Measuring Risks of Interdependencies in Enterprise Systems: An Application to Ghana’s Salt Enterprise

This dissertation describes the use of Functional Dependency Network Analysis (FDNA) for modeling risks resulting from dependencies among elements of enterprise systems with application to salt processing enterprise in Ghana. FDNA was developed to model dependencies among members of enterprise systems by highlighting two dimensions of dependency: strength and criticality. Nonetheless, the concepts and analytics for these two dimensions of dependencies needed further development and generalization in the context of project management and systems development in developing countries. Managing risks within the interdependency in enterprise systems through integration will help improve global economic growth. Coherent theory for enterprise integration must be developed, especially in developing countries like Ghana. The significance of this dissertation is the further development of theoretical concept that can be used to analyze dimensions of dependencies in enterprise systems. This model development is contingent upon the strength and criticality dimensions of dependencies in enterprise systems as they apply to project management and the development of enterprise systems. The research covers empirical investigation of the complexities and of enterprise risk management in the Sub-Saharan region for the appropriateness of using the FDNA concept to develop the salt processing enterprise in Ghana

The Challenges of Enterprise Integration: Cycles of Integration and Disintegration Over Time

In recent years enterprise integration has become an important theme in information systems research and practice. Enterprise integration pervades enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), and customer resource management (CRM) systems and applications. However, much IS research in this area seems to assume that enterprise integration is inevitable and that enterprise integration is strategically necessary. These assumptions appear to have held sway until now, probably because most IS researchers have studied the life cycle of just one single enterprise systems project. Our research throws into question these assumptions. Using critical ethnography, we studied a small-to- medium sized company within the context of a large conglomerate over a seven-year period in total, from mid 1996 to early 2004. This company was one of many subsidiaries within a large conglomerate in the Asia- Pacific region (one of the global 500 companies with annual revenues of more than US$4 billion). Looking at the broader context (the conglomerate as a whole), and seen over a sufficiently long time scale, our findings suggest that enterprise integration is not inevitable, nor is it always strategically necessary. Rather, enterprise integration is perhaps best described as a cycle: as one or more cycles of integration, disintegration, and (perhaps) reintegration. This paper can be seen as one response to the call for more empirical in-depth case studies concerning enterprise systems

INTEGRATION OF AN IT-RISK MANAGEMENT/RISK ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK WITH OPERATIONAL PROCESSES

This paper discusses the background and results of a research project which was conducted by ENISA (European Network and Information Security Agency) in cooperation with the BOC Information Technologies Consulting GmbH. The project was initiated with respect to the main task of ENISA: ensuring a high and effective level of network and information security within organisations in the European Union. As an important step towards this goal the research project aimed at increasing the level of integration between an enterprise-level IT Risk Management/Risk Assessment on the one hand, and selected operational business processes, on the other hand. The proposed integration is mainly established on the level of document flows between processes and activities respectively. In particular, operational processes which are closely related to IT were selected for integration. The introduced approach promises a better overall quality of IT Risk Management in an enterprise in general, as well as an improved management of risks in operational processes

Comprehensive measurement framework for enterprise architectures

Enterprise Architecture defines the overall form and function of systems across an enterprise involving the stakeholders and providing a framework, standards and guidelines for project-specific architectures. Project-specific Architecture defines the form and function of the systems in a project or program, within the context of the enterprise as a whole with broad scope and business alignments. Application-specific Architecture defines the form and function of the applications that will be developed to realize functionality of the system with narrow scope and technical alignments. Because of the magnitude and complexity of any enterprise integration project, a major engineering and operations planning effort must be accomplished prior to any actual integration work. As the needs and the requirements vary depending on their volume, the entire enterprise problem can be broken into chunks of manageable pieces. These pieces can be implemented and tested individually with high integration effort. Therefore it becomes essential to analyze the economic and technical feasibility of realizable enterprise solution. It is difficult to migrate from one technological and business aspect to other as the enterprise evolves. The existing process models in system engineering emphasize on life-cycle management and low-level activity coordination with milestone verification. Many organizations are developing enterprise architecture to provide a clear vision of how systems will support and enable their business. The paper proposes an approach for selection of suitable enterprise architecture depending on the measurement framework. The framework consists of unique combination of higher order goals, non-functional requirement support and inputs-outcomes pair evaluation. The earlier efforts in this regard were concerned about only custom scales indicating the availability of a parameter in a range.Comment: 22 Page

Rancang Bangun Sistem Enterprise Resource Planning Construction Sebagai Solusi Manajemen Proyek Konstruksi

Construction management is a professional service that uses special project management techniques to oversee the course of construction projects from the initiation stage to project closure. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an information technology solution that enables businesses and their suppliers to manage large projects effectively and efficiently throughout the project life cycle. Proper utilization of internal and external resources is very important if a construction company wants to make the best business decisions, maximize business goals, and survive in a competitive environment, it requires a system that can integrate various business functions and resources, especially those related to project procedures. Thus, a system Enterprise Resource Planning Construction System as a Construction Management Solution is designed. This system was developed using the waterfall software development methodology, which consists of four stages. Among other things, analyzing and defining features, constraints and system objectives, conducting system design to form a system architecture based on predetermined requirements using UML, implementing and unit testing and performing system integration and testing. The result of this research is an Enterprise Resource Planning Construction system that integrates Invoicing, Customer Relationship Management, Sales, Purchase, Inventory, Human Resource and Project modules. So that this system can be an alternative construction project management solution for managing construction projects online

GOVERNANCE STRATEGIES FOR ENTERPRISE APPLICATION SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATIONS

Enterprise application system implementations are highly complex implementations that automate several business functions, such as financials, accounting, supply chain, customer services management, human resources management and reporting among others. This study aims at providing an alternative view of organization's enterprise application system (EAS) acceptance. Despite the large body of literature, there are still empirical inquiries to investigate the EAS system implementation from adopters' perspectives and how to identify risks in a multi-stakeholder and dynamic environment. The thesis consists of three essays on various aspects of relationship between enterprise application implementation in a multi-stakeholder environment and project governance. Valid measurement scales for predicting organization's acceptance of enterprise systems are in short supply. The first essay develops and validates new scales for two specific variables, integration and inter-dependency risks. These variables are hypothesized as key determinant for organizational success of enterprise application implementations by mitigating risks involved in a multi-stakeholder environment. A model of organization acceptance of enterprise systems was developed using these two scales and then tested for reliability from a total of 365 users and nine application groups. The measures were validated using ten different direct measures with reliabilities between 0.72 and 0.96. Integration risk was significantly related with perceived ease of use, consultant's product knowledge and training provided to the end users. Inter-dependency risk was significantly correlated with perceived usefulness, consultant's industry and product knowledge. Both integration and inter-dependency risks are significantly related with success of the new enterprise application. This study would benefit project executives by offering valuable managerial insights that enable them to appreciate and improve integration and inter-dependency of stakeholders. Implications for theory and practice are discussed for two sub-groups: that less experienced resources treat risks differently than more experienced resources, and business applications compared to technical enterprise applications. Academic community has not addressed governance of enterprise application projects that involve dynamic environments and how to mitigate integration and inter-dependency risks. In the second essay it is argued that acceptance of the system from end users is not enough? Adopters of new enterprise wide information technology solutions get most benefit when the solution continues to be adaptable when business, environment or other organizational priorities change - therefore making an implementation sustainable. The second essay discussed characteristics of sustainability of enterprise application implementation from organizational perspective. A case study was used to validate the characteristics of sustainability. The thesis sought to demonstrate the causal relationship between the organization's preparedness for sustainability and the emergence of implementation problems. The study extracted insight into the criticality of certain factors and the type of problems making decisions under weak governance situation. The third essay develops determinants for project governance success of enterprise application implementations by mitigating risks in a multi-stakeholder environment. This essay develops and validates new scales for five specific variables. Definitions of five variables were used to develop a model that was presented for content validity and then tested for reliability from a total of 117 project executives globally. The measures were validated with reliabilities between 0.73 and 0.94. Relationships between five measures were broken down to meaningful components and a three tier project governance structure was proposed to mitigate integration and inter-dependency risks in a multi-stakeholder environment

An Enterprise 2.0 project management approach to facilitate participation, transparency, and communication

The use of current interactive and collaborative Web 2.0 concepts and technologies has great potential for flexible, loosely-coupled integration and ad-hoc information exchange within and between organizations. However, stakeholders’ readiness, willingness and ability to participate need to be continuously factored in. The successful implementation of common strategies, systems and processes in the course of Enterprise 2.0 projects is crucial. To increase the probability of success and to enhance the intensity of cooperation and trust in such projects, the constructs of transparency, communication and participation need to be addressed through an integrated project methodology. To bridge the gap between existing scientific models and requirements for Enterprise 2.0 projects, this paper proposes and describes a project methodology to support the main objectives for Enterprise 2.0 implementations. Selected results from two pilot projects within Austrian companies are presented and matched with critical success factors, which are derived from the literature. These provide elaborative insights into key characteristics of certain Enterprise 2.0 tools and project management for Enterprise 2.0 projects

A WBEM based solution for a 4G network integrated management

Next generation networks will put a new set of challenges related to operation and management, due to the increased complexity arising by the seamless integration of different kinds of technologies, services and terminals, and with the expected offered bandwidth. In this paper we present a Policy-based management system that is being developed inside the Daidalos IST project for such environments. This system uses Policy Based Management concepts associated with Web-Based Enterprise Management to control QoS aspects in this complex network

Towards an Evaluation Framework for Business Process Integration and Management

Process-awareness in enterprise computing is a must in order to adequately support business processes. Particularly the interoperability of the (process-oriented) business information systems and the management of a company’s process map are difficult to handle. Process-oriented approaches (like workflow systems and enterprise application integration tools) offer promising perspectives in this respect. However, a major problem for project managers is the accomplishment of economic-oriented assessments of such approaches. Currently, there exists no suitable evaluation framework. This position paper discusses important issues related to the introduction of such a framework. Doing so, we distinguish two evaluation areas: Business Process Integration and Business Process Management. While the former operates at the technical level of process and application integration, the latter addresses organizational process topics. Starting from those two perspectives we describe benefits, evaluation criteria and metrics that are relevant to set up an evaluation framework