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

On the relevance of design knowledge for design-oriented business and information systems engineering : supplemental considerations and further application examples

This contribution represents a supplement to the article "On the Relevance of Design Knowledge for Design-Oriented Business and Information Systems Engineering — Conceptual Foundations, Application Example, and Implications" in the special issue on Science of Business and Information Systems Engineering of the journal Business and Information Systems Engineering (BISE) in 2010. It contains further application examples concerning the introduced reference framework for systemizing design knowledge. Besides the comprehensive documentation of design knowledge concerning eventdriven process chains (EPC) with the dedicated literary sources and an evaluation of the evidence of the provided statements, in this report the framework is furthermore applied for the documentation of design knowledge about the Process Grammar Approach, another technique for process design presented by Lee et al. in MIS Quarterly in 2008. Subsequently the results are discussed.Der vorliegende Beitrag dient als Anhang zum Artikel "On the Relevance of Design Knowledge for Design-Oriented Business and Information Systems Engineering — Conceptual Foundations, Application Example, and Implications", der in der Zeitschrift Business and Information Systems Engineering (BISE) zum Schwerpunktheft "Science of Business and Information Systems Engineering" im Jahr 2010 erschienen ist. Er ergänzt das dort aufgeführte Beispiel zur Anwendung des Bezugsrahmens zur Dokumentation von Gestaltungswissen. Der Bezugsrahmen wurde verwendet, um Gestaltungswissen zur Modellierungstechnik "Ereignisgesteuerte Prozesskette" (EPK) zu systematisieren, zu explizieren und hinsichtlich seiner Evidenz zu bewerten. Die dort gegebene Übersicht wird im vorliegenden Beitrag ergänzt. Darüber hinaus findet sich in diesem IWi-Heft ein weiteres Anwendungsbeispiel, das aufgrund von Platzrestriktionen im Journalartikel nicht präsentiert werden konnte. Der Bezugsrahmen dient hier der Systematisierung und Dokumentation von Gestaltungswissen zur Technik des Process Grammar Approach, der von Lee et al. 2008 im Journal MIS Quarterly präsentiert wurde. Weiterhin werden die erhobenen Ergebnisse im vorliegenden Beitrag diskutiert

Helping Personal Service Firms to Cope with Digital Transformation: Evaluation of a Digitalization Maturity Model

Background: Maturity models are strategic and systematic instruments that help firms in the process of digital transformation. They are widely used as tools to display trajectories to guide the progression from an analog to a digital stage. To date, maturity models for industries such as manufacturing, software development, public services, telecommunication, and startup companies have been developed, and also being applicable in real-life practice. However, for the sector of personal services (e.g., education, retail, hospitality, healthcare, arts and entertainment, and craftmanship), maturity models are missing. To address this gap, this research aims to present a digitalization maturity model for the specific needs of personal service firms, and evaluate its applicability, usefulness, and impact in practice. Method: The research is embedded in a comprehensive Design Science Research cycle. Based on descriptive and prescriptive knowledge, a maturity model has been developed. This paper evaluates the applicability, usefulness, and impact of the maturity model by conducting a mixed-method approach, including a survey with 30 experts from personal service firms and eight semi-structured in-depth expert interviews. Results: Our results indicate that the maturity model serves as a strategic and systematic tool for short-, mid-, or long-term digital transformation projects by guiding personal service firms through consecutive development maturity stages until reaching a so-called stage of “digital maturity”. The model has been determined to be applicable, useful, and to potentially impact personal service firms towards the development of a digital business ecosystem. Conclusion: The presented maturity model offers guidance for personal service firms to achieve the transition from analog to digital and serves as a basis for future research in developing effective instruments and strategic tools to cope with challenges from digital transformation

Semantische Spezifikation Dispositiver Informationssysteme

Trotz verfügbarer Technologie und anerkannter Systemarchitektur existieren im Rahmen der Entwicklung von Dispositiven Informationssystemen ungelöste Probleme, die in der semantischen Modellierung zu sehen sind. Es mangelt an anerkannten Sprachen und Notationen, die die Voraussetzung zur Ausbildung anerkannter Entwicklungsmethoden darstellen. Zunächst wird der Problembereich motiviert und es wird in Kapitel 2 ein Ordnungsrahmen vorgeschlagen, der hilft, die Diskussion von Entwicklungsprozessen von Information Warehouses zu strukturieren. Kapitel 3 schlägt sowohl eine Sprache als auch geeignete Notationskonventionen zur Nutzung der Sprache im Rahmen der semantischen Modellierung Dispositiver Informationssysteme vor. Kapitel 4 bietet ein Anwendungsbeispiel.<br/

Causing factors, outcomes, and governance of Shadow IT and business-managed IT: a systematic literature review

Shadow IT and Business-managed IT describe the autonomous deployment/procurement or management of Information Technology (IT) instances, i.e., software, hardware, or IT services, by business entities. For Shadow IT, this happens covertly, i.e., without alignment with the IT organization; for Business-managed IT this happens overtly, i.e., in alignment with the IT organization or in a split responsibility model. We conduct a systematic literature review and structure the identified research themes in a framework of causing factors, outcomes, and governance. As causing factors, we identify enablers, motivators, and missing barriers. Outcomes can be benefits as well as risks/shortcomings of Shadow IT and Business-managed IT. Concerning governance, we distinguish two subcategories: general governance for Shadow IT and Business-managed IT and instance governance for overt Business-managed IT. Thus, a specific set of governance approaches exists for Business-managed IT that cannot be applied to Shadow IT due to its covert nature. Hence, we extend the existing conceptual understanding and allocate research themes to Shadow IT, Business-managed IT, or both concepts and particularly distinguish the governance of the two concepts. Besides, we find that governance themes have been the primary research focus since 2016, whereas older publications (until 2015) focused on causing factors

Can Science Be Agile?

The prevalent believe that Information Systems (IS) research and practice is strongly influenced by fashions, was recently circumstantiated by empirical studies. In our contribution we want to explore the causes that underlie the phenomenon of “fashion imitation”. Some authors indeed mention several potential influencing factors; however, a substantiated analysis of the causal relationship in research processes is lacking in literature. Stimulated by Baskerville and Myers’ recommendation for a more “agile research” we subsequently provide a solid analysis of the problem itself and examine the transferability of the agile concept to the research process. Afterwards we deduce suggestions to optimize the cognitive process in the field of information systems.Die vorherrschende Meinung, dass Forschung und Praxis in der Wirtschaftsinformatik stark von Moden beeinflusst wird, wurde bereits durch empirische Studien belegt. In diesem Arbeitsbericht wollen wir die Ursachen untersuchen, die dem Phänomen der Modenachahmung unterliegen. In der Literatur finden sich Beiträge, die mögliche Einflussfaktoren erwähnen, jedoch mangelt es an einer fundierten Analyse der kausalen Zusammenhänge im Forschungsprozess. Angeregt durch die Empfehlungen von Baskerville und Myers Forschung agiler zu machen, analysieren wir zunächst das Problem der Nachahmung und untersuchen im Anschluss die Übertragbarkeit des agilen Konzepts auf den Forschungsprozess. Abschließend leiten wir Vorschläge zur Optimierung des Erkenntnisprozesses im Bereich der Wirtschaftsinformatik ab

Interuniversitäres Doktorandenseminar Wirtschaftsinformatik unter Beteiligung der Universitäten Freiberg, Halle, Leipzig, Jena, Dresden und Chemnitz an der TU Bergakademie Freiberg; Dezember 2010

Die internationale Beachtung der Forschungsergebnisse in der Wirtschaftsinformatik hat in den letzten Jahren an Bedeutung gewonnen. Dabei wird dem kritischen Diskurs ein wachsender Stellenwert eingeräumt. Hier gilt es, den wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs in der Konzeption und Durchführung der eigenen Forschung und den anzuwendenden Forschungsmethoden eine Lern- und Diskussionsplattform zu bieten, um sich der wissenschaftlichen Aussprache zum jeweiligen Gestaltungs- und Erkenntnisziel zu stellen. Um den Dialog zwischen Wirtschaftsinformatikern unterschiedlicher Schwerpunkte zu fördern, veranstalten die mitteldeutschen Wirtschaftsinformatikprofessuren der Universitäten Chemnitz, Dresden, Freiberg, Halle, Jena und Leipzig semesterweise eine Doktorandenkolloquium, um die wissenschaftliche Arbeit der Doktoranden kritisch zu begleiten und sie so in ihrer Entwicklung zu unterstützen. Dabei lassen sich im Programm der Freiberger Veranstaltung im Dezember 2010 zentrale Themen erkennen. Zum einen finden sich Facetten über Anwendungspotenziale der Business Intelligence als auch zum anderen Beiträge zur Definition und Einsatz von Services in Unternehmen. Ergänzend wird dies um Potenziale in der Softwarevisualisierung als auch durch einen Beitrag zur Erfolgsmessung von IT-Systemen. Wir freuen uns, Ihnen mit diesem Freiberger Arbeitspapier die Beiträge zur Verfügung stellen zu können, die traditionell in einem intensiven Austausch auf der Veranstaltung diskutiert werden, um so auch weitere Forschungsarbeiten anzuregen. -- The international recognition of research results in the scientific field of business information systems has increased in the recent years. Therefore the critical discourse on research topics has a growing emphasis. It is important to offer young scientists a platform for discussion and learning in a scientific debate about the respective scientific objective in the design and implementation of their own research and applied research methods. To promote dialogue between business information systems researchers of different focal points, the Middle German business information systems chairs from the Universities of Chemnitz, Dresden, Freiberg, Halle, Jena, and Leipzig organize a doctoral colloquium each semester to accompany the scientific work of young researches in a critical way in order to assist them in their development. The agenda shows the main topics of the event at the University of Freiberg in December 2010. Aspects related to potential applications of Business Intelligence as well as other contributions about the definition and usage of services in companies. This is in addition to the potentials of software visualization in the same way as analyzing success factors of IT systems. We are pleased to provide you the Freiberger working paper including the contributions of the participants that are traditionally discussed in an intense exchange at the meeting in order to stimulate further research.Business Intelligence,Entscheidungsunterstützung,Informationssysteme,Erfolgsfaktoren bei Informationssystemen,Softwarevisualisierung,SOA,Services,Business Intelligence,Decision Support,Information System,IS Success Factors,Software Visualization,SOA

Stylized Facts as an Instrument for Literature Review and Cumulative Information Systems Research

The accumulation of scientific knowledge is an important objective of information systems (IS) research. Although different review approaches exist in the continuum between narrative reviews and meta-analyses, most reviews in IS are narrative or descriptive—with all related drawbacks concerning objectivity and reliability—because available under¬lying sources in IS do typically not fulfil the requirements of formal approaches such as meta-analyses. To discuss how cumulative IS research can be effectively advanced using a more formalized approach fitting the current situation in IS research, in this paper, we point out the potential of stylized facts (SFs). SFs are interesting, sometimes counterintuitive patterns in empirical data that focus on the most relevant aspects of observable phenomena by abstracting from details (stylization). SFs originate from the field of economics and have been successfully used in different fields of research for years. In this paper, we discuss their potential and challenges for literature reviews in IS. We supplement our argumentation with an application example reporting our experience with SFs. Because SFs show considerable potential for cumulative research, they seem to be a promising instrument for literature reviews and especially for theory development in IS

Data Science and Analytics in Industrial Maintenance: Selection, Evaluation, and Application of Data-Driven Methods

Data-driven maintenance bears the potential to realize various benefits based on multifaceted data assets generated in increasingly digitized industrial environments. By taking advantage of modern methods and technologies from the field of data science and analytics (DSA), it is possible, for example, to gain a better understanding of complex technical processes and to anticipate impending machine faults and failures at an early stage. However, successful implementation of DSA projects requires multidisciplinary expertise, which can rarely be covered by individual employees or single units within an organization. This expertise covers, for example, a solid understanding of the domain, analytical method and modeling skills, experience in dealing with different source systems and data structures, and the ability to transfer suitable solution approaches into information systems. Against this background, various approaches have emerged in recent years to make the implementation of DSA projects more accessible to broader user groups. These include structured procedure models, systematization and modeling frameworks, domain-specific benchmark studies to illustrate best practices, standardized DSA software solutions, and intelligent assistance systems. The present thesis ties in with previous efforts and provides further contributions for their continuation. More specifically, it aims to create supportive artifacts for the selection, evaluation, and application of data-driven methods in the field of industrial maintenance. For this purpose, the thesis covers four artifacts, which were developed in several publications. These artifacts include (i) a comprehensive systematization framework for the description of central properties of recurring data analysis problems in the field of industrial maintenance, (ii) a text-based assistance system that offers advice regarding the most suitable class of analysis methods based on natural language and domain-specific problem descriptions, (iii) a taxonomic evaluation framework for the systematic assessment of data-driven methods under varying conditions, and (iv) a novel solution approach for the development of prognostic decision models in cases of missing label information. Individual research objectives guide the construction of the artifacts as part of a systematic research design. The findings are presented in a structured manner by summarizing the results of the corresponding publications. Moreover, the connections between the developed artifacts as well as related work are discussed. Subsequently, a critical reflection is offered concerning the generalization and transferability of the achieved results. Thus, the thesis not only provides a contribution based on the proposed artifacts; it also paves the way for future opportunities, for which a detailed research agenda is outlined.:List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation 1.2 Conceptual Background 1.3 Related Work 1.4 Research Design 1.5 Structure of the Thesis 2 Systematization of the Field 2.1 The Current State of Research 2.2 Systematization Framework 2.3 Exemplary Framework Application 3 Intelligent Assistance System for Automated Method Selection 3.1 Elicitation of Requirements 3.2 Design Principles and Design Features 3.3 Prototypical Instantiation and Evaluation 4 Taxonomic Framework for Method Evaluation 4.1 Survey of Prognostic Solutions 4.2 Taxonomic Evaluation Framework 4.3 Exemplary Framework Application 5 Method Application Under Industrial Conditions 5.1 Conceptualization of a Solution Approach 5.2 Prototypical Implementation and Evaluation 6 Discussion of the Results 6.1 Connections Between Developed Artifacts and Related Work 6.2 Generalization and Transferability of the Results 7 Concluding Remarks Bibliography Appendix I: Implementation Details Appendix II: List of Publications A Publication P1: Focus Area Systematization B Publication P2: Focus Area Method Selection C Publication P3: Focus Area Method Selection D Publication P4: Focus Area Method Evaluation E Publication P5: Focus Area Method ApplicationDatengetriebene Instandhaltung birgt das Potential, aus den in Industrieumgebungen vielfältig anfallenden Datensammlungen unterschiedliche Nutzeneffekte zu erzielen. Unter Verwendung von modernen Methoden und Technologien aus dem Bereich Data Science und Analytics (DSA) ist es beispielsweise möglich, das Verhalten komplexer technischer Prozesse besser nachzuvollziehen oder bevorstehende Maschinenausfälle und Fehler frühzeitig zu erkennen. Eine erfolgreiche Umsetzung von DSA-Projekten erfordert jedoch multidisziplinäres Expertenwissen, welches sich nur selten von einzelnen Personen bzw. Einheiten innerhalb einer Organisation abdecken lässt. Dies umfasst beispielsweise ein fundiertes Domänenverständnis, Kenntnisse über zahlreiche Analysemethoden, Erfahrungen im Umgang mit verschiedenen Quellsystemen und Datenstrukturen sowie die Fähigkeit, geeignete Lösungsansätze in Informationssysteme zu überführen. Vor diesem Hintergrund haben sich in den letzten Jahren verschiedene Ansätze herausgebildet, um die Durchführung von DSA-Projekten für breitere Anwendergruppen zugänglich zu machen. Dazu gehören strukturierte Vorgehensmodelle, Systematisierungs- und Modellierungsframeworks, domänenspezifische Benchmark-Studien zur Veranschaulichung von Best Practices, Standardlösungen für DSA-Software und intelligente Assistenzsysteme. An diese Arbeiten knüpft die vorliegende Dissertation an und liefert weitere Artefakte, um insbesondere die Selektion, Evaluation und Anwendung datengetriebener Methoden im Bereich der industriellen Instandhaltung zu unterstützen. Insgesamt erstreckt sich die Abhandlung auf vier Artefakte, die in einzelnen Publikationen erarbeitet wurden. Dies umfasst (i) ein umfangreiches Systematisierungsframework zur Beschreibung zentraler Ausprägungen wiederkehrender Datenanalyseprobleme im Bereich der industriellen Instandhaltung, (ii) ein textbasiertes Assistenzsystem, welches ausgehend von natürlichsprachlichen und domänenspezifischen Problembeschreibungen eine geeignete Klasse von Analysemethoden vorschlägt, (iii) ein taxonomisches Evaluationsframework zur systematischen Bewertung von datengetriebenen Methoden unter verschiedenen Rahmenbedingungen sowie (iv) einen neuartigen Lösungsansatz zur Entwicklung von prognostischen Entscheidungsmodellen im Fall von eingeschränkter Informationslage. Die Konstruktion der Artefakte wird durch einzelne Forschungsziele im Rahmen eines systematischen Forschungsdesigns angeleitet. Neben der Darstellung der einzelnen Forschungsbeiträge unter Bezugnahme auf die erzielten Ergebnisse der dazugehörigen Publikationen werden auch die Verbindungen zwischen den entwickelten Artefakten beleuchtet und Zusammenhänge zu angrenzenden Arbeiten hergestellt. Zudem erfolgt eine kritische Reflektion der Ergebnisse hinsichtlich ihrer Verallgemeinerung und Übertragung auf andere Rahmenbedingungen. Dadurch liefert die vorliegende Abhandlung nicht nur einen Beitrag anhand der erzeugten Artefakte, sondern ebnet auch den Weg für fortführende Forschungsarbeiten, wofür eine detaillierte Forschungsagenda erarbeitet wird.:List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation 1.2 Conceptual Background 1.3 Related Work 1.4 Research Design 1.5 Structure of the Thesis 2 Systematization of the Field 2.1 The Current State of Research 2.2 Systematization Framework 2.3 Exemplary Framework Application 3 Intelligent Assistance System for Automated Method Selection 3.1 Elicitation of Requirements 3.2 Design Principles and Design Features 3.3 Prototypical Instantiation and Evaluation 4 Taxonomic Framework for Method Evaluation 4.1 Survey of Prognostic Solutions 4.2 Taxonomic Evaluation Framework 4.3 Exemplary Framework Application 5 Method Application Under Industrial Conditions 5.1 Conceptualization of a Solution Approach 5.2 Prototypical Implementation and Evaluation 6 Discussion of the Results 6.1 Connections Between Developed Artifacts and Related Work 6.2 Generalization and Transferability of the Results 7 Concluding Remarks Bibliography Appendix I: Implementation Details Appendix II: List of Publications A Publication P1: Focus Area Systematization B Publication P2: Focus Area Method Selection C Publication P3: Focus Area Method Selection D Publication P4: Focus Area Method Evaluation E Publication P5: Focus Area Method Applicatio