An Organizational Maturity Model of Software Product Line Engineering

Software product line engineering is an inter-disciplinary concept. It spans the dimensions of business, architecture, process, and the organization. Some of the potential benefits of this approach include cost reduction, improvements in product quality and a decrease in product development time. The increasing popularity of software product line engineering in the software industry necessitates a process maturity evaluation methodology. Accordingly, this paper presents an organizational maturity model of software product line engineering for evaluating the maturity of organizational dimension. The model assumes that organizational theories, behavior, and management play a critical role in the institutionalization of software product line engineering within an organization. Assessment questionnaires and a rating methodology comprise the framework of this model. The objective and design of the questionnaires are to collect information about the software product line engineering process from the dual perspectives of organizational behavior and management. Furthermore, we conducted two case studies and reported the assessment results using the organizational maturity model presented in this paper

Business processes’ reengineering in the context of increasing the firm’s value

This article is devoted to the study of practical combination of the business processes’ reengineering concept and the concept of value creation to increase the performance of the company and the possibility of an objective quantitative assessment of management decisions’ quality. The article compares the management evaluation tools within the framework of business process reengineering and determines that the use of the VBM (Value Based Management) model will improve the results. The concept of creating value provides an objectively evaluation of the company’s management actions and efforts aimed at maximizing the value of the company. The authors revealed the functional links of business processes when the product of an auxiliary process transfers its value to the final product of the main business process and, as a result, considering of every single business process as an independent business line, analyzing its profitability, efficiency, and "narrow" places that are not visible in the company as a whole, becomes possible. Therefore, the author's vision results in the following: business processes’ reengineering is a powerful effective tool for introducing the concepts of cost management into practice. Being implemented within the framework of the reengineering project, the transformations fundamentally affect the performance of the entire company’s management including its main component - financial management. Thus, the effectiveness of financial management while implementing a reengineering project can be objectively evaluated through the application of methods and tools developed within the framework of the value concept.peer-reviewe

Motorola cash management: The evolution of a global system

The set of interorganizational information systems used for global cash management in business markets is analyzed. A longitudinal case study of Motorola is presented. Their strategy has evolved from an internal cost saving focus to a cooperative one, yielding significant strategic benefits by the inclusion of trading partners. The financial aspects of Motorola's business relationships with trading partners and its principal bank have been transformed through a process of organizational learning and adaptation coupled with the close integration of information systems (ISs) throughout the cash supply chain. Cooperative behavior between Motorola and its suppliers, with the help of Citibank, has enabled a coordinated response to bring cash flows in line with product flows. The results are compared with existing IS marketing theories on business relationships, market structure, and globalization

A Business Process Management System based on a General Optimium Criterion

Business Process Management Systems (BPMS) provide a broad range of facilities to manage operational business processes. These systems should provide support for the complete Business Process Management (BPM) life-cycle (16): (re)design, configuration, execution, control, and diagnosis of processes. BPMS can be seen as successors of Workflow Management (WFM) systems. However, already in the seventies people were working on office automation systems which are comparable with today’s WFM systems. Recently, WFM vendors started to position their systems as BPMS. Our paper’s goal is a proposal for a Tasks-to-Workstations Assignment Algorithm (TWAA) for assembly lines which is a special implementation of a stochastic descent technique, in the context of BPMS, especially at the control level. Both cases, single and mixed-model, are treated. For a family of product models having the same generic structure, the mixed-model assignment problem can be formulated through an equivalent single-model problem. A general optimum criterion is considered. As the assembly line balancing, this kind of optimisation problem leads to a graph partitioning problem meeting precedence and feasibility constraints. The proposed definition for the "neighbourhood" function involves an efficient way for treating the partition and precedence constraints. Moreover, the Stochastic Descent Technique (SDT) allows an implicit treatment of the feasibility constraint. The proposed algorithm converges with probability 1 to an optimal solution.BPMS, control assembly system, stochastic optimisation techniques, TWAA, SDT

Contracts Database: Part of the Solution

This document reviews the results of the implementation and aftermath of the Contracts Database, a 3 tier system using Java technology. Executive management at Intercontinental Research Foundation (IRF) decided to create a line of web applications for the research analysts to use as tools and create some consistency in the business process. The Contracts Database would be the first product in this initiative. This application would serve as an online database to be incorporated into the research analyst\u27s daily routine. This document demonstrates the successful development of a web application and the potential pitfalls of trying to change business methodology

Idea to Invention Project Report

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) estimates that 1-3% of patented inventions produce profits for the inventor. The cost of filing and examination for a non-provisional patent can range from $2,000 to$10,000 and beyond. ATC Company understands this uncertainty and will undertake a project to invent a new shelter product and determine its marketability, prior to investing in a non-provisional patent. The Idea to Invention project objective is to apply Project Management principles and develop a process for inventing an idea, measuring the idea’s utility and commercial viability as a product, conducting a patent search and producing a thorough Provisional Patent Application. Specifically, the project will deliver both a product line of ATC’s and a process for establishing first to invent rights to patenting the ATC’s function and method of operation. Unlike most recreational tent products available, ATCs do not require a flat or suitable site for setup; rather, ATCs deliver ultralightweight, highly adaptable weather protection and concealment nearly anywhere in the field.Abstract / Literature Review Results / Project Management Approach / Market Identification and Business Need / Scope Management from Idea to Invention / Product Scope Definition / Research, Development, Conditions Use Testing / Active Risk and Opportunity Management / Quality Management in Delivering a Marketable Product / PM Based Patent Search Processes and Strategy / Invention Assessment for All Terrain Cover Concept / Conclusion and Recommendations / Lessons Learned / References / Appendix A, ATC Drawings / Appendix B, Provisional Patent Application (PPA

The development of metrica

Examining performance data over time can help operators identify underlying trends that would go unnoticed if the data was merely looked at in real time, then discarded. Network performance reporting management can lead to a more proactive style of network management. Metrica/NPR is a Network Performance Reporting application that provides network operators an integrated view of the performance of telecommunications networks for various technology including wireless, wireline and Internet Protocol (IP). Metrica/NPR helps operators improve their understanding of network behavior by managing, analyzing and reporting, performance statistics generated by the network. Metrica/NPR 3.3 is the latest release of Metrica/NPR product line produced by ADC in order to adopt the challenge of a continuously changing network environment. It is a significant release, which is for the first time being developed from ADC research and development (R&D) center in Kuala Lumpur. ADC Software Systems is an ISO9001:2000 certified company since June 1998 for its management system in product development and deployment. Quality management system, now called as business management system (BMS), is the primary process reference in product development. The development of Metrica/NPR 3.3 explores the internal part of ADC development process involved in producing a great software product, focusing on coding and testing, based on BMS. Besides the requirement of high set of programming technique and deep exploration on different operating system environment, this technical report explains the details aspect of the software development activities such as coding, testing, project management and configuration management

Business Family Engineering. Managing the Evolution of Business Driven Systems

Nowadays most companies in whichever field have a software system that helps managing all the aspects of the company, from the strategic management to daily activities. Companies are in continuous evolution to adapt to market changes, and consequently, the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure that supports it must also evolve. Thus, software companies are currently supporting this evolution with ad hoc techniques. We think that, as it is being done for traditional software systems (non-oriented to business process) in the software product line (SPL) field, institutionalized techniques for performing a systematic reuse of business processes across different businesses can be introduced. in this paper, we propose to adapt SPL techniques, oriented to reuse software, to Business-Driven Development (BDD), oriented to reuse processes, across different businesses; we call this proposal Business Family Engineering (BFE). We present a first approach to build a SPL of BDD systems that evolves at runtim

Business Family Engineering. Does It Make Sense ?

Nowadays most companies in whichever field have a software system that helps managing all the aspects of the company, from the strategic management to daily activities. Companies are in continuous evolution to adapt to market changes, and consequently, the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure that supports it must also evolve. Thus, software companies are currently supporting this evolution with ad hoc techniques. We think that, as it is being done for traditional software systems (non-oriented to business process) in the software product line (SPL) field, institutionalized techniques for performing a systematic reuse of business processes across different businesses can be introduced. in this paper, we explore the feasibility of adapting SPL techniques, oriented to reuse software, to Business-Driven Development (BDD), oriented to reuse processes, across different businesses; we call this approach Business Family Engineering (BFE). As a result of our study, we show some of the problems we have identified and some of the key aspects needed to enable this new field

Preparing Decision Useful Financial Reports: A Challenge for Small Businesses*

Small business owners and managers want financial reports which are  useful for their own decision-making purposes as well as for fairly presenting  their business to others. Accountants and auditors consistently state that financial reports are the product of management. These statements being true, small business administrators should know what constitutes fair and useful financial  presentation  and how to achieve those characteristics.Accounting offers many alternatives for the treatment of financial events ( e.g., FIFO/UFO; Straight-line/ Declining Balance ). Alternatives are available in order to allow management most fairly and most usefully to present its financial  reports. The characteristics  which contribute  to the decision usefulness of accounting information has been provided by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ( FASB ). and the FASB expects these characteristics to be considered in all financial statement preparations.  However, the FASH has given no guidance for  the consideration of the characteristics.This paper  offers small business administrators a rational process for  systematically choosing between  accounting  alternative  methods.  The procedure   is easy  to understand  and  simple  to execute. It  incorporates and utilizes the characteristics  which the FASB  states contribute  to the decision  usefulness of accounting  information