The idea of the ACTION project is to interactively model processes of any complexity, generate their codes and permanently optimize workflows. ACTION offers the opportunity to document processes semi-automatically and intuitively with the help of chatbots and in dialog with all process participants. Whereas processes used to be defined on a drawing board on a lonely desk, ACTION allows all those involved to come together in dialog and describe their process in natural language. Smart chatbots provided by ACTION integrate themselves into the conversation and take on the role of the IT systems involved. ACTION captures a formal process model in the background so that all participants can see live how the process is created. Quality improvement is achieved by ACTION actively carrying out feasibility analyses during the modeling itself and making suggestions for improvement. The development idea also envisages accompanying users throughout the entire process lifecycle by actively monitoring each execution, identifying and eliminating bottlenecks with a view to IT capacities and using intelligent algorithms to identify and report deviations between the process model and the actual process reality.
Technological Development
A module for interactive and collaborative process modeling is being developed. Chatbots are being created to directly support the interactive modeling process by assuming the roles of the involved IT systems. This eliminates the need for laborious definition of data flows and interfaces – the chatbots can be addressed in natural language and directly translate the requirements into a formal model, which in turn is converted into executable code in the subsequent steps. In addition, algorithms are being developed to capture processes based on live discussions, so that ACTION can present the finished process model immediately after a meeting of all participants.
Furthermore, the development of a simulation and optimization module is planned. ACTION is intended to continuously analyze the current process model already during the modeling process. A component for process simulation is therefore planned, which calculates various scenarios and highlights potential bottlenecks – for example, too many tasks per unit of time for the involved actors. ACTION will then proactively suggest improvements, such as a more balanced distribution of workload. While conventional tools for process modeling merely point out optimizations like parallelization or acceleration, ACTION follows the path of “Human-Centric Optimization” and differentiates between IT resources and human actors – another unique feature.
