Ten years of visualization of business process models: A systematic literature review

Abstract Business process modeling is an essential task in business process management. Process models that are comprehensively understood by business stakeholders allow organizations to profit from this field. In this work, we report what is being investigated in the topic “visualization of business process models”, since visualization is known as improving perception and comprehension of structures and patterns in datasets. We performed a systematic literature review through which we selected and analyzed 46 papers from two points of view. Firstly, we observed the similarities between the papers regarding their main scope. From this observation we classified the papers into six categories: “Augmentation of existing elements”, “Creation of new elements”, “Exploration of the 3D space”, “Information visualization”, “Visual feedback concerning problems detected in process models” and “Perspectives”. The less explored categories and which could represent research challenges for further exploration are “Visual feedback” and “Information visualization”. Secondly, we analyzed the papers based on a well-known visualization analysis framework, which allowed us to obtain a high-level point of view of the proposals presented in the literature and could identify that few authors explore user interaction features in their works. Besides that, we also found that exactly half of the papers base their proposals on BPMN and present results from evaluation or validation. Since BPMN is an ISO standard and there are many tools based on BPMN, there should be more research intending to improve the knowledge around this topic. We expect that our results inspire researchers for further work aiming at bringing forward the field of business process model visualization, to have the advantages of information visualization helping the tasks of business process modeling and management.

[1]  Agnes Koschmider,et al.  Investigations on User Preferences of the Alignment of Process Activities, Objects and Roles , 2013, OTM Conferences.

[2]  Kai Petersen,et al.  Guidelines for conducting systematic mapping studies in software engineering: An update , 2015, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[3]  Jens Gulden,et al.  Business Process Models for Visually Navigating Process Execution Data , 2015, Business Process Management Workshops.

[4]  Hajo A. Reijers,et al.  Towards an Integrated Framework for Invigorating Process Models: A Research Agenda , 2015, Business Process Management Workshops.

[5]  Edward R. Tufte,et al.  Envisioning Information , 1990 .

[6]  Manfred Reichert,et al.  A flexible approach for abstracting and personalizing large business process models , 2013, SIAP.

[7]  Ross Brown,et al.  Storyboard augmentation of process model grammars for stakeholder communication , 2014, 2014 International Conference on Information Visualization Theory and Applications (IVAPP).

[8]  C. A. Petri Fundamentals of a Theory of Asynchronous Information Flow , 1962, IFIP Congress.

[9]  Barbara Re,et al.  Animating Multiple Instances in BPMN Collaborations: From Formal Semantics to Tool Support , 2018, BPM.

[10]  Homayun Motameni,et al.  Towards an extended BPMS prototype: Open challenges of BPM to flexible and robust orchestrate of uncertain processes , 2018, Comput. Stand. Interfaces.

[11]  Hajo A. Reijers,et al.  Toward Advanced Visualization Techniques for Conceptual Modeling , 2015, CAiSE Forum.

[12]  Omar Chiotti,et al.  A BPMN 2.0 Extension to Define the Resource Perspective of Business Process Models , 2011, CIbSE.

[13]  Wil M. P. van der Aalst,et al.  DECLARE: Full Support for Loosely-Structured Processes , 2007, 11th IEEE International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference (EDOC 2007).

[14]  W.M.P. van der Aalst,et al.  Business Process Management: A Comprehensive Survey , 2013 .

[15]  Wil M.P. van der Aalst,et al.  YAWL: yet another workflow language , 2005, Inf. Syst..

[16]  Bernd Page,et al.  A simulation tool for maintenance processes of offshore wind farms , 2013 .

[17]  Jan Mendling,et al.  Seven process modeling guidelines (7PMG) , 2010, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[18]  Abhishek Ranjan,et al.  An Empirical Study of Error Patterns in Industrial Business Process Models , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Services Computing.

[19]  Paolo Giorgini,et al.  Designing secure business processes with SecBPMN , 2015, Software & Systems Modeling.

[20]  Brenda Scholtz,et al.  Composite, Real-time Validation for Business Process Modelling , 2014, SAICSIT '14.

[21]  Agnes Koschmider,et al.  A Comprehensive Overview of Visual Design of Process Model Element Labels , 2015, Business Process Management Workshops.

[22]  Jan Mendling,et al.  Modularity in Process Models: Review and Effects , 2008, BPM.

[23]  Stefanie Rinderle-Ma,et al.  Business Process Visualization - Use Cases, Challenges, Solutions , 2006, ICEIS.

[24]  Wil M. P. van der Aalst,et al.  Visual Analytics for Soundness Verification of Process Models , 2017, Business Process Management Workshops.

[25]  Guido Wirtz,et al.  BPMN 2.0: The state of support and implementation , 2018, Future Gener. Comput. Syst..

[26]  Mathias Weske,et al.  Visualization of Compliance Violation in Business Process Models , 2009, Business Process Management Workshops.

[27]  Marjan Hericko,et al.  Improving cognitive effectiveness of business process diagrams with opacity-driven graphical highlights , 2017, Decis. Support Syst..

[28]  Mark Strembeck,et al.  An Experimental Study on the Design and Modeling of Security Concepts in Business Processes , 2013, PoEM.

[29]  Agnes Koschmider,et al.  Visualising Process Model Hierarchies , 2013, ECIS.

[30]  Michael Hammer,et al.  What is Business Process Management? , 2015, Handbook on Business Process Management.

[31]  Jan Mendling,et al.  Realtime detection and coloring of matching operator nodes in workflow nets , 2009 .

[32]  Manuel Götz,et al.  Perspective Oriented Business Process Visualization , 2007, Business Process Management Workshops.

[33]  Monique Snoeck,et al.  A systematic literature review of studies on business process modeling quality , 2015, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[34]  Manfred Reichert,et al.  Enabling a User-Friendly Visualization of Business Process Models , 2014, Business Process Management Workshops.

[35]  Shazia Wasim Sadiq,et al.  Modeling Control Objectives for Business Process Compliance , 2007, BPM.

[36]  Stefanie Rinderle-Ma,et al.  A Visualization Approach for Difference Analysis of Process Models and Instance Traffic , 2013, BPM.

[37]  Kendall Scott,et al.  UML distilled - a brief guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language (2. ed.) , 2000, notThenot Addison-Wesley object technology series.

[38]  Isabel M. Ramos,et al.  A survey on business processes management suites , 2017, Comput. Stand. Interfaces.

[39]  Hajo A. Reijers,et al.  The Dynamic Visualization of Business Process Models: A Prototype and Evaluation , 2016, Business Process Management Workshops.

[40]  Christine Bauer,et al.  uBPMN: A BPMN extension for modeling ubiquitous business processes , 2016, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[41]  Alexandre Bergel,et al.  A Tool for Assessing Quality of Rescue Plans by Combining Visualizations of Different Business Process Perspectives , 2015, ISCRAM-med.

[42]  Jan Mendling,et al.  Managing Process Model Complexity via Concrete Syntax Modifications , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics.

[43]  Cesare Pautasso,et al.  BPMeter: Web Service and Application for Static Analysis of BPMN 2.0 Collections , 2015, BPM.

[44]  Juan M. Santos-Gago,et al.  Extending BPMN Model for Improving Expressiveness and Machine-Understandability , 2016, WorldCIST.

[45]  Stephan Philippi,et al.  Communication support for systems engineering - process modelling and animation with APRIL , 2007, J. Syst. Softw..

[46]  Pearl Brereton,et al.  Performing systematic literature reviews in software engineering , 2006, ICSE.

[47]  Jörg Becker,et al.  Guidelines of Business Process Modeling , 2000, Business Process Management.

[48]  Dirk Fahland,et al.  A Visualization of Human Physical Risks in Manufacturing Processes Using BPMN , 2017, Business Process Management Workshops.

[49]  Ross Brown,et al.  Virtual Worlds as a Model-View Approach to the Communication of Business Processes Models , 2012, CAiSE Forum.

[50]  Carsten Cordes,et al.  A Generic Approach for Calculating and Visualizing Differences Between Process Models in Multidimensional Process Mining , 2014, Business Process Management Workshops.

[51]  Sonja Kabicher,et al.  Visual Change Tracking for Business Process Models , 2011, ER.

[52]  Peter Rittgen Quality and perceived usefulness of process models , 2010, SAC '10.

[53]  Marcelo Fantinato,et al.  An Interface Prototype Proposal to a Semiautomatic Process Model Verification Method Based on Process Modeling Guidelines , 2017, ICEIS.

[54]  Mathias Weske,et al.  Business Process Management: Concepts, Languages, Architectures , 2007 .

[55]  Ahmed Awad,et al.  Visual suggestions for improvements in business process diagrams , 2011, J. Vis. Lang. Comput..

[56]  Moe Thandar Wynn,et al.  Process Visualization Techniques for Multi-perspective Process Comparisons , 2015, AP-BPM.

[57]  Jan Mendling,et al.  Managing Process Model Complexity Via Abstract Syntax Modifications , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics.

[58]  Andrzej Kobyliński,et al.  Perspectives in Business Informatics Research , 2013, Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing.

[59]  Andrea Polini,et al.  A Guidelines framework for understandable BPMN models , 2017, Data Knowl. Eng..

[60]  Stefanie Rinderle-Ma,et al.  A Study of Different Visualizations for Visualizing Differences in Process Models , 2015, ER Workshops.

[61]  Sonja Kabicher,et al.  Timeline Visualization for Documenting Process Model Change , 2012, EMISA.

[62]  Stefanie Rinderle-Ma,et al.  A Visualization Concept for High-Level Comparison of Process Model Versions , 2012, Business Process Management Workshops.

[63]  Manfred Reichert,et al.  Navigating in Process Model Collections: A New Approach Inspired by Google Earth , 2011, Business Process Management Workshops.

[64]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Readings in information visualization - using vision to think , 1999 .

[65]  Roy Oberhauser,et al.  VR-BPMN: Visualizing BPMN Models in Virtual Reality , 2018, BMSD.

[66]  Tamara Munzner,et al.  Visualization Analysis and Design , 2014, A.K. Peters visualization series.

[67]  Jan Mendling,et al.  Syntax highlighting in business process models , 2011, Decis. Support Syst..

[68]  Bhakti S. S. Onggo,et al.  Agent-based conceptual model representation using BPMN , 2011, Proceedings of the 2011 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC).

[69]  Kerstin Thurow,et al.  Visual Simulation for the BPM-Based Process Automation , 2013, BIR.

[70]  Jan Mendling,et al.  Enhancing understandability of process models through cultural-dependent color adjustments , 2016, Decis. Support Syst..

[71]  Markus Nüttgens,et al.  Towards Automated Financial Process Auditing: Aggregation and Visualization of Process Models , 2011, EMISA.

[72]  Philip Effinger,et al.  Lifting business process diagrams to 2.5 dimensions , 2010, Electronic Imaging.

[73]  Elke Pulvermüller,et al.  Visualization of Checking Results for Graphical Validation Rules , 2015, SoMeT.

[74]  Jan Mendling,et al.  Learning from Quality Issues of BPMN Models from Industry , 2016, IEEE Software.

[75]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  The eyes have it: a task by data type taxonomy for information visualizations , 1996, Proceedings 1996 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages.

[76]  Manfred Reichert,et al.  Visualizing Large Business Process Models: Challenges, Techniques, Applications , 2012, Business Process Management Workshops.

[77]  Onur Demirörs,et al.  Factors influencing the understandability of process models: A systematic literature review , 2018, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[78]  Manfred Reichert,et al.  Navigating in process model repositories and enterprise process information , 2014, 2014 IEEE Eighth International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS).

[79]  Stefanie Rinderle-Ma,et al.  Change Visualizations in Business Processes - Requirements Analysis , 2012, GRAPP/IVAPP.

[80]  Volker Gruhn,et al.  Measuring and visualising the quality of models , 2013, 2013 IEEE 1st International Workshop on Communicating Business Process and Software Models Quality, Understandability, and Maintainability (CPSM).