Research Article

Key challenges for enabling agile BPM with social software

  1. Giorgio Bruno1,
  2. Frank Dengler2,
  3. Ben Jennings3,
  4. Rania Khalaf4,
  5. Selmin Nurcan5,10,
  6. Michael Prilla6,
  7. Marcello Sarini7,
  8. Rainer Schmidt8,*,
  9. Rito Silva9

Article first published online: 22 FEB 2011

DOI: 10.1002/smr.523

Issue

Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice

Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice

Special Issue: Special Issue on Business Process Management

Volume 23, Issue 4, pages 297–326, June 2011

Additional Information

How to Cite

Bruno, G., Dengler, F., Jennings, B., Khalaf, R., Nurcan, S., Prilla, M., Sarini, M., Schmidt, R. and Silva, R. (2011), Key challenges for enabling agile BPM with social software. Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice, 23: 297–326. doi: 10.1002/smr.523

Author Information

  1. 1

    Dip. Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy

  2. 2

    Institut AIFB, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KIT-Campus S üd Geb. 11.40 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany

  3. 3

    University College London, 44 Hartswood Avenue, Reigate, Surrey, U.K.

  4. 4

    IBM TJ Watson Research Center, 1 Rogers St, Cambridge, MA 02142, U.S.A.

  5. 5

    University Paris, 1 Panth éon, Sorbonne, Paris, France

  6. 6

    University of Bochum, Institute for Applied Work Science, Chair of Information and Technology Management, Universitaetsstr. 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany

  7. 7

    Department of Psychology—University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo, 1, Milano, Italy

  8. 8

    Aalen University, Anton-Huber-Str. 25, 73430 Aalen, Germany

  9. 9

    INESC-ID/IST/Technical University of Lisbon, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000-029 Lisboa, Portugal

  10. 10

    IAE de Paris—Sorbonne Graduate Business School, 21, rue Broca, 75005 Paris, France

*Aalen University, Anton-Huber-Str. 25, 73430 Aalen, Germany

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 13 MAY 2011
  2. Article first published online: 22 FEB 2011
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 16 NOV 2010
  4. Manuscript Revised: 14 NOV 2010
  5. Manuscript Received: 24 FEB 2010

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Keywords:

  • social software;
  • Business Process Management;
  • agile BPM

Graphical Abstract

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Agile Business Process Management requires putting the life cycle of business processes on a new paradigm. Organizational and semantic integration and responsiveness (of the business processes engineering, execution and management activities) have been identified as the main requirements for implementing an agile BPM life cycle. Social software allows satisfying the key requirements for enabling agile BPM by applying the four features of social software: weak ties, social production, egalitarianism and mutual service provision. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Business Process Management is called agile when it is able to react quickly and adequately to internal and external events. Agile Business Process Management requires putting the life cycle of business processes on a new paradigm. It is advocated in this paper that social software allows us to satisfy the key requirements for enabling agile BPM by applying the four features of social software: weak ties, social production, egalitarianism and mutual service provision. Organizational and semantic integration and responsiveness (of the business processes engineering, execution and management activities) have been identified as the main requirements for implementing an agile BPM life cycle. Social software may be used in the BPM life cycle in several manners and using numerous approaches. This paper presents seven among them and then analyzes the ‘support’ effects between those approaches and the underlying social software features, and the three requirements for Agile BPM. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (663K)