Insights on software selection based on reference models for business processes: an example in product lifecycle management

Adequate software selection among available alternatives in the market is considered one of the most critical factors for successful software implementation. Identifying the commercial software that could better support a company's business processes is a demanding effort. Current software selection methods do not always take advantage of the knowledge that can be embedded in various types of business reference models. This paper presents initial insights into the application of reference models for business process to support software selection. The approach relies on an integrated process-software reference model, which may be linked to a capabilities database of commercially available software. Based on a case application to product lifecycle management (PLM), the advantages and drawbacks of extensive reference model usage on software selection are discussed. Results indicate that business reference models have the potential to facilitate and enhance software selection. However, the high effort to build the integrated process-software model needs to be considered on overall benefits estimation.