Skip to main content
View expanded cover

Design Thinking pp 181–195Cite as

Bringing Design Thinking to Business Process Modeling

Part of the Understanding Innovation book series (UNDINNO)

Abstract

Business process management is at the heart of organizations. It provides concepts and methods to capture, analyze and improve operational procedures in the daily business of organizations. The elicitation of process models is the first step in any process improvement project. Process models mediate communication between the different stakeholders involved, such as, for instance, business analysts, process participants, and software architects. Process models provide a shared understanding, so that everyone can contribute knowledge. Based on design thinking principles, this paper develops a method that aims at improving business process modeling. To achieve this goal, we introduce physical building blocks and methodological guidance to fundamentally change the way people interact with process models. Tangible prototypes have been successfully used in design thinking, and initial experiments show that a tangible toolset is a promising approach to improve business process modeling and comprehension. The focus of this paper is on the insights we got during the cooperative research project, i.e., the research path we took. Finally, we explain our research method and outline the next steps.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-13757-0_11
  • Chapter length: 15 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-3-642-13757-0
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.unity.de/.

References

  1. Hammer, M., Champy, J.: Reengineering the corporation: A manifesto for business revolution. Collins Business, NY (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Lawrence, P.: Workflow handbook, WfMC. Wiley, NY (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  3. van der Aalst, W., Hofstede, A., Weske, M.: Business process management: A survey. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 1–12, Springer, Berlin (2003)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  4. Smith, H., Fingar, P.: Business process management: The third wave. Meghan Kiffer Press, FL (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  5. OMG: Business Process Modeling Notation, Version 1.2. Final Adopted Specification. Object Management Group (2006), http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/1.2/

  6. Zur Muehlen, M., Recker, J.: How much language is enough? Theoretical and practical use of the business process modeling notation. In: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE 2008), Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Volume 5074, pages 465–479, Springer, Berlin (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Edelman, J., Grosskopf, A., Weske, M.: Tangible business process modeling: A new approach. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Engineering Design, ICED’09 (August 2009)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Grosskopf, A., Edelman, J., Weske, M.: Tangible business process modeling – methodology and experiment design. In Mutschler, B., Wieringa, R., Recker, J., eds.: 1st International Workshop on Empirical Research in Business Process Management (ER-BPM’09). Volume 1, pages 53–64, Springer, Ulm, Germany (September 2009)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Krallmann, H., Schönherr, M., Trier, M.: Systemanalyse im Unternehmen. Oldenbourg (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Byrd, T., Cossick, K., Zmud, R.: A synthesis of research on requirements analysis and knowledge acquisition techniques. MIS Quarterly 16 (1992) 117–138

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  11. Kettinger, W., Teng, J., Guha, S.: Business Process Change: A Study of Methodologies, Techniques, and Tools. Management Information Systems Quarterly 21 (1997) 55–80

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  12. Stirna, J., Persson, A., Sandkuhl, K.: Participative enterprise modeling: Experiences and recommendations. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 4495, page 546, Springer, Berlin (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Persson, A.: Enterprise modelling in practice: situational factors and their influence on adopting a participative approach. PhD thesis, Dept. of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Persson, A., Stirna, J.: An explorative study into the influence of business goals on the practical use of enterprise modelling methods and tools. New Perspectives on Information Systems Development: Theory, Methods and Practice, Kluwer, NY (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Fahrwinkel, U.: Methode zur Modellierung und Analyse von Geschäftsprozessen zur Unterstützung des Business Process Reengineering. PhD thesis, Univ.-Gesamthochschule Paderborn (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Heinz Nixdorf Institute: OMEGA: Object-oriented method strategic redesign of business processes. In: Changing the ways we work: shaping the ICT-solutions for the next century: Proceedings of the Conference on Integration in Manufacturing, page 381, Göteborg, Sweden, 6–8 October (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Gausemeier, J., Plass, C., Wenzelmann, C.: Zukunftsorientierte Unternehmensgestaltung–Strategien, Geschäftsprozesse und IT-Systeme für die Produktion von morgen. Hanser Fachbuch (2009)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Jonathan Edelman who was constantly involved in our research activities. His insights from his own media model research were crucial to steer our learning cycles. We also thank Gregor Gabrysiak for his support in the early stages of the TBPM development.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Principal Investigator, Hasso-Plattner-Institute, University of Potsdam, 14482, Potsdam, Germany

    Alexander Luebbe & Mathias Weske

Authors
  1. Alexander Luebbe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mathias Weske
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander Luebbe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hasso-Plattner-Institut GmbH, Prof.-Dr.-Helmert-Str. 2-3, Potsdam, 14482, Germany

    Christoph Meinel

  2. , Stanford Center for Design Research, Stanford University, Panama Mall 424, Stanford, 94305-2232, California, USA

    Larry Leifer

  3. Hasso-Plattner-Institute for Software Sy, Prof-Dr-Helmert-Str. 2-3, Potsdam, 14482, Germany

    Hasso Plattner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Luebbe, A., Weske, M. (2011). Bringing Design Thinking to Business Process Modeling. In: Meinel, C., Leifer, L., Plattner, H. (eds) Design Thinking. Understanding Innovation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13757-0_11

Download citation