Industrial organizations of all kinds increasingly recognize the industrial internet of thing’s (IIoT) capabilities to enable valuable business process improvement (BPI). However, both theoretically and practically, there is a lack of clarity regarding the systematic and successful identification, specification, and implementation of corresponding applications. This article aims to bridge this research gap by presenting a comprehensive metamodel encompassing all relevant aspects and elements of IIoT applications with BPI propositions. The metamodel is the foundation for deriving generic yet practical patterns that can assist organizations in effectively executing IIoT projects. To evaluate the usefulness of the approach, five initial patterns were designed and applied by a market-leading organization. The metamodel and patterns contribute to the descriptive knowledge of the IIoT and facilitate sense-making, theory-led design, and practical project execution. To ensure rigor, the research endeavor followed fundamental principles of the design science research (DSR) methodology.

各类工业组织越来越认识到工业物联网 (IIoT) 的功能可实现有价值的业务流程改进 (BPI)。然而，无论是在理论上还是在实践上，对于相应应用程序的系统和成功的识别、规范和实现都缺乏清晰的认识。本文旨在通过提出一个全面的元模型来弥合这一研究差距，该元模型包含具有 BPI 命题的 IIoT 应用程序的所有相关方面和元素。元模型是导出通用而实用的模式的基础，可以帮助组织有效地执行 IIoT 项目。为了评估该方法的实用性，市场领先的组织设计并应用了五种初始模式。元模型和模式有助于 IIoT 的描述性知识，并促进意义构建、理论主导的设计和实际项目执行。为了确保严谨性，研究工作遵循设计科学研究（DSR）方法的基本原则。