08:30 — 09:25 Registration
09:25 — 11:00 Session 1 – Alignment in Services(AM)
09.25 — 09.30 Opening session and presentation of the workshop.
09.30 — 10.15 “Business Service Integration Using Pattern Composition”, Jeewanie Jayasinghe Arachchige and Hans Weigand.
10.15 — 11.00 “Towards Consumer Preference-aware Requirements”, Eric-Oluf Svee, Constantinos Giannoulis and Jelena Zdravkovic.
11:00 — 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 — 13:00 Session 2 – Alignment Engineering (AM)
11.30 — 12.15 “Extending the REA-DSL by the Planning Layer of the REA Ontology”, Dieter Mayrhofer and Christian Huemer.
12.15 — 13.00 “A Value-oriented Approach to Business/IT Alignment — Towards Formalizing Purpose in System Engineering”, João Pombinho, David Aveiro and Jose Tribolet.
13:00 — 14:30 Lunch
14:30 — 16:00 Session 3 – Alignment Maturity models (PM)
14.30 — 15.15 “Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAMM) in a cascading Balanced Scorecard (BSC) environment: Utilization and Challenges”, Suchit Ahuja.
15.15 — 16.00 “Understanding Maturity of Collaborative Network Organizations By Using B-ITa Processes”, Faiza Allah Bukhsh, Maya Daneva and Hans Weigand.
16:00 — 16:30 Coffee Break
16:30 — 17:30 Session 4 – Short Papers (PM)
16.30 — 17.00 “Weighted Alignment Measures of Enterprise Architecture Viewpoints”, Jacques Simonin, Selmin Nurcan and Julie Gourmelen.
17.00 — 17.30 “Enterprise Coherence in the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment”, Roel Wagter, Erik Proper, and Dirk Witte.
17:30-18:00 Closing Session
Abstracts
Business Service Integration Using Pattern Composition. Jeewanie Jayasinghe Arachchige, Hans Weigand
Abstract. Smooth integration of services is one of the key benefits of service- oriented enterprises. But the key questions are “Does the selected service address the real business need?” and “How to select the right service?”. Separating the business choices and technical choices is necessary in order to structure the solution to these questions. In this research, the two perspectives are handled by embedding service thinking at business level design and secondly, by supporting the integration with available services and process templates. To reach this combined goal, we present a pattern-based approach for business service integration.
Towards Consumer Preference-aware Requirements. Eric-Oluf Svee, Constantinos Giannoulis, Jelena Zdravkovic
Abstract. From the business perspective, one of the core concerns within Business-IT alignment is coordinating strategic initiatives and plans with Information Systems (IS). However, while substantial work has been done on linking strategy to requirements for IS development, it has usually been focused on the core value exchanges offered by the business, overlooking other aspects influencing the implementation of strategy. One of these, consumer preferences, has been proven to influence the successful provisioning of the business’s customer value proposition, and this study aims to establish a conceptual link between them and system requirements. The core contention is that reflecting consumer preferences through business strategy in system requirements allows for the development of systems aligned to consumer preferences, and therefore systems that better support a consumer orientation, where the reasoning behind a particular solution stems from them. The contribution of this paper is the proposal of a consumer preference meta-model along with an illustration of its relationship to a requirements’ technique (i*) through the Strategy Maps business strategy formulation.
Extending the REA-DSL by the Planning Layer of the REA Ontology. Dieter Mayrhofer and Christian Huemer
Abstract. The Resource-Event-Agent (REA) ontology is a powerful and well accepted approach towards the design of accounting information systems (AIS). However, the REA notation – that is currently based on class diagrams – is not very intuitive for business experts. Accordingly, we aim at a REA domain specfic modeling language that facilitates the communication between business experts and IT professionals. In previous work we defned the REA-DSL operational layer refecting actual business events which “have occurred” or “are occurring”. In this paper we extend the REA-DSL by the planning layer capturing what future events “are scheduled” or “are planned” by commitments. Now, our REA-DSL covers all basic concepts to describe a full accounting infrastructure. The REA-DSL may serve as a solid basis for generating a conceptual AIS data model – which is subject to future work.
A Value-oriented Approach to Business/IT Alignment – Towards Formalizing Purpose in System Engineering. João Pombinho, David Aveiro, José Tribolet
Abstract. It is widely recognized that a large percentage of IT initiatives fail from a business perspective. This is attributed to many factors, namely system complexity and change pace. We believe that the system development process itself is a crucial aspect of this state of affairs and a paradigm shift is required. There is a lack a common set of concepts and language to use through an IT development process. Essentially, appropriate models and founded theory for articulating the teleological and ontological perspectives of a system are necessary. In this paper, we present and discuss an innovative value-oriented approach to System Design and Engineering. Our contribution begins by identifying a relevant problem space regarding current approaches, particularly the lack of a sound structure to model a service system’s purpose. We believe that system modelling with a market mindset will help improving quality and improve change response. The approach draws from a combination of theory based on Enterprise Engineering, Service Science and Value Modeling. A four-layer framework (System, Service, Value and Purpose) is pointed as a conceptual so-lution for simultaneously representing relevant concerns for promoting dynamic alignment between Business and IT.
Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAMM) in a cascading Balanced Scorecard (BSC) environment: Utilization and Challenges. Suchit Ahuja
Abstract. The purpose of this research study is to assess the applicability of SAMM in a cascading BSC environment. SAMM is a useful tool for measuring the maturity of business/IT alignment in an organization. However, at the micro level, organizations use several frameworks including cascading BSC, ITIL, COBIT, etc. to align business and IT processes. The complexity of alignment increases with the existence of more than one tier of cascading and usage of different tools or frameworks. Studies have shown that measuring business/IT alignment at the micro level is difficult. Therefore, in order to accurately measure outcomes, mapping between metrics at all levels is required. It is also important to establish metrics that are aligned with those prescribed by SAMM. Using a multi-level cascading BSC that was previously published in BUSITAL by this author, this study attempts to apply the underlying components of SAMM and to create relevant alignment metrics. It also highlights some applicability problems and suggests appropriate solutions for future implementations.
Understanding Maturity of Collaborative Network Organizations By Using B-ITa Processes. Faiza Allah Bukhsh, Maya Daneva, and Hans Weigand
Abstract. Organization’s concerns as controlling costs, improving quality, increasing effectiveness, and managing risk increasingly impose strong requirements on Business-IT alignment (B-ITa). Several Maturity Models came into being for considering improvement actions in B-ITa. The IT-Enabled Collaborative Network organizations (ICoNOs) maturity model specifically addresses the processes needed for achieving B-ITa in networked organizations. We have evaluated ICoNOs maturity model on a case study in an Asian organization. On the basis of this study, we propose to introduce a new domain named as “Cost Management”.
Weighted Alignment Measures of Enterprise Architecture Viewpoints. Jacques Simonin, Selmin Nurcan, Julie Gourmelen
Abstract. Enterprise Architecture (EA) allows describing how an organization can achieve its objectives and/or develop innovative strategies, through the creation of a set of engineered models that can be understood by the people associated with the organization. To this end, the set of EA models should be developed as any product in any engineering domain. In general, those models are the artifacts on which we reason to understand the alignment between several viewpoints of the organization. Reasoning on those artifacts in an objective and systematic way requires a shared way to represent them and a set of weighted measures based on this way-of-representing. This paper proposes a framework to analyze and to represent multiple viewpoints of an organization and develops a set of measures to qualify the alignment between those models. These measures are experimented from the alignment of Information System functions with respect to business processes for medical research.
Enterprise Coherence in the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. R. Wagter, H.A. (Erik) Proper. and D. Witte
Abstract. This paper is concerned with a real world case study in Business/IT alignment at the strategic level. The case study is situated in the Dutch public sector, involving the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SAE). In this case study, the GEA (Generic Enterprise Architecting) method was used. This paper will therefore take the GEA method as a given. Nevertheless, to better understand and appreciate the case study, we will also briefly review the GEA method and its background. Even more, we will also provide an evaluation on the GEA method, which was/is developed using a design science approach.
