A Conceptual Business Process Entity with Lifecycle and Compliance Alignment

This paper proposes a conceptual model that incorporates: (a) a business process entity, (b) a business process lifecycle aligned with the proposed entity, and (c) a compliance framework that focuses on the degree of process compliance to imposed regulatory standards. The pursuing objective is to systematize business processes through a conceptual entity applicable to Business Process Management (BPM) practices and compliance-checking. The applied methodology involves the review, interpretation and comparison of business process definitions, structural elements and their interrelations, acknowledged BPM lifecycles and compliance rules. The initial findings lead to the proposal of a contextual business process structure that sets the boundaries of business process as a clearly defined entity. The business process entity encompasses continuous modification of its design based on the feedback it generates. Additionally, a comparative analysis of prominent BPM lifecycles resulted in a proposed ‘business process lifecycle’ that allows for a better alignment of the included cycle steps. The proposed business process entity is also related with process compliance practices to produce compliance-aware business processes. The introduced conceptual model can assist professionals in apprehending core business process features, focusing on process flexibility and redesign. It can also serve as a preliminary prototype for checking the degree of compliance between a business process and the applicable compliance rules.