Using competencies in performance estimation: From the activity to the process

Performance estimation of enterprise processes generally involves models focused on a particular viewpoint (temporal, financial, etc.). This estimation rarely takes the impact of the human factor into account. It is now fully understood that it is important to include this factor when modelling and analyzing enterprise processes. In this paper, a conceptual approach to human resource modelling is proposed on the basis of an analysis of human integration in enterprise process models. The human entity is described through individual and collective competencies, which are needed to implement a process activity and assess its performance. The proposed formally built model provides a new approach to correlating some qualitative and quantitative aspects of the human influence on industrial performance. This model formalizes and generalizes performance estimation by linking human capacities and process performance. This approach is illustrated on an industrial process example. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.