Combining Data Envelopment Analysis and Business Process Simulation for Analyzing the Efficiency of Business Processes

A well grounded understanding of process efficiency is essential for the sustainable success of organizations. This paper presents a novel method for analyzing the efficiency of business processes. It combines Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Business Process Simulation (BPS) on process level. DEA is used to measure the efficiency of a process while BPS analyzes potential changes leading to a better efficiency. The combination of DEA and BPS is a promising approach for analyzing the structure of process (in-)efficiency. The methodology is presented by a numerical example dealing with a loan application process. The results show that it is a powerful methodology to assess process efficiency improvements. However, it is limited by the general disadvantages of a DEA and the assumptions required for conducting a business process simulation.

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