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Despite its increasing success in organizations, traditional BPM embodies a top-down approach performed by a small group of experts, limiting process stakeholders to part-time information providers, hindering proactive contributions. In this paper, we argue that BPM can benefit from being complemented with a bottom-up and people-centric strategy, allowing for interventions by process stakeholders. However, this cannot be realized by turning ordinary users into BPM or modeling experts. Instead, there is a need to find appropriate means to engage these people into BPM, process development and modeling. In this paper, we present two explorative empirical studies exploring such means. As a result of analyzing these studies, we present five proposals towards the implementation of stakeholder involvement. Our work does not want to replace existing BPM procedures, but to complement them. Thus, it is a starting point for further research and as an opportunity to join forces with other researchers pursuing similar goals.
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RUHR-UNIVERSITÄT BOCHUM
Department Information- andTechnologymanagement
Integrating ordinary users into process management:Towards implementingbottom-up, people-centric BPM
Michael Prilla and Alexander Nolte
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
Towards bottom-up, people-centric BPM
Publishing:
Users (U) inform experts (E), who create and maintain models and roll processes out to users.
Top-Down: Focus on experts
U
BPM documents (models)
U
U
U
E
E
Current model of participation Target model
Collaboration:
Both users and experts proactively engage in process development and also become process consumers.
Bottom-up: Process Prosumer
People-centric: Active engagement / contribution to process design
U
BPM documents (models)
U
UU
E
U
U
U
U
E
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
Common belief: Active engagement needs• understanding of process modelling language• knowledge / experiences in process thinking• a facilitator / expert
Experiences from practice• Users understand (simple) models after short time• User actively refer to models in workshop• Potential in non-experts interacting with models
Research approach: Two exploratory studies• Interviews with experts on non-expert model usage• Non-expert model interaction applied
Non-expert modeling: Is that even possible?Theory, practice and our approach
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
A walk on the wild (user) sideStudy 1: Interviews with experts
• Six interviews with process modelling / BPM experts: 10+ years of practice
• Topics: usage of models, availability of models, model exchange, information provision during modelling, barriers and success factors of non-expert usage
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
A walk on the wild (user) sideStudy 1: Interviews with experts, results
Stakeholders are cut from the development cycle of processes after their information on the process has been captured once
“I usually do not discuss decisions with end users”
People want to use process models for communication, but cannot get hold of them
“I often think that the diagrams are not enough within reach. They kind of disappear in the depths of IT”
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
A walk on the wild (user) sideStudy 1: Interviews with experts, results
People would participate in process development, but cannot express themselves properly
“(…) we are always present when models are changed“
People would contribute to process development, but expert guidance and control discourage them from doing so
“[models] are usually regarded as my artifact”
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
Outcomes / Issues• (General) Ability to read and use models without
guidance / experts• Models are / would be used, but are not available• The role of BPM experts hinders stakeholder
engagement (to some extent)
Influences on further work• To what extent can non-expert modellers use models
without expert guidance?• How can non-expert users contribute to models / use
them without knowing a modelling language?
A walk on the wild (user) sideStudy 1: Interviews with experts, results
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
A walk on the wild (user) sideStudy 2: Non-expert specification of processes
Scenario Roles included Participants(1) Bug reporting and solving for software development
User (of the software),Developer
3 users of a tool, 3 developers
(2) Book ordering in a library User (of the library),Librarian
2 library users (researchers),2 librarians
• 5 pairs / workshops• Modelling experts as well as non-expert modellers• Facilitator as a guide• Video-Recording, Observer, Post-Workshop interviews
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
1. Contribute view on the process individually through an easy to use web-interface
Course of the study
Textual contributions are automatically transferred into elements of the modeling notation.
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
Course of the study
Direct interaction with the model through touch on an interactive large screen.
2. Sort individual views with respect to the process sequence3. Compare individual views and mark differences with respect
to content and sequence
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
People can think in processes
• No difference between experts and non-experts
• Almost no changes to the respective sequence after contribution (2 in total)
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
People can use models…... if they do not have to express themselves in modeling language
• Experts and non-experts contributed equally
• There was almost no difference in the value of the contributions (post analysis)
• Each participant contributed elements that the respective other did not think of“… I know that you are doing this, but I did not have it in mind …”
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
People can use models…… to analyze their work processes and reflect on them
• Discussing differences helped people to…– reflect on their own perspective– gaining insight into the respective other perspective“… I have not thought about what [you do] to be prepared for my orders …”
• People created a shared understanding“… ah, now I understand what you mean [pointing to an element] …”
• People could meet at eye level“… being able to create a compressed visualization of the own view made the following discussion much easier…”
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
Five proposals
1. Make models available– Availability through tools that users use during everyday work
2. Redefine roles in BPM– Users becoming active contributors– Experts becoming coordinators and model managers
3. Provide suitable interactions for non-modellers– Simple text interfaces, sequence manipulation through dragging, comments
4. Make models tools of everyday use– Encourage stakeholders to actively use models
5. Intertwine top-down and bottom-up strategies– Contributions by users cause BPM cycle to pause or reverse– Mixture between workshops and user involvement between workshops
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
Widening the scope of non-expert modelingCurrent prototypes: Meta-Modelling
People can find existing processes or process parts through tags and reuse them within their model.
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
Widening the scope of non-expert modelingCurrent prototypes: Model annotation
Users can easily comment on processes during their everyday work through a web editor.
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
Widening the scope of non-expert modelingCurrent prototypes: Automatic guidance
The system asks a set of predefined questions and guides the user through her/his process.
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
Widening the scope of non-expert modelingCurrent prototypes: Self-directed participatory modeling
Within a workshop the users may decide on which part of the process they want to focus and which activities they want to conduct.
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Integrating ordinary users into process management: Towards implementing bottom-up, people-centric BPM – Michael Prilla, Alexander Nolte
www.imtm-iaw.rub.de
Special issue on
Collaborative Usage and Development of Models
in the
International Journal of e-Collaboration
(out in winter 2012 / spring 2013)
Thanks!
