Supporting the group creation of formal and informal graphics during business process modeling

Abstract

Since the 1960s, research in systems analysis and design has been performed along two distinct tracts: the automation of software design, implementation, and verification; and the elicitation of high level systems requirements. Computer-aided software engineering, rapid prototyping, and more recently, visual programming have been the tools developed for the automation of software development. Enterprise Analysis, in the form of process and information modeling, has been a primary area of focus for requirements development research. The application of Electronic Meeting Systems technology to Enterprise Analysis is a promising technology for the timely elicitation of requirements from groups of subject matter experts. However, Electronic Meeting Systems do not explicitly support the development of graphical models—a requirement for many process modeling techniques. This paper describes a research effort to provide support for the creation of graphical business models by groups. Design decisions were made based on use of the tools by real-world groups, as well as a result of laboratory studies. One of the most interesting findings was that users found it particularly efficient to be able to enter model definitions through a textual interface and view computer generated graphical views of the model.