Procedure For Hybrid Process Analysis And Design

Performing business processes are a critical asset for manufacturing companies operating on highly competitive markets. Conventional approaches to business process improvement, however, are vulnerable to subjectivity and high manual efforts in their execution. These challenges can be overcome with recent databased approaches that semi-automate process analysis and design. Those approaches formalize methodical knowledge on weakness detection, measure derivation and performance evaluation for business processes into a performance-related decision support. By enabling the databased automation of these tasks this formalization helps to reduce efforts and subjectivity in process analysis and design. However, practice lacks a procedure for applying this decision support in operative business process improvement. Moreover, this decision support only formalises methodological knowledge. Operative business process improvement in practice additionally requires the consideration of experts' contextual knowledge about the company and the business process itself. This paper presents a hybrid approach for the analysis and design of business processes using a databased decision support. First, existing phase models for business process improvement are consolidated into a reference model. Second, an expert-based assessment is conducted on how decision support extends, modifies or eliminates the conventional tasks of process analysis and design. In the third step, a hybrid phase model for process analysis and design is developed that integrates the formalised methodological knowledge of the decision support and contextual knowledge of experts

A Value-Driven Framework for Software Architecture

Software that is not aligned with the business values of the organization for which it was developed does not entirely fulfill its raison d’etre. Business values represent what is important in a company, or organization, and should influence the overall software system behavior, contributing to the overall success of the organization. However, approaches to derive a software architecture considering the business values exchanged between an organization and its market players are lacking. Our quest is to address this problem and investigate how to derive value-centered architectural models systematically. We used the Technology Research method to address this PhD research question. This methodological approach proposes three steps: problem analysis, innovation, and validation. The problem analysis was performed using systematic studies of the literature to obtain full coverage on the main themes of this work, particularly, business value modeling, software architecture methods, and software architecture derivation methods. Next, the innovation step was accomplished by creating a framework for the derivation of a software reference architecture model considering an organization’s business values. The resulting framework is composed of three core modules: Business Value Modeling, Agile Reference Architecture Modeling, and Goal-Driven SOA Architecture Modeling. While the Business value modeling module focuses on building a stakeholder-centric business specification, the Agile Reference Architecture Modeling and the Goal-Driven SOA Architecture Modeling modules concentrate on generating a software reference architecture aligned with the business value specification. Finally, the validation part of our framework is achieved through proof-of-concept prototypes for three new domain specific languages, case studies, and quasi-experiments, including a family of controlled experiments. The findings from our research show that the complexity and lack of rigor in the existing approaches to represent business values can be addressed by an early requirements specification method that represents the value exchanges of a business. Also, by using sophisticated model-driven engineering techniques (e.g., metamodels, model transformations, and model transformation languages), it was possible to obtain source generators to derive a software architecture model based on early requirements value models, while assuring traceability throughout the architectural derivation process. In conclusion, despite using sophisticated techniques, the derivation process of a software reference architecture is helped by simple to use methods supported by black box transformations and guidelines that facilitate the activities for the less experienced software architects. The experimental validation process used confirmed that our framework is feasible and perceived as easy to use and useful, also indicating that the participants of the experiments intend to use it in the future

The role of business models in Finnish construction companies

Business models are seen as an essential part of successful businesses as they define the way companies create value for their customers and subsequently make profit from their operations. A good business model has a potential to separate a company from its competitors by creating a competitive advantage. The purpose of this research is to explore how managers understand and deploy the business model concept in construction. For this, eight experienced managers have been interviewed and their answers have been analysed using the theoretical aspects of business models as a reference. In the interviews, managers deployed business model concept very differently than what is accustomed in practice and in academia; they relate these models to different project delivery and contract structures or to companies’ business segments rather than to analysing how their companies provide value for customers in the selected markets. The results of the interviews indicate that the managers in construction do neither understand the concept properly nor exploit any similar value creation analysis in their business. The interviewees had significant problems describing their companies’ business models and value creation logic, pointing out the lack of analysis and understanding of customer values and needs in the project delivery process. This may be one of the overtones of the persistent client dissatisfaction in the construction industry.

Business goals, user needs, and requirements: A problem frame-based view

Background: It is well known that the analysis of requirements involves several stakeholders and perspectives. Very often several points of view at different abstraction levels have to be taken into account: all these features make requirements analysis a complex task. Such intrinsic complexity makes it difficult to understand several of the basic concepts that underlie requirements engineering. Actually, there is some confusion \u2013especially in industry\u2013 about what really a user requirement is, what are the differences between user requirements and user needs, and what are their relationships with business processes. Objective: The paper aims at clarifying the aforementioned issues, by providing a systematic and clear method for establishing requirements hierarchies. Method: The problem of describing requirements hierarchies is tackled using the problem frames concepts and notation. A case study is used throughout the paper to illustrate the proposed approach. Results: The description of requirements at different levels of abstractions and requirements hierarchies are illustrated. The resulting models are coherent with the reference model for requirements specifications and the problem frames. An analysis process that is aware of the differences between user needs and requirements is also provided, to illustrate the process of refining high-level goals into requirements that can be satisfied by a hardware/software machine. Conclusions: The proposed method appears promising to model, study and evaluate the relationships between business processes and the strategies for achieving business goals based on the usage of information technology

Engaged in integrated reporting? Evidence across multiple organizations

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: to provide evidence on geographic and firm-level characteristics within organizations using integrated reporting (IR) methodology to communicate their business model to stakeholders; and to shed light on the contend of integrated reports of organizations that have been recognized as leading practice by a reputable award process or through benchmarking. Design/methodology/approach: Secondary analysis of data (descriptive and inferential statistics) is used for a sample of 224 organizations (79 classified as IR Reference Reporters and 145 as IR Regular Reporters) across 26 countries (2011 to mid-2015). Content analysis is used for IR Reference Reporters. Findings: Evidence for the first objective suggests that compared with IR Regular Reporters, the majority of the IR Reference Reporters are from Europe, are larger, have a higher market value, are more profitable and are less leveraged. Evidence for the second objective reveals that the guiding principles, fundamental concepts and content elements of the most recent integrated report published by each IR Reference Reporter (leading practice) seem less than expected. Research limitations/implications: IR Examples Database does not cover all of the organizations reporting according to the IR framework. Content analysis can be biased by authors’ interpretations. Practical implications: Potential benefit both to researchers and to those involved in the reporting of financial and non-financial information using the IR tool. Originality/value: The originality of the paper is as follows: it contributes to the international debate on the evolution from sustainability to IR, provides evidence on geographies and firm-level characteristics of organizations using IR to better communicate and provides the most prominent information disclosed by Reference Reporters.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Checking Business Process Evolution

International audienceBusiness processes support the modeling and the implementation of software as workflows of local and inter-process activities. Taking over structuring and composition, evolution has become a central concern in software development. We advocate it should be taken into account as soon as the modeling of business processes, which can thereafter be made executable using process engines or model-to-code transformations. We show here that business process evolution needs formal analysis in order to compare different versions of processes, identify precisely the differences between them, and ensure the desired consistency. To reach this objective, we first present a model transformation from the BPMN standard notation to the LNT process algebra. We then propose a set of relations for comparing business processes at the formal model level. With reference to related work, we propose a richer set of comparison primitives supporting renaming, refinement, property- and context-awareness. Thanks to an implementation of our approach that can be used through a Web application, we put the checking of evolution within the reach of business process designers

Guidelines for Competitive Advantage of Thai Software Industry

This research aims to study the guidelines for competitive advantage in the Thai software industry. For qualitative research, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine experts to create the tools used in the estimation research. A group discussion with 11 experts was conducted to obtain a consensus on the model of this research. Quantitative data were collected from a survey of 500 enterprises in the Thai software industry using descriptive, reference, and multiple statistics. The research provides guidelines for the Thai software industry's competitive advantage, comprising four elements. The essential items of each element are as follows:1) Marketing Strategies ( = 4.25) maintain customer confidentiality without disclosing or using data for any other benefit. 2) Business Sustainability ( = 4.24) builds trust and credibility in partner collaboration. 3) Internal Process ( = 4.23) analyzes current work processes to improve efficiency continuously. 4) The Business Alliance ( = 4.23) conducts business with integrity, transparency, and accountability. In addition, the hypothesis test showed that the difference in enterprise size revealed overall elements that were significantly different at the level of 0.05. The analysis of the developed structural equation model showed that it followed the empirical data and passed the evaluation criteria with chi-square probability level, relative chi-square, the goodness of fit index, and root mean square error of approximation of 0.262, 1.031, 0.928, and 0.008, respectively

The origin and shaping of a floricultural region in Estado de Mexico

In some countries, flower cultivation is a tradition which is carried out as a business and for ornamental purposes. In México, this activity began when it was introduced by the families of Japanese migrants and in specific the Matsumoto family, who looked for places with the right conditions for floriculture. They found the appropriate location for the development of this activity the municipality of Villa Guerrero in Estado de México. Thus, such work began under the standards and work patterns intrinsic to the Japanese culture. To conduct this analysis, the territorial process is analyzed by using the classification model of monitored land use to know its qualities and characteristics. The results provide reference to a constant process which affects the rest of the activities performed in the municipalities adjacent to Villa Guerrero, Tenancingo and Coatepec Harinas. The land dedicated to floriculture either in the open or in greenhouses has pushed forward rapidly, to the point of making up a floricultural production area of regional and global levels

EVALUATION OF GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN - REFERENCE MODELS APPROACH

Currently, the principles of sustainable development are playing an increasingly important role in running a global business and economy. The development of the concept of a sustainable supply chain is possible with the use of economic, environmental and social aspects in the processes and activities carried out. These aspects are becoming one of the elements of the decision-making process. The presented considerations are aimed at indicating reference models of evaluation of the functioning of the green supply chain in the context of growth the efficiency in the new business strategy. The content analysis of the literature has made it possible to identify common, input and necessary elements, as well as drivers, barriers and correction mechanisms that have served as the basis for building a reference model for the assessment of the functioning the green supply chain. The conceptual model integrates the identified factors, based on the management theories used in literature and practice, which at the same time serve the purpose of clarifying the adoption of indicated practices in a given subject area. The limitation and gaps, which occur in literature, as well as further directions of research were indicated. The value and novelty of the considerations consists in the proposition of model solutions in the scope of evaluation of the functioning of the green supply chain, which may serve as a basis for the construction of the green supply chain model, at the same time indicating the elements that will be taken into account in the evaluation of this strategy, including the scope of implementation of pro-environmental solutions, using management tools and management theories

Pervasive computing reference architecture from a software engineering perspective (PervCompRA-SE)

Pervasive computing (PervComp) is one of the most challenging research topics nowadays. Its complexity exceeds the outdated main frame and client-server computation models. Its systems are highly volatile, mobile, and resource-limited ones that stream a lot of data from different sensors. In spite of these challenges, it entails, by default, a lengthy list of desired quality features like context sensitivity, adaptable behavior, concurrency, service omnipresence, and invisibility. Fortunately, the device manufacturers improved the enabling technology, such as sensors, network bandwidth, and batteries to pave the road for pervasive systems with high capabilities. On the other hand, this domain area has gained an enormous amount of attention from researchers ever since it was first introduced in the early 90s of the last century. Yet, they are still classified as visionary systems that are expected to be woven into people’s daily lives. At present, PervComp systems still have no unified architecture, have limited scope of context-sensitivity and adaptability, and many essential quality features are insufficiently addressed in PervComp architectures. The reference architecture (RA) that we called (PervCompRA-SE) in this research, provides solutions for these problems by providing a comprehensive and innovative pair of business and technical architectural reference models. Both models were based on deep analytical activities and were evaluated using different qualitative and quantitative methods. In this thesis we surveyed a wide range of research projects in PervComp in various subdomain areas to specify our methodological approach and identify the quality features in the PervComp domain that are most commonly found in these areas. It presented a novice approach that utilizes theories from sociology, psychology, and process engineering. The thesis analyzed the business and architectural problems in two separate chapters covering the business reference architecture (BRA) and the technical reference architecture (TRA). The solutions for these problems were introduced also in the BRA and TRA chapters. We devised an associated comprehensive ontology with semantic meanings and measurement scales. Both the BRA and TRA were validated throughout the course of research work and evaluated as whole using traceability, benchmark, survey, and simulation methods. The thesis introduces a new reference architecture in the PervComp domain which was developed using a novel requirements engineering method. It also introduces a novel statistical method for tradeoff analysis and conflict resolution between the requirements. The adaptation of the activity theory, human perception theory and process re-engineering methods to develop the BRA and the TRA proved to be very successful. Our approach to reuse the ontological dictionary to monitor the system performance was also innovative. Finally, the thesis evaluation methods represent a role model for researchers on how to use both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate a reference architecture. Our results show that the requirements engineering process along with the trade-off analysis were very important to deliver the PervCompRA-SE. We discovered that the invisibility feature, which was one of the envisioned quality features for the PervComp, is demolished and that the qualitative evaluation methods were just as important as the quantitative evaluation methods in order to recognize the overall quality of the RA by machines as well as by human beings