Evellin C. S. Cardoso

Requirements engineering based on business process models: A case study

This paper reports a study in which business process modelling was regarded as a useful tool for requirements engineering. We have used business process models as a starting point to derive alternative sets of requirements for a process-oriented system. These alternative sets capture different decisions regarding the intended “level of automation” for the various activities in a business process. The approach is demonstrated in a case study which consists of the development of a real system to manage processes in a Human Resources (HR) Department of a large organization. We use a requirements specification that was previously obtained through what we characterize as a “conventional” requirements engineering technique and we compare it with the requirements specifications derived from the business process model. We discuss the impact of the use of business process models in the completeness, correctness, consistency and traceability of requirements in the case study.

Eliciting Goals for Business Process Models with Non-Functional Requirements Catalogues

While traditional approaches in business process modelling tend to focus on “how” the business processes are performed (adopting a behavioural description in which business processes are described in terms of procedural aspects), in goal-oriented business process modelling [23][24][6], the proposals strive to extend traditional business process methodologies by providing a dimension of intentionality to the business processes. One of the difficulties in enabling goal-oriented business process modelling is the identification of goals. This paper reports on a study conducted in an organization in which we have obtained several goal models which were represented in Tropos methodology, each one corresponding to a business process also modelled in the scope of the study. A preliminary goal elicitation activity has been carried out for collecting an initial version of the goal models. After that, we have obtained a second version of the goal models by using the NFR catalogues as a tool in goal elicitation. We have found the NFR catalogues to be useful in goal elicitation, uncovering goals that did not arise during previous interviews.

On the Support for the Goal Domain in Enterprise Modelling Approaches

This paper reviews the support for the goal domain in several enterprise modelling approaches and enterprise architecture frameworks, namely, ARIS, ISO RM-ODP Enterprise Language, DoDAF, MODAF, BPMN/BMM, ArchiMate and its ARMOR extension. We describe how these efforts propose to align goals with the remaining elements in enterprise architectures (with special attention to the alignment of goals and business processes). Our aims are twofold: (i) to provide an integrated overview of the support for goal-related concepts in existing enterprise modelling approaches of and, (ii) provide guidance for the selection of the frameworks with respect to the support for goal-related concepts.

Aligning goal analysis and business process modelling: a case study in healthcare

This paper discusses the integration of goal analysis and business process modelling by using, respectively, Tropos and ARIS for each of these activities. The main benefit of the approach relates to traceability between goal models and business process models. The approach is exemplified with a case study in a healthcare organisation. We have observed that establishing the relations between goal and business process models is far from straightforward. This can be accounted by the fact that goals may be formulated in various levels of abstraction and precision and further, that goals may refer to various aspects of an organisation and its processes. Our approach for alignment is based on harmonising goal models such that they can be subsequently aligned with business process models. We propose a goal taxonomy to harmonise the goal domain and report on the implications of this classification in establishing the relationships with business processes.

On the Goal Domain in the RM-ODP Enterprise Language: An Initial Appraisal Based on a Foundational Ontology

The “goal domain” addresses objectives in a broad scope ranging from high-level statements expressing the vision and mission of an organization (or community) to declarations of the results that must be achieved by business process execution. This paper reviews the support for the goal domain in ISO RM-ODP. We analyze the conceptualization for goals (objectives) in the reference model’s Enterprise Viewpoint using a fragment of the Unified Foundational Ontology (UFO) that deals with some aspects of social reality and intentionality. The interpretation of the RM-ODP concepts in terms of this foundation may help to provide a sound underpinning for these concepts and support the identification of possible extensions of the reference model.

Analysing the relations between strategic and operational aspects of an enterprise: towards an ontology-based approach

In this paper, we work towards an approach to establish a connection between the goal domain and the enterprise architecture elements that are responsible for the satisfaction of goals in an enterprise. We observe this connection is far from trivial, requiring us to consider the semantics of goals, the semantics of many other enterprise elements as well as the nature of the relation between goals and these other enterprise elements. This challenge is here addressed by considering several ontological accounts for the enterprise discussed in the literature. Since no single ontological account of the enterprise covers the range of phenomena to analyse the alignment of strategic and operational aspects of the enterprise, we have conducted a survey of enterprise ontology approaches. The semantic layer established through the survey is used in the analysis of the relations between strategic and operational aspects of a healthcare organisation in a case study we have conducted. The case study illustrates how ontological theories in the established literature may support enterprise architecture analysis, in particular, facilitating the alignment between the goals and the operational elements of an organisation (such as processes, roles, and resources).

On the elements of an enterprise: towards an ontology-based account

In this paper, we work towards a broad semantic foundation that can be used to interpret enterprise models. We review several definitions of the elements of an enterprise, considering approaches in literature that describe the elements of organizations using systematic ontology-based accounts. We address a number of concepts including that of organization, agents, roles, goals, actions/plans, interactions, delegations and norms/rules. We argue that enterprise modeling covers a broad scope of the social domain which is currently not addressed by a single organizational ontology. Therefore, this deficiency led us to survey several ontologies with the aim of providing a thorough account for a real organization. Our aim is to lay down the first step towards a common basis for the study of enterprise modeling languages and enterprise modeling frameworks.

Alinhando análise de objetivos e modelagem de processos: uma experiência em um ambiente de saúde

This paper proposes the integration of goal analysis and business process modeling by using, respectively, Tropos and ARIS in each of these phases. The main benefits of this approach can be summarized as follows: (i) promoting traceability between goal models and business process models, allowing a more efficient documentation of important decisions taken within the organization; (ii) obtaining business process models in various levels of abstraction, thus supporting different levels of automation regarding the modeled business processes; and (iii) analyzing the possible alternatives during the transition from the AS-IS business process models to the TO-BE business process models, promoting flexibility in the decision making process. This proposal is exemplified with a real case study in a health care institution. Carrying out a detailed analysis in this organizational setting in order to propose solutions that enhance its business processes is also a contribution of this ongoing work.