III-CXT: Process Families and Their Application to Online Dispute Resolution

本研究将通过生成在线争议解决（ODR）过程的家庭，并通过在国家调解委员会（NMB）的使用来评估创建过程家庭的生成方法。生成方法将由过程目标的NMB规范指导，根据有形目标（如解决特定冲突）和无形目标（如授权和建立关系）的不同权重，其重点将有所不同。过程族将通过将过程关注的不同组合（如协调、代理行为和工件流）绑定到一个高级元过程框架中来生成。生成的流程实例还将包括指定的仪器和测量工具。这将有助于NMB和项目研究人员对这些过程进行评估，并将为评估整体生成方法奠定基础。这种方法将需要一种过程定义语言，它具有清晰分离关注点的特点。一个例子是由马萨诸塞大学开发的Little-JIL过程定义语言，它将被用作本研究的基础。该项目将增加对过程生成和过程技术的理解，同时也为NMB创建有用的过程，并为争议解决过程和一般过程的社会科学实验提供优越的框架。项目团队包括计算机科学研究人员、一名ODR专家、争议解决研究人员和NMB的代表。该团队在之前的一个项目上成功地进行了nsf资助的研究，其结果表明了这里提出的研究的必要性。智力价值：这个项目继续探索使用软件工程的观点和技术将过程作为严格可定义的对象来处理的价值。这里讨论的主要问题是过程族的管理。先前的研究表明，像NMB这样的组织需要过程家族，而不是单个过程，并且这些过程可能并不总是旨在生产单个产品，也不是有形的产品。使用具有清晰的关注点分离特征的过程定义语言似乎是解决这些需求的一种有希望的方法，并且该方法将在本研究中被追求和评估，从而对理解过程的形式化本质做出重要贡献。过程生成框架将被构建并用于生成实际的ODR过程，这些过程将被NMB使用和评估。这些过程的严谨性和精确性，以及它们与评估工具的结合，将有助于对以精确记录方式不同的过程进行比较。这将是对社会科学研究的重要贡献，支持社会科学家对过程进行精确实验的能力，ODR过程被用作第一个例子。更广泛的影响：所提供的ODR进程将在许多方面对NMB具有相当大的价值。这些程序将提高NMB处理航空和铁路行业纠纷的效率。他们还将作为NMB可以用来培训新人员的辅助工具。这些进程的明确性和精确性将使它们成为持续讨论和评价的适当主题，从而提高解决冲突的效力。此外，NMB的成功将证明这些想法和方法适用于其他数十个负责解决争端的政府机构。

This research will evaluate a generative approach to creating families of processes, by generating families of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) processes, and evaluating them through use at the National Mediation Board (NMB). The generative approach will be guided by NMB specifications of process goals, which will vary in emphasis according to different weightings of both tangible goals, such as resolving a specific conflict, and such nontangible goals as empowerment and relationship-building. The process families will be generated by binding different combinations of process concerns, such as coordination, agent behaviors, and artifact flows, into a high-level metaprocess framework. The generated process instances will also include specified instrumentation and measurement vehicles. This will facilitate the evaluation of the processes by NMB and project researchers and will form the foundation for evaluation of the overall generative approach. This approach will require a process definition language that features clear separation of concerns. An example is the Little-JIL process definition language, developed at UMass, which will be used as the basis for this research. The project will add to understanding of process generation and process technology in general, while also creating useful processes for the NMB, and a superior framework for social science experimentation with dispute resolution processes as well as processes in general. The project team includes computer science researchers, an ODR expert, dispute resolution researchers, and representatives from the NMB. The team has conducted successful NSF-funded research on a previous project, whose results indicate the need for the research proposed here. Intellectual Merit: This project continues the exploration of the value of using software engineering perspectives and technology to deal with processes as rigorously definable objects. The main issue addressed here is the management of families of processes. Previous research indicates that organizations like NMB require families of processes, rather than a single process, and that such processes may not always be aimed at producing a single product nor one that is tangible. Use of a process definition language featuring clean separation of concerns seems to be a promising way to address these needs, and that approach will be pursued and evaluated in this research, thus making an important contribution to understanding the formal nature of processes. A process generation framework will be built and used to generate real ODR processes that will be used and evaluated by the NMB. The rigor and precision of these processes, and their incorporation of vehicles for evaluation, will facilitate the comparison of processes that differ in precisely documented ways. This will be an important contribution to social science research, supporting the ability of social scientists to perform precise experimentation with processes, with ODR processes being used as a first example. Broader Impact: The ODR processes provided will be of considerable value to the NMB in a number of ways. The processes will improve NMB's effectiveness in dealing with disputes in the airline and railroad industries. They will also serve as an aid that NMB can use to train new personnel. The clarity and precision of the processes will render them suitable subjects for ongoing discussion and evaluation, leading to improvements in conflict resolution effectiveness. Moreover, success at the NMB will demonstrate the applicability of these ideas and approaches to the dozens of other government agencies responsible for dispute resolution.