Comparative Analysis of Contemporary Modeling Languages Based on BPM4KI Meta-Model for Sensitive Business Processes Representation

Abstract

This article presents a set of Sensitive Business Process (SBP) modeling requirements and proposes a multi-criteria evaluation framework to appraise the expressiveness of currently widely used business process modelling formalisms to select the most suitable for SBP representation. The modelling of SBPs, be they process oriented or knowledge oriented, presents special requirements dictated by several factors: the highly dynamic complexity and flexibility of the processes; the high number of critical activities requiring intensive acquisition, sharing, storage and (re)use of very specific crucial knowledge; the specificity and diversity of information and knowledge sources; and the high degree of collaboration and interaction (intra/inter-organizational) among participants (who apply, create and share a great amount of very important tacit organizational knowledge, in order to achieve collective objectives and create value). As SBP models get more complex, the selection of the appropriate modeling formalism gains in importance to improve the identification of crucial knowledge that is mobilized and created by these processes. Furthermore, the result of the evaluation led us to justify the choice of the better one positioned nowadays, the standard BPMN 2.0. Besides, the authors have illustrated the practical applicability of this specification on a medical process in the context of the organization of protection of the motor disabled people of Sfax-Tunisia.

Conceptual analysis of sensitive business processes

“…Thus, their degree of contribution to the achievement of organizational objectives is very important. Likewise, their duration of use is long (Ben Hassen et al ., 2017b, 2018). In addition to crucial knowledge, an SBP mobilizes and produces different types of knowledge (e.g.…”

“…Thus, there are no scientific approaches and formal models to characterize, specify and model this type of process. These various shortcomings obviously lead to the development of incomplete, ambiguous and incomprehensible SBP models (Ben Hassen et al ., 2017a, 2018).…”

“…Few definitions have been proposed in the literature for the concept of sensitive business process (Grundstein, 2009; Turki et al ., 2016; Ben Hassen et al ., 2017a, 2018).…”

“…This type of process can be semi-structured, structured or unstructured, possessing a high degree of complexity, flexibility and dynamism. Besides, its contribution to reach strategic objectives of the organization and its realization duration are very important” (Ben Hassen et al ., 2018, 2019). In the following, we present the main characteristics of SBP, which differentiate them from structured and conventional BP.…”

“…Table 1). Taking into account, on the one hand, the recurring elements in the definitions proposed in the literature review (Grundstein, 2009; Saad et al ., 2009; Turki et al ., 2016), and on the other hand, the emergence of new forms of modern organizations, we derived seven key characteristics representative of the concept of SBP (Ben Hassen et al ., 2017a, b, d, 2018). A BP is qualified as « sensitive », if it meets the following characteristics: C1- An SBP is a knowledge-intensive BP (knowledge-centered).…”