In many professional domains, relevant processes are documented as abstract process models, such as event-driven process chains (EPCs). EPCs are traditionally visualized as 2D graphs and their size varies with the complexity of the process. While process modeling experts are used to interpreting complex 2D EPCs, in certain scenarios such as, for example, professional training or education, also novice users inexperienced in interpreting 2D EPC data are facing the challenge of learning and understanding complex process models. To communicate process knowledge in an effective yet motivating and interesting way, we propose a novel virtual reality (VR) interface for non-expert users. Our proposed system turns the exploration of arbitrarily complex EPCs into an interactive and multi-sensory VR experience. It automatically generates a virtual 3D environment from a process model and lets users explore processes through a combination of natural walking and teleportation. Our immersive interface leverages basic gamification in the form of a logical walkthrough mode to motivate users to interact with the virtual process. The generated user experience is entirely novel in the field of immersive data exploration and supported by a combination of visual, auditory, vibrotactile and passive haptic feedback. In a user study with N = 27 novice users, we evaluate the effect of our proposed system on process model understandability and user experience, while comparing it to a traditional 2D interface on a tablet device. The results indicate a tradeoff between efficiency and user interest as assessed by the UEQ novelty subscale, while no significant decrease in model understanding performance was found using the proposed VR interface. Our investigation highlights the potential of multi-sensory VR for less time-critical professional application domains, such as employee training, communication, education, and related scenarios focusing on user interest.

中文翻译：

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虚拟现实中的沉浸式过程模型探索。

在许多专业领域中，相关过程被记录为抽象过程模型，例如事件驱动的过程链（EPC）。传统上，EPC可视化为2D图形，其大小随过程的复杂性而变化。尽管过程建模专家习惯于解释复杂的2D EPC，但在某些情况下（例如，专业培训或教育），在解释2D EPC数据方面经验不足的新手用户也面临学习和理解复杂过程模型的挑战。为了以有效而又有趣的方式交流过程知识，我们为非专家用户提出了一种新颖的虚拟现实（VR）界面。我们提出的系统将对任意复杂的EPC的探索转化为交互式和多感官的VR体验。它可以根据流程模型自动生成虚拟3D环境，并允许用户通过自然步行和隐形传送的结合来探索流程。我们的沉浸式界面以逻辑演练模式的形式利用基本游戏化来激发用户与虚拟过程进行交互。生成的用户体验在沉浸式数据探索领域中是全新的，并结合了视觉，听觉，触觉和被动触觉反馈的支持。在N = 27个新手用户的用户研究中，我们将我们提出的系统对流程模型可理解性和用户体验的影响进行了评估，同时将其与平板设备上的传统2D界面进行了比较。结果表明，UEQ新奇量表评估了效率和用户兴趣之间的权衡，而使用拟议的VR界面并未发现模型理解性能显着下降。我们的调查凸显了多传感器VR在时间紧迫性较低的专业应用领域中的潜力，例如员工培训，沟通，教育以及关注用户兴趣的相关方案。