On the definition and design-time analysis of process performance indicators

A key aspect in any process-oriented organisation is the evaluation of process performance for the achievement of its strategic and operational goals. Process Performance Indicators (PPIs) are a key asset to carry out this evaluation, and, therefore, having an appropriate definition of these PPIs is crucial. After a careful review of the literature related and a study of the current picture in different real organisations, we conclude that there not exists any proposal that allows to define PPIs in a way that is unambiguous and highly expressive, understandable by technical and non-technical users and traceable with the Business Process (BP). In addition, like other activities carried out during the BP lifecycle, the management of PPIs is considered time-consuming and error-prone. Therefore, providing an automated support for them is very appealing from a practical point of view.In this paper, we propose the PPINOT metamodel, which allows such an advanced definition of PPIs and is independent of the language used to model the business process. Furthermore, we provide an automatic semantic mapping from the metamodel to Description Logics (DL) that allows the implementation of design-time analysis operations in such a way that DL reasoners’ facilities can be leveraged. These operations provide information that can assist process analysts in the definition and instrumentation of PPIs. Finally, to validate the usefulness of our proposal, we have used the PPINOT metamodel at the core of a software tool called the PPINOT Tool Suite and we have applied it in several real scenarios.

► A PPI is a quantifiable metric that allows to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of BPs.
► A metamodel (PPINOT) for the definition of PPIs is proposed.
► A design-time analysis of relationships between PPIs and BP elements is introduced.
► A sematic mapping to DL is provided to implement design-time analysis operations.
► PPINOT Tool Suite has been applied to manage PPIs in three different real scenarios.