---
title: Agentic BPM Pyramid
type: concept
tags: [apm, abpms, analytics-pyramid, classification, process-intelligence]
sources: ["[[sources/2026-dumas-agentic-bpms-pyramid]]", "[[sources/2023-chapela-campa-augmented-process-execution]]"]
created: 2026-04-21
updated: 2026-04-21
---

# Agentic BPM Pyramid

Four-layer classification of data-driven BPM capabilities introduced by Dumas, Milani & Chapela-Campa 2026 ([[sources/2026-dumas-agentic-bpms-pyramid]], Fig. 1), adapted from the four-level pyramid in [[sources/2023-chapela-campa-augmented-process-execution|Chapela-Campa & Dumas 2023]] by replacing the apex layer *Augmented Process Execution* with *Agentic BPM*.

## The four layers (bottom to top)

| Layer | Focus | Representative techniques |
|---|---|---|
| **1. Descriptive Process Analytics** | Current state of the process | Automated [[concepts/process-discovery]], [[concepts/conformance-checking]], performance mining, variant analysis |
| **2. Predictive Process Analytics** | Estimated future state | What-if **digital process twins** (process-level), [[concepts/predictive-process-monitoring]] (case-level and process-level) |
| **3. Prescriptive Process Optimization** | Recommended actions to affect outcomes | Automated process optimization (tactical), [[concepts/prescriptive-process-monitoring]] (operational) |
| **4. Agentic BPM** (apex) | Autonomous management & optimisation | Automated Systems (fully predetermined), Autonomous Systems (AI-agent orchestrated, human-as-supervisor) |

Each layer builds on and requires the ones below it: agentic BPM is dependent on the process intelligence produced by the lower three layers.

## Two axes crossing the pyramid

- **Operational** — real-time, case-level recommendations and actions during running cases.
- **Tactical** — weeks-to-months timeframe, informing process change decisions.

Both axes cross all four layers. Agentic BPM is not confined to operational use.

## Relationship to predecessor pyramid

[[sources/2023-chapela-campa-augmented-process-execution|Chapela-Campa & Dumas (2023, ref [8] in Dumas et al. 2026)]] proposed a pyramid whose apex was *Augmented Process Execution*. The 2026 version replaces this with **Agentic BPM**, reflecting the paradigm shift from AI-augmented humans to AI-agent-orchestrated processes. The lower three layers are preserved.

## Relationship to the APM Manifesto

The pyramid is **architecturally orthogonal** to the [[sources/2026-calvanese-agentic-bpm-manifesto|APM Manifesto's]] capability stack (framed autonomy → explainability → conversational actionability → self-modification). The manifesto enumerates *what an APM agent must be capable of*; the pyramid classifies *the process-intelligence techniques on which any APM system rests*. Both can coexist: an APM agent must exhibit the four capabilities *and* draw on the four pyramid layers to sense-reason-act on process data.

## Fit within A-BPMS architecture

Within the five-layer A-BPMS architecture from the same paper, the pyramid techniques collectively constitute the **process intelligence layer**, sitting between the data layer (event logs, model repositories, decision logs) and the action / orchestration / conversational layers.

## Related

[[concepts/agentic-bpm]] · [[concepts/process-mining-spectrum]] · [[concepts/predictive-process-monitoring]] · [[concepts/prescriptive-process-monitoring]] · [[concepts/process-discovery]] · [[concepts/conformance-checking]] · [[concepts/business-process-simulation]] · [[concepts/abps-autonomy-levels]]