Towards a Reference Framework for Process Concepts

This paper discusses the importance of process support for business activities. A reference framework for process concepts and technology support is sought. The general requirements and properties of the process domain are first discussed. Then, four process sub-models are presented to describe activities, products, tools and organisations, respectively. Five process model phases are also introduced, as well as meta-processes and related human roles to handle process models and their transformations. The process concepts are applied to a bank example. Keywords: (software) process, process modeling, process improvement, meta-process, roles. 1 Introduction Business 1 activities carried out in our society are becoming more and more complex and difficult to manage. The reasons for this are rooted in the rapid evolution of social and economic activities during the last decades, and the diffusion 3 Norwegian Institute of Technology--NTH, Division of Computer Systems and Telematics, N-70..