Augmenting and assisting model elicitation tasks with 3D virtual world context metadata

Abstract

Accurate process model elicitation continues to be a time consuming task, requiring skill on the part of the interviewer to process information from interviewees. Many errors occur in this stage that would be avoided by better activity recall, more consistent specification and greater engagement by interviewees. Situated cognition theory indicates that 3D representations of real work environments engage and prime viewer cognitive states. In this paper, we augment a previous process elicitation methodology with virtual world context metadata, drawn from a 3D simulation of the workplace. We present a conceptual and formal approach for representing this contextual metadata, integrated into a process similarity measure that provides hints for the business analyst to use in process modelling steps. Finally, we conclude with examples from two use cases to illustrate the potential abilities of this approach.