A Simple Methodology for Model-Driven Business Innovation and Low Code Implementation
This work addresses business process innovation and software development for non-technical users in enterprise settings, but it appears incremental as it builds on existing Model-Driven Engineering and Low Code concepts without introducing a fundamentally new approach.
The authors tackled the challenge of enabling non-technical business people to innovate business processes and develop enterprise software using Low Code platforms, proposing the EasInnova methodology based on Model-Driven Engineering with a three-stage innovation model and a matrix structure.
Low Code platforms, according to Gartner Group, represent one of the more disruptive technologies in the development and maintenance of enterprise applications. The key factor is represented by the central involvement of business people and domain expert, with a substantial disintermediation with respect to technical people. In this paper we propose a methodology conceived to support non-technical people in addressing business process innovation and developing enterprise software application. The proposed methodology, called EasInnova, is solidly rooted in Model-Driven Engineering and adopts a three staged model of an innovation undertaking. The three stages are: AsIs that models the existing business scenario; Transformation that consists in the elaboration of the actual innovation; ToBe that concerns the modeling of new business scenario. The core of EasInnova is represented by a matrix where columns are the three innovation stages and the rows are the three Model-Driven Architecture layers: CIM, PIM, PSM. The cells indicate the steps to be followed in achieving the sought innovation. Finally, the produced models will be transferred onto a BonitaSoft, the Low Code platform selected in our work. The methodology is described by means of a simple example in the domain of home food delivery.