VIVACE: A framework for the systematic evaluation of variability support in process-aware information systems

ContextThe increasing adoption of process-aware information systems (PAISs) such as workflow management systems, enterprise resource planning systems, or case management systems, together with the high variability in business processes (e.g., sales processes may vary depending on the respective products and countries), has resulted in large industrial process model repositories. To cope with this business process variability, the proper management of process variants along the entire process lifecycle becomes crucial.ObjectiveThe goal of this paper is to develop a fundamental understanding of business process variability. In particular, the paper will provide a framework for assessing and comparing process variability approaches and the support they provide for the different phases of the business process lifecycle (i.e., process analysis and design, configuration, enactment, diagnosis, and evolution).MethodWe conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) in order to discover how process variability is supported by existing approaches.ResultsThe SLR resulted in 63 primary studies which were deeply analyzed. Based on this analysis, we derived the VIVACE framework. VIVACE allows assessing the expressiveness of a process modeling language regarding the explicit specification of process variability. Furthermore, the support provided by a process-aware information system to properly deal with process model variants can be assessed with VIVACE as well.ConclusionsVIVACE provides an empirically-grounded framework for process engineers that enables them to evaluate existing process variability approaches as well as to select that variability approach meeting their requirements best. Finally, it helps process engineers in implementing PAISs supporting process variability along the entire process lifecycle.     

A distributed server architecture supporting dynamic resource provisioning for BPM-oriented workflow management systems

Workflow management systems have been widely used in many business process management (BPM) applications. There are also a lot of companies offering commercial software solutions for BPM. However, most of them adopt a simple client/server architecture with one single centralized workflow-management server only. As the number of incoming workflow requests increases, the single workflow-management server might become the performance bottleneck, leading to unacceptable response time. Development of parallel servers might be a possible solution. However, a parallel server architecture with a fixed-number of servers cannot efficiently utilize computing resources under time-varying system workloads. This paper presents a distributed workflow-management server architecture which adopts dynamic resource provisioning mechanisms to deal with the probable performance bottleneck. We implemented a prototype system of the proposed architecture based on a commercial workflow management system, Agentflow. A series of experiments were conducted on the prototype system for performance evaluation. The experimental results indicate that the proposed architecture can deliver scalable performance and effectively maintain stable request response time under a wide range of incoming workflow request workloads.     

A new perspective on the dynamics of information technology-enabled strategic change

This paper explores the dynamic nature of information technology (IT)-enabled strategic change by using empirical evidence from a variety of organizational contexts. The pilot research described here uses the MIT 1990s framework (Scott-Morton, 1991) as the underpinning theory to challenge the dominant approach to the management of strategic change. The preliminary findings provide new insights into how strategic change is pursued and offer a new perspective from which the propositions suggested by Scott-Morton (1991) and Yetton et al. (1994) can be reformulated. Four change patterns (archetypes) are identified that describe planned or emergent modes of change, driven by different change elements under various circumstances. These findings lead to a redesign of the M/T 1990s framework and suggest new ways of understanding how strategic change can be sustained. Further research is required to explore the link between the archetypes identified and the various methods of change.     

基于WEB的工作流系统研究与实现

企业经营规模的不断扩大使得传统工作流系统不能适应企业分布式经营的需求,但却促进了基于WEB的工作流系统技术的发展,在此基础上提出了基于.NET3.0的WEB工作流系统,分析了工作流技术的工作原理,给出了工作流元素的相关定义,并在此基础上设计了系统的架构,最后实现了一个企业业务流程的实例。     

Investigating the effort of using business process management technology: Results from a controlled experiment

Business Process Management (BPM) technology has become an important instrument for supporting complex coordination scenarios and for improving business process performance. When considering its use, however, enterprises typically have to rely on vendor promises or qualitative reports. What is still missing and what is demanded by IT decision makers are quantitative evaluations based on empirical and experimental research. This paper picks up this demand and illustrates how experimental research can be applied to technologies enabling enterprises to coordinate their business processes and to associate them with related artifacts and resources. The conducted experiment compares the effort for implementing and maintaining a sample business process either based on standard workflow technology or on a case handling system. We motivate and describe the experimental design, discuss threats for the validity of our experimental results (as well as risk mitigations), and present the results of our experiment. In general, more experimental research is needed in order to obtain valid data on the various aspects and effects of BPM technology and BPM tools.     

Reinforcement learning based resource allocation in business process management

Efficient resource allocation is a complex and dynamic task in business process management. Although a wide variety of mechanisms are emerging to support resource allocation in business process execution, these approaches do not consider performance optimization. This paper introduces a mechanism in which the resource allocation optimization problem is modeled as Markov decision processes and solved using reinforcement learning. The proposed mechanism observes its environment to learn appropriate policies which optimize resource allocation in business process execution. The experimental results indicate that the proposed approach outperforms well known heuristic or hand-coded strategies, and may improve the current state of business process management.     

Internet-based information systems use in organizations: an information studies perspective

Abstract. This case study investigates various ways in which different internet-based information systems (IS) are used by organizational participants. Borrowing theoretical insights on information behaviour accumulated over 50 years of information studies research, a conceptual framework is presented to help understand and assess the social and organizational impacts of internet-based IS. The framework describes the use of internet-based IS as a dynamic cycle of information needs–seeking–use activity situated in the context of a firm's information environment. Research questions pertain to the process of how individuals in organizations seek and use information from internet-based IS to satisfy information needs. In terms of information needs, this involves understanding the problem situations that lead participants to use internet-based IS, as well as the characteristics of those problems beyond subject matter. With respect to information seeking, this involves analysing how information from internet-based systems is displayed and formatted to signal their potential usefulness. In terms of information use, this involves how information obtained from internet-based systems is used in practice to resolve or redefine problems. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used. Data collection involves web tracking to identify significant episodes of internet-based IS activity, as well as one-on-one interviews to explore the context behind these episodes. Results suggest that it is possible and valuable to identify scenarios of internet-based IS use dominant in an organizational work setting. Doing so can help to identify ways to improve the situated use of internet-based IS that ameliorate the information needs–seeking–use cycle in firms.     

A knowledge-focused perspective on the diffusion and adoption of complex information technologies: the BPR example

This paper presents a knowledge‐focused perspective for the development of a model to explain the diffusion and adoption of complex integrating technologies. Business process re‐engineering (BPR) is used as the example to illustrate the model. However, while BPR is used to illustrate our argument, the model that is developed is relevant to understanding the innovation processes surrounding any complex IT‐based innovation. It is argued that the strength of this diffusion model is that it focuses not on the spread of particular technological artifacts (whether it is BPR or any other IT‐based innovation), but on the spread of the ideas and knowledge underpinning the technology. In particular, the model draws attention to the ways in which technology suppliers commodify knowledge and present ‘packaged’ solutions. This creates problems for potential users who need to unpack this knowledge and integrate it with existing organizational knowledge. The diffusion and adoption of innovations is thus seen as a process of integrating knowledge across disparate communities. Such knowledge integration, however, is difficult. This can help to explain the apparent contradiction between the limited success rate of BPR and its widespread diffusion among western firms.     

Algorithms for anomaly detection of traces in logs of process aware information systems

This paper discusses four algorithms for detecting anomalies in logs of process aware systems. One of the algorithms only marks as potential anomalies traces that are infrequent in the log. The other three algorithms: threshold, iterative and sampling are based on mining a process model from the log, or a subset of it. The algorithms were evaluated on a set of 1500 artificial logs, with different profiles on the number of anomalous traces and the number of times each anomalous traces was present in the log. The sampling algorithm proved to be the most effective solution. We also applied the algorithm to a real log, and compared the resulting detected anomalous traces with the ones detected by a different procedure that relies on manual choices.     

工作流管理的现状和未来趋势

工作流管理是一个新兴的研究领域,被誉为信息系统的后勤,它让合适的人或软件在恰当的时间执行正确的工作,使计算机上的业务处理流程自动化。本文用历史的观点对工作流管理的发展历程进行了回顾,揭示了工作流管理对未来信息系统的影响。根据分析当前的工作流管理系统,我们总结了两个主要不足之处;（1）工作流管理系统的定义不明确以及缺乏统一的概念模型,（2）工作流管理系统的系统结构和能力上的不足,并对工作流管理的未来发展趋势从建模和实施两个方面进行了预测。     

BPMN 2.0过程模型的语义和分析

BPMN 2.0已成为了建模业务过程事实上的标准。BPMN 2.0过程模型中建模元素的混用会产生控制流方面的语义错误。首先,建立了BPMN 2.0过程模型到工作流网的映射,并使用Petri网来形式定义过程模型的语义;其次,借助Petri网的分析技术,使用这种定义的语义对BPMN 2.0过程模型进行了合理性分析。实验结果表明,这种形式化可以识别BPMN 2.0过程模型中的语义错误。     

Modeling and execution of event stream processing in business processes

The Internet of Things and Cyber-physical Systems provide enormous amounts of real-time data in the form of streams of events. Businesses can benefit from the integration of these real-world data; new services can be provided to customers, or existing business processes can be improved. Events are a well-known concept in business processes. However, there is no appropriate abstraction mechanism to encapsulate event stream processing in units that represent business functions in a coherent manner across the process modeling, process execution, and IT infrastructure layer. In this paper we present Event Stream Processing Units (SPUs) as such an abstraction mechanism. SPUs encapsulate application logic for event stream processing and enable a seamless transition between process models, executable process representations, and components at the IT layer. We derive requirements for SPUs and introduce EPC and BPMN extensions to model SPUs at the abstract and at the technical process layer. We introduce a transformation from SPUs in EPCs to SPUs in BPMN and implement our modeling notation extensions in Software AG ARIS. We present a runtime infrastructure that executes SPUs and supports implicit invocation and completion semantics. We illustrate our approach using a logistics process as running example.     

Learning failure in information systems development

Abstract. Abstract. Information systems development is a high-risk undertaking, and failures remain common despite advances in development tools and technologies. In this paper, we argue that one reason for this is the collapse of organizational intelligence required to deal with the complexities of systems development. Organizations fail to learn from their experience in systems development because of limits of organizational intelligence, disincentives for learning, organizational designs and educational barriers. Not only have many organizations failed to learn, but they have also learned to fail. Over time they accept and expect poor performance while creating organizational myths that perpetuate short-term optimization. This paper illustrates learning failure in systems development and recommends tactics for overcoming it.     

Integration issues elucidated in large-scale information systems development

This article explores some basic issues in system integration by examining the integration process with information systems. The article begins with a discussion of the domain of interest. Terms are defined, the software process is reviewed, and two system categories are established. It is shown that software is materially different from hardware. Moreover, these differences present opportunities for reducing the integration effort. Several methods that take advantage of software's special characteristics are identified, and a case study of one environment provides some empirical evidence that reveal the benefits that may follow. The article concludes with some observations regarding the transfer of the lessons learned with information systems to other application domains-both hardware and software.This work was supported in part by the U.S. Navy, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) under contract N00039-89-C-001, task VMAR9 with the Office of Naval Research (ONR).     

Social interactions of information systems development teams: a performance perspective

We report results from a longitudinal study of information systems development (ISD) teams. We use data drawn from 60 ISD teams at 22 sites of 15 Fortune 500 organizations to explore variations in performance relative to these teams' social interactions. To do this, we characterize ISD as a form of new product development and focus on team-level social interactions with external stakeholders. Drawing on cluster analysis, we identify five patterns of team-level social interactions and the relationships of these patterns to a suite of objective and subjective measures of ISD performance. Analysis leads us to report three findings. First, data indicate that no one of the five identified patterns maximizes all performance measures. Second, data make clear that the most common approach to ISD is the least effective relative to our suite of performance measures. Third, data from this study show that early indications of ISD project success do not predict actual outcomes. These findings suggest two issues for research and practice. First, these findings indicate that varying patterns of social interactions lead to differences in ISD team performance. Second, the findings illustrate that singular measures of ISD performance are an oversimplification and that multiple measures of ISD performance are unlikely to agree.     

信息系统开发中的知识转移研究综述

知识管理已经成为信息系统领域的研究热点,其中一个重点就是知识转移。论文对信息系统开发过程中知识转移研究文献从因素研究、开发方法、外包、动态知识流、知识分离与集成等方面进行了综述,分析了该领域的研究现状、存在的问题。未来应从知识管理的视角研究ISD开发过程,把需求分析等活动上升到知识分析的高度,使知识管理研究贯穿信息系统的整个生命周期中,及时全面地发现用户深层次的需求,为开发过程改进提供理论基础。     

商务信息系统的群件解决方案

以一个商务信息系统为实例，探讨了群件系统方案的工作流实现机制与联机事务处理等技术问题，以及Ｎｏｔｅｓ广域联网环境和Ｖｅｂ服务在商务信息系统中的集成应用。     

基于网络信息资源共享的软件开发方法研究与应用*

从20世纪60年代引入软件工程以来,出现了多种封闭的软件开发方法。提出了区别于传统软件开发方法的一种新方法,即基于网络信息资源共享的软件开发方法。该方法从分析现有的信息资源入手,逐步构建了所需系统,再将实施过程中产生的信息资源添加到共享平台中,作为以后系统构建的基础。该方法已经应用在北京市西城区政务信息共享交换平台的建设中,实践证明其具有良好的应用价值。     

A motivational approach to information providing: A resource exchange perspective

Although the use of information resources is a competitive advantage for many firms, empirical research on individuals’ motivations for information providing is complex. We therefore assess both intrapersonal and interpersonal motivations and relevant work conditions that moderate the effects of motivation on information providing. The results of this study of employees from 51 firms in Korea show that altruistic traits, social rewards, and reciprocity all positively influence willingness to provide information. These effects are moderated by individuals’ tenure in the organization. The results of this study help shed light on intrapersonal motivations and the dynamic role of interpersonal motivations in information providing.