Stephanie Meerkamm

Configuration of Multi-perspectives Variants

In order to compete in effectively nowadays an organization has to offer a variety of process to fulfill the individual requirements of the different customers. The management of the process variability is an important aspect not only during execution, but already during modeling. One common way to deal with this is configuration. This paper presents a generic concept of process configuration which does not solely focus on the functional aspect, but also considers others such as, for example, the organizational, operational and data oriented aspects. Furthermore, different levels of abstraction are introduced to further structure the configuration process. At modeling time it is differentiated between process families (a set of variants) and individual variants themselves; concerned with modeling and execution time between variants and alternatives.

Staged Configuration of Multi-perspectives Variants Based on a Generic Data Model

Usually, for a particular business process different variants exist in order to fulfill the individual requirements of the different users. The management of the process variability is an important aspect mainly during modeling which serves for the purpose of documentation. One common way to deal with variability is configuration. This paper presents a generic concept of a configurator which captures the characteristics of the process domain, inter alia the multi-perspectives of processes. One of the main contributions of this paper is intended to be a staged configuration process. The sequence of the partial decisions concerning the selection of a variant can be determined individually. In order to capture the process variability we developed a generic data model which empowers the derivation of variants based on a process model which integrates all possible variants.

Online Communication and Collaboration - A General Approach

During realization of an eLearning platform, we discovered that there is a general interest in online communication and collaboration tools in different fields. There were frequent requests for adaptations of our system to further use cases beyond eLearning. In this paper, we present a general approach for online communication and collaboration which is supported by an especially developed platform. This platform offers tools for audio and video communication together with several collaboration tools as well as advanced customizability in order to realize special requirements. To achieve general applicability of our approach, we identify general requirements of several use cases including eLearning. This helps us to develop a generic communication and collaboration model which is the basis of our concept. In this paper, we present the model as well as the architecture.

Online Teaching in an Electronic Education Environment

For our project “Informatik@School” we introduced a didactical concept that is based on individual and cooperative problem-oriented teaching and learning. To apply this concept we practice an approach between pure e-learning and blended learning. From the technical point of view we need a software environment that fulfills the demands of our didactical concept. In this paper we present our e-learning platform “Electronic Education Environment”. First we illustrate the results of a requirements review concerning different areas. We explain the necessity for the development of a new e-learning software framework. In the main part we show the details of our Electronic Learning Environment together with use cases for students and advisors. We discuss the difficulties and their solutions of a network based e-learning application in a heterogeneous network structure. Finally an outlook to future development potentialities is given.

An extended interpretation of process design and modeling

Business process modeling is nowadays generally accepted as a way to describe business activities. However existing process modeling languages are not always adequate for specific application domains. They are taken for granted and the development (design) of tailored languages is not taken into consideration. Therefore, we focus on process design and extend it in a way that its outcome is a new process modeling language that ideally meets the requirements of an application domain.

The process configurator

Usually, for a particular business process different variants exist in order to fulfil the individual requirements of the different users. The management of process variability is an important aspect mainly during modelling. One common way to deal with variability is configuration. This paper presents the concept of a configurator. A main contribution of this paper is a staged configuration process. The sequence of the decisions selecting a variant can be determined individually and for capturing the process variability, we developed a generic data model which captures the characteristics of the process domain which is multi-perspective and empowers the derivation of variants based on a model which integrates all possible variants.

A meta-model-framework for structuring the requirement analysis in process design

Today, with process management generally established as an integrated management tool, there is a strong interest in process modeling. The organizations spent time and effort in generating the optimal process model. Although there is a multitude of process modeling techniques available, the modeling process is often inefficient and the results are not satisfying. As each use case makes other demands on a process modeling language and tool it may be due to the neglect of some aspect of the design phase supposed to include a comprehensive requirement analysis and the implementation of these in an appropriate language and tool. Thus we want to offer a framework which focuses more on the design phase. The approach is based on a meta model hierarchy, focusing on modeling. This hierarchy is extended with a design phase. The increased quality of the final process models will also influence the whole process life cycle.

Process design as basis for comprehensive process modeling

Today, with process management generally established as a management tool, there is a stringed interest in process modeling Although there is a multitude of standard process modeling techniques available, often the modeling results are not satisfying One of the reasons could be that the so called design phases including a requirement analysis and the implementation in an appropriate modeling language and tool is neglected Thus, we want to offer a framework which focus more on the design and gives the process modeler the option to design an adequate process modeling language and tool.

The Concept of Process Management in Theory and Practice – A Qualitative Analysis

Today, process management is a well established management tool both in theory and in practice. Its objective is the increase of the efficiency and it is thus regarded as a fundament to both the economic development of the companies and of the economy as a whole. Examination of the literature reveals many theoretical concepts which in some aspects may differ considerably - even to the point of mutual contradiction. How does practice looks like? To answer this question, we wanted to carry out an empirically analysis of management practice focusing on general conditions, process modeling and execution, the IT and the employees. This will be compared with an examination of the theoretical concepts and we will try to elaborate the main concepts used in practice, which are finally presented in this full paper.