The ontological deficiencies of process modeling in practice

, Indulska, Marta, , & (2010) The ontological deficiencies of process modeling in practice. European Journal of Information Systems, 19(5), pp. 501-525.

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Description

Business process modeling is widely regarded as one of the most popular forms of conceptual modeling. However, little is known about the capabilities and deficiencies of process modeling grammars and how existing deficiencies impact actual process modeling practice. This paper is a first contribution towards a theory-driven, exploratory empirical investigation of the ontological deficiencies of process modeling with the industry standard Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). We perform an analysis of BPMN using a theory of ontological expressiveness. Through a series of semi-structured interviews with BPMN adopters we explore empirically the actual use of this grammar. Nine ontological deficiencies related to the practice of modeling with BPMN are identified, for example, the capture of business rules and the specification of process decompositions. We also uncover five contextual factors that impact on the use of process modeling grammars, such as tool support and modeling conventions. We discuss implications for research and practice, highlighting the need for consideration of representational issues and contextual factors in decisions relating to BPMN adoption in organizations.

Impact and interest:

66 citations in Scopus
42 citations in Web of Science®
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ID Code: 37582
Item Type: Contribution to Journal (Journal Article)
Refereed: Yes
ORCID iD:
Recker, Janorcid.org/0000-0002-2072-5792
Rosemann, Michaelorcid.org/0000-0003-3303-2896
Green, Peterorcid.org/0000-0002-5701-0168
Measurements or Duration: 25 pages
Keywords: BPMN, Ontology, Process Modeling, Usage Behavior
DOI: 10.1057/ejis.2010.38
ISSN: 0960-085X
Pure ID: 32213291
Divisions: Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Faculty of Science and Technology
Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Science & Engineering Faculty
Current > Research Centres > Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation
Copyright Owner: Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters
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Deposited On: 29 Sep 2010 01:39
Last Modified: 15 Apr 2024 11:00