Support for describing service delivery processes using collection of structure patterns of process

Abstract

Since service is an artifact as well as physical product, we can observe both function design and activity design of service in a conceptual design phase. Activity design requires designers to deploy all designed functions into activities in service delivery process. However, it is difficult for non-experienced designers to model complicated service delivery processes such as conditional branches and exception handlings while assuring the relationship to functions. To solve this problem, the authors propose a design support of constructing service delivery processes using a collection of structure patterns of processes called Workflow Patterns. In this paper, we make the Workflow Patterns hierarchized by the ISM method so that designers can easily choose a pattern among them according to purpose. The proposed method was implemented on a CAD system for service, and its effectiveness was verified through an evaluation experiment. As a result, it was revealed that the proposed method is especially effective in the case of constructing processes including conditional branches.

Keywords

• service engineering
• process modeling
• function design
• service blueprint
• cad