4.3 Key Property–Attribute Relationships
The research conducted thus far suggests that a number of influence relationships exist between process quality properties and process quality attributes. Three distinct types of influence have been identified: positive, negative and composite. A positive influence relationship exists where an increase in the value of a process quality property typically leads to an increase in the perceived quality of that process with respect to the related process quality attribute. A negative influence relationship exists where an increase in the value of a process quality property
typically leads to a decrease in the perceived quality of that process with respect to the related process quality attribute. A composite influence relationship exists where a process quality property has both a positive and negative influence on a process quality attribute. As an example, consider Figure 7, which shows how architecture properties influence stakeholders’
views of process usability.
The properties of size and complexity can be viewed as inhibitors to process usability as they exert only negative influences on the quality attributes. The property of modularity was identified as a driver of process usability and is thought by practitioners to have a positive influence on the perception of adaptability.
Figure 8 provides further examples of relationships, in this case showing how representation properties influence stakeholders’ views of process usability.
The medium of a process is widely considered to by practitioners to have a significant influence on the perceived accessibility of the process, with electronic process descriptions highly favoured compared to hard-copy documentation. The extent to which the process is described using graphical, rather than textual, notations was found to positively influence
stakeholders’ perceptions of process understand ability. Explicitness was found to have a negative influence on stakeholders’ perceived ability to adapt a process and a composite influence on process understand ability. While a certain level of explicitness makes a process
more understandable, there is a point at which additional detail in the process description begins to overload or confuse process users.