Building An Intelligent Business Process Reengineering System: A Case-Based Approach

The Intelligent Business Process Reengineering System (IBPRS) is an interactive expert system. This paper presents a framework for IBPRS which utilizes case-based planning and problem-solving techniques in identifying requirements and problems and in searching for alternative opportunities from previous experiences (cases). IBPRS comprises two major components: Planner and Constructor. The IBPRS Planner's problem solving consists of four stages: problem formulation, case retrieval, case refinement, and evaluation. In generating business process reengineering (BPR) alternatives, IBPRS identifies appropriate case(s) among previous BPR cases that are represented in the form of process model(s) using search algorithms and other rules stored in the Planner's knowledge base. In evaluating the generated BPR alternatives, various simulation models and economic analyses are used. The best BPR alternative is then selected through a multi-attribute criteria decision analysis. In the refinement stage, IBPRS employs case-based substitution method for case adaptation and refinement. The Planner Knowledge Base and the Case Repository are updated as new knowledge develops and new cases are built and entered into the system. The main benefits of IBPRS is to facilitate BPR efforts by identifying problems, evaluating alternatives, and choosing the most appropriate BPR alternative.