A Framework for Quantifiable Process Improvement through Method Fragments in Situational Method Engineering

Abstract

In the field of Business Process Management (BPM), planning and executing precise process tailoring and optimization can be done through different design strategies. Even though Situational Method Engineering (SME) can provide an additional layer of constitutional knowledge, it hasn’t been explored as deeply as other traditional methods. Strategies that rely on a so-called “situational context” make use of the atomic conceptual entities known as method chunks and/or fragments from the field of Situational Method Engineering (SME). BPM, on the other hand, describes processes through representational tools that have been thoroughly used in industry and established as reliable. All of these designs have advantages and disadvantages. We analyzed several designs and proposed a synthesized framework (metamodel) that combines their strong points, while also providing a way to objectively quantify and restructure the performance of a pre-existing process/product (or optimize the creation of an entirely new one). We provide an analysis with a manufacturing organization using BPM concepts for process management/improvement and our proposed method framework, which incorporates Situational Method Engineering metamodelling and the Critical Path Method as a base for process improvement. We show here how using our proposed framework brings a flexible approach to a structured process management, helping enterprises to define, apply, store and retrieve their processes through methods/fragments, while also providing a guideline for systematic tailoring.