Visual Languages and Methods for Business Process Modeling: Development Prospects and Training Issues

Purpose. The purpose of research is to reveal the main problems in the field of business process modeling and identify the main directions for the development of appropriate languages and modeling methods, including their reflection in modern educational disciplines and processes.
Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the research is the integration of various types of basic models of business processes within the framework of a structural approach to modeling. The research is based on an analysis of the requirements of professional and educational standards in the subject area under consideration. The systematization and classification of the directions was carried out using a systematic approach to the design of educational technologies, as well as taking into account the requirements of state policy in the field of education.
Results. This paper analyzes the current state of visual languages, models, methods, and technologies for business process modeling, which are one of the main areas of business process theory developed at the Institute of Control Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A corresponding classification of visual modeling languages is proposed. The most frequently used notations and dialects of the languages are highlighted and a comparative analysis is conducted, and the main directions of their development are considered. Basic types of modeling technologies are considered, their advantages and disadvantages are identified. Examples of the most commonly used integration and translational modeling technologies are given. An analysis of the state of affairs in the field of formalizing the syntax and semantics of modern visual languages for business process modeling is presented, existing methods for formalizing syntax and semantics are examined, and proposals for their further development are formulated. An analysis of international, domestic, and corporate standards in this area is carried out, their shortcomings are identified, and a list of necessary work in the field of standardization and unification of visual modeling languages is compiled. The following key areas of languages and methods’ development are highlighted: the transition from business process modeling languages to enterprise modeling languages, the development and advancement of formal modeling languages, the development and research of methods for formally describing the syntax and semantics of modeling languages, and the standardization and unification of modeling languages.
In terms of training, professional standards were analyzed in a number of areas, identifying the knowledge necessary for performing work on business process modeling and their reflection in the third-generation higher education standards in the fields of “Applied informatics” and “Business informatics”. Based on the analysis of a number of disciplines within bachelor’s and master’s degree programs dedicated to the issues under consideration, their shortcomings and bottlenecks were identified. To prepare relevant specialists, a set of disciplines and a module structure are proposed, tested by the author both in master’s degree programs at leading Russian universities and in commercial courses.
Conclusion. In recent years, interdisciplinary research has developed a new direction related to the unification and formalization of various types of human activity. At the same time, the urgent task is to create a general theory of processes, for which it is proposed to adapt the visual languages, methods and models discussed in this article to various categories of activity.

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