---
title: "AI-Augmented Business Process Management Systems: A Research Manifesto"
type: source
tags:
  - abpms
  - bpm
  - ai
  - manifesto
  - foundational
  - hub
authors:
  - Dumas Marlon; Fournier Fabiana; Limonad Lior; Marrella Andrea; Montali Marco; Rehse Jana-Rebecca; Accorsi Rafael; Calvanese Diego; De Giacomo Giuseppe; Fahland Dirk; Gal Avigdor; La Rosa Marcello; Völzer Hagen; Weber Ingo
year: 2023
venue: ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems 14(1), Article 11, Jan 2023
doi: 10.1145/3576047
arxiv: "2201.12855"
kind: paper
raw_path: "raw/ABPS/AI-Augmented Business Process Management Systems.pdf"
external_url: https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.12855
created: 2026-04-13
updated: 2026-04-21
key_claims:
  - ABPMS is an emerging class of process-aware information systems empowered by trustworthy AI.
  - An ABPMS aims to make business processes more adaptable, proactive, explainable, and context-sensitive — these are the four core characteristics.
  - The classical BPM lifecycle must be re-thought when AI augments execution; the manifesto outlines the ABPMS process lifecycle.
  - A research agenda of challenges spans modelling, execution, monitoring, mining, and governance.
  - LLMs and trustworthy-AI techniques are central to realising the vision but not sufficient on their own.
---

# Dumas et al. 2023 — AI-Augmented Business Process Management Systems: A Research Manifesto

**The ABPMS manifesto.** Direct conceptual predecessor to the [[sources/2026-calvanese-agentic-bpm-manifesto|APM Manifesto]]. Authored by 14 researchers spanning the BPM, AI, and process-mining communities and published in **ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems** (Jan 2023). The arXiv preprint dates to Jan 2022 (v1), revised through Nov 2022 (v4).

## Authors (14)
[[entities/marlon-dumas]] · [[entities/fabiana-fournier]] · [[entities/lior-limonad]] · [[entities/andrea-marrella]] · [[entities/marco-montali]] · [[entities/jana-rebecca-rehse]] · Rafael Accorsi · [[entities/diego-calvanese]] · [[entities/giuseppe-de-giacomo]] · Dirk Fahland · Avigdor Gal · [[entities/marcello-la-rosa]] · Hagen Völzer · Ingo Weber.

## Core thesis
An ABPMS is a process-aware information system whose execution is augmented by **trustworthy AI**, with the goal of making business processes:

1. **Adaptable** — unlike classical BPMSs (where ad-hoc instance changes require human intervention), an ABPMS may trigger adaptations autonomously.
2. **Proactive** — anticipates change and continuously self-improves.
3. **Explainable** — agents/system articulate the rationale behind decisions.
4. **Context-sensitive** — adapts to varying contextual conditions.

These four characteristics are the **canonical ABPMS quartet** that the [[sources/2026-calvanese-agentic-bpm-manifesto|APM Manifesto (2026)]] later extends and reframes through the agentic lens.

## Structure (from abstract)
1. Defines the ABPMS concept.
2. Outlines the **process lifecycle** within an ABPMS (a re-framing of [[concepts/bpm-lifecycle]] in light of AI augmentation).
3. Discusses the four core characteristics.
4. Derives a set of **research challenges** to realise systems with these characteristics.

## Why this matters here

### As predecessor to APM
The [[sources/2026-calvanese-agentic-bpm-manifesto|2026 APM Manifesto]] explicitly positions itself as the **agent-centric successor** to ABPMS:

> "In previous works, operational specifications have been called *frames* as well [23]. Indeed, they can be considered a sort of *operational* frame. In APM systems 'frames' focus, however, on the normative specification."

ABPMS introduced the *framing* idea but left agent-centricity **implicit**. APM makes it explicit. Mapping between the two manifestos:

| ABPMS characteristic (2023) | APM capability (2026) |
|---|---|
| Adaptable | [[concepts/self-modification]] (adaptation aspect) |
| Proactive | [[concepts/self-modification]] (evolution aspect) + [[concepts/perceive-reason-act]] |
| Explainable | [[concepts/explainability-apm]] (first-class) |
| Context-sensitive | [[concepts/framed-autonomy]] + [[concepts/process-awareness]] |

The four ABPMS characteristics roughly map onto the four APM capabilities, with the addition of **[[concepts/conversational-actionability]]** as a new dimension in APM not foregrounded in ABPMS.

### As terminological anchor
"Frame" in ABPMS = operational frame in APM terminology. Reading both manifestos in sequence is the cleanest way to understand the APM-specific use of "framing" and how it differs from prior BPM/ABPMS usage.

### As authorial bridge
Most ABPMS authors recur in the APM Manifesto (Dumas, Fournier, Limonad, Marrella, Montali, Calvanese, De Giacomo, La Rosa). The community continuity is itself a signal that APM is positioned as the next-generation successor, not a competing paradigm.

## Connections

**Concepts:** [[concepts/agentic-bpm]] · [[concepts/process-aware-information-system]] · [[concepts/explainability-apm]] · [[concepts/self-modification]] · [[concepts/framed-autonomy]] · [[concepts/bpm-lifecycle]]

**Authors (in this wiki):** [[entities/marlon-dumas]] · [[entities/fabiana-fournier]] · [[entities/lior-limonad]] · [[entities/andrea-marrella]] · [[entities/marco-montali]] · [[entities/jana-rebecca-rehse]] · [[entities/diego-calvanese]] · [[entities/giuseppe-de-giacomo]] · [[entities/marcello-la-rosa]]

**Related sources:** [[sources/2026-calvanese-agentic-bpm-manifesto]] (successor) · [[sources/2018-dumas-fundamentals-of-bpm]] (textbook foundation) · [[sources/2023-chapela-campa-augmented-process-execution]] (parallel vision) · [[sources/2024-kampik-large-process-models]] (LLM-era follow-up) · [[sources/2026-dumas-agentic-bpms-pyramid]] (A-BPMS keynote — cites ref [6] and extends the three-property ABPMS definition) · [[sources/2025-fettke-explainable-autonomous-business-processes]] (XABPs — sharpens the *explainable* characteristic) · [[sources/2025-vu-practitioner-perspectives-agent-governance]] (practitioner-facing companion)

## Cited by
- [[sources/2026-calvanese-agentic-bpm-manifesto]] — direct successor manifesto.
- [[sources/2026-dumas-agentic-bpms-pyramid]] (ref [6]) — extends the ABPMS definition with three A-BPMS properties.
- [[sources/2025-fettke-explainable-autonomous-business-processes]] — operationalises the *explainable* ABPMS characteristic.
- [[sources/2025-vu-practitioner-perspectives-agent-governance]] (ref [6]) — situates ABPM within the "BPM for Agents" stream succeeding ABPMS.

## Open follow-ups
- Deep-dive re-read to catalogue the specific research challenges enumerated in the paper by name (currently only mapped at the four-characteristic level).
- Five co-authors not yet entitised: **Rafael Accorsi**, **Dirk Fahland** (TU/e — process mining), **Avigdor Gal** (Technion — data integration & ML), **Hagen Völzer** (IBM/TU Vienna), **Ingo Weber** (TUM — ABPMS, blockchain). Create entity stubs if they recur in future ingests.