Potential pitfalls of process modeling: part A

Purpose This paper summarizes typical pitfalls as they can be observed in larger process modeling projects. Design/methodology/approach The identified pitfalls have been derived from a series of focus groups and semi‐structured interviews with business process analysts and managers of process management and modeling projects. Findings The paper provides a list of typical characteristics of unsuccessful process modeling. It covers six pitfalls related to strategy and governance (1‐3) and the involved stakeholders (4‐6). Further issues related to tools and related requirements (7‐10), the practice of modeling (11‐16), the way we design to‐be models (17‐19), and how we deal with success of modeling and maintenance issues (19‐21) will be discussed in the second part of this paper. Research limitations/implications This paper is a personal viewpoint, and does not report on the outcomes of a structured qualitative research project. Practical implications The provided list of total 22 pitfalls increases the awareness for the main challenges related to process modeling and helps to identify common mistakes. Originality/value This paper is one of the very few contributions in the area of challenges related to process modeling.