Business process documentation in creative work systems [Elektronische Ressource] : a design science study in television production / Milan Karow. Betreuer: Jörg Becker

Milan Karow

Sujets

• Informatik

Informations

• Publié par: westfalische_wilhelms-universitat_munster
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 29
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

BusinessProcessDocumentation
inCreativeWorkSystems
ADesignScienceStudyinTelevisionProduction
Inauguraldissertation
zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades
eines Doktors der Wirtschaftswissenschaften
durch die Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät
der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster
vorgelegt von
Milan Karow
aus Radebeul
Münster, 2011Dean (Dekan): Prof. Dr. Thomas Apolte
First Supervisor (Erstberichterstatter): Prof. Dr. Jörg Becker
Second Supervisor (Zweitberichterstatter): Prof. Dr. Ulrich Müller-Funk
Defense Date (Tag der mündlichen Prüfung): 17. November 2010ToNadineForeword
Conceptual modeling as a tool for effective business process management is a core subject in
the IS community. The last fifteen years have seen considerable improvements on methods
and implementations for model-based process analysis and design. However, the application
area of these methods and tools has since been constricted the context of highly predictable
and repeatable process structures that are readily accessible to formalization. In these areas,
the major goals of modeling endeavors can be found in measurement and optimization
of process efficiency, in process restructuring and automation. In businesses, however,
where originality and innovation are predominant drivers of the competitive environment,
traditional efficiency figures will take a back seat in the assessment of a company’s success.
Accordingly, in such contexts where creativity and knowledge-intensive work are essen-
tial to the creation of value, traditional forms of process modeling reach their limits of
applicability. Such business processes are characterized by high levels of uncertainty, rely
heavily on individual abilities of their actors and demand for a sufficient degree of flexibility
to bring creative potentials to their full effect. Traditional process modeling techniques
fail to capture these variabilities. Process analysts that find themselves confronted with
work structures that are determined by individual creativity and knowledge, will likely deal
with the inherent problem in using one of two strategies. The first strategy is to regard
creativity-intensive processes as black boxes, since further detailing on a modeling level
seems unfeasible due to the inherent variability. The second strategy implies forcing the
applied method’s formalism on these processes. While the first way will lead to an unde-
sirable lack of detail, the second will alienate the nature of the process and might result in
severelyriskingitscreativepotential.Thus,amoreadaptingmodelingmethodisrequired.
Milan Karow addresses this challenging topic by posing his research question on how
creativity-intensive processes can be purposefully documented in conceptual models. The
primary goal of his doctoral thesis is to provide for a modeling method that meets both the
requirements of creative organizations on flexibility, as well as resulting in process documen-
tations suitable for executives, clients and other stakeholders to identify and comprehend
vvi
the essential structures in these processes. The domain to which a certain method is to
be applied is a crucial influence factor of such an application. Milan Karow adheres to
this notion by applying his method to a comprising case study that has been conducted in
television production in Germany. His findings are thus not only insightful from a process
management and methodology perspective in general, but also display a great knowledge
baseforthatparticulardomain.
Münster, 2011 JörgBeckerPreface
This thesis is the result of my work in the research project “Management of Creativity-
intensive Processes” (ManKIP) that has been funded by the German Federal Ministry of
Education and Research. It was in late summer 2008 when my colleagues Stefan Seidel and
Felix Müller-Wienbergen suggested that I should join the project which had already started
at the beginning of said year. My research interests at the time had already been revolving
around conceptual modeling and its application in organizational contexts for some time.
Starting off from the question how real-world models could efficiently be transformed
into information system structures, my interests shifted towards the question how such
models can be put to use beyond merely technical considerations. The predominant idea of
this notion was to investigate in models as means of knowledge sharing between human
recipients and modeling as an endeavor to structuring rather than formalization. The
ManKIP project then offered the opportunity to project my method knowledge to an area
largely untouched by process modeling. The creative environment of television production
that we investigated in our study proved to be an exciting domain for this kind of application.
Especially the various informal conversations I had with different domain experts besides
therecordedinterviewsgaveagreatsensefortheimportanceofdomainlanguageand
thevalueofamodelasmeansofsupport.Itwasoneofmyobjectivestoincorporatethat
domain sense into this thesis.
Formakingthisworkpossible,Iamindebtedtoagreatlotofpeople.First,Iwanttothank
my supervisor Prof. Dr. Jörg Becker for creating the open-minded working atmosphere
at the European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS) that provides such an
inspiring setting for individual research interests. This environment enabled me to pursue
different interesting strands of investigation that finally resulted in this thesis. My thanks
also go to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Müller-Funk for his support as second supervisor.
Moreover, I want to thank all of my friends and colleagues for an excellent time at the
ERCIS. The time I focused on method-related topics in modeling I collaborated with the
“RefMod crew” and collected a great variety of insights and ideas on conceptual modeling.
viiviii
For this, I owe many thanks especially to Patrick Delfman, Armin Stein, Lukasz Lis and
SebastianHerwig.SpecialthanksalsogotomyfellowSaxonDanielPfeiffer,withoutwhom
I never may have seized the opportunity to apply for the job as a research assistant and with
whom I had fascinating discussions about the philosophy and the semiotic foundations
of conceptual modeling. Of course a very special thank-you is due to the “creative bunch”,
first and foremost to Stefan and Felix for making this project possible, for encouraging
me to dive into this new topic and for the invaluable input they provided with their work.
Furthermore, I want to thank Katrin Bergener and Matthias Voigt for their dedication
withintheprojectandforbeinggreatsparringpartnerswhoneverhesitatedtogivehonest
and constructive feedback.
The greatest thanks, however, I owe to my fiancée Nadine, who has been an indispensible
source of encouragement and love throughout almost the entirety of my academic career.
She valiantly weathered through times of petulance and disregard while never losing her
patience and appreciation. This work is dedicated to her.
Münster, 2011 Milan KarowContents
ListofFigures xiii
ListofTables xvii
IndexofAbbreviations xix
1 ExpositionandIntroduction 1
1.1 MotivationandResearchContext......................... 1
1.2 ResearchQuestions................................. 3
1.3 ThesisStructure................................... 4
2 LiteratureReviewandRelatedWork 7
2.1 ScopeandStrategyofRetrieval.......................... 7
2.2 BusinesProcesManagementandModeling.................. 8
2.2.1 Business Process Reengineering and Management . . . ....... 9
2.2.2 Alternative Approaches to Business Process Formalization..... 12
2.2.3 Socio-technical Approaches to BPM 14
2.2.4 Workflow Management and Process Data Interchange ........ 16
2.2.5 Knowledge Representation and Documentation ........... 18
2.2.6 Organizational Creativity . . ....................... 19
2.3 ConceptualModelingandLanguageConstruction .............. 20
2.3.1 Language Conceptualizations 22
2.3.2 Method Engineering ........................... 24
2.4 PositioningofthisResearch............................ 25
3 ResearchDesign 29
3.1 ResearchMethodology............................... 29
3.2 Design Science and Design Theory . ....................... 30
3.2.1 IT Artifacts in Design Science 31
3.2.2 Theory in Design Science......................... 32
3.3 PhilosophicalAsumptions 33
3.3.1 Ontological Position............................ 33
3.3.2 Epistemological Position . . . 35
3.3.3 Concepts of Truth and Value . 35
3.4 MultilingualQualitativeResearch ........................ 36
ixx Contents
3.5 ResearchProces .................................. 37
4 ProcessDocumentationforCreativeWorkSystems 41
4.1 CreativityinBusinesProceses.......................... 41
4.1.1 Properties of Creativity-intensive Processes .............. 41
4.1.2 Subcategories of Creativity Intensive Processes ............ 44
4.1.3 ConceptualizationofCreativityinProcesses: thePocketofCreativity 48
4.2 ProcesModelingLanguageAnalysis ...................... 50
4.2.1 Requirements for Process Modeling in Creative Contexts ...... 51
4.2.2 Language Analysis: Sampling Strategy ................. 56
4.2.3 Detailed Analysis ............................. 56
4.2.4 Analysis Summary and Verdict 70
4.3 DevelopmentoftheAbstractSyntaxandSemanticalFoundation...... 71
4.3.1 Der