Patterns in BPM
In the realm of business process management (BPM), patterns play a crucial role. They provide a conceptual basis for process technology, offering a thorough examination of various perspectives that need to be supported by a workflow or business process modelling language. Before the inception of our own website dedicated to process redesign patterns, there were two significant websites that collected and presented these patterns in the field of BPM: bpmpatterns.org and workflowpatterns.com.
BPM Patterns: A Comprehensive Classification
The first website, bpmpatterns.org, was developed in the context of business process model patterns. It surveyed existing publications on process model patterns, constructing a classification scheme and a pattern taxonomy. The website provides a wealth of information, categorizing patterns into various facets such as Structure and Behavior, Resource Patterns, Orchestration and Choreography Patterns, Content Patterns, Quality, Compliance and Risk Patterns, Adaption and Improvement Patterns, and Integration and Conversion Patterns. This comprehensive classification scheme makes it easy for researchers and practitioners to find relevant patterns for their field of interest.
Workflow Patterns: A Joint Effort
The second website, workflowpatterns.com, is a joint effort of Eindhoven University of Technology and Queensland University of Technology. This initiative, which started in 1999, aimed to provide a conceptual basis for process technology. The website offers detailed descriptions of patterns for various perspectives relevant for process-aware information systems: control-flow, data, resource, exception handling, and event log imperfections. It also provides detailed evaluations of various process languages, standards for web service compositions, and workflow systems in terms of these patterns.
The Definition of Patterns in BPM
In the context of BPM, patterns are recurring solutions to common problems. They provide a shared language for those involved in the process, facilitating communication and understanding. Patterns can be used to examine the suitability of a particular process language or workflow system for a project, assess relative strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to process specification, implement certain business requirements in a particular process-aware information system, and as a basis for language and tool development.
The Value Resources for Process Improvement
Both of these websites were built before ours and have made significant contributions to the field of BPM. They have collected and classified patterns, providing a valuable resource for those interested in process redesign. By referring to these patterns, users can find inspiration and ideas to improve their own business processes. As we continue to develop our own site, we will strive to build upon the foundation these sites have laid, providing our users with simple and effective ideas for process redesign.
Process-pattern.app
Category: BPM
About the authors
Tobias is doctoral student and has created process-pattern.app as a side project. His research is on data-driven process improvement.
Find Tobias on @dtdi tobiasfehrer