Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Antecedents and consequences of Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) success: a South Korean perspective

This thesis explores antecedents of Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP), successful outcomes of SISP and the organisational impact of successful SISP in the South Korean context. Since information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) are now an essential requirement supporting all aspects of business operations, the need for SISP is important for achieving success with IT investments and implementation. SISP helps identify organisational resources as well as considers the environmental, economic and organisational requirements for successful IT investment and implementation. SISP was introduced by Lederer and Sethi (1988), Lederer and Salmela (1996) and Salmela et al. (2000) as planning for the selection and implemention of IT in organisations, with the aim of achieving alignment of IS objectives with business objectives to sustain a competitive advantage from IT investments. Earlier studies on SISP have individually explored management issues, participation and communication of business and IT stakeholders, impact of environmental factors and SISP resources in relation to SISP success. However, to date, there has been a dearth of research that has explored SISP success factors for improving successful outcomes and the impact of SISP success in organisations. Further, earlier studies on SISP are generally from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan. Although the penetration of IT in South Korean organisations is high, to date there is no study on SISP in the South Korean context. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between SISP success factors for successful outcomes and the impact of SISP success in South Korean organisations. Since none of the earlier studies on SISP were undertaken in the context of South Korea, a qualitative research via interviews, with four business managers and four IT managers in South Korean organisations, was undertaken to establish if success factors of SISP identified from literature, were applicable in the South Korean context prior to the development of hypotheses and the conceptual model. The research model was constructed based on a literature analysis, interview findings and resulting hypotheses. A survey of 317 large organisations in South Korea that used SISP for IT investment and implementation was undertaken to understand SISP success factors, outcomes and the organisational impact of SISP in this context. The survey data was analysed utilising a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique, and the analysis of data confirmed 15 of 19 hypotheses. Research findings suggest that SISP success factors in the South Korean context include top management participation and support, effective communication and knowledge sharing between business and IT stakeholders, the impact of internal and external environment, adequate resources for SISP and inclusion of IS vendors in the SISP process. Successful outcomes of SISP from this study are IS planning effectiveness and business and IT alignment. The impact of SISP successful outcomes includes the following: organisational capabilities of recombining and reconfiguring overall business and IT processes, resources and structures; IS competencies for improving the ability and role of IS function and the potential impact of IT; and IT infrastructure flexibility in responding to internal and external changes, situations and trends. This study makes an original contribution to theory and practice through its development and validation of a research model for measuring the relationship between antecedents and the impact of SISP success on organisational outcomes. It adds to SISP literature by showing the relationship between SISP success factors, successful outcomes of SISP and the impact of SISP outcomes in organisations. Furthermore, practitioners will be able to use the findings from this study to successfully implement SISP for positive organisational impact. This study is from large organisations in the South Korean context. It offers a basis for researchers to explore further the relationship between SISP success factors, outcomes and impact on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and in other contexts. It also provides a starting point for practitioners including IT vendors to explore further the reason at the SISP level in South Korean organisations

Analysis of the relationship between Governance of Enterprise Information Technology (IT) and strategic business-IT alignment using COBIT 5 in the case of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia

Effective Governance of Enterprise Information Technology (GEIT) is very important for an enterprise that has a huge investment in IT infrastructure. Implementing effective GEIT helps an enterprise to meet stakeholder needs by creating business value through strategic business-IT alignment. This study focuses on the analysis of GEIT implementation related to strategic business-IT alignment using Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT 5), using the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) as a case study. Strategic alignment is found to be the main concern of GEIT and strong alignment between business objectives and IT capabilities as a means of creating an effective foundation for business execution. There are various internationally accepted GEIT good practices and standards. In this study, COBIT 5 is selected for its strong aspects of control objectives for strategic business-IT alignment that help enterprises’ security, risk and compliance guidance and serves as a tool for leveraging GEIT. COBIT 5 is the leading business framework for the GEIT by making clear that there is a separation between governance and management of IT. This is a single integrated framework that covers the enterprise holistically and integrates with other important frameworks and standards at an advanced level. In addition to this, the use of COBIT 5 Balanced Score Card (BSC) for performance measurement tool (goals cascade), Process Reference Model (PRM), Process Assessment Model (PAM), principles and enablers and Capability Maturity Model (CMM) tool also utilise IT investments more effectively and accurately and measure performance with lower costs through stronger governance. This study analysed how enterprises effectively implement GEIT practices using COBIT 5 to achieve strong strategic business-IT alignment. The target groups of the study were the top management and IT management of CBE. The researcher used explanatory sequential mixed methods (both quantitative and qualitative) data collection techniques and analysis procedures. In the quantitative data collection, data were collected and analysed using GEIT practices maturity assessment tool, Luftman Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (LAMM) tool and the data analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). In the qualitative phase of the study, evidence was collected and examined from observation and participation, document review, focus group, formal and informal discussions with selected managements of CBE and gap assessment using COBIT 5. Finally, the researcher integrated results to combine the quantitative and qualitative methods. The finidngs of the quantitative analysis indicate that the maturity level of GEIT practices implementation was 1.77, around level 2 maturity level (repeatable but intuitive), whereas the business-IT alignment maturity level of 53.13% agrees that strategic alignment business-IT was good level 3 (established, focused processes) in the case of CBE. GEIT practices implementation regarding strategic business-IT alignment is found to be positive. The data qualitative analysis indicates that the achievement of the capability level of GEIT processes is not defined and deployed based on international best practices and also confirms that the GEIT BSC is not yet implemented. The achievement capability level of GEIT processes implementation using COBIT 5 is under level 2. In this study, the gap between the existing GEIT practices processes and desirable level 4 (managed and measurable) using COBIT 5 was identified and a method to fill the gap was proposed.School of ComputingM. Sc. (Computing

The adoption of e-government in the Kingdom of Bahrain

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The last two decades have seen rapid evolution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capabilities in the public sector which facilitate the adoption of several IT innovations. E-government is one of these strategic innovations that many government organisations have considered adopting to deliver government information and services to citizens and to support the modernisation of their business processes. This work therefore investigates this issue through a study of the impact of e-government on government organisations and their capabilities towards the e-government adoption. This has led to developing a framework for e-government adoption that outlines the implementation process, determines critical factors influencing adoption, and identifies barriers that could keep government organisations behind the advanced stages of the implementation process. The research also proposes a novel architecture framework for e-government that offers a clear picture of ICT requirements, along with a business process model needed for the implementation for e-government. This framework also supports the researcher in terms of validating the proposed conceptual framework in case organisations. The researcher, by adopting a qualitative case study strategy, examines the proposed framework in three government organisations in the Kingdom of Bahrain.. The analysis of empirical data comes up with a novel comprehensive framework for e-government adoption in the public sector that can be a benefit in multiple ways. The major benefit of this framework is to reduce the confusion surrounding e-government adoption in the public sector by understanding the implementation process, identifying the requirements of ICT tools, and highlighting the importance of organisational readiness and the impact of the environment. The framework can also help decision makers in government to provide a clear strategic action plan for e-government. Finally, the proposed framework can be used by IT experts to estimate the progress level of their e-government projects