Novel tools to support knowledge-driven business process improvement in organisations
A shift in perspective from traditional top-down business process definition towards individuals working in an organisation for a common goal enables the flexibility required for adaptation. In a subject-oriented business process model, work procedures are represented along the communication among the individual actors and their exchange of information. At the same time, how work is performed individually remains flexible, as long as the communication interfaces are agreed upon. This means people performing a task in a certain way can share their process knowledge and at the same time learn how another person may do the same task. This type of bottom-up thinking individualises the tasks and activities. In turn, this leads ultimately to individuals working in harmony and new work processes. A harmonised work environment is agile and can adapt quickly to an ever-changing business world. The EU-funded IANES (Interactive acquisition, negotiation and enactment of subject-oriented business process knowledge) set out to capture this knowledge. The aim was to then share the acquired information and align it on a practical level. IANES is conceptually based on Joseph Firestone and Mark McElroy's knowledge lifecycle (KLC), a framework for embedding knowledge work in business process-oriented organisational settings. Project partners developed and evaluated a set of methodologically and technically aligned instruments. Such tools led to the interoperability of all instruments, enabling seamless interaction with the newly created IANES toolset. The instruments allow people to identify and understand their own and others' roles within a collaborative work process, capture and describe a work process situation, develop new ways of working together as well as share and distribute knowledge about work procedures. Researchers also refined and modified instruments that have been successfully used in both research and industry. Included are new instruments that address the remaining gaps for supporting the KLC. IANES instruments and tools will get workers more involved in business process management and increase the impact of how organisations conduct themselves within and beyond.
Keywords
Business environments, organisational work procedures, IANES, business process knowledge, knowledge lifecycle
