Business Process Simulation (BPS) and Predictive Process Monitoring (PPM) constitute the two primary techniques for forwardlooking analysis in Business Process Management (BPM). While BPS enables counterfactual evaluation of alternative process configurations, PPM focuses on forecasting the evolution of ongoing process instances under the current process configuration. Although recent research increasingly combines both techniques, their integration remains conceptually fragmented and lacks a systematic synthesis, potentially obscuring opportunities to leverage their complementary strengths for advancing forward-looking BPM. To address this gap, this paper presents a structured literature review of 32 studies that integrate BPS and PPM. We analyze the identified studies along three perspectives: (i) the tasks addressed through integration, (ii) the conceptual integration patterns, that is, how both techniques are combined, and (iii) the resulting synergies. The review reveals that most existing approaches combine BPS and PPM asymmetrically and in a simulation-oriented manner, whereas tighter, decision-oriented couplings remain underexplored. Based on these findings, we derive a future research agenda that highlights how integration may help address known challenges of both techniques and outlines directions toward more adaptive and decision-oriented forward-looking BPM.

Top