18th Int. Conference on Business Process Management (BPM 2020)

Program Keynotes


Dr. Rama Akkiraju
IBM Fellow and Director at IBM's Watson division

Title: How to infuse AI into Business Processes? A practitioner's perspective on best practices.

Abstract: For long, 80% of enterprise data consisting of semi-structured and unstructured data has been left untapped because it was too hard to automate their processing, and analysis. Recent advancements in Cloud computing, which makes compute available for rent, Natural Language Processing via pre-trained language models such as Bi-directional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) for language understanding, and Machine Learning via interpretable machine learning models are all making it possible to infuse AI into traditional business processes by tapping into semi-structured and unstructured data that was not effectively tapped into before. In this talk, I will discuss the opportunity to infuse AI into various business processes, give examples for a few that we have had success with, and share best practices for accomplishing the same. Specifically, I will discuss a whole new set of concerns that business process owners must pay attention to such as robustness (R), accuracy and adaptability (A), continuous learning (C), explainability (E), fairness (F), accountability (A), consistency (C) and transparency (T) when building AI models that are infused into business processes and present prescriptive guidance to deal with these concerns.

Bio: Rama Akkiraju is an IBM Fellow, Master Inventor and IBM Academy Member, and a Director, in IBM’s Watson Division where she leads the AI operations team with a mission to scale AI for Enterprises. Rama also heads the AI mission of enabling natural, personalized and compassionate conversations between computers and humans. Rama has been named by Forbes as one of the ‘Top 20 Women in AI Research’in May 2017, has been featured in ‘A-Team in AI’by Fortune magazine in July 2018 and named ‘Top 10 pioneering women in AI and Machine Learning’ by Enterprise Management 360. In her career, Rama has worked on agent-based decision support systems, business process management, electronic market places, and semantic Web services, for which she led a World-Wide-Web (W3C) standard. Rama has co-authored 4 book chapters and over 100 technical papers. Rama has 18 issued patents and 25+ pending. She is the recipient of 4 best paper awards in AI and Operations Research. Rama holds a Masters degree in Computer Science and has received a gold medal from New York University for her MBA for highest academic excellence. Rama served as the President for ISSIP, a Service Science professional society for 2018 and continues to actively drive AI projects through this professional society.

Prof. Dr. Avigdor Gal
Professor of Information Systems, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

Title: Perspectives in Process Mining: Closing the Big Data Gap

Abstract: The discipline of process mining was inaugurated in a world of small(er) data, with roots in the communities of software engineering and databases. The introduction of big data, with its volume, velocity, variety, and veracity poses new challenges to this research field. In this talk I will position process mining along modern data life cycle, highlighting the challenges and suggesting directions in which AI in general, and machine learning in particular may interact with a renewed process mining agenda.

Bio: Professor Avigdor Gal is a Professor of Data Science at the Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology. His research focuses on effective methods of integrating data from multiple and diverse sources. His research interests in the world of process management and mining includes the use of low-level data signals to process discovery, process matching, and improvements to the performance of processes with scarce resources. Prof. Gal has published more than 150 papers in leading professional journals, conferences, and books. He authored the book Uncertain schema Matching in 2011 and he co-authored the paper "Complex Event Processing over Uncertain Data", which received the test-of-time award in DEBS 2018. Prof. Gal serves in various editorial capacities for periodicals and has helped organize professional workshops and conferences. He has won IBM, Accenture, and JP Morgan Faculty Awards, the 2011-13 Technion-Microsoft Electronic Commerce Research Award, and the 2012 Yanai Award for Excellence in Academic Education.

Prof. Dr. Jan vom Brocke
Hilti Chair of Business Process Management, University of Liechtenstein

Title: Towards Process Science: Embracing Interdisciplinary Research Opportunities in the Digital Age

Abstract: As process researchers, we live in exciting times. Processes are deeply interwoven with digital technologies, such as the internet of things, machine learning, distributed ledger technology combined with data analytics, among many others. Processes move beyond organizational boundaries and become independent entities of their own. Processes deliver (and connect) various services, such as health care, mobility, investments, education, and other important economic and societal services, while organizations such as hospitals, public transport, banks, and universities, only contribute specific shares in form of services to such processes. In essence, we see that processes (not organizations or applications) are becoming the prime phenomena of interest in the digital age. While the growing importance of process is fascinating, we need to ask: Are we prepared to fully embrace the new role of process within our research field? We see a central challenge ahead. We need to conceptualize processes independent of a single discipline's perspective but integrate contributions from various disciplinary fields. This is because processes are socio-technical by nature and, thus, they entail numerous aspects of different kinds. This is evident through contributions by well-established research disciplines, such as computer science, management science and information systems research, which have developed distinct views on processes. With processes growing outside organizations and application systems, a plethora of additional disciplines will gain increasing importance, too, such as psychology, engineering, architecture, law, ethics, and others. This is exciting because such contributions–when brought together–will greatly advance our understanding of processes. However, we need a platform to integrate and synthesize those various contributions, and given the joint focus is process, we shall call this effort “process science”. We envision process science as a new scientific field, which is based on three key pillars.

  1. Interdisciplinary at its core. Process science is an inter-disciplinary field that uses various scientific methods to generate knowledge about the development, implementation and management of processes. Thereby, it draws on insights from various fields and aims to advance our understanding of how processes create value in diverse contexts and settings. These fields include organization science, information systems research, organizational design, computer science, psychology and neuroscience, ethics, among many others.
  2. Continuous engagement in and between research and practice.. The field of process science aims to develop a shared language among these disciplines in order to direct their attention towards shared phenomena. In order to think about processes in truly novel ways, we need to acknowledge and synthesize assumptions of individual fields. On our view, the term “process science” marks a new beginning for process research, where we develop common assumptions, a core terminology, joint research questions, as well as innovative ways to engage with practice to continuously update and further develop an emerging research agenda.
  3. Creating impact by design. By integrating and synthesizing insights from various disciplines, process science aims to develop a prescriptive understanding of how processes can be designed and managed in context. Certainly, the competences we have developed in the field of BPM will play a key role to translate interdisciplinary perspectives into a prescriptive science about processes. The challenge is now how these different assumptions can be brought together under a unified vision of process science, design and management.
To give an example, one big contribution process science can make is to advance our understanding of change and the adaptability of processes. In times, when change is the “new normal”, the adaptability of processes becomes a crucial skill of the future. How can we organize for a spectrum of emerging changes where desired future states can hardly be anticipated? What are appropriate approaches when pre-defined to-be processes cannot be an option? How can we conceptualize, measure and predict change? How can we allow for sufficient adaptability in the design and management of processes? Clearly, such solutions need contributions from various different perspectives, including technological infrastructures but also governance structures, skill-sets and cultural values to increase the adaptation capabilities of processes. The BPM community has the theories, methods and tools to make such contributions. However, to get at the core of these phenomena, we need to equally embrace views and theories from other fields. This is what a joint effort in “process science” can deliver. This talk will sketch out the field of process science. The aim is to conceptualize essential elements of process science, provide examples for research projects and stimulate a discourse on the establishment of process science as an interdisciplinary field both for research and practice. I invite all people with an interest in processes to be part of establishing process science to advance both theory and practice. It will be great to – on occasion of the BPM Conference 2020 in Sevilla – jointly bring process science to life and to decide on a few important operational next steps.

Bio: Jan vom Brocke is the Hilti Chair of Business Process Management and Director of the Institute of Information Systems at the University of Liechtenstein. He has been named a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), and his work has been published, among others, in Management Science, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of Information Technology, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, Communications of the ACM, and MIT Sloan Management Review. He has authored and edited over 30 books, including the International Handbook on Business Process Management, and the books BPM - Driving Innovation in a Digital World, Green BPM - Toward the Sustainable Enterprise as well as BPM Cases - Digital Innovation and Business Transformation in Practice. Jan has BPM teaching experience from 25 universities in 13 countries on Executive, PhD-, Master and Bachelor-level, incl. many of the Financial Times Top 50 Business Schools, and he has held various editorial roles and leadership positions in Information Systems and Business Process Management. His work has attracted more than €40 million in research funding and it has been recognized by press mentions, among others in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Daily Mail. He is an invited speaker at and trusted advisor to DAX 30 and Fortune 500 companies and governmental institutions as well as digital start-ups across Europe.

RPA Forum Keynote
Prof. Moe Thandar Wynn
Leader of Business Process Management (BPM) Academic Lead Research, School of Information Systems and Co-leader of Data for Discovery Theme, QUT Centre for Data Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

Title: Robotic Process Automation for Process Transformation - Contemporary Themes and Research Challenges

Abstract: Through the application of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), organisations aim to increase their operational efficiency. In RPA, robots represent software agents capable of interacting with software systems by mimicking user actions, thus alleviating the workload of the human workforce. RPA has already seen significant uptake in practice and solution technologies are offered by multiple vendors. While uptake of RPA is rapidly reaching its peak in industry, its ad-hoc and localised adoption by organisations to digitally transform its processes reflects the lack of theoretical rigour underpinning RPA, that could result in risky and costly implementations at a larger scale. This presentation will explore several contemporary, RPA-related themes encompassing both the managerial and operational aspects of RPA (e.g., RPA benefits, RPA readiness, RPA capabilities, RPA methodologies, and RPA technologies) and discuss some key challenges for future research concerning its applications to business processes.

Bio: Prof Moe Thandar Wynn leads the Business Process Management (BPM) research group at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia. She is also a co-leader within QUT's Tier 1 Centre for Data Science (Data for Discovery Theme). Prof Wynn completed her PhD on workflow management in 2007 from QUT. She has made significant research contributions to the formal foundations of process modelling, verification, process automation, and process mining. She has published over 80 refereed papers, including 30 journal articles to date. She also has experience with developing open-source software artefacts and an extensive portfolio in delivering industry-informed research outcomes. She has secured over AUD$5 million in grant funding from 16 research projects as a co-chief investigator since 2011. Her ongoing research focuses on process-oriented data mining (process mining), data quality and robotic process automation for the digital transformation of processes. Prof Wynn has over twelve years of experience in engaging with Australian industry partners to improve business practices through data-driven methods. She has worked with Australian stakeholders, in a range of sectors including healthcare, insurance, utility, logistics, government and education to pinpoint inefficiencies and derive data-driven process improvements. Prof. Wynn is one of the steering committee members of IEEE Taskforce on Process Mining and acts as a vice-chair. She is a program committee co-chair of the 2nd International Conference on Process Mining (ICPM 2020) and the 19th International Conference on Business Process Management (BPM 2021). She is also one of the special issue guest editors of the upcoming Special Issue on Robotic Process Automation for the Computers in Industry Journal.

Blockchain Forum Keynote
Prof. Burkhard Stiller
Communication Systems Group CSG, University of Zürich UZH

Title: Blockchains in Use for Commercial Processes - Pros and Cons

Abstract: Blockchains “drive” manifold applications and discussions, including a public discourse on benefits for people and society, scientific advances and knowledge, and commercial views indicating success and efficiency gains in multiple dimensions. Thus, keeping the view clear, unbiased, and measurably fair, especially on the evaluation and judgment of this about ten years old Abstract Data Type, termed Blockchain or Distributed Ledger is essential within these very different application domains. Although the term “technology" is often added in the context of Blockchains or Distributed Ledger, it is questionable if available technology definitions as of “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry”, the “machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge”, or “the branch of knowledge dealing with engineering or applied sciences” apply. Over the past years it became clear that only a larger system surrounding the core idea of Blockchains or Distributed Ledgers makes them fly, however, still in a fully decentralized and intermediary-free manner applicable for commercial applications? Therefore, this talk will briefly summarize core technical characteristics of Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers, while indicating the evolutionary approach undertaken and addressing essential differences of public Blockchains and private ones. It will raise the awareness that Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers assume important prerequisites, which result in dedicated effects and impacts from which certain applications can benefit, others cannot. Since numerous projections of the usefulness of Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers remain unrealistic, selected challenges and risks of commercially deployed or planned for processes will conclude the talk.

Bio: Prof. Dr. Burkhard Stiller runs the Communication Systems Group CSG, Department of Informatics IfI at the University of Zürich UZH since 2004, while previously holding positions at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, Computer Lab, University of Cambridge, England, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology EZH Zürich, Switzerland, and the University of Federal Armed Forces Munich, Germany. Burkhard's main interests are published in well over 300 research papers including systems with fully decentralized control (blockchains, clouds, peer-to- peer), network and service management (economic management), Internet-of- Things (security of constrained devices, LoRa), and telecommunication economics (charging and accounting).