Visualizing Large Business Process Models - Challenges, Techniques, Applications

Ulm University

Invited Keynote at the 1st Int'l Workshop on Theory and Applications of Process Visualization;
Prof. Dr. Manfred Reichert, Tallinn, Estonia, September 3, 2012, 09:30 am

Large process models may comprise hundreds or thousands of process elements like activities, gateways, and data objects. Presenting such process models to users and enabling them to interact with these models constitute crucial tasks of any process-aware information systems (PAISs). Existing PAISs, however, neither provide adequate techniques for visualizing and abstracting process models nor for interacting with them. In particular, PAISs do not provide tailored process visualizations as needed in complex application environments. This keynote presents examples of large process models and discusses the challenges to be tackled when visualizing and abstracting such models. Further, it presents a comprehensive framework that allows for personalized process model visualizations, which can be tailored to the specific needs of different user groups.

First, process model complexity can be reduced by abstracting the models, i.e., by eliminating or aggregating process elements not relevant in the given context. Second, the appearance of process elements can be customized independent from the process modeling language used. Third, different kinds of visualization (e.g., process diagrams, process forms, textual process descriptions) are supported. Finally, it will be shown how such tailored visualizations of process models serve as basis for changing and evolving process models at a high level of abstraction.