Business Process Modeling, Implementation, Analysis, and Management: The Case of Business Process Management Tools
Business Process Modeling, Implementation, Analysis, and Management: The Case of Business Process Management Tools
Business Process Modeling, Implementation, Analysis, and Management: The Case of Business Process Management Tools
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1463-7154.htm
Abstract
Purpose – Significant numbers of business process management (BPM) projects fail. Their failure is
attributed toward many factors. Among them, low quality of BPM is one reason. Some of the tasks in BPM have
their roots in business process reengineering (BPR). The literature has cited many different critical success and
failure factors for quality BPM and BPR. Lack of software tools is one of the technology-oriented factors that
results in poor BPM and BPR. This paper aims to build a generic feature set offered by software tools for
process modeling their analysis implementation and management. It presents an objective analysis in
identifying weaknesses and strengths of these tools, primarily for BPM.
Design/methodology/approach – A method is proposed to evaluate the quality of process reengineering
and management delivered by software tools. It consists of four phases: feature extraction, tool selection, data
extraction and tool evaluation.
Findings – The data gathered is quantified to test research hypotheses, the results are statistically significant
and highlight multiple areas for future improvements. Moreover, the cluster visualizations created also help to
understand the strengths and weaknesses of BPM/BPR tools.
Research limitations/implications – Despite the research approach used, there is a chance of subjectivity
when it comes to evaluating different tools.
Practical implications – The paper includes implications for practitioners and researchers for choosing
appropriate software tool for process modeling, analysis, implementation and management, matching their
requirements with BPM and BPR. It also identifies features that are missing in these tools.
Originality/value – This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of BPM and supporting tools, relates them
to key stages of BPM life cycle and BPR methodologies. It also identifies various areas for further development
in these tools.
Keywords Business process management, Business process reengineering, Process improvement, BPM tools
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Businesses change every day. Technology is evolving that changes customer requirements
and, hence, the products. Internet and globalization have resulted in international contests
and race (Chang, 2016; Vom Brocke et al., 2016). Hence, continual business changes have
become a norm. To combat, companies go for business process management (BPM) (Jeston,
2014) and business process reengineering (BPR) (Kasemsap, 2015; Thompson et al., 2009).
BPM has gained significant attention. The concept of BPR has evolved into BPM, as literature
credits BPR principles as foundation of BPM (Chong, 2014; Hammer, 2015; Hy€otyl€ainen, 2014;
Paim et al., 2008).
BPR focuses on “radical obliteration” of business processes. However, recently a “revisionist” Business Process Management
Journal
or incremental concept of BPR has also been introduced in literature (Subramoniam et al., 2009). © Emerald Publishing Limited
1463-7154
BPM is concerned with continuously improving and managing business processes holistically, DOI 10.1108/BPMJ-06-2018-0168
BPMJ which is guided by BPM principles (Chong, 2014; Kohlborn et al., 2014). BPM and BPR are
conceptually different; nevertheless, both deal with process change and improvement (Nteo,
2017; Puah and Tang, 2000; Smart et al., 2009). A BPM framework with emphasis on strategy
also includes activities similar to BPR activities, such as analysis of business process, their
design and modeling and implementation (Macedo de Morais et al., 2014). The extent of change
depends on the BPM or BPR approach. This paper only considers the fact that both initiatives
involve changes to the existing business processes, whether big or small.
Despite of several success stories (Chang, 2016), the number of failed BPM projects is also
high. It has been reported that 60 to 80% of such endeavors do not succeed (Chang, 2016;
Eftekhari and Akhavan, 2013; Iqbal et al., 2015; Shafiei and Hajiheydari, 2014; Trkman, 2010).
Process improvement projects, associated with BPM, often fail or are renounced before realizing
their promised value (Nwabueze, 2015). The literature attributes its failure toward several
different factors (Chong, 2014; Davenport, 2013; Hlupic et al., 2000; Nwabueze, 2015; OIMT, 2012;
Ozcelik, 2010; Thompson et al., 2009; Xiaosong et al., 2012). Among the sociocultural and technical
failure factors, lack of BPM tools that assess value of new processes before their enactment is the
only technology-oriented failure factor (Chong, 2014; Davenport, 2013; Hammer, 2015).
Since BPM is time-consuming and complicated (Ozcelik, 2010), tools are important and
help in quicker delivery. Unfortunately, they are not contributing to modeling and redesign
quality and, hence, to its success (Reijers et al., 2015). Different software tools, known as BPM
systems (BPMS) or BPM tools, have been developed. As organizations are not expert of
conducting BPM, they use such tools for redesigning and managing their business processes
(Chong, 2014; Hammer, 2015; Trkman, 2010).
It is needed to study BPMS and investigate into their BPM-related competencies. This
resulted in the formation of following two research questions.
RQ1. What are the requirements of quality BPM, as required by BPM tools?
RQ2. Do BPM tools, enablers of BPM, fulfill these requirements?
The remainder of the research is guided by these research questions. A brief review of the
literature on BPMS is discussed next. The section also discusses BPR tools, as they enable
redesign of business processes. Section 3 explains the method for conducting this research.
Section 4 elaborates on feature extraction from BPM and BPR life cycles. Different hypotheses
have also been formed for tool evaluation. Section 5 describes tool selection. Section 6 illustrates
the data, extracted from BPM tools. In Section 7, tools are evaluated by testing hypotheses and
results are presented, followed by the discussion in Section 8 and conclusion.
2. Literature review
IT industry plays a significant role in facilitating enterprise executives and BPM consultants
to redesign, improve and manage business processes (Davenport, 2013). Different software
systems and support tools have been designed and developed. They are considered as
enablers of BPM (Chong, 2014; Eftekhari and Akhavan, 2013; Sungau and Msanjila, 2012;
Tabrizi et al., 2012). A BPMS is a process management system or tool that assimilates
capabilities of software systems for workflow management, modeling, redesigning and
reengineering, process analysis, business intelligence, monitoring and measuring,
improvement, process enactment and enterprise application integration (Harmon, 2010).
This work also considers BPR tools as facilitators of business process improvement for
the following reasons: (1) BPM has its foundation on the concept of BPR (Chong, 2014;
Hammer, 2015); (2) “incremental BPR” is considered as an essential element of BPM
framework (Harmon, 2010; Shafiei and Hajiheydari, 2014); (3) the historical roadmap includes
BPR as one of the primary management notions to the development of BPMS (Ravesteyn and
Batenburg, 2010) and (4) although, BPM is based on the principle of continuity, the literature
also advocates benefits of radicalness in process design at certain points in time (Kohlborn Business
et al., 2014). A BPR tool is essentially a software system that supports a BPR life cycle, its process
methods and techniques to redesign and improve business processes effectively and in less
time (Zhou and Chen, 2010).
management
BPR tools are implicit in BPM and supporting tools, if not explicitly mentioned in this paper. tools
3. The method
The literature on BPM tools consists of studies that compare different tools and their features.
However, these studies are insufficient both in terms of quantity and content to gauge the current
state of the industry. They show that there are hundreds of tools available with many different
features. Regrettably, none of them communicates if these tools contribute to quality BPM or not;
or how they can be improved for successful process reengineering and management.
BPMJ
Table 1.
tools in literature
BPMS and supporting
Overview of features of
Paper (number of tools
studied) Features Sub-features
Bradley et al. (1995) (4) Tool capabilities Simulation, modeling, analysis, consultancy, process handling and developers/vendor identification
Tool hardware and Platform, operating system, software language, version, databases, knowledge shell, spreadsheets, other external links, object-
software oriented, client/server, system performance, alpha/beta/product, IDEF and installation process
Tool documentation Installation guide, user manual, worked example, demo, other documents, online help, easy-to-follow documents and learning curve for
the tool
User features Decision support system, user friendliness, easy to use, required level of expertise, graphical user interface and robust
Modeling capabilities Goal centered, timed petri-nets, roles, data flow, model integrity analysis, front end analysis, ease of model building, model flexibility,
level of detail and rapid model prototyping
Simulation capabilities Discrete/continuous, time, cost, distributions, animation and graphical capabilities
Analysis capabilities Reasoning, output analysis, BPR expertise, what-if analysis and backward/forward chaining
Kettinger et al. (1997) BPR methodologies Supported techniques for every stage of BPR life cycle
(102)
Yu and Wright (1997) Supported life cycle stage Strategy opportunity identification, conceptual modeling, requirements analysis, process design, process implementation, process
(12) operation and system change
Software features Visualization, computer platform, level of expertise required, static analysis, dynamic modeling, performance measurement, import/
export file types, database links, templates, supported methodologies and outputs/reports
Software modules None
Im et al. (1999) (3) Features and functions Visualization, modeling, compatibility and project management
Organizational factors Change of works and user support
Cost None
Learning effect None
Jansen-Vullers and Modeling capabilities Ease of model building, formal semantics/verification, workflow patterns, resources and data and level of detail
Netjes (2006) (6) Simulation capabilities Performance dimensions, distributions, animation and scenarios
Output analysis Statistics, format, what-if analysis and conclusion making support
capabilities
Shaw et al. (2007) (3) Process modeling Executable process model, formal model constructs, Formal modeling notation, ontological modeling grammar, model abstraction and
subject (business process) modeled
Software application Library of best practice business processes, graphical manipulation of configurations, automated change of application configurations,
links to communication systems, integrated project management and change control, software language and software formalism
Technical infrastructure Operating system and hardware
Ami and Sommer (2007) Features and qualities Graphical business process modeling, easiness of upgrading information related to business processes, analysis and reporting
(8) functions, connectivity to other applications, support for ERP systems, support for enterprise architecture frameworks, support for
standards, including XML, UML, BPMN and IDEF
Coding aspects
(continued )
Paper (number of tools
studied) Features Sub-features
Bosilj-Vuksic et al. Hardware and software Programming flexibility, access to source code, global variables, built-in functions and support of
(2007) (none) considerations programming concepts
Software compatibility Integration with: spreadsheet packages, statistical packages, DBMS, legacy applications and ERP, WFM,
BAM systems
User support Documentation/tutorial, consultancy, training, maintenance, demos and libraries
Financial and technical Pricing and total cost of ownership, frequency and comprehensiveness of update and portability
features
Pedigree Age, spread, vendor reputation and references
Modeling capabilities General features Required experience and education, learnability, user friendliness, model representativeness, formal logic
and simulation modeling approach
Modeling assistance Documentation, online help, modularity, model and data separation
Simulation capabilities Visual aspects Animation and its type, visual clock, quality and expressiveness and graphic library
Efficiency Robustness, level of detail, model reusability, model reliability, time scale, model chaining and queuing
Testability Logic checks, error messages, ease of debugging, trace files, step function, dynamic display and workflow
path display
Experimentation Warm-up period, breakpoints, speed adjustment, automatic run length and auto batch run
facilities
Statistical facilities Theoretical statistical distribution, user-defined distributions, random number streams, output data
analysis, quality of data analysis facility, distribution fitting and confidence interval
Input/output issues Input and output Input data reading from files, quality and understandable reports, user-defined output and periodic
capabilities simulation outputs
Analysis capabilities What-if analysis, conclusion-making and optimization
Patig et al. (2010a, b) Features and qualities Usability, modeling capabilities, software integration, report generation, alignment to standards, process execution, process
(none) monitoring, process simulation, language adaptability, correctness proofs, syntax checks and support for different standards/
notations
Wolf (2010) (none) Social features Collaborative technologies
Hahn et al. (2012) (none) Low maturity level Displaying process model, training, ITIL reference models, assigning roles and responsibilities to process models and simulation
Medium maturity level Hierarchical process relationships, process design collaboration, reporting, data extraction, ITIL, COBIT, risks modeling, simulation of
operational data, cost calculation, definition of key measures and process mining
High maturity level In-advance process simulation, animation of process simulation, real time data extraction, reporting of real time data, hierarchical
arrangement of key measures and definition of affection of measures
General functionality UML, BPMN, other modeling notations, XPDL, laying out elements of model, modeling, multiuser, user permissions, version control,
central database and data dictionary
Service and support Offline/phone support and vendor factors
Costs Client hardware, server hardware, license, support and training
(continued )
Business
process
management
tools
BPMJ
Table 1.
Paper (number of tools
studied) Features Sub-features
Mendling et al. (2012) (4) Collaboration aspect Awareness, communication, coordination, group decision-making and team building
Margherita (2014) Process strategy Market and industry value drivers, business capabilities, people culture and values and company balanced scorecard
(none) Process model Value chain and system model, process models and simulation, stakeholders and process roles, business rules and governance
Process execution Collaboration/communication, workflows coordination, IT application development and process automation
Process performance KPI and performance monitoring, process control dashboard, flows and network analysis and business performance links
Organizational systems Project management, organizational design and enterprise innovation
Bider and Perjons (2015) Open source BPMS (13 XPDL and BPMN Flow routing, process designer, calendar, business rules, notifications and alerts, tasks allocation by roles,
(20) tools) work lists, task assignments and process/activity monitoring
WS-BPEL and BPMN Ease of installation, deploy assistance, support for multiple process versions, suspend/rollback process,
audit, reports, integration with different DBs and obtaining execution indicators
Proprietary BPMS (7 tools) OS modeler, web service integration, extensibility, BPMN 2 support, time to market, community activity, difficulty of installation
environment and available documents
Pereira and Freitas Simulation properties Context definition Starting time, duration, time unit, cost unit and replications
(2016) (5) Time consumption Transfer time, waiting time and processing time
Control Arrival rate and branch probabilities
Resources Capacity, allocation plan, unavailability and schedule
Costs Activity and resource
Priorities Interruptions and execution priority
Probability distribution Normal, triangular, uniform, beta, erlang and poisson
This work aims to study different BPMS and BPM-supporting tools to assess quality of Business
delivered BPM. The method of research consists of four phases: feature extraction, tool process
selection, data extraction and tool evaluation. Figure 1 shows research steps involved in each
phase and its inputs and outputs.
management
tools
3.1 Feature extraction
The intent of this phase is to extract different features that should be part of BPM and
supporting tools. Life cycles of BPM and BPR with their phases/stages are studied. The main
activity of this phase is the identification of key features of an IT tool for quality BPM.
Extracted features are named as “feature categories” of BPM and supporting tools.
Hypotheses were formed against every feature category. The important deliverables of this
phase are feature categories and research hypotheses.
4. Feature extraction
BPM and BPR life cycles were studied to identify all steps that are indispensable for quality
BPM and BPR. They were translated into different features that should be present in
every BPM and supporting tool. These features became the criteria for both tool selection and
tool evaluation.
Figure 1.
The method
BPMJ 4.1 BPM life cycle
The BPM life cycle entails phases for managing business processes. It outlines activities that
are part of BPM initiatives. Table 2 summarizes different phases of BPM life cycle, as found in
the literature. The purpose of studying BPM life cycles is to identify necessary activities and
phases that contribute to BPM projects.
The phases of BPM life cycle vary in terms of number and nomenclature. The generic
phases are:
(1) Process design and modeling: It includes modeling of as-is and to-be business
processes. This helps in understanding overall structure and requirements of the
modeled business processes.
be correctly identified (Zuhaira et al., 2017). It is assumed that tools have necessary features
that help in correct and exhaustive analysis of business process models.
H2. BPM tools provide appropriate features for analyzing business processes in detail.
Implementation: This feature assists easy implementation of to-be processes within
organization. A business process is deployed in a virtual setting to determine its effects.
Required changes are made before actual deployment of the process. That is, corrections are
identified early, which is crucial for successful BPR and BPM. The third hypothesis states:
H3. BPM tools provide features for convenient and correct implementation of to-be
processes.
Management and Administration: BPM tools should enable management and administration
of reengineered and implemented process. This feature should empower the management
team to supervise, monitor and control business processes and associated activities (such as
design, modeling, analysis and implementation), happening as part of BPM. It also focuses on
performance measurement of currently deployed business processes, ensuring resources,
schedules, finances and other constraints are being met. It is conjectured that BPM tools
include functionality for carrying out effective project and process management activities.
H4. BPM tools provide sufficient management and administrative features.
This work evaluates BPM tools against all feature categories, individually. Their collective
occurrence in a tool is gauged too. Hypotheses 1 to 4 (H1–H4) assess a tool’s capability for all
feature categories. Hypotheses 5 and 6 (H5, H6) assess a tool’s value for quality BPM by
considering all features together.
H5. BPM tools have sufficient features to support business process modeling, analysis,
implementation and management, collectively.
H6. BPM tools equally provide design and modeling, analysis, implementation and
management features.
5. Tool selection
To study their present status, 83 BPM and supporting tools were selected. Feature categories
obtained from BPM and BPR life cycles form criteria for tool selection. A tool comprising of
BPMJ one or more features was included to the pool (Appendix 1). This list contains variety of tools
ranging from very simple tools that provide very basic functionalities to much sophisticated
and specialized BPM software systems, academic/research tools, commercial products,
open-source and proprietary software.
6. Data extraction
The feature categories were too expansive and opaque to evaluate the tools. Therefore, all the
tools were explored, one by one, for the list of sub-features they offer under every feature
category. Since there was a variety in selected tools, two methods were employed for data
extraction: system analysis and document analysis. System analysis was done for non
proprietary tools that included installing, executing and using the tools to determine list of
accessible features. Document analysis was done on proprietary tools, which entailed study
of available documentations (manuals, guides, help materials and tutorials) of those tools.
The obtained sub-features are combined to make feature-sets. For example, sub-features from
“Design and Modeling” category make one feature-set. Sub-features from “Analysis category”
make another feature-set. Likewise, sub-features from other two feature categories form their
respective feature-sets. BPM tools data consists of four feature-sets for four different feature
categories. Feature-set of “Design and Modeling” comprised of 12 sub-features; feature-set of
“Analysis” included 17 sub-features and feature-sets of “Implementation” and “Management and
Administration” categories had 5 and 16 sub-features, respectively. Tables 5–8 show presence or
absence of sub-features in tools. A tool that does not support any sub-feature is not included in the
corresponding table.
7. Tool evaluation
The binary tool data (Tables 5–8) were converted to numeric data. Score for each tool was
calculated for every feature category; for example, DynaFlow has 3 sub-features out of 12 in
“Design and Modeling” feature category. Therefore, a score of 3 was assigned to this tool for
this category. This was done for all tools for all feature categories. Table 9 shows scores of
BPM tools against different feature categories.
Figure 2 shows frequencies of sub-features in all feature categories, i.e. frequently
employed sub-features in every category.
Design and modeling Implementation Management and
Business
category Analysis category category administration category process
management
Standard modeling Simulations Business process BAM
language (BPMN) Analyzing charts/ deployment Process life cycle tools
Drag and drop/graphical diagrams Process debugger management
editor Cost/time analysis BPEL generation Resource planning and
Process modeling Process model views Process discovery management
Form builder/workflows Activity costing/time Other techniques Process/model
Process/attribute Process optimization administration
visualization Process monitor Business rules management
Visual/process mapping Advanced analysis Document management
Activity/flow chart Prototyping Process management
mapping Reporting User management
Collaborative process Impact analysis Enterprise management
design Cause-effect analysis Project management
Process hierarchies What-if analysis Multi-tenant management
Configurable meta model Statistical analysis Change management
Organization modeling Gap analysis Quality management
Other/different diagrams Unknown techniques Dashboards
Other techniques Communication Table 4.
management List of sub-features for
Other techniques feature categories
Figure 3 illustrates tool-wise feature frequency data. All the four figures Figures 3(a–d)
demonstrate top 15 BPM tools in each category, which implement or provide these feature
categories. The results are normalized on the scale of 10. The degree of capability of BPM
tools for feature category can easily be comprehended from the illustration.
(BPMN)
Std. Modeling language
Editor
Drag and Drop / Graphical
Process Modeling
Process Hierarchies
Organization Modeling
Different Diagrams
Intalio | BPMS
Signavio Process Editor
Effektif
Roubroo
Joget Workflow
AccuProcess BPM
Insight Maker
DynaFlow: EZ Process
Inubit for BPM
Ultimus
RunMyProcess
BonitaSoft Suite
Imixs Workflow
ProcessMaker
jBPM
IBM BP Manager
IBM Blueworks Live
Sim4BPM
Postoz
Bizagi Process Modeler
KAISHA-Tec Active Modeler
Avantage
Oryx
ARISalign
Process Live
VLPM
RASP
DECmodel
ProcessWise
GRADE
ARIS
Rational System Architect
AllFusion 7
Procap / Prosim
ExtendSim/BPR
Teamwork
Pathmaker
ProcessWorks
SmartDraw
QPR Suite
Process Developer
Graham Process Mapper
Table 5. All Clear
Features of BPM tools SIMUL8
supporting “design and
modeling” (continued )
Business
(BPMN)
Std. Modeling language
Editor
Drag and Drop / Graphical
Process Modeling
Process Hierarchies
Organization Modeling
Different Diagrams
process
management
tools
Proforma
ActionWorks
multiDESK by
DIaLOGIKaGmbH
IBM Case Foundation
Interstage BP Manager
TeamWare Flow
Fujitsu i-Flow
Livelink Workflow
Process Suite
BMC Remedy Action
Request System
Bizagi BPM Suite
COSA BPM Suite
ViewStar Process Architect
iThink
Venism
ConceptDraw PRO Business
Process Diagram
Sterling
Process Model
TaskMap
Process Navigator
Cameo Business Modeler
iGrafx for Enterprise
Modeling
BusinessGenetics BP
Modelere
PROCESSpediaBPMS
Pegasystems BPM Suite
ProcessMate
Edoras
Monarch BPM
KofaxTotalAgility 7.0 Table 5.
category to sufficiently provide that feature. Next, we assumed that measure of tool
sufficiency is the presence of at least 25% of sub-features in a tool.
50% Sub-features as Measure of Tool Sufficiency: With 50% of sub-features as
benchmark, minimum counts of sub-features obtained were 6, 8.5, 2.5, and 8 for “Design
and Modeling”, “Analysis”, “Implementation” and “Management and Administration”
feature categories respectively. This means that, for example, to test H1, μ ≥ 6 for “Design and
Modeling” (H0: μ ≥ 6; H1: μ < 6). This was done for Hypotheses 2–4, as shown in Table 10. The
mean for Hypothesis 5 would be sum of all the means for Hypotheses 1–4, i.e. 25 (H0: μ ≥ 25;
BPMJ
Simulation
Process Optimization
Process Monitor
Prototyping
Reporting
Impact Analysis
Cause-Effect Analysis
What-If Analysis
Statistical Analysis
Technique Unknown
Gap Analysis
Other
Analyzing Charts / Diagrams
Activity Costing/Time
Advanced Analysis
Intalio | BPMS
Signavio
AccuProcess
DynaFlow
Inubit
Ultimus
BonitaSoft Suite Resource
Analysis
ProcessMaker
jBPM
Sim4BPM
Postoz
Savvion
ActiveModeler
Avantage
Oryx
ARISalign
VLPM
DECmodel
ProcessWise
GRADE
ARIS
Rational System
Architect
AllFusion 7
Procap / Prosim
ExtendSim/BPR
Teamwork Risk/complexity
SWOT, force
Pathmaker field analysis
-
ProcessWorks
SmartDraw
QPR Suite
Graham Process
Mapper
All Clear
SIMUL8 Speed
Analyzer
Proforma SWOT
ActionWorks Customer
satisfaction
variable,
Quality
multiDESK
IBM Case Foundation
Interstage BP
Manager
Fujitsu i-Flow
Livelink Workflow
BMC Remedy Action
Table 6. Track-It
Features of BPM tools
supporting “analysis” (continued )
Business
Simulation
Process Optimization
Process Monitor
Prototyping
Reporting
Impact Analysis
Cause-Effect Analysis
What-If Analysis
Statistical Analysis
Technique Unknown
Gap Analysis
Other
Analyzing Charts / Diagrams
Activity Costing/Time
Advanced Analysis
process
management
tools
COSA BPM
ViewStar Process
Architect
Bizagi BPM Suite
Bizagi Process Resource
Modeler analysis
Insight Maker Goal Seek
Function
iThink
Venism
Sterling
Process model
TaskMap
ProcessNavigator
iGrafx
BusinessGenetics BP
Modeler
PROCESSpedia
Pegasystems BPM
ProcessMate
Monarch BPM
Kofax TotalAgility 7.0 Table 6.
H1: μ < 25). The values of different test parameters and t- and p-values for hypotheses are
given in Table 10.
For H1, p < α, which provides a significant result. H0 was rejected at 1% significance level.
It means that BPM tools do not provide at least 50% of the identified sub-features appropriate
for “Design and Modeling”. Similarly for H2–H5, p-values show highly significant results
(p << α), Ho from H2–H5.
25% Sub-features as Measure of Tool Sufficiency: The T-test was also run for 25% of sub-
features to show that a BPM tool may sufficiently support one or more feature categories if it
includes at least 25% of the sub-features. We obtained 3, 4.25, 1.25 and 4 sub-features from
“Design and Modeling”, “Analysis”, “Implementation” and “Management and
Administration” categories respectively. Test results are summarized in Table 11.
The test static for H1 showed that the experiential data did not conflict with H0 at 1%
significance level. The statistic result was not significant and there was not sufficient
evidence against H0. It may not be rejected. However, the test static for H2–H4 yielded t- and
p-values that gave extremely significant results (p << α) to reject H0 at 1% level of
significance. It showed that BPM tools do not provide at least 25% of sub-features from
“Analysis”, “Implementation” and “Management and Administration” feature categories.
Similarly, outcome of t-test for H5 was also extremely significant, rejecting H0 at α 5 1%.
Therefore, BPM tools do not offer enough features from all feature categories.
7.2.2 Analysis of variance in feature categories. The H6 corresponded to equal provision of
all feature categories in BPM and supporting tools. To test H6, ANOVA test was run
(Table 12) with H0: m1 5 m2 5 m3 5 m4 and H1: m1 ≠ m2 ≠ m3 ≠ m4, where m1 to m4 are means of
BPMJ
Process Debugger
BPEL Generation
Process Discovery
Other
Intalio | BPMS
Roubroo
Joget Workflow
AccuProcess
Inubit
ProcessMaker
jBPM
Postoz
KAISHA-Tec Active Modeler
Avantage
Rational System Architect
ExtendSim/BPR Power Development
QPR Suite
ActionWorks Libraries of process maps & templates
multiDESK
Interstage BP Manager
Fujitsu i-Flow Development Manager
OpenText Process Suite
BMC Remedy Action
COSA BPM Process Integration
Table 7. Bizagi
Features of BPM tools Venism
supporting
“implementation” Kofax TotalAgility 7.0
Hypotheses 1 to 4. At α 5 1%, F-value > critical value (3.782) and p < α. There was enough
evidence to reject H6 at α 5 1%. It can be said that BPM tools lack equal provision of feature
categories.
8. Discussion
The paper establishes the importance of software tools for executing BPM specifically, and also
BPR. However, it does not claim that these tools are solely responsible for their success or failure.
Business
Document Management
Process Management
User Management
Enterprise Management
Project Management
Multi-tenant Management
Change Management
Quality Management
Dashboards
Communication Management
Other
process
management
tools
Intalio | BPMS
Signavio
Effektif
Roubroo
Joget Workflow
AccuProcess
Governance Risk
DynaFlow and Compliance
Management
Inubit
RunMyProcess
Ultimus
BonitaSoft Suite
Imixs Workflow
ProcessMaker
Task Form
jBPM
Management
IBM BP Manager
IBM Blueworks Live
Sim4BPM
Postoz
Management &
Savvion
Admin Module
Oryx
ARISalign
VLPM
RASP
ProcessWise
GRADE
Database
ARIS
Administration
Rational System System
Arch Management
AllFusion 7
Procap / Prosim
ExtendSim/BPR
Teamwork
Pathmaker
ProcessWorks
Meeting
SmartDraw
Management
Distributed
QPR Suite Repository Table 8.
Management Features of BPM tools
Process Developer supporting
“management and
(continued ) administration”
BPMJ
Document Management
Process Management
User Management
Enterprise Management
Project Management
Multi-tenant Management
Change Management
Quality Management
Dashboards
Communication Management
Other
Graham
All Clear
SIMUL8
ActionWorks
Database &
IBM Case
Component
Foundation
Management
Interstage
Task Manager,
Fujitsu i-Flow development
manager
Livelink Workflow
Data
OpenText Process management,
Suite Case
management
BMC Remedy Action
Knowledge
management,
Track-It Incident & Problem
management
COSA BPM
ViewStar Process
Arch
BizagiBPM Suite
Bizagi Process
Modeler
ConceptDraw PRO
Financial
Sterling
management
Process Model
Cameo Business
Modeler
Governance, Risk,
iGrafx compliance
management
BusinessGenetics BP
Modeler
PROCESSpedia
ProcessMate
Edoras Idea management
File based
monitoring,
Monarch BPM Combining
Content
management
Case
KofaxTotalAgility 7.0
Table 8. management
Design and
Business
modeling Analysis Implementation Management process
Tools Score Proportion Score Proportion Score Proportion Score Proportion management
IntaliojBPMS 5 0.42 1 0.06 1 0.2 7 0.44 tools
Signavio Process Editor 6 0.50 4 0.24 0 0 2 0.13
Effektif 2 0.17 0 0.00 0 0 1 0.06
Roubroo 4 0.33 0 0.00 2 0.4 2 0.13
Joget Workflow 2 0.17 0 0.00 1 0.2 3 0.19
AccuProcess Business 4 0.33 3 0.18 1 0.2 1 0.06
Process Modeler
Insight Maker 3 0.25 5 0.29 0 0 0 0.00
DynaFlow 3 0.25 1 0.06 0 0 3 0.19
Inubit 3 0.25 3 0.18 2 0.4 6 0.38
Ultimus 5 0.42 3 0.18 0 0 3 0.19
RunMyProcess 4 0.33 0 0.00 0 0 2 0.13
BonitaSoft Suite 11 0.92 6 0.35 0 0 6 0.38
Imixs Workflow 1 0.08 0 0.00 0 0 2 0.13
ProcessMaker 4 0.33 2 0.12 1 0.2 5 0.31
jBPM 3 0.25 2 0.12 1 0.2 2 0.13
IBM Business Process 3 0.25 0 0.00 0 0 3 0.19
Manager
IBM Blueworks Live 2 0.17 0 0.00 0 0 2 0.13
Sim4BPM 2 0.17 3 0.18 0 0 1 0.06
Postoz 4 0.33 3 0.18 1 0.2 1 0.06
Bizagi Process Modeler 5 0.42 5 0.29 0 0 3 0.19
KAISHA-Tec ActiveModeler 5 0.42 1 0.06 1 0.2 0 0.00
Avantage
Oryx 5 0.42 2 0.12 0 0 1 0.06
ARISalign 5 0.42 1 0.06 0 0 1 0.06
Process Live 5 0.42 0 0.00 0 0 0 0.00
VLPM 3 0.25 3 0.18 0 0 3 0.19
RASP 5 0.42 0 0.00 0 0 1 0.06
DECmodel 3 0.25 1 0.06 0 0 0 0.00
processWise 5 0.42 1 0.06 0 0 3 0.19
GRADE 3 0.25 3 0.18 0 0 2 0.13
ARIS 7 0.58 5 0.29 0 0 3 0.19
Rational System Architect 4 0.33 5 0.29 2 0.4 2 0.13
AllFusion 7 6 0.50 4 0.24 0 0 2 0.13
Procap/Prosim 8 0.67 4 0.24 0 0 2 0.13
ExtendSim/BPR 2 0.17 6 0.35 1 0.2 3 0.19
Teamwork 2 0.17 4 0.24 0 0 6 0.38
Pathmaker 3 0.25 5 0.29 0 0 1 0.06
ProcessWorks 4 0.33 5 0.29 0 0 1 0.06
SmartDraw 3 0.25 2 0.12 0 0 3 0.19
QPR Suite 8 0.67 2 0.12 1 0.2 7 0.44
Process Developer 4 0.33 0 0.00 0 0 1 0.06
Graham Process Mapping 2 0.17 2 0.12 0 0 1 0.06
Software
All Clear 6 0.50 3 0.18 0 0 4 0.25
SIMUL8 5 0.42 6 0.35 0 0 2 0.13
Proforma 7 0.58 6 0.35 0 0 0 0.00
ActionWorks™ Process 7 0.58 8 0.47 2 0.4 3 0.19
Builder
multiDESK 3 0.25 2 0.12 1 0.2 0 0.00
IBM Case Foundation 1 0.08 3 0.18 0 0 2 0.13
Interstage Business Process 6 0.50 5 0.29 2 0.4 9 0.56
Manager
TeamWARE Flow 4 0.33 0 0.00 0 0 0 0.00 Table 9.
Tool scores and
(continued ) proportion data
BPMJ Design and
modeling Analysis Implementation Management
Tools Score Proportion Score Proportion Score Proportion Score Proportion
Figure 2.
Feature histograms for
all feature categories
0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10
Figure 4.
Confidence interval
estimate of population
mean of all feature
categories
H1 H2 H3 H4 H5
Figure 5.
Design and modeling
cluster
Figure 6.
Analysis cluster
Business
process
management
tools
Figure 7.
Implementation cluster
Figure 8.
Management and
administration cluster
9. Conclusion
Many software tools support BPM and related activities; however, lack of them has been
identified among failure factors of quality BPM and BPR initiatives. This paper uncovers
problems related to these tools by conducting a comprehensive tool evaluation. Four feature
categories are identified that are deemed essential for such tools: design and modeling,
BPMJ analysis, implementation and management and administration. Results, obtained from tool
evaluation, showed that BPM and supporting tools do not provide sufficient support to
quality BPM. They do not cater imperative features of process reengineering and process
management amply. A set of total 50 sub-features, identified as a part of this research, is a
unique list, which is built through an iterative process of feature extraction and tool selection.
These sub-features can become a benchmark for future tool evaluations. However, more work
would be required to refine them, both in terms of quantity and quality for successful BPM.
The paper does not aim at providing a list of tools that guarantee quality BPM nor does it
provide a method to determine if a tool is “good” or “bad”. It highlights list of features that
should be part of tools providing either one or more BPM requirements (feature categories).
Based on the feature lists, the paper attempts to determine the extent to which different tools
support BPM. As enablers of BPM, it is imperative to gauge strengths and weaknesses of
these tools in order to facilitate organizations in tool selection. Different organizations may
have different BPM requirements, such a study would benefit them to select an appropriate
tool. Moreover, new tools may unveil, or existing tools may evolve over the time. Therefore, it
is important to regularly update list of features and relevant studies to evaluate BPM and
supporting tools based on those features.
This study provides a benchmark for state-of-the-art BPM tools by giving basic feature
categories and corresponding feature sets. The insight on these basic requirements may
guide the development of better tools. The tools, which are not receiving much appreciation,
may be evolved using the mentioned criteria. The detailed analysis of existing features may
help organizations in gauging BPM tools according to their specific requirements, resulting in
the selection of an appropriate tool. Future studies may involve ranking of these features
based on their usefulness. New features in every category may also be identified.
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Corresponding author
Naveed Ahmad can be contacted at: naveed.ahmad@nu.edu.pk
Appendix 1 Business
process
management
Tool/vendor Access URL/access date
tools
AccuProcess Business Process Modeler (AccuProcess) www.accuprocess.com/ (23rd June, 2016)
Scholtz et al. (2013)
ActionWorks™ Process Builder (Action Technologies) http://www.actiontech.com/products/process_builder.cfm (19th
November, 2016)
ActiveModeler Avantage (KAISHA-Tec) Prager et al. http://www.activemodeler.com/ (22nd November, 2016)
(2009)
Activiti (Alfresco Software) Meyer et al. (2013), https://www.activiti.org/ (23rd December, 2016)
Rademakers (2012)
All Clear (Ideagen) https://www.ideagen.com/ (16th November, 2016)
http://www.allclearsoftware.com/ (16th November, 2016)
AllFusion 7 (Technologies) Maklakov (2003), Recker (2006) https://www.ca.com/us/services-support/ca-support/ca-support-
online/product-content/status/announcement-documents/2011/
allfusion-modeling-suite-r7-is-now-available.html (2nd January,
2017)
https://supportcontent.ca.com/cadocs/0/e002711e.pdf (2nd
January, 2017)
ARIS Express (Software AG) Prager et al. (2009) http://www.ariscommunity.com/aris-express (7th September,
2016)
ARISalign/ARIS Express (Software AG) Prager et al. http://www.ariscommunity.com/aris-express (7th September,
(2009) 2016)
Bizagi BPM Suite (Bizagi) Fraternali et al. (2011) https://www.bizagi.com/ (29th November, 2016)
http://help.bizagi.com/bpmsuite/en/ (29th November, 2016)
Bizagi Process Modeler (Bizagi) Liu et al. (2011) http://www.bizagi.com/ (30th November, 2016)
http://download.bizagi.com/docs/modeler/2511/en/Modeler_
user_Guide.pdf (30th November, 2016)
Blueworks Live (IBM) Al-Fedaghi (2017), Thorpe et al. https://www.blueworkslive.com/home (12th November, 2016)
(2014)
BMC Remedy Action Request System (Software) Da Silva http://www.bmc.com/products/product-listing/remedy-action-
et al. (2009) request-system.html (19th October, 2016)
http://klslconsulting.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/
183986-Workflow-Objects-Guide.pdf (19th October, 2016)
http://remedy.ncsu.edu/project/documentation/PDF/7.6.3_
Compatibility_Matrix.pdf (20th October, 2016)
BonitaSoft Suite (Renamed as Bonita BPM by BonitaSoft) www.bonitasoft.com/ (19th November, 2016)
Rodriguez and Grau (2011)
BPM Product Suite (Pegasystems, Inc.) Craggs (2011) http://www.pega.com/bpm-suite (11th December, 2016)
http://www.pega.com/products/business-process-management
(11th December, 2016)
Business Process Modeler (BusinessGenetics) http://www.businessgenetics.com/Products/
BusinessProcessModeler.aspx (10th December, 2016)
CAM (Design processes and Systems group, Cambridge https://www-edc.eng.cam.ac.uk/cam (24th December, 2016)
EDC)
Cameo® Business Modeler Plugin (No Magic, Inc.) http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/cameo-
Pavalkis (2011) business-modeler-plugin.html (8th December, 2016)
ConceptDraw PRO (CS Odessa Corp.) Swan and Pitta http://www.conceptdraw.com/products/drawing-tool/ (4th
(2010) December, 2016)
COSA BPM Suite (COSA) Van der Aalst (2015) http://www.cosa.nl/bpm_suite.html (27th November, 2016)
DECmodel (Digital Equipment Corporation; acquired by http://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/dtj/vol6num4/vol6num4art3.
Compaq that merged with Hewlett–Packard) Cochran and pdf (27th March, 2016)
King (1993), Hoover and Kratkiewicz (1994)
DynaFlow (DynaFlow Solutions) Meng et al. (2006) http://www.dynaflow-solutions.com/ (16th June, 2016)
Edoras (renamed as Edoras-One by Edorasware) http://www.edorasware.com/edoras.html (21st July, 2016)
https://www.edorasware.com/edoras-one/ (13th December, 2016)
Effektif (Renamed as Signavio Workflow Accelerator) https://www.signavio.com/products/workflow-accelerator/ (1st
January, 2017)
ExtendSim/BPR (Imagine That Inc.) Laguna and www.extendsim.com (9th November, 2016)
Marklund (2013) Table A1.
List of evaluated
(continued ) software tools for BPM
BPMJ Tool/vendor Access URL/access date