# BPMNE4 IoT: A Framework for Modeling, Executing and Monitoring IoT-Driven Processes +
## 3 Research Methodology and Objectives
### Objectives  
The main goal of this work is to address research questions RQ1-RQ3 by developing a BPMS for modeling, executing and monitoring IoT-driven BPs. Due to the high complexity, ambiguity of modeling elements (cf. Figure 1), insufficient support for IoT integration and blurred boundaries between the physical and virtual world, it is challenging to provide a holistic framework (cf. Section 1.1). Based on the problem statement (cf. Section 1.1), the hands-on experiences we have had with implementing IoT-driven BPs [4; 9; 11; 24; 25], and a literature study (cf. Section 4), we refine the research questions RQ1-RQ3 and derive the following objectives (O) from them:  
**O1**: _Visualize IoT involvement in BPs (RQ1):_ When modeling IoT-driven BPs, IoT involvement should be made transparent and visualized to avoid ambiguity (e.g., to distinguish IoT-related task vs. non IoT-related task), to enable better readability and understandability of the BP (cf. Figure 1), and to represent IoT-specific aspects (e.g., IoT-driven conditions at XOR splits) [4; 6; 12; 24; 26].
**O2**: _Specify intrinsic IoT characteristics at the process modeling level (RQ1):_ In an IoT-driven BP, the IoT-intrinsic characteristics such as (1) push and pull interactions, (2) asynchronicity, (3) parallelism, (4) IoT context data (e.g., sensor data), and (5) support for event-based communication need to be specified at a modeling level [6; 9; 22; 27; 28].
**O3**: _Design IoT extensions for BPMN in a user-friendly manner (RQ1):_ End-user acceptance as well as the learning of new language concepts are increased by adhering to BPMN 2.0 basic principles. This ensures that the standard elements remain intact and are understandable to users [20]. Therefore, any extension for IoT-driven BPs should stick to BPMN 2.0 and be designed in an intuitive and easy-to-use way [6; 12; 20; 26; 29].
**O4**: _Execute IoT-driven BPs (RQ2):_ An IoT-driven engine is needed to enable the IoT-enhanced process execution. This engine should be able to interpret a process model with its IoT-specific extensions and characteristics [6; 9; 21; 24; 25; 28; 30].
**O5**: _Provide an IoT-aware process monitoring system (RQ2):_ In order to monitor IoT-specific process parameters during the execution of IoT-driven BPs (e.g., measured metrics, IoT-device type, device location, and device status), an IoT-aware monitoring system is needed that communicates with the IoT-driven process engine. Moreover, the monitoring of IoT devices shall increase the robustness of the IoT-driven BPs. If a failure occurs (e.g., unreachable IoT device), its source can be detected with the monitoring system and, thus, remedied quicker. Note that monitoring is also critical for ensuring a high quality of task execution [9; 25; 30; 31].
**O6**: _Enhance event logs with IoT data (RQ2):_ In addition to the data generated during process execution, the data captured by IoT devices should be included in the process event logs. Note that the integration of IoT data and process data is accomplished offline in a separate post-processing phase, as IoT data are collected and stored separately from the process data. Thus, an IoT-enhanced event log should be recorded automatically during the execution of IoT-driven BPs [7; 9; 25; 32; 33; 34].
**O7**: _Provide user-friendly interfaces (RQ3):_ Traditional process modeling tools tend to be overloaded with menus, options, frames, and windows, leading to high cognitive efforts and low acceptance by process modelers, especially non-experts. Consequently, an intuitive user interface should be provided in an environment the modelers of IoT-driven BPs are familiar with [6; 12; 22].
**O8**: _Separation of concerns (RQ3):_ A difficulty of many IoT-driven BPs is the separation of concerns for BP experts and IoT experts [10]. To foster their collaboration of the two disciplines, a BP expert should be able to model IoT-driven BPs without need to cope with the intrinsic IoT devices and their characteristics. Likewise, the IoT expert should not be tasked with process modeling [10].