Goal-Oriented Business Process Engineering Revisited: a Unifying Perspective

Abstract

The goal-oriented approach to business modeling was identified as one of the “three most important issues in driving business processes towards their goals” by the Business Process Management Journal [1]. Although goaloriented process engineering is gaining momentum, with frameworks, methods and tools being developed in increasing numbers, it continues to be segmented across various research disciplines, with duplication of effort and lack of a coordinated approach to this important research problem. While it is both unlikely and undesirable to have a single method that addresses all business needs, understanding the relationship between the existing approaches will help to identify overlaps and articulate gaps reducing duplication of effort and providing direction for future research. The aim of this paper is firstly, to build on existing assessment frameworks to provide a coherent review of goaloriented process engineering that crosses disciplinary boundaries; and secondly, to provide an alternative perspective on goal-oriented process engineering by integrating decision and process management based methodologies.