Since 2023, the project partners have been researching how companies can increase their adaptability and innovative strength through so-called workarounds. These are targeted deviations from existing processes in order to become faster, more efficient and better. In the high-tech industry in particular, changes arise due to new customer needs and fluctuating demand. However, companies often lack the methods and tools to specifically identify and use workarounds.
This is where Change.WorkAROUND comes in. The aim is to develop data-based methods and software solutions that identify and evaluate workarounds at an early stage and transform them into agile process innovations.
Interdisciplinary consortium - from theory to application
The project combines expertise from science, consulting and industry: two chairs at Paderborn University (Business Informatics and Human Resources), three consulting companies (viadee IT Unternehmensberatung AG, UNITY AG, myconsult GmbH) and two application companies (REMBE GmbH Safety+Control and KRONE Agriculture) are involved.
The latter are using the methods developed to systematically analyze workarounds and optimize their processes in the areas of smart services, gas cylinder logistics and safety processes in Industry 4.0.
Milestone meeting: Review, research insights and software demonstrations
During the milestone meeting, the project partners assessed progress to date and discussed new approaches. There were also presentations on publications from the Chair of Prof. Dr. Daniel Beverungen (Information Systems) and the Chair of Prof. Dr. Martin Schneider (Human Resources). Among other things, they showed how process mining can make workarounds visible - in other words, how digital traces can be used to identify patterns in processes. In addition, employee interviews were conducted, as data alone cannot capture the intentions behind workarounds.
The consulting firm Viadee presented the software suite developed for this purpose. This includes the Workaround Curator, which is based on a Large Language Model (LLM). This allows workarounds to be recorded interactively in an interview-like format and transferred to a structured database. Another project consisted of using an LLM to generate workaround variations of an original workaround in order to query these specifically within the company.
Meilensteintreffen: Rückblick, Forschungseinblicke und Software-Demonstrationen
Während des Meilensteintreffens bewerteten die Projektpartner den bisherigen Fortschritt und diskutierten neue Ansätze. Darüber hinaus gab es Vorträge zu Veröffentlichungen aus dem Lehrstuhl von Prof. Dr. Daniel Beverungen (Wirtschaftsinformatik) und aus dem Lehrstuhl von Prof. Dr. Martin Schneider (Personalwirtschaft). Diese zeigten unter anderem, wie Process Mining Workarounds sichtbar machen kann – also wie digitale Spuren genutzt werden, um Muster in Prozessen zu identifizieren. Ergänzend wurden Mitarbeiter-Interviews durchgeführt, da Daten allein die Absichten hinter Workarounds nicht erfassen können.
Das Beratungsunternehmen Viadee präsentierte die zu diesem Zweck entwickelte Softwaresuite. Dazu gehört der Workaround-Curator, der auf einem Large Language Model (LLM) basiert. Damit können Workarounds in einem interviewähnlichen Format interaktiv aufgenommen und in eine strukturierte Datenbank überführt werden. Ein weiteres Projekt bestand darin, mit Hilfe eines LLMs Workaround-Variationen eines ursprünglichen Workarounds zu generieren, um diese gezielt im Unternehmen abzufragen.
Unity presented the complete toolbox, which bundles all the methods developed and conveys them in a practical way.
In addition to the technical developments, the focus was on planning the final year of the project. The knowledge and tools gained are to be applied in a targeted manner in collaboration with the practice partners and established in a sustainable manner. This also includes assigning responsibilities for the management of workarounds.
