Advances in Data and Web Management / Lecture Notes in Computer Science Bd.4505 (PDF)

Process Aware Information Systems: A Human Centered Perspective (p. 60)1 Introduction
A Process Aware Information System (PAIS) is a software system that manages and executes operational processes involving people, applications, and/or information sources on the basis of an explicit imbedded process model. The model is typically instantiated many times, and every instance is typically handled in a predefined way. Thus this definition shows that a typical text editor is not process aware, and likewise a typical e-mail client is not process aware.

In both of these examples, the software is performing a task, but is not aware that the task is part of a process. Note that the explicit representation of process allows automated enactment, automated verification, and automated redesign, all of which can lead to increased organizational efficiency. Other potential benefits of PAIS are elaborated in [1].

An increasingly large population of diverse humans is interacting with technology these days, it is therefore increasingly important for computerized systems to address issues of human interaction / collaboration. The incorporation of process into information systems is particularly challenging because most PAIS involve processes performed by people. People processes are complex, semi-structured, and dynamically changing. Within PAIS design, it is thus necessary to take into account factors that impinge upon the organizational structures, the social context, the cultural setting, and other dimensions.

This paper first introduces examples and concepts of collective endeavors noting characteristics that can be quite challenging to capture within process descriptions. In the following sections, a framework for analysis, enactment, and mining is described, then a multidimensional meta-model is introduced. The paper ends with summary and conclusions.

2 Collective PAIS Environments

This section