On the Complementarity between CMMN and iStar in Complex Domain Modeling

Case Management Modeling and Notation (CMMN) and iStar are two distinct, multi-purposed modeling techniques that may be used to represent organizational challenges at separate levels of abstraction. CMMN, a flexible process-oriented technique, aims to extract knowledge that enhances the representational capacity of activity flows for a specific case. Conversely, the iStar framework adopts a goal-oriented modeling approach, effectively capturing the interplay of social actors and their influence on the attainment of organizational objectives. While prior studies have explored methods for integrating these techniques to attain a more comprehensive understanding of the organizational landscape, these remain primarily associated with a distinct level of the organizational matrix (i.e., CMMN for operations and tactics, and iStar for more strategic aspects). As such, any effort to evaluate their semantic proximity appears fragmented, as it deals only with the partial association of specific notations and elements. This article describes the conduct of a dual-purposed literature review to identify specific criteria that might accommodate a more holistic assessment of the two modeling techniques; these criteria are then employed as a guiding framework to construct a set of propositions that articulate the areas of complementarity and/or divergence between these two techniques, as identified in previous research. These propositions are subsequently subjected to validation by domain experts, leveraging a real-world case study in the educational domain. The results show that there can be areas of semantic convergence between the two techniques, suggesting their parallel use to effectively model complex domain problems. Overall, the present study aims to crystallize an approach for conducting complex modeling comparisons that transcends technical considerations.