Recommendations for visual feedback about problems within BPMN process models

Business process modeling is a key task in business process management because, besides representing processes, the process models are used, for example, for communication purposes among stakeholders. When not correctly modeled, process models may diminish businesses’ profitability. In this work, we conducted a survey with 57 participants, where we gathered a list of modelers’ needs regarding the feedback they would like to get about problems in process models. For example, modelers would like to get feedback according to their level of experience and be able to activate/deactivate automatic validation. Then, we built a catalog of required features that represents a set of features that process modeling tools should address regarding feedback about problems in process models. Furthermore, we mapped the identified modelers’ needs to how a group of process modeling tools provides such kind of feedback and to the solutions found in the literature. Finally, based on the gaps found in the mapping, we provide a set of recommendations for visual feedback about problems in process models, which can guide the development of future process modeling tools. Our work focuses on the Business Process Model and Notation because it is an ISO standard, supported by several process modeling and execution tools.