Business processes can be modeled using a plethora of different representations. In general, two process management paradigms have emerged: activity-centric process management and data-centric process management. The former focuses on the order in which activities are executed, whereas the latter deals with the data required during a process.
However, both representations of the same process describe the same procedure, but from a different perspective.
Consequently, choosing the most suitable perspective represents a crucial task in the context of process management, as incorrect choices may result in costly restructuring of the entire infrastructure. As a result, a transformation between process models from different paradigms yields promising potential for both enterprises and research.
For enterprises, process management may become more efficient and profitable, whereas research may tackle interesting problems regarding the correct representation in different paradigms.
This thesis introduces a conceptual framework proving the feasibility for transforming data-centric business process models into corresponding activity-centric representations. One insight from this thesis is, that both paradigms are compatible with each other such that transformations between them are possible. In particular, this thesis considers object-aware process management for the data-centric paradigm due to its fine-grained specification as well as the tight integration of processes and data. In turn, Business Process Model and Notation 2.0 (BPMN) is considered for the activity-centric paradigm, due to its high popularity in both science and industry. Furthermore, the concepts of the framework are evaluated through a prototypical implementation. In addition, the prototype proves the technical feasibility of such transformation and therefore, its potential integration into existing BPM systems.
Overall, a framework for transforming object-aware business processes into BPMN aims towards generating new insights into the compatibility of the two paradigms. This thesis considers research in this area as fundamental to enable a more flexible and effective way of modeling business processes.