A Goal-Based Approach for Learning in Business Processes - Intentional Perspectives on Information Systems Engineering - page 248

approach used here was first reported in [ 7, 8] . Context representation in process
model has been addressed by [ 11] . Some representation proposals have been made,
but no agreed upon standard has emerged yet. The runtime effect of context is dis-
cussed with respect to process flexibility and variability of execution [ 11, 14] . In
addition, context-aware exception handling in workflow systems has been proposed,
where the context relates both to the process and to the specific exception [ 3] . To the
best of our knowledge, the effect of context on the outcome achieved by a process
and its utilization for learning purposes has not been developed so far.
Actual path discovery has been addressed in the process mining area. Several
attempts have been made to use process mining for identifying improvement oppor-
tunities in processes. These typically relate to specific performance measures (or
soft goals). Examples include [ 1] , who address performance indicators related to
time (waiting time, synchronization time) as measured in different nodes of the pro-
cess model. These measures are local, but can contribute to time-related soft goals if
such are defined for the process. Another work [ 6] relates to an extended set of per-
formance indicators, mostly related to time spent at parts of the process, and to some
extent to resource consumption. The focus of these works is on mining technology
capabilities rather than on analysis of business goals. As well, context information
is not considered; hence learning is only partly supported.
Another related direction deals with adaptable workflow management systems
like ADEPT [15] . Such systems allow making ad hoc changes and deviations from
a predefined process model at runtime. Research efforts regarding adaptable sys-
tems include mining the changes that were made [ 9] and supporting future changes
by employing a case-based reasoning mechanism which retrieves past changes that
were made to the process [ 23] . However, in the absence of goal specification, there
is no real assessment of the level of success achieved by past changes in business
terms. In addition, the similarity of the situation cannot be fully established without
taking context into account. Hence, here too learning is not fully supported.
In summary, while some attempts towards supporting process improvement and
establishing a learning process have been made, our work is the first to explicitly
incorporate goals and context as a basis for learning.
6 Conclusion
Constantly improving business processes has long been aspired by organizations.
From a business perspective, it is clear that improvement can only be established
with respect to defined goals. However, organizational goals are usually discussed
using high level business terms, while business process modeling and management
are addressed at a technical level, and are often not goal oriented. The result of this
gap is that attempts made in the business process management discipline to achieve
learning are not comprehensive, and can only relate to specific issues one at a time.
The approach presented in this chapter overcomes this gap by employing a
goal oriented business process model, which brings the business level goals to the