Associate Professor
Technical University of Denmark
Business process models abstract complex business processes by representing them as graphical models. Their layout, solely determined by the modeler, affects their understandability. To support the construction of understandable models it would be beneficial to systematically study this effect. However, this requires a basic set of measurable key visual features, depicting the layout properties that are meaningful to the human user. The aim of this research is thus twofold. First, to empirically identify key visual features of business process models which are perceived as meaningful to the user. Second, to show how such features can be quantified into computational metrics, which are applicable to business process models. We focus on one particular feature, consistency of flow direction, and show the challenges that arise when transforming it into a precise metric. We propose three different metrics addressing these challenges, each following a different view of flow consistency. We then report the results of an empirical evaluation, which indicates which metric is more effective in predicting the human perception of this feature. Moreover, two other automatic evaluations describing the performance and the computational capabilities of our metrics are reported as well.
In CoRR abs/1602.02992, Feb. 2016.
Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public website are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.
If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
Latest website update: 04 November 2024.