Business Process Management (BPM) research projects
The business process field is constantly evolving. Since 2021, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has gained in popularity. These technologies make it possible to design robots that mimic the behaviour of an application user directly on the user interface. For example, it is possible to replace a human who performs repetitive data entry tasks.
BPM and RPA software interoperability
The aim of this R&D project is to interconnect BPM software – which graphically represents business processes – in order to link it to Documentation Managers (DM) and commercially available RPA tools.
Learning the operating rules of these tools enables students to master BPM as used in business and to identify interoperability opportunities that enable productivity improvements within the company.
Multi-perspective BPM
Our research and consultation work with American companies enabled us to identify gaps in BPNM notation when it was implemented in the company. Managers created other representations (such as Visio), while IT specialists and engineers preferred to use the BPMN representation. These observations led us to develop the following R&D projects that are currently underway:
BPM+: Extension of BPNM notation to simplify it so that the management team as well as IT specialists can share the same process mapping.
Multi-perspective controls
We found that the controls embedded in business processes are difficult to locate and that it is difficult to subsequently assess their compliance. This project aims to solve this problem using an innovative interactive multi-perspective control presentation interface:
Work by Dr. Carlos Monsalve: see his doctoral dissertation.
The formal validation of level 2 of the BPM+ notation using the BWW model made it possible to identify inconsistencies, necessary additions and formalize the transformation rules for process graphic notations.
Work by Dr. Ahmad Alomari: see his doctoral dissertation.
Level 3 extensions (i.e., process operational level). The current BPM+ level 3 contains a single graphical representation tailored to procedure and control documentation. Ahmad Alomari is currently working on defining other graphical representations that would be better suited to specific occupations, such as for a security expert. Read an article by Dr. Alomari.
