Research Projects
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"Enterprise models empower us to shape the digital transformation of organisations—of small and medium businesses, large corporations, public administration, unions, clubs and associations of all kinds. Without conceptual models of such enterprises, their social action systems in coaction with their computer information systems, we cannot understand the complex human-computer-interactions that concern us and cannot seize the opportunities of their applications to problems of modern society."
(Strecker 2019)
Our research program is aimed at shaping the digital transformation by seizing the potentials of conceptual models for organizational analyses, organization design, and managerial decision-making.
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Business process simulation – adaption, usage and user requirements
Business process simulation (BPS) marks an essential Business Process Management (BPM) technique for analyzing business processes and for reasoning about process improvement. While recognized as a vital technique at the core of BPM, insights into the use of BPS in practice are scarce and principle barriers prevent BPS research to transfer to practical applications. Hence, the research project aims to contribute to cumulatively compiling a common knowledge base on BPS adoption and usage by combining large-scale studies aiming at a structuring overview with in-depth investigations contributing to a detailed understanding of practical applications of BPS. This behavioral research on BPS usage is expected to form a basis from which to engage in construction-oriented research on approaches to BPS and on BPS tools. -
Individual Modeling Processes
Conceptual modeling as an activity involves an intricate array of cognitive processes and performed actions including abstracting, conceptualizing, contextualizing, associating, visualizing, interpreting & sense-making, judging & evaluating, and, in group settings, communicating, discussing and agreeing. Despite its importance and complexity, the process (or ‘act’) of conceptual modeling has received only limited attention in research so far.
The research project aims to contribute to a richer and more complete understanding of individual modeling processes and, hence, to a theoretical foundation for designing tailored support for modelers at different stages of their mastering of conceptual modeling. -
TOOL - A web browser-based modeling tool and observatory
TOOL is a browser-based modeling tool and modeling observatory we have been researching, designing and developing since 2013. TOOL is part of a long-term research program aimed at better understanding the learning of conceptual modeling by observing individual modeling processes–following the overarching objective of designing and implementing targeted tool support for modelers at different stages of their learning and mastering of conceptual modeling. TOOL implements a multi-modal observation and data generation approach complementing different modes of observation, and is used in a series of research studies.
