Towards a thorough evaluation framework of Software Tools Suitable for Small and Medium size Enterprises focusing on Modelling and Simulating Business Processes Rallis C. Papademetriou1 and Dimitrios A. Karras2 1University of Portsmouth, UK, School of Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Anglesea Building, Anglesea Road, Portsmouth (UK) PO1 3DJ 2Sterea Hellas Institute of Technology, Greece, Automation Dept., Psachna, Evoia, Hellas (Greece) P.C. 34400,
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[email protected] Abstract: Although Business process modelling is an increasingly popular research area for both organisations and enterprises due to its usefulness in optimizing resources management, business reengineering and business performance, it is not yet widely accepted in Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs), which are vital for sustainable economy development. The understanding of Business Process is an essential approach for an Organization to achieve set objectives and improve its operations. It has been able to show Business Analysts, and Managers where bottleneck exists in the system, how to optimize the Business Process to reduce cost of running the Organization, and the required resources needed for an Organization. This is clear for large scale organizations and enterprises but under research investigation for SMEs. Business Process Modelling (BPM) is a representation of the processes of the Organization. Several modelling techniques have been proposed and used to capture the characteristics of business processes. However, limited guidelines exist for selecting appropriate modelling techniques based on the characteristics of the problem and its requirements. This is even more accurate in the case of selecting proper BPM software tools to achieve those BPM modelling and simulation goals.