  Process models depict crucial artifacts for organizations regarding
documentation, communication, and collaboration. The proper comprehension of
such models is essential for an effective application. An important aspect in
process model literacy constitutes the question how the information presented
in process models is extracted and processed by the human visual system? For
such visuospatial tasks, the visual system deploys a set of elemental
operations, from whose compositions different visual routines are produced.
This paper provides insights from an exploratory eye tracking study, in which
visual routines during process model comprehension were contemplated. More
specifically, n = 29 participants were asked to comprehend n = 18 process
models expressed in the Business Process Model and Notation 2.0 reflecting
diverse mappings (i.e., straight, upward, downward) and complexity levels. The
performance measures indicated that even less complex process models pose a
challenge regarding their comprehension. The upward mapping confronted
participants' attention with more challenges, whereas the downward mapping was
comprehended more effectively. Based on recorded eye movements, three gaze
patterns applied during model comprehension were derived. Thereupon, we defined
a general model which identifies visual routines and corresponding elemental
operations during process model comprehension. Finally, implications for
practice as well as research and directions for future work are discussed in
this paper.
