What Makes Process Models Understandable

1
What Makes Process Models Understandable?

• Jan Mendling (QUT Brisbane)
• Hajo Reijers (TU Eindhoven)
• Jorge Cardoso (Uni Madeira)

2
Quality Issues in Process Modeling

• Need for appropriately qualified process modelers
  increases with the size of the modeling
  initiative (Rosemann 2006)
• The cost of errors increases exponentially over
  the development lifecycle (Boehm 1981, Moody
  2005)

3
Agenda

• What we know about model quality
• What we dont know about model quality
• What we learned about understandability
• What conclusions can we draw

4
Agenda

• What we know about model quality
• What we dont know about model quality
• What we learned about understandability

5
What we know about model quality (I)

• 1.) Theoretical description of what model
  quality is

Krogstie, Sindre, and Jørgensen (2006)
6
What we know about model quality (II)

• 2.) Pragmatic definition of modeling guidelines

Becker, Rosemann, v. Uthmann (2006)
7
What we know about model quality (III)

• 3.) Quality issues in practice

Mendling (2007)
8
Agenda

• What we know about model quality
• What we dont know about model quality
• What we learned about understandability

9
Understandability
10
Understandability (I)
11
Understandability (II)
12
Questionnaire

• 12 models, 4 models in 3 variants each
• 8 closed questions per model
• 73 BPM students

13
Hypotheses
14
Agenda

• What we know about model quality
• What we dont know about model quality
• What we learned about understandability

15
Understandability depends upon model
16
but small changes have huge impact
If T is executed for a case, can U be executed
for the same case?
17
Understandability depends upon reader
18
but education seems to be curial
19
Conclusions

• Deeper analysis of personal and model factors
• Investigate further factors
• Purpose of model
• Domain knowledge of reader
• Modeling language
• Visual layout
• Modeling education