TY - JOUR
T1 - Process modularity over time
T2 - modelling process execution as an evolving activity network
AU - Parraguez, Pedro
AU - Piccolo, Sebastiano
AU - Perišić, Marija Majda
AU - Štorga, Mario
AU - Maier, Anja M
PY - 2021/12/31
Y1 - 2021/12/31
N2 - Process modularity describes the extent to which processes can be decomposed into modules to be executed in parallel. So far, research has approached process modularity from a static perspective, not accounting for its temporal evolution. As a result, the understanding of process modularity has been limited to inferences drawn from aggregated analyses that disregard process execution. This article introduces and develops the notion of dynamic process modularity considering the evolving activity network structure as executed by people. Drawing on network science, the article quantifies process modularity over time using archival data from an engineering design process of a biomass power plant. This article shows how studying the temporal evolution of process modularity enables a more complete understanding of activity networks, facilitates the comparison of actual process modularity patterns against formal engineering design stages, and provides data-driven decision-support for process planning and interventions. Finally, managerial recommendations for interface management, resource allocation, and process decomposition are proposed, to help practitioners better to understand and manage dynamic processes.
AB - Process modularity describes the extent to which processes can be decomposed into modules to be executed in parallel. So far, research has approached process modularity from a static perspective, not accounting for its temporal evolution. As a result, the understanding of process modularity has been limited to inferences drawn from aggregated analyses that disregard process execution. This article introduces and develops the notion of dynamic process modularity considering the evolving activity network structure as executed by people. Drawing on network science, the article quantifies process modularity over time using archival data from an engineering design process of a biomass power plant. This article shows how studying the temporal evolution of process modularity enables a more complete understanding of activity networks, facilitates the comparison of actual process modularity patterns against formal engineering design stages, and provides data-driven decision-support for process planning and interventions. Finally, managerial recommendations for interface management, resource allocation, and process decomposition are proposed, to help practitioners better to understand and manage dynamic processes.
KW - design process
KW - modularity
KW - network analysis
KW - process modularity
UR - https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/57db9f7b-fdd8-4a17-8516-dfbab2bc4423
U2 - 10.1109/TEM.2019.2935932
DO - 10.1109/TEM.2019.2935932
M3 - Article
SN - 0018-9391
VL - 68
SP - 1867
EP - 1879
JO - IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
JF - IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
IS - 6
ER -