A comprehensive information model for business change projects

Enterprises act in an economic and social environment characterized by frequent changes. Due to this for many enterprisesthe efficient and effective management of change projects is a key factor for staying competitive. The resulting need forchanges and the development of corresponding strategic, organizational or IT characteristics is a very complex task anddepends very much on the ability mapping the information systems (IS), which is a socio-technical system, against the realworld state of adaption. Therefore we introduce a meta model for enterprise modeling that extends existing approaches byproposing not only a set of entities describing the strategic and organizational fit as well as the IT fit but also relevantcomponents to express the overall fit with the cultural and emotional characteristics of an IS. Helping designers of IS tocomprehend the complex relations between the elements that need to be aligned we follow design science research

Risk and Compliance Management for Cloud Computing Services: Designing a Reference Model

More and more companies are making use of Cloud Computing Services in order to reduce costs and to increase theflexibility of their IT infrastructures. Currently, the focus is shifting towards problems of risk and compliance which includeas well the realm of Cloud Computing security. For instance, since the storage locations of data may shift or remain unknownto the user, the problem of the applicable jurisdiction arises and impede the adoption and management of Cloud ComputingServices. Therefore, companies need new methods to avoid being fined for compliance violations, to manage risk factors aswell as to manage processes and decision rights. This paper presents a reference model that serves to support companies inmanaging and reducing risk and compliance efforts. We developed the model on the solid basis of a systematic literaturereview and practical requirements by analyzing Cloud Computing Service offers

Contextual Components of an Enterprise Architecture Framework for Pan-European eGovernment Services

Enterprise Architecture (EA) frameworks provide a wide range of architecture components. Contextual EA components provide the necessary guidance to design specific architectures in a given context e.g. for Pan-European Government Services (PEGS). Contextual EA components help to describe the background and scope of architecture work and provide a ground to tackle architecture challenges in an agreed way. The main contribution of this conceptual paper is to connect existing theoretical models as a basis to examine contextual components of an EA framework for PEGS. Three aspects are elaborated using a model-based approach: a Critical Success Factor Model, a Strategy Management Model and a Stakeholder Engagement Model. The identified models are aligned with EA standards and provide guidance to empirical research and to programs, projects and initiatives that wish to create interoperability architectures

Foundations for the Integration of Enterprise Wikis and Specialized Tools for Enterprise Architecture Management

Organizations are challenged with rapidly changing business requirements and an ever-increasing volume respectively variety of information. Enterprise Architecture (EA) and its respective management function are considered as means to overcome these challenges. Appropriate tool support to this end is an elementary success factor to guide the EA management (EAM) initiative. Nevertheless, practitioners perceive currently available tools specialized for EAM as not sufficient in their organizations. Major reasons are inflexible data models as well as missing integration with processes and their focus on expert users. Regarding these limitations Enterprise Wikis provide practice proven solutions already exploited by organizations. These Enterprise Wikis are able to extend the capabilities of existing EA tools to cope with unstructured information and leverage a better utilization of structured EA information. In this paper we present the foundations for an integration of specialized EAM tools and Enterprise Wikis. We elaborate scenarios for both tool species using a practitioner survey and differentiate four integration cases

Situational Architecture Engineering (SAE) - Improving Strategic Change Through Architecture Methods

Market and environmental requirements call for constant changes in enterprises. To be able to record these changes in a structured way and to manage them it is helpful to use enterprise architectures as stable regulation frameworks. To support the development and the adaptation of the enterprise architectures there are numerous architecture methods (e.g. Zachman Framework, ARIS (Architecture of Integrated Information Systems), TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework), DoDAF (Department of Defense Architecture Framework), BEN (Business Engineering Navigator), Semantic Object Model (SOM)), however, they often lack the necessary flexibility to enable a construction process adaptable to the given situation. This article presents a first approach towards making architecture methods flexible: meta models of the architecture frameworks of selected methods are generated and integrated into a joint meta model. The latter supports the situational adaptability of the enterprise architecture as the architecture method applied has been adapted

Integration von Planungssystemen in der Logistik – Ansatz und Anwendung

Während noch vor wenigen Jahren die meisten Produktions- oder Handelsunternehmen eigene Logistikabteilungen unterhielten, so sind Logistikfunktionen heute weitestgehend an Logistikdienstleister in Kontraktform ausgelagert. Eine der Hauptaufgaben von Logistikdienstleistern liegt in der mehrstufigen Planung logistischer Dienstleistungen für den Kunden. Sie schließt zahlreiche, meist isoliert betrachtete Planungsschritte ein. Für die Logistikplanung stellt dieser Beitrag einen Ansatz zur Integration von Planungssystemen in der Logistik auf Basis der Modellintegration vor. Am Beispiel der Prozessplanung und der Prozesssimulation wird gezeigt wie mit diesem Ansatz Modelle zwischen Planungssystemen konsistent wiederverwendet werden können

Why and How to Balance Alignment and Diversity of Requirements Engineering Practices in Automotive

In large-scale automotive companies, various requirements engineering (RE) practices are used across teams. RE practices manifest in Requirements Information Models (RIM) that define what concepts and information should be captured for requirements. Collaboration of practitioners from different parts of an organization is required to define a suitable RIM that balances support for diverse practices in individual teams with the alignment needed for a shared view and team support on system level. There exists no guidance for this challenging task. This paper presents a mixed methods study to examine the role of RIMs in balancing alignment and diversity of RE practices in four automotive companies. Our analysis is based on data from systems engineering tools, 11 semi-structured interviews, and a survey to validate findings and suggestions. We found that balancing alignment and diversity of RE practices is important to consider when defining RIMs. We further investigated enablers for this balance and actions that practitioners take to achieve it. From these factors, we derived and evaluated recommendations for managing RIMs in practice that take into account the lifecycle of requirements and allow for diverse practices across sub-disciplines in early development, while enforcing alignment of requirements that are close to release.Comment: 19 page

How Does Enterprise Architecture Add Value to Organisations?

Enterprise architecture (EA) is the definition and representation of a high-level view of an enterprise’s business processes and IT systems, their interrelationships, and the extent to which these processes and systems are shared by different parts of the enterprise. EA aims to define a suitable operating platform to support an organisation’s future goals and the roadmap for moving towards this vision. Despite significant practitioner interest in the domain, understanding the value of EA remains a challenge. Although many studies make EA benefit claims, the explanations of why and how EA leads to these benefits are fragmented, incomplete, and not grounded in theory. This article aims to address this knowledge gap by focusing on the question: How does EA lead to organisational benefits? Through a careful review of EA literature, the paper consolidates the fragmented knowledge on EA benefits and presents the EA Benefits Model (EABM). The EABM proposes that EA leads to organisational benefits through its impact on four benefit enablers: Organisational Alignment, Information Availability, Resource Portfolio Optimisation, and Resource Complementarity. The article concludes with a discussion of a number of potential avenues for future research, which could build on the findings of this study

An Exploration of Enterprise Architecture Research

Management of the enterprise architecture has become increasingly recognized as a crucial part of both business and IT management. Still, a common understanding and methodological consistency seems far from being developed. Acknowledging the significant role of research in moving the development process along, this article employs different bibliometric methods, complemented by an extensive qualitative interpretation of the research field, to provide a unique overview of the enterprise architecture literature. After answering our research questions about the collaboration via co-authorships, the intellectual structure of the research field and its most influential works, and the principal themes of research, we propose an agenda for future research based on the findings from the above analyses and their comparison to empirical insights from the literature. In particular, our study finds a considerable degree of co-authorship clustering and a positive impact of the extent of co-authorship on the diffusion of works on enterprise architecture. In addition, this article identifies three major research streams and shows that research to date has revolved around specific themes, while some of high practical relevance receive minor attention. Hence, the contribution of our study is manifold and offers support for researchers and practitioners alike