Process flexibility: A design view and specification schema

Abstract

This paper proposes a framework of process flexibility based on a view of processes as design objects. It is represented using the function-behaviourstructure (FBS) ontology of designing. The paper shows how the FBS ontology allows extending and generalising recent work on flexibility in engineering design, and how it allows applying this work to processes. The resulting framework provides a comprehensive account of process flexibility that subsumes existing approaches. Finally, the paper presents a specification schema for process flexibility, illustrated using examples of a property valuation process in the Australian lending industry.