Business Process Modeling (BPM) is a mechanism that separates all business aspects from the underlying technological and implementation features of a system. The aim is to capture an organization’s processes and achieve its business objectives. Currently, there are many solutions for Business Process Modeling and Design offered by vendors. However, the selection of one solution or another by customers is usually conducted in an ad-hoc manner. Given the underlying environment that a customer might have and their limitations, there is no standard methodology that can help in the selection of the most appropriate solution. This paper therefore highlights the key characteristics of BPM solutions in the market to facilitate an understanding of the compatibility of a given solution with customer’s environments; hence, customers can then make informed decisions regarding their selections.
Due to the rapid growth of technology in recent days, competition in the software market has greatly intensified. Customers now expect more from software vendors, while vendors try their best to satisfy customers’ needs by introducing good products and services to protect their market share.
However, in reality, many software vendors only describe their products from a business perspective to sell their solutions and hide any complexities that might be involved in integrating or customizing their solutions to fit a customer’s environment [
Nowadays, many software vendors employ the SOA style [
A number of BPM solutions are currently available, from open-source solutions to proprietary ones. However, these solutions only describe general functional characteristics of their products, despite the possibility there might be incompatibility issues with certain environments. This makes the selection of one solution or another a challenging task. Therefore, this work comprised a thorough investigation into the environmental characteristics of BPM solutions regarding their functional, architectural, and usability dimensions to help organizations select the most appropriate solution to fit their environments. This study targeted the most commonly recognized solutions in the Saudi Market because the selection of solutions is currently either based on reviewing information given by vendors about their provided solutions, which are usually very brief and general, or made by following the brand names of solution providers. This work will lead to the development of a supporting tool that will help customers systematically explore and identify the best solutions to fit their environments.
It is important to note that the list of solutions considered for the investigations is not meant to be exhaustive; however, it does cover a variety of solutions currently taking place in the Saudi market that can be used to validate our characterization work and the proposed tool. The solutions that will be covered are: Process Maker, Bonita BPM, ARIS Express, Bizagi BPM Suite, and Oracle BPM Suite.
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: the second section presents related work and provides an overview of current and previous studies in the BPM field. The third section provides an overview of the main characteristics that were assessed under each of the main category dimensions.
The fourth section then presents an evaluation of BPM solutions against each characteristic in our taxonomy. Finally, a conclusion and future work will be presented and discussed in section five.
Bernroider and Bernroider [
Whether the surveyed works highlighted the importance of understanding BPM as the selection of one solution or another remains an open question. However, the architectural and usability aspects were not thoroughly covered in the surveyed work in a manner that users can understand and utilize. Hence, a thorough investigation is needed which is the key contribution of this work.
The main scope of our investigation is to facilitate the identification of suitable BPM solutions for a given environment. This will enable customers to examine and select a solution that might fit their environment and fulfil their requirements.
Every BPM solution exhibits a number of characteristics that must be explored prior to considering their utilization. In this section, we highlight the key characteristics that need to be examined to make an informed decision about the suitability of a solution for the environment within an organization.
A description of the characteristics is provided in the following sections.
A Platform in an IT field has many definitions: the IEEE/ISO definition describes it as “a combination of an operating system and hardware that makes up the operating environment in which a program runs” [
To ensure user satisfaction, BPM vendors should consider whether the infrastructure of BPM solutions meet enterprise needs. It is very important that the solution can integrate with existing solutions and key related technologies in the market.
Architectural | Functional | Usability |
---|---|---|
Platform | Support process modeling | Usability of user interface |
Support integration | Support process analysis | Support business process templates |
Support integration with external database | Support process mapping | Support learnability |
Support model reuse | Support creation of process documentation | Flexibility of the solution |
Support cloud services | Support user management & authorization | |
Support compatibility with SOA model | Support documents management | |
Support plugin architecture | Support executive dashboard | |
Support modeling standards | Support KPI’s | |
Support portability | ||
Support directory management (integration with Active Directory) |
For BPM solutions, integration means “the ability to automatically connect to and invoke backend systems and databases as work items flow through the processes” [
Some companies depend on a specific database for their enterprise work and they need to know which database BPM solutions require or support [
If BPM solutions provide the option of reusing the existing process model rather than creating a new model, the effort needed for business process modeling might be reduced which could lead to an increase in the quality and flexibility of the model. It is rare for BPM solutions to reuse existing process models or objects, but it would be an advantageous feature if the solution, e.g. ARIS Express, could support this feature.
During the last few years many technologies have grown and evolved, among which cloud services have become both extremely popular and important. The cloud has many definitions. For instance, the NIST identify cloud computing as “a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction” [
Cloud services must be considered for use in BPM solutions to make them faster and more powerful. By using such services, it becomes possible to easily access and use business process solutions over the Internet to manage, create, modify and customize business processes online. This means that the cloud can offer high availability.
There are many BPM solutions that support cloud services such as ProcessMaker, Bizagi BPM Suite, and Oracle BPM Suite. However, some BPM solutions support cloud services features in their enterprise/commercial products but not in free or open source versions.
As mentioned previously, many BPM software vendors now employ the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) style [
Each vendor approaches SOA based on their needs; some focus on external integration, some focus on workflow, and some may focus on internal integration. Users (business users and IT professionals) of BPM solutions should consider SOA if they are modeling processes because BPM has become much more powerful with SOA.
There is a big gap in traditional software development approaches between modeling processes and IT, SOA can therefore align IT with the business process to effectively reduce this gap [
To achieve flexibility and extendibility of BPM solution features, it should support plugin architecture. A plugin can help the solution easily integrate with any new features that are not yet supported or available in the tool without breaking the tool’s fundamental core features.
Like the modeling solution tool, for which there are many choices, the modeling language with its semantics and syntax must also be selected. It is essential for the BPM tool to be able to verify and support different modeling notation standards and languages, e.g. BPMN 2.0, BPQL, BPEL, EPC, UML, and XML. Some BPM solutions can support multiple modeling standards while others may only support one.
It is useful for BPM solutions to be portable on various platforms and devices such as smartphones and tablets (not restricted to the desktop). This will enable users to reach their business models using any device at their convenience.
We can find various BPM solutions available for many platforms and devices, although somemay only be available for one type of platform. For example, Bonita BPM is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems while Oracle BPM Suite is available for Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris, AIX, HP-UX operating systems, and mobile devices.
Active Directory (AD) is an advanced hierarchical network directory management service that was introduced and developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It provides secure, structured, hierarchical data storage for different kinds of objects in a network such as users, systems, sites, computers, printers, and services. Moreover, it allows administrators to manage and organize those objects. By using Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), which is a “set of protocols for accessing and maintaining information directories over an internet protocol network” [
Integration with the AD and the LDAP enables the user to take different actions, logging directly into an LDAP or Microsoft AD server by authenticating. With the user’s list in AD or LDAP, BPM solutions might also support importing or synchronizing a user’s information and comparing the user’s lists in the solution.
In our study, we focus on business process modeling (BPM). Therefore, the solutions in the comparison should essentially provide and support this feature, otherwise it will not be considered a BPM solution and will only be conceived of as a design tool.
We have previously defined Business Process Modeling based on Bloomberg and Schmelzer’s definition, which describes BPM as “a set of practices or tasks that companies can perform to visually depict or describe all the aspects of a business process, including its flow, control and decision points, triggers, and conditions for activity execution, the context in which an activity runs, and its associated resources” [
Business Process Analysis (BPA) “is the analysis of various business operations classified into processes, or series of related tasks, where observation revolves around the specific ways in which these processes happen along a life-cycle from beginning to end” [
Business process analysis is essential for presenting how the business meets its fundamental objectives. Moreover, it is used to understand the context of work and each individual process. Business process analysis can also help in understanding and capturing business problems, identifying potential improvements within the process, and determining whether they should be carried out.
Business process analysts perform analysis at the design stage using BPM solutions. However, the solution is sufficiently powerful to analyze complex processes that would increase the quality and improve the performance and productivity of the business.
There are various types of business process analyses used to assist business leaders that will enable them to analyze processes in several ways, such as through diagramming, advanced visual interfaces, flow charts, benchmarking, and through an analysis of performance and scalability.
Process mapping was developed to facilitate analysis of the business process. It is a canvas area in which business processes are visualized to present what the business does by considering specific standards, responsibilities, and roles, e.g. designing and using Business Process Model and Notation standards (BPMN 2.0). The visual representation in process mapping provides better analysis and understanding to improve business, which makes the enterprise much more effective. This visual representation also shows the activities of all the participants in a process, which might include people, computer applications, departments, roles, and external enterprises or organizations [
The difference between BPM and process mapping is that in process mapping the tool or solution concentrates more on the documentation because it presents and demonstrates how the work is carried out by understanding each process and how this relates to other processes. At the same time, it is not necessary to present details regarding how this should be done.
It is very important that a user has the ability at process level to include information about the processes and detailed information and descriptions of the elements in the model. This will make the process document easy to read and understand.
Once the model and documentation are complete, the modeling software can generate complete documentation for the business process in any format the user prefers, e.g. .doc, .ppt, html, pdf, and SharePoint. Moreover, it is important that those generated documents can be downloaded for storing or printing or for sharing with other users in the same business.
It is not necessary for the BPM solution to support all types of document format, but it would be much better and more powerful if the solution can support various kinds of format rather than being restricted to Portable Document Format (PDF) or MS Word (DOC).
User management and authorization is a must-have feature in BPM solutions; it enables the customization of processes by creating roles, groups, and departments. This allows users to assign roles that match their actions and functions in the organization or enterprise. The roles of users define what actions can be carried out and which parts of the BPM solution users can access.
A user with an administrator’s role has all the permissions by default, which means that they can carry out all actions and access all parts of the BPM solution. Those actions include creating, editing, and deleting users and processes.
Document management refers to the ability to integrate and control the process of documentation and saving documents. In BPM solutions, users should have the ability to easily save and retrieve documents and files that have been uploaded or previously created within a process.
The dashboard can be defined as “a collection of key reports in a visual format that is designed for various user functions” [
In BPM solutions, the dashboard should provide robust real-time process monitoring, analytics, and create reports and charts to show critical business measures and KPIs so that a business can be run and managed easily. An administrator can easily use the dashboard to see what role each user has and check up on productivity in the organization. The dashboard is essential for measuring the effectiveness of processes and determining how to improve them in the future.
KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator; it is a type of performance measurement. “A KPI is an element usually shown in a dashboard, which allows decision makers to see data about the performance of users and processes” [
The User Interface (UI) is the “visual part of computer application or operating system through which a user interacts with a computer or a software” [
The user interface in BPM solutions displays work information and items in the workplace to users during runtime. Models, charts, graphs, and maps are displayed to represent data; therefore, the user interface is an essential part of BPM solutions. A poorly designed user interface will decrease the value of a powerful tool. The interface should provide the user with an enhanced description for components such as toolbars, menus, fields that require input, and dialog boxes.
Most BPM vendors provide a customized user workplace for their users. This contains and displays all the objects that form the user interface such as an organized toolbar and tooltips with explanations.
We will evaluate the user interface in terms of the support and efficiency of displayed items and the availability of toolbars, menus, and drag and drop menus that help during the modeling of the business process.
BPM solutions sometimes offer various business process templates for their users; if the user can find a template that matches their needs this will reduce the cost and effort of building a new process model from scratch. Business process templates are sometimes offered by BPM vendors for free; however, some may not or may provide them only for their enterprise or commercial version.
In our study, we will evaluate the availability of a business process template that can facilitate the modeling of business processes to users, saving them time and effort.
Learnability is a fundamental usability characteristic and plays an essential role in the success of software products. Shitkova defines learnability as the “ease of learning the functionality of software” [
BPM solutions should be flexible and easy to use: they should be clear and understandable for all kinds of users. Flexibility in using the solution is an essential aspect of this and is one of the usability requirements of any form of software.
Providing a familiar interface with features from BPM vendors can facilitate the flexibility of solutions. Moreover, flexibility can be embedded into the interface layout by making the commands and menu options easy to find within business models and creating forms, thus providing easy integration with other systems and solutions and easy management for models, users, and documents.
This characteristic will be measured by comparing selected BPM solutions while using them to create the process model for the case study in our work.
To evaluate the solution against each characteristic and category, we will follow the same method used in the survey by Meidan et al. on Business Process Management suites [
The criterion level is obtained by assigning points to each criterion based on a specific scoring scale. In this case the evaluation score for each characteristic will be a value either 0 or 1 as shown in
This is obtained per group of criteria. It is calculated by adding the resultant scores of all characteristics of the main categories, dividing the result by the maximum score of the category of the characteristics, and then multiplying the result by 10.
“Equation (1)” shows this calculation, where (n) represents the number of characteristics in the category, (s) represents the score of the characteristics, and (max) represents the maximum score of the category.
P S = ∑ i = 1 n s i max × 10 (1)
This is the final score for the BPM solutions and is obtained by adding the partial scores of all the main categories of each characteristic. “Equation (2)” shows this calculation, where (n) represents the number of the category, and (ts) represents the total maximum score of all the categories of the characteristics which, in our case, will equal (30).
F S = ∑ i = 1 n P S i t s × 10 (2)
The total score of (PS) and (FS) listed in
The following charts present a summary of the evaluation for selected BPM solutions against the characteristics for each category and a summary of the total evaluation rate.
The chart in
Rating Score | Description |
---|---|
0 | If the characteristic is not supported. |
1 | If the characteristic is supported. |
Characteristics | Solutions | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ProcessMaker | Bonita BPM | ARIS Express | Bizagi BPM Suite | Oracle BPM Suite | |
I Architectural Characteristics | |||||
1) Support integration | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
2) Support integration with external database | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
3) Support model reuse | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
4) Support cloud services | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
5) Compatibility with SOA model | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
6) Support plugin architecture | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
7) Support modeling standards | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
8) Support portability | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
9) Support directory management | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Architectural Characteristics: P S 1 = ∑ i = 1 9 I i 9 × 10 | 8.89 | 8.89 | 1.11 | 4.44 | 8.89 |
II Functional Characteristics | |||||
1) Support process modeling | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
2) Support process analysis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
3) Support process mapping | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
4) Support creation of process documentation | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
5) Support user management & authorization | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
6) Support documents management | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
7) Support KPI’s | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
8) Support executive dashboard | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Functional Characteristics: P S 2 = ∑ i = 1 8 I I i 8 × 10 | 6.25 | 10 | 2.5 | 7.5 | 10 |
III Usability Characteristics | |||||
1) Usability of user interface (UI) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
2) Support business process templates | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
3) Support learnability | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
4) Flexibility of the solution | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Usability Characteristics: P S 3 = ∑ i = 1 4 I I I i 4 × 10 | 7.5 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
Final Score: F S = ∑ i = 1 3 P S i 30 × 10 | 7.54 | 9.63 | 2.87 | 7.31 | 7.96 |
evaluation. Both solutions achieved the highest score, which was (10) out of an overall (10). Among the others, Bizagi BPM Suite achieved (7.5), ProcessMaker achieved (6.25), and ARIS Express achieved (2.5) out of (10).
the partial score (PS) based on the number of characteristics and their evaluation. Both solutions gained the highest score, which was (10) out of an overall (10). ProcessMaker achieved the second highest score, which was (7.5) while both the Oracle BPM Suite and ARIS Express achieved (5) out of (10).
In the previous charts, the strengths and weakness of each BPM solutionat different levels were evident when evaluating the solutions against all of the characteristics. In terms of architectural characteristics, ProcessMaker, Bonita BPM, and Oracle BPM Suite achieved the highest score. In terms of functional characteristics, Bonita BPM and Oracle BPM Suite achieved the highest score. Finally, in terms of usability characteristics, Bonita BPM and Bizagi BPM Suite achieved the highest score.
Based on the given evaluation score and after applying the equation for the final score (FS) based on the number of main categories and their partial score (PS) evaluation, it is clear from
The selection of an appropriate solution for an organization requires an in-depth investigation and analysis of numerous well-known solutions in the Saudi market. Therefore, we proposed a characterization framework for BPM solutions through the investigation of several BPM solutions and their characteristics.
The categories of the classification were structured into three main dimensions: architectural, functional, and usability. These three category dimensions were discussed and explained in detail by focusing on the role each one plays in the BPM solution.
A taxonomy of the available solutions in the Saudi market was constructed to show that our characterization was sound in practical terms.
This study was limited to open-source solutions used in the Saudi market between 2013 and 2018. Other vendors that fall outside these selection criteria were omitted.
Similar characteristics that may be available in all the solutions were not considered in this investigation. Moreover, we omitted some of the characteristics from our contribution because specific requirements were needed such as the availability and placing of large infrastructure.
As part of a future plan, a supporting tool will be developed to automate the selection process. This will be based on the taxonomy generated in this work and will examine the practical applicability of our approach.
The authors of this work would like to thank the College of Computer & Information systems and the Deanship of IT at Umm Al-Qura University for their useful help and support in accomplishing this work.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Naytah, A.H. and Alkazemi, B.Y. (2018) Exploring the Characteristics of Business Process Modeling Solutions in the Saudi Market. Journal of Software Engineering and Applications, 11, 521-536. https://doi.org/10.4236/jsea.2018.1111031