-depth examination of the structure and components of BPR and to evaluate its impact on complex enterprise systems in the context of digital transformation. The authors emphasize the importance of integrating digital technologies into the BPR process as a means of optimizing business processes and increasing profitability. The benefits of digital transformation are highlighted, but the article also underscores that successful implementation requires careful preparation and the study of innovative approaches. Various types of enterprises that may undertake BPR, including those facing financial challenges, anticipating potential issues, and aiming to stay industry leaders, are discussed. The article explores the relationship between Business Process Reengineering and digital transformation in contemporary organizations, shedding light on BPR's role in data collection and analysis to transform outdated business processes and prepare the organization for digital transformations. The article provides insights into how both approaches can interact to help organizations prepare for successful digital transformation. Common characteristics between BPR and digital transformation are discussed, including their orientation towards innovation and the use of advanced technologies to optimize business processes. The authors emphasize the need for careful preparation and the management of the digital transformation process as a critical strategic initiative for organizations striving for innovation and competitive advantage.

Information Systems (IS) are mostly built on three major concerns: data, security and business processes. Dealing with the correctness of these concerns makes the IS more efficient, which is of a great importance for organizations, given the impact their IS can have on their productivity. However, these concerns are often defined by different stakeholders leading to several inconsistencies between the resulting artifacts. This paper outlines our model driven approach to align and formally analyze in a decoupled way the Unified Modeling Language (UML) for data modeling, Role-based Access Control (RBAC) for security policies definition and the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) for process modeling. Several works addressed the integration of BPMN and UML or BPMN and Security, but none of them tried to make the bridge between the three concerns in a unified framework in order to formally establish their consistency. In this ongoing work we propose two kinds of formal analysis: the static analysis that deals with the structural properties of the three concerns, and the dynamic analysis, which is intended to apply the B method and underlying formal reasoning tools in order to animate processes and formally check their feasibility regarding data and security.

The chapter defines business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) from a few perspectives to make clear what it is, what it is not, and what it should be. Essentially, the classic definitions provided by Hammer and Champy, as well as Davenport, are used. The common themes encountered in re-engineered business processes are also mentioned, including the kinds of changes that occur when a company re-engineers its business processes. In order to better explain the concepts of BPR, a business process is defined in fundamental terms and distinguished from a function or department (i.e. work unit). The basic types of business processes are described, and those that are mainly focused on by companies in implementing BPR are highlighted. In addition, a general description of the entire spectrum of business processes typical to organizations, comprising both core and support activities, is provided as an overview. Specifically, the core and support processes that apply to the construction industry are defined. In the next part, the enabling role of IT in BPR is explained in relation to how it is crucial to process innovation for e-business, as well as process integration for supply chain management in the new information (or knowledge) economy. In essence, it stresses that new information and communications technologies enable instant communication and networking, and facilitate timely data-sharing and exchange, leading to the transformation of traditional organizations into those that are highly information-based. Examples of e-business and supply chain management are provided, as well as two case studies of Internet-based construction process innovation. In particular, the design and construction process is examined to identify areas for developing process models. Focusing on achieving design and construction process integration over the life cycle of a project, the requirements for change in the construction industry are highlighted. The applications of 3D/4D models are cited as examples, showing the different areas where they can be applied to derive benefits. Building Information Models (BIM) are introduced in the later part of the chapter as an approach that enables dramatic process improvement and innovation. The key concepts of BIM are covered, including research insights into the scope of BIM use, barriers to BIM use, and effects from BIM use. Process improvements as a result of adopting BIM for the purpose of data integration, systems integration, or collaborative working are discussed in both contexts of intra- and inter-organizational use. Illustrations are provided for the three different purposes. Recent developments in BIM are reviewed to present the current state of BIM implementation in the construction industry. The chapter concludes with a summary of the main points covered on BPR.

E-business means an electronic business transaction among business entities using computer system, network and other resources. Interoperability is one of important characteristics at e-business, because it needs to cover heterogeneousness between different platforms or commerce environments. Business process (BP) which is one of e-business category, is a modeling technology to business transactions that are able to integrate transaction processing. It makes a scenario after modeling to business process. With the scenario, it may accomplish B2B transaction automatically. So, it is able to cope with a change as reusability is expanding from document-level to scenario-level. Also, it is possible to support business collaboration between trading partners (companies). To do modeling, in this paper, we use UN/CEFACT (United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business) UMM (UN/CEFACT modeling methodology) as methodology and work with 4 view of open-EDI (electronic data interchange) BOV (business operational view). An aim of BP modeling is to make transaction scenarios through BP modeling and to execute automatically B2B transaction via the scenarios. In the early commerce stage, the standardization of business document was important matter more than anything else. We extend reusability-level to business scenario and are able to dynamically cope with changes. In this paper, we consider logistics part as target business domain and do business modeling using worksheet and UML (Unified Modeling Language) diagram of UMM. The modeled scenario is managed as XML (extensible Markup Language) based on BPSS (business process specification schema). Also, it is able to integrate with implement infra, such as messaging service, repository, etc.

Too often e-government services are derived from “old style” intra- and inter-administration Business Processes without taking into account the potentiality of adopted technologies.In this paper we present our experience in Inter-organizational Business Processes modeling, analysis and reengineering in order to make them more effective and efficient. We used semi-formal notations to model three complex services. To do that we directly involved domain experts and civil servants. Thanks to the resulting models, we identified several pitfalls and opportunities for improvements. As a result we were able both to derive ameliorated versions for the analysed services, and to identify common “bad habits” in the specification, permitting to define a general quality framework for services improvement.KeywordsBusiness ProcessCivil ServantDomain ExpertPublic AdministrationFamily ReunionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

<p>Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is an essential tool before an information system project implementation. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects definitely require the standardization and fixation of business processes from customer order to shipment. Therefore, ERP implementations are well proven to be coupled with BPR, although the extend and timing of BPR with respect to ERP implementation differ. This study aims at analyzing the effects of BPR on ERP implementation success. Basing on two Turkish ERP implementations in pharmaceutical sector, a comparative study is performed. One of the ERP implementations took place after a BPR implementation, whereas the other implementation was without a prior BPR application. Both implementations have been realized with the same consultant team, the case with prior BPR implementation going live first. The results of the case study reveal that if business processes are not optimized and improved before an ERP implementation, ERP live system would face with disharmony problems of processes and processes automated by ERP. This suggests a definite precedence relationship between BPR and ERP applications</p>

Business process re‐engineering is a hot topic around management and information systems areas. However, the verdict of the new idea is not clear and reports of successful cases are not numerous. Analyses the definitions and characteristics of business process re‐engineering (BPR). Reports on a literature survey on the critical failure reasons and success factors. Recognizes that the lack of clear concepts and understanding of BPR definitions creates many problems and, therefore, compares the BPR effort with other improvement programmes such as automation, downsizing, total quality management (TQM) for a better understanding of BPR. Suggests a methodology which can be used as general guidelines for management and re‐engineers in performing BPR to enhance success for BPR efforts.