Business Process Simulation: An Alternative Modeling Technique for the Information System Development Process

This article discusses the idea that even though information systems development (ISD) approaches long have advocated the use of integrated organizational views, the modeling techniques used have not been adapted accordingly and remain focused on the automated information system (IS) solution. Existing research provides evidence that business process simulation (BPS) can be used at different points in the ISD process in order to provide better integrated organizational views that aid the design of appropriate IS solutions. Despite this fact, research in this area is not extensive, which suggests that the potential of using BPS for the ISD process is not yet well understood. The article uses the findings from three case studies in order to illustrate the ways that BPS has been used at different points in the ISD process. It compares the results against IS modeling techniques, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages that BPS has over the latter. The research necessary to develop appropriate BPS tools and give guidance on their use in the ISD process is discussed.