An exploratory study of process modelling practice with bpmn

This paper is a contribution towards a theory-driven, exploratory empirical investigation of process modeling practice with the industry standard BPMN. We perform a representational analysis of BPMN using an ontological representation theory. Furthermore, we discuss a series of semi-structured interviews with BPMN adopters in order to explore the use of this technique empirically. We identify several representational issues related to the practice of modeling with BPMN, for example, the capture of business rules and the specification of process decompositions. Our study uncovers five contextual factors that impact on the use of process modeling techniques, such as tool support and modeling conventions. We discuss implications for research and practice. In particular, we highlight the need for consideration of representational issues and contextual factors in decisions relating to BPMN adoption in organizations