Infering Process Model Definition Knowledge

Tolerating inconsistencies within process model instances or supporting unconstrained ad-hoc task nets not only has the benefit of increasing the flexibility with which development processes can be planned and mapped within the process management system. A further advantage results from the fact that these instances carry knowledge about processes that so far has not been modeled within the process model definition. Such deviations might disclose inadequacies in the process model definition, which should be removed. These inadequacies might be either incompletenesses or erroneous parts. Finding such inadequacies on the fly during planning and monitoring the actual development process is a comfortable approach for the process managers and modelers. It contrasts the predominant attempt to enforce consistency between process model definition and instance, which makes the revelation of inadequacies impossible.