Towards understanding process modeling - The case of the BPM academic initiative

Abstract

Business process models are typically graphs that communicate knowledge about the work performed in organizations. Collections of these models are gathered to analyze and improve the way an organization operates. From a research perspective, these collections tell about modeling styles, the relevance of modeling constructs, and common formal modeling mistakes. With this paper, we outline a research agenda for investigating the act of process modeling using models of the BPM Academic Initiative. This collection comprises 1903 models, the majority captured in BPMN. The models were created by students from various universities as part of their process modeling education. As such, the collection is particularly suited to investigate modeling practice since it is probably unique in terms of modeling heterogeneity. As a first step, we characterize EPC and BPMN models of the collection using established process model metrics. Further, we investigate the usage of language constructs for these models. Our findings largely confirm the results obtained in prior, smaller studies on modeling in a professional context. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.