Processes are the backbone of any organization. Business Process Management (BPM) helps improve and optimize these processes. Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) is the leading standard for business process modeling. However, with more than 120 symbols in BPMN 2.0, using it effectively can be challenging. PNA has addressed this by developing a best practice framework that reduces BPMN symbols to a manageable subset for 99% of scenarios.
Although this framework simplifies modeling, a gap still exists in making BPMN accessible to non-experts. Inspired by cogNIAM’s verbalization of data models, PNA developed BPMN verbalization to improve model understanding, learning and verification. Daria’s master’s thesis, which she conducted with PNA, aimed to test how verbalization affects the understandability of BPMN.
The study examined the question, “How do verbalizations affect the understandability of BPMN models?” A survey was sent to students, PNA staff and customers representing different levels of BPMN experience. Participants were divided into two groups: one group received verbalized models and the other group received non-verbalized models. Both actual and perceived comprehensibility were measured.
Results showed that actual understanding was similar in both groups. However, participants who used the verbalized models reported higher perceived ease, meaning they were more confident in working with the verbalizations. Although the verbalizations slightly increased the time spent on the task, it made the experience more enjoyable and user-friendly.
While verbalizations did not directly increase understanding or efficiency, it did improve the accessibility of BPMN for users. This higher perceived ease could be the key to wider acceptance of BPMN, especially for non-technical users.
The findings suggest that verbalizations of BPMN models may not directly improve performance, but they do improve user confidence and engagement. This iscrucial for learning and actually using BPMN models. Future studies should investigate how verbalizations can further simplify BPMN models in more complex scenarios, thereby increasing the usability of BPMN in business process management.
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