Empirical studies concerning the maintenance of BPMN diagrams: A systematic mapping study

Abstract

Business process models help understand the organizational process and the software that supports it. BPMN (Business Process Modeling and Notation) is the standard notation for business process modeling, and it is widely accepted in industry. BPMN models can elucidate the activities carried out by a software during its construction and maintenance. However, during the maintenance of the software that supports an organizational process, usually only the source code of the software undergoes modifications, even when inserting new features. The software design models, including the BPMN models, often become outdated over time and, in future maintenance, they will not help understand the business process in which the software is inserted and which the software aims to support. Such scenario highlights the importance of supporting the maintenance of BPMN models. However, what has been experimentally investigated regarding the maintenance of BPMN models? To answer this question, we performed a systematic mapping, which showed experimental studies, factors and technologies that influence the maintenance of BPMN models. These results present conclusions about the state of the art and gaps that can be explored in this field of research.