Adequacy in Process Modeling: A Review of Measures and a Proposed Research Agenda

Adequacy of process design is closely connected to the notion of process model adequacy, which in turn is a surrogate for model quality. Quality of modeling is an important field of research in which, however, a comprehensive and generally acknowledged understanding is still outstanding. Notions of “model”, “adequacy” and “quality” often remain vague and focus on single aspects such as “syntax” or “semantics” rather than a comprehensive perspective. In this paper we review existing measures and proposals for process model quality as a surrogate for modeling adequacy. Forthcoming from this review we argue that it is foremost the question of modeling pragmatics that is of pertinence when trying to ascertain the adequacy of process modeling. We illustrate how pragmatic concerns mediate traditional conceptions of model quality. The paper ends with a proposed research agenda in the area of process model quality that stipulates an adequacy perspective with a closer focus on the socioorganizational context in which process modeling occurs.