Elective Seminar: Trends in Business Process Management

None

• Methods and standards for business process modeling and analysis: BKM (Best Knowledge Method/formerly: Picture Card Design Method), BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation), and DMN (Decision Model and Notation)
• Current developments and trends in business process management (BPM), e.g., Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Process Mining, Adaptive Case Management, Low Code/No Code, Green BPM.
• Interaction of BPM with theories and frameworks from other fields, e.g., Objectives and Key Results (OKR), Scrum, models from Change Management 

Digitalization, and its related trends, bring opportunities and challenges in business process management (BPM). Data analytics, Artificial Intelligence, or hyperautomation allow new ways of refining and improving business processes. Unstructured, collaborative, and knowledge-intensive processes are on the rise and low code/no code platforms enable a more democratized BPM approach. Trends such as agile, new work, or sustainability/Net Zero are also reflected in business process management.

• Students know how to use various methods (BKM, BPMN, DMN) for design and analysis of business processes. They can describe the concepts and basic elements of these methods. Furthermore, the students can assess the different methods and determine which method is best suited for the respective use case.
• Students are familiar with current developments and trends in business process management. They can explain the associated opportunities and challenges and assess them in concrete application cases.
• Students will recognize the importance of a holistic approach to designing processes and gain a multidisciplinary view of process management by integrating theories and models from other fields such as knowledge management or change management.

In addition, students train social-communicative skills (S/C) such as facilitation and presentation skills, readiness to cooperate, and critical faculties, as well as personal skills (P) such as personal responsibility, reflection skills, initiative, and expressiveness. 

Integrated course: 2 THW

Lectures and guest lectures, presentation by students, discussion, practical application (e.g., modeling methods), group and individual work, self-study (literature)

• Presentation (50%): presentation of a selected current discipline-specific topic of business process management (including a practical exercise part)
• Work Assignments (50%): accompanying work assignments (e.g., process modelling tasks) that have to be completed individually and handed in by a specified due date 

For a positive grade, a minimum of 50% of the possible points must be achieved in each part of the examination.

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• Dumas, M., La Rosa, M., Mendling, J., Reijers, H.A (2018). Fundamentals of Business Process Management. 2nd edition. Germany: Springer.
• Freund, J., Rücker, B. (2019): Real-Life BPMN: Includes an introduction to DMN. 4th edition. Independently published.
• Optionally (available in German language only):
  Gappmaier, M., Gappmaier, C. (2011). Alles Prozess?!: Einfach wirksame Prozessoptimierung in jeder Situation mit der Bildkartenmethode (BKM). Germany: Books on Demand GmbH

Online lecture: Compulsory attendance