Data-Driven Customization of Object Lifecycle Processes

Object-aware processes are capable of automatically generating data-driven forms based on pre-specified object lifecycle processes. Thereby, lifecycle process states correspond to user forms, which comprise the object attributes required to complete the form and to transition to the next process state. The pre-specified flow logic of the steps within a state (i.e., the order in which object attributes shall be written), in turn, determines how the corresponding form is organized and how users are guided in filling the form fields. In practice, however, the order in which users interact with form fields is often user-specific. Even if the pre-specified logic of steps is perceived as intuitive by certain users, others may prefer filling the form in a different order. Although this flexibility constitutes a built-in feature of object lifecycle processes, any guidance not fully matching the mental model of a specific user decreases usability and increases mental effort. By learning from the previous interactions a particular user has had with an object-aware process, the presented approach aims at the data-driven customization of lifecycle processes and corresponding user forms. In particular, the approach enables the data-driven customization of forms for users frequently deviating from the standard guidance based on the adaptions automatically derived for the corresponding lifecycle processes. This enables valuable self-adaptions for both lifecycle processes and process-aware information systems in general.