Modeling highly collaborative processes

Abstract

Difficulties creating process descriptions can occur because the processes extend beyond coordination, including for instance conversations, meetings, and discussions. These tasks are difficult to describe using conventional business process modeling languages, which tend to emphasize coordination. There is a need then to provide facilities for the description of highly collaborative activities. This paper proposes an extension to the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) modeling language. It includes notation to handle some of the commonly occurring tasks in highly collaborative processes. A case study concerning emergency response is presented showing how the proposed notation can be used, and how the extension provides additional expressiveness to BPMN.