Designing Digital Work

Stefan Oppl and Christian Stary

Designing Digital WorkConcepts and Methods for Human-centered Digitization

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Stefan Oppl

Institute of Business Informatics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria

Christian Stary

Institute of Business Informatics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria

ISBN 978-3-030-12258-4e-ISBN 978-3-030-12259-1

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12259-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019933402

This book is an open access publication.

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Preface and Acknowledgments

Seeking advice and support when digitalizing business operation can easily lead to humans being taken ‘off the loop’, despite their knowledge on organizing work and accomplishing business processes . Acting in dedicated roles and being technically skilled, we need them to describe the work process when addressing digital challenges. Their knowledge is crucial when using digital technologies to change work processes while moving towards a business model that aims to provide value-producing opportunities in an increasingly digitally driven organizational setting. Transforming transaction knowledge. Workforce needs to become skilled to assess novel developments in an informed way so as to generate beneficial insights for business operation .

Digitized work processes including the human in the loop is becoming mainstream, and not only for the bigger players. As more Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) seek to save time and staffing costs, digital work design is becoming a cost-effective necessity for many businesses. Thereby, adjusted digital and organizational stakeholder innovation is what helps companies gain edge for future development. Ensuring consistent articulation , alignment , and enactment of work where tools and instruments interactively reframe workers’ behavior is likely to maximize validity and relevance.

Understanding digital work design as continual process of stakeholder articulation , alignment , and enactment as well as the results achieved by this process, we capture its dual character in this book:

Digital work design is about digital support of eliciting, sharing, and implementing work knowledge —digital systems support the design process, addressing the Gestalt aspect.
Digital work design is about digital support of running business operation , for example, workflow engines—digital systems support execution of work processes , addressing the implementation aspect.

Presenting a blend of theory, methods, and tools, this book addresses the elicitation of work in organizations , with the purpose to improve or redesign their internal business. We reframe the modeling process as a means to identify and resolve perspectives on collaborative work processes , and integrate methods from Knowledge Management, Business Process Management, and Computer-Supported Co-operative Work. Latest technologies are put into the context of design support while providing the conceptual underpinnings of the articulation and alignment processes occurring during work process elicitation. The methodological inputs refer to transitioning from as-they-are to they-could-be work processes via direct stakeholder involvement.

Providing a unifying framework that guides the design of organizational interventions promotes constructive and structured emergence of novel digital workplace designs and work practices. We want this approach to be understood as an invitation to unfold individual and collective organizational intelligence of concerned stakeholders . Our inputs aim to empower them so that their explication, reflection , and prototyping of work designs in increasingly digital system settings can receive the required appreciation, from both collaborators and management—the latter also held responsible for innovative development and transformation projects.

We are aware of the ambitious undertaking of writing about an interdisciplinary topic, taking into account ecological, technical, cognitive, social, psychological, organizational, and economic aspects of increasingly complex work processes . However, looking for constructively intertwining these different aspects—recognizing relationships as the core carrier of knowledge—we are convinced our findings are an essential trigger to start re-designing socio-technical systems through aligning digital and human capabilities in a resilient way.

While working on the book, we have enjoyed a team spirit, allowing everyone to bring in their different background and experience, both in terms of theory and practice. Our intense collaboration allowed us to come up with a comprehensive picture of subject orientation . We experienced the struggle of streamlining structure and content as a constructive and inspiring moment of our cooperation. We hope the readers are still able to grasp it, in particular when reflecting the systemic nature of Subject-oriented Business Process Management .

For the support we experienced in performing research and development relevant to this book, we want to thank:

Our families supporting our endeavor
All project partners allowing us to evaluate research in organizational development projects and various operational settings
Our students from Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria (JKU) helping us to gain in-depth insights into our methodological and technical research
Palgrave Macmillan publishing house, particularly Liz Barlow and Lucy Kidwell, for their constructive support and cooperation

Special thanks go to Christoph Bawart for his effectiveness and efficiency throughout editing and for finishing all figures in time. We are happy that this book is published under an Open Access License and thus is available to everybody to read for free. The book is funded by the Johannes Kepler Open Access Publishing Fund.

In case the readers are interested in background information and application details, we invite them to join us on ResearchGate (see also researchgate.net ). There, interested readers will find recent work and original material. When looking for instruments available, readers may look at jku.at/ce and i2pm.net (in particular with respect to subject orientation ) for free downloads and case studies in various application areas.

Stefan Oppl

Christian Stary

Linz, Steyr, and Vienna, Austria

2019

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Conceptual Foundations—An Overview 4

1.2 Knowledge Lifecycle 6

1.3 Articulation Work 9

1.4 Model-Centered Learning 10

1.5 Collaborative Multi-perspective Modeling 13

1.6 Natural Versus Techno-Centric Modeling 16

1.7 Taking an Integrated Socio-technical System Perspective 17

References 19

2 Elicitation Requirements 27

2.1 Setting the Stage—Awareness on Roles and Their Management 28

2.2 Situation Awareness 31

2.3 Conceptual Understanding of Complex Systems 38

2.4 Creating a Reflective Practice for Situations-to-Be 46

2.5 Focusing While Utilizing Multiple Perspectives 50

2.6 Articulating Intangible Assets 56

2.7 Engage in Alignment for Collective Intelligence 61

2.8 Synthesis 69

References 71

3 Value-Oriented Articulation 83

3.1 Shaping Role Identities Through Contextual Behavior Articulation 85

3.1.1 Start Simple, Using Natural Language 85

3.1.2 Roles As Semantic and Pragmatic Entities 88

3.1.3 Acting in a Specific Role—Pragmatic Modeling 89

3.1.4 Conclusive Summary 96

3.2 Sorting Out: Cards As Carrier of Functions and Interaction 97

3.2.1 Articulation Concepts 98

3.2.2 Articulation Process 101

3.2.3 Mapping to Subject-Oriented Models 103

3.3 On the Go: Capturing Functions and Interactions While Working 107

3.4 Capturing Tangibles and Intangible Exchange Relationships 110

3.4.1 Organizations As Transactional Networks of Roles 110

3.4.2 Tangible and Intangible Transactions 112

3.5 Cross-Cutting Issues 118

References 127

4 Alignment of Multiple Perspectives: Establishing Common Ground for Triggering Organizational Change 133

4.1 Alignment Concept and Principles 134

4.2 Towards Direct Stakeholder Support—Minimizing Semantic Distance 142

4.3 Alignment Scheme 145

4.4 Alignment Approaches 147

4.4.1 Example: Ex-ante Communication Alignment 152

4.4.2 Example: Ongoing Communication Alignment 155

4.5 Alignment Practice: Ex-post Communication Alignment with CoMPArE/WP 156

4.5.1 Component 1—Setting the Stage 159

4.5.2 Component 2—Articulation and Alignment 161

4.5.3 Component 3—Refinement via Virtual Enactment 168

4.5.4 Transition from Modeling to Enactment 170

4.6 Conclusion 171

References 174

5 Acting on Work Designs: Providing Support for Validation and Implementation of Envisioned Changes 179

5.1 Creating Executable Models Through Scaffolding Articulation and Alignment 179

5.1.1 Scaffolding 181

5.1.2 Scaffolds for Stakeholder-Centric Work Modeling 183

5.1.3 A Framework for Scaffolding Model Articulation and Alignment 186

5.1.4 Scaffolding Articulation and Alignment in CoMPArE/WP 189

5.1.5 Example 191

5.2 Participatory Enactment Support Instrument 193

5.2.1 Background: Process Walk-Throughs and Enacted Prototypes 194

5.2.2 Implications of Enacting Dynamically Changeable Prototypes 196

5.2.3 Tool Support 199

5.2.4 Conclusive Summary 214

5.3 S-BPM-Driven Execution of Actor-Centric Work Processes 215

5.3.1 S-BPM Activity Bundles in the Business Processing Environment 220

5.3.2 S-BPM Activity Bundles in the Knowledge Processing Environment 222

5.3.3 Tool Support 227

5.4 Synthesis 234

References 240

6 Enabling Emergent Workplace Design 249

6.1 Articulation Work and Mental Models 251

6.2 Mental Models Theory and Articulation Work for Organizational Learning 253

6.3 Towards an Integrated Framework 256

6.3.1 Relevant Concepts 257

6.3.2 Implementation of Work Processes 259

6.3.3 Responsibilities and Skills 259

6.3.4 Towards Instantiation 264

6.3.5 Behavioral Interfaces for Interaction Coordination 264

6.3.6 Behavioral Constraints for Individual Actions 264

6.3.7 Varying Degrees of Freedom in Individual Activity 269

6.4 Articulation Engineered for Organizational Learning 269

6.4.1 Featuring OL Processes 273

6.4.2 Support for Repository Access 274

6.4.3 Process Knowledge Elicitation and Knowledge Claim Development 276

6.4.4 Process Visualization for Elicitation and Reflection 279

6.4.5 Process Validation and Simulation for Reflection and Alignment 279

6.5 Conclusion 281

References 281

7 Putting the Framework to Operation: Enabling Organizational Development Through Learning 287

7.1 Sample Actor-Centric Tool Support for Articulation and Elicitation 291

7.1.1 Comprehand Cards 292

7.1.2 Comprehand Table 293

7.1.3 Collaborative Model Articulation and Exploration 301

7.2 Sample Actor-Centric Tool Support for Representation 303

7.2.1 Representing Role Knowledge and Descriptive Meta-knowledge 303

7.2.2 Representing Conceptual Meta-knowledge 304

7.2.3 Enabling the Assessment of Cognitive Meta-knowledge 305

7.3 Sample Actor-Centric Tool Support for Intelligent Content Manipulation 307

7.4 Sample Actor-Centric Tool Support for Processing Work Models 309

7.5 Towards Seamless Tool Support—A Showcase 310

7.5.1 Articulation and Elicitation 311

7.5.2 Representation 312

7.5.3 Manipulation 313

7.5.4 Processing 315

7.6 Conclusions 317

References 318

8 Case Studies 325

8.1 Categorical Knowledge Building Support—A Planning Case 326

8.1.1 Sample Case 330

8.1.2 Insights 334

8.2 CoMPArE/WP Facilitating Project-Based Business Operation 335

8.2.1 Sample Case 337

8.2.2 Observed Effects 348

8.2.3 Insights 351

8.3 Articulating and Aligning Digital Learning Support Features 352

8.3.1 Articulation Support of Intentional Education 357

8.3.2 Developing Digital Learning Support Baselines (Course and Content Models) 365

8.3.3 Semantic Navigation 376

8.3.4 Alignment in User-/Usage-Oriented Design Spaces 381

8.3.5 Insights from the Case 388

8.4 Subject-Oriented Organizational Management 389

8.4.1 Organizational Management 390

8.4.2 Subjects As Carrier of Work Behavior 392

8.4.3 Essential Principles 394

8.4.4 Structuring Articulation 399

8.4.5 Sample Applications 404

8.4.6 Insights from the Case 409

References 410

9 Epilogue 419

References 423

Ontological Glossary 425

Index 429

List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Kernel theories situated in the MTO-framework5

Fig. 1.2 The Knowledge Lifecycle of Firestone and McElroy (adapted from Firestone and McElroy 2003)7

Fig. 1.3 Schemes and mental models (translated and adapted from Ifenthaler 2006)11

Fig. 1.4 Foci of research addressed in this book18

Fig. 2.1 Awareness on roles31

Fig. 2.2 The articulation scheme containing trigger, role-specific activity, and effect34

Fig. 2.3 Customer service actor behavior handling customer product claims35

Fig. 2.4 Scoping another actor behavior—Idea Provider36

Fig. 2.5 Situation awareness38

Fig. 2.6 Conceptual understanding of complex systems45

Fig. 2.7 Work-agogy (according to Arbeitsagogik.ch ) 49

Fig. 2.8 Creating a reflective practice for situations-to-be50

Fig. 2.9 Focusing while utilizing multiple perspectives56

Fig. 2.10 Articulating intangible assets61

Fig. 2.11 Engage in alignment for collective intelligence69

Fig. 3.1 Natural language description of an application procedure for vacation (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))87

Fig. 3.2 Subject identification for the holiday application process, providing subjects and their interaction91

Fig. 3.3 Employee behavior in holiday application process93

Fig. 3.4 Manager’s behavior in holiday application process94

Fig. 3.5 HR department behavior in holiday application process95

Fig. 3.6 A subject with predicates and objects96

Fig. 3.7 Elements of the card-based modeling language100

Fig. 3.8 Sample result of individual articulation102

Fig. 3.9 Result of collaborative consolidation103

Fig. 3.10 Transformation from card-based to S-BPM model105

Fig. 3.11 Process capturing108

Fig. 3.12 Sample holomap for developing Sales and Presales relations116

Fig. 4.1 Architecture of ontology-based BPM systems (adapted from Jung 2009)137

Fig. 4.2 Ontology-based alignment (adapted from Jung 2009)138

Fig. 4.3 Alignment through merging ontology fragments (adapted from Jung 2009)139

Fig. 4.4 Facilitating resolving semantic ambiguities in process modeling based on ontologies according to Fan et al. (2016)140

Fig. 4.5 Developing a domain process ontology instance (according to Fan et al. 2016)141

Fig. 4.6 Alignment of business processes as part of co-developing organizations141

Fig. 4.7 CoMPArE articulation scheme146

Fig. 4.8 Example setting of role-distributed models in an intermediate stage during modeling149

Fig. 4.9 Co-located creation of interaction models on a shared surface153

Fig. 4.10 Modeling of internal behavior on an interactive surface154

Fig. 4.11 Multi-surface setup for distributed modeling of subject-oriented models (bold arrows indicate linked messaging ports)156

Fig. 4.12 The CoMPArE approach represented as a BPMN process157

Fig. 4.13 Result of individual articulation163

Fig. 4.14 Result of component 2.2: Collaborative Consolidation165

Fig. 5.1 Dimensions of scaffolding during work modeling187

Fig. 5.2 Examples of different forms of scaffolds for work modeling189

Fig. 5.3 Scaffolds deployed in CoMPArE/WP (references indicate the foundation for design)190

Fig. 5.4 Top left: model layout template; top right and bottom: modeling results of workshops191

Fig. 5.5 Platform architecture202

Fig. 5.6 Enactment UI (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))204

Fig. 5.7 Expected messages in subject UI (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))205

Fig. 5.8 Process visualizations (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))206

Fig 5.9 Prompting sequence for elaboration208

Fig. 5.10 Example for interactive elaboration prompt (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))209

Fig. 5.11 Specification of messages during elaboration (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))209

Fig. 5.12 Scaffolding prompts (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))211

Fig. 5.13 Example for exploration scaffold (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))212

Fig. 5.14 Example for unhandled communication scaffold (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))213

Fig. 5.15 The S-BPM activity bundle (adapted from Fleischmann et al. 2012)217

Fig. 5.16 Integration of the KLC with S-BPM activity bundles219

Fig. 5.17 Subject-oriented representation schema for three-party process228

Fig. 5.18 Generic behavior of the start subject “Subject 1”229

Fig. 5.19 Generic behavior of “Subject 2”230

Fig. 5.20 Generic structure of the business object “Mail”231

Fig. 5.21 Instantiating a process scheme231

Fig. 6.1 Mental model theory and Articulation Work in the KLC254

Fig. 6.2 Conceptual framework257

Fig. 6.3 Work processes and areas of responsibility260

Fig. 6.4 Persons and areas of responsibility261

Fig. 6.5 Organizational roles clustering areas of responsibility in different work processes262

Fig. 6.6 Interfaces and behaviors of team members263

Fig. 6.7 Instantiation of behavior fragment265

Fig. 6.8 Linking behavioral interfaces266

Fig. 6.9 Different behavioral requirements for a single behavioral interface267

Fig. 6.10 Meeting behavioral requirements through different behavioral implementations268

Fig. 6.11 Conceptual framework for situation-specific interdisciplinary teams270

Fig. 6.12 Articulation engineered for organizational learning (Chris Stary 2014)271

Fig. 6.13 Transactive memory concept used for the codified part of the repository (according to Neubauer et al. 2013)276

Fig. 7.1 Sample model created with modeling cards292

Fig. 7.2 Comprehand Table overview (top-left: interaction on table surface; top-right: modeling tokens with projected connections; bottom: schematic bird’s eye view of tabletop)294

Fig. 7.3 Labeling and associating298

Fig. 7.4 Users can open a token and put additional information into it. Additional information is bound to smaller tokens298

Fig. 7.5 Elements and tools for tabletop concept mapping300

Fig. 7.6 Exemplifying CMap navigation and content links305

Fig. 7.7 Architecture of process enactment environment309

Fig. 7.8 Card-based model (left), interactive surface modeling (right)311

Fig. 7.9 Card-model recognition for conceptual representation: web-interface (left), recognition results (top right), XML-based model representation (bottom right) (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))313

Fig. 7.10 Work process content in the learning environment (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))314

Fig. 7.11 Processing and simultaneous manipulation on an interactive modeling tabletop316

Fig. 8.1 Embodying the planning case into the digital work design framework327

Fig. 8.2 Leveraging stakeholder knowledge for organizational change328

Fig. 8.3 Interactive concept mapping (see also Oppl and Stary 2009, 2011)330

Fig. 8.4 Start map331

Fig. 8.5 Completing the relevant part of the organization332

Fig. 8.6 Patient-oriented treatment planning (out-patient department)333

Fig. 8.7 Finalization of treatment planning (LINAC)334

Fig. 8.8 Embodying the CoMPArE approach to the digital work design framework336

Fig. 8.9 Result of component 1—“Setting the Stage”339

Fig. 8.10 Result of component 2.1—“Individual Articulation” for participants representing “Client” (left) and “Contact Person” (right)340

Fig. 8.11 Result of component 2.1—“Individual Articulation” for participants representing “Mentor” (left) and “Team Leader” (right)341

Fig. 8.12 Result of component 2.2—“Collaborative Consolidation”343

Fig. 8.13 Result of transformation to BPMN346

Fig. 8.14 Example of refinement (left: original process; right: refined process)347

Fig. 8.15 Embodying the educator case to the digital work design framework353

Fig. 8.16 Tabletop concept mapping359

Fig. 8.17 Tabletop concept mapping for articulating educational design—sample patterns360

Fig. 8.18 Approaches to progressive education, according to Weichhart and Stary (2014)362

Fig. 8.19 John Dewey’s approach, according to Weichhart and Stary (2014)363

Fig. 8.20 Helen Parkhurst’s approach, according to Weichhart and Stary (2014)363

Fig. 8.21 Learning principles, according to Weichhart and Stary (2014)364

Fig. 8.22 Progressive learning environment requirements, according to Weichhart and Stary (2014)366

Fig. 8.23 Process map for digital learning support content engineering according to Auinger et al. (2007)367

Fig. 8.24 Content outline map for business process management368

Fig. 8.25 Annotated structure map369

Fig. 8.26 Structure map for interviewing and result presentation370

Fig. 8.27 Educational metadata structure373

Fig. 8.28 Tagged BPM content—‘background information’ and ‘practical guideline’ on the development of process-based organizations (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))374

Fig. 8.29 Didactically enriched concept map navigation377

Fig. 8.30 Relationships between main views according to Neubauer et al. (2011)378

Fig. 8.31 Linking hierarchical and associative navigation design380

Fig. 8.32 Categories of design elements382

Fig. 8.33 A layered approach to a user-/usage-centered learning design space383

Fig. 8.34 Schematic instance of design map according to Weichhart and Stary (2014)385

Fig. 8.35 Dalton Plan editor according to Weichhart and Stary (2014) (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))386

Fig. 8.36 Feedback graphs according to Weichhart and Stary (2014) (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0))387

Fig. 8.37 Embodying the organizational management case to the digital work design framework390

Fig. 8.38 Sample universe of discourse for ‘The clock has fallen off the wall’392

Fig. 8.39 Sample interaction pattern for ‘The clock has fallen off the wall’393

Fig. 8.40 Sample Behavior Synchronization of 2 SBDs394

Fig. 8.41 Cascading perspectives400

Fig. 8.42 Sample diagrammatic representation403

Fig. 8.43 Sample of elicited knowledge and sample of subject-oriented representation407

Fig. 8.44 Person B’s ‘management-by-delegation’408

Fig. 8.45 Person C—getting responsible actors involved408

Fig. 9.1 System development involving the ground model supported by ASM (Börger and Stärk 2012)421

Fig. A.1 Ontology of essential terms used in this work427

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Managing elicited knowledge (according to and translated from F. Fuchs-Kittowski and Fuchs-Kittowski 2007)54

Table 2.2 Summary of elicitation requirements70

Table 3.1 Value-oriented articulation approaches119

Table 3.2 Elicitation requirements and subject-oriented articulation120

Table 3.3 Elicitation requirements and card-based elaboration123

Table 3.4 Elicitation requirements and value network-based articulation125

Table 4.1 Elicitation requirements and CoMPArE/WP171

Table 5.1 Processing work models for validation and enactment235

Table 5.2 Elicitation requirements and scaffolding-based validation and virtual enactment236

Table 5.3 Elicitation requirements and S-BPM-based validation and execution238

Table 7.1 Learning/design dimensions, activities, and tools289

Table 8.1 Example of tagging a BPM content structure373

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables