Analysis and improvement of business process models using spreadsheets

Abstract

Software in general is thoroughly tested before it is released to its users. Business processes often are not – at least not as thoroughly as they could – before they are released to their users, e.g., employees or software agents. This article ascribes this practice to the lack of suitable testing instruments for business process analysts, who design the processes, and aims to provide them with the necessary instruments to allow them to also test their processes. We use a spreadsheet paradigm to represent business process testing tasks, such as writing metrics and assertions, running tests, and designing test reports, and implement a spreadsheet-based tool for business process testing. The results of two independent user studies demonstrate the viability of the approach.