Recker, Jan C. ORCID: 0000-0002-2072-5792
(2013).
Empirical investigation of the usefulness of Gateway constructs in process models.
European journal of information systems : EJIS ; an official journal of the Operational Research Society, 22 (6).
pp. 673-689.
London:
Taylor and Francis.
ISSN 1476-9344
Abstract
Process modeling grammars are used to create scripts of a business domain that a process-aware information system is intended to support. A key grammatical construct of such grammars is known as a Gateway. A Gateway construct is used to describe scenarios in which the workflow of a process diverges or converges according to relevant conditions. Gateway constructs have been subjected to much academic discussion about their meaning, role and usefulness, and have been linked to both process-modeling errors and process-model understandability. This paper examines perceptual discriminability effects of Gateway constructs on an individual's abilities to interpret process models. We compare two ways of expressing two convergence and divergence patterns — Parallel Split and Simple Merge — implemented in a process modeling grammar. On the basis of an experiment with 98 students, we provide empirical evidence that Gateway constructs aid the interpretation of process models due to a perceptual discriminability effect, especially when models are complex. We discuss the emerging implications for research and practice, in terms of revisions to grammar specifications, guideline development and design choices in process modeling.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||||
Creators: |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-87676 | ||||||||||
DOI: | 10.1057/ejis.2012.50 | ||||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | European journal of information systems : EJIS ; an official journal of the Operational Research Society | ||||||||||
Volume: | 22 | ||||||||||
Number: | 6 | ||||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 673-689 | ||||||||||
Date: | November 2013 | ||||||||||
Publisher: | Taylor and Francis | ||||||||||
Place of Publication: | London | ||||||||||
ISSN: | 1476-9344 | ||||||||||
Language: | English | ||||||||||
Faculty: | Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences | ||||||||||
Divisions: | Weitere Institute, Arbeits- und Forschungsgruppen > Cologne Institute for Information Systems (CIIS) Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences > Business Administration > Information Systems > Chair for Information Systems and Systems Development |
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Subjects: | Data processing Computer science Management and auxiliary services |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: |
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Refereed: | Yes | ||||||||||
URI: | http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/8767 |
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