BPM for the masses: empowering participants of Cognitive Business Processes

TL;DR

This paper explores how emerging technologies like blockchain and machine learning can democratize Business Process Management, making it accessible for end users without extensive domain or IT expertise.

Contribution

It introduces a framework leveraging blockchain and deep learning to empower end users to author, monitor, and analyze business processes independently.

Findings

Blockchain reduces monitoring effort through shared ledgers.

Deep learning enables personalized process views.

Cognitive tools facilitate end-user process management.

Abstract

Authoring, developing, monitoring, and analyzing business processes has requires both domain and IT expertise since Business Process Management tools and practices have focused on enterprise applications and not end users. There are trends, however, that can greatly lower the bar for users to author and analyze their own processes. One emerging trend is the attention on blockchains as a shared ledger for parties collaborating on a process. Transaction logs recorded in a standard schema and stored in the open significantly reduces the effort to monitor and apply advanced process analytics. A second trend is the rapid maturity of machine learning algorithms, in particular deep learning models, and their increasing use in enterprise applications. These cognitive technologies can be used to generate views and processes customized for an end user so they can modify them and incorporate best practices learned from other users' processes. Keywords: BPM, cognitive computing, blockchain, privacy, machine learning