From Real-Time BI to the Real-Time Enterprise: Organizational Enablers of Latency Reduction

Real-time business intelligence (BI) plays an important role in enabling the “real-time enterprise,” and as such has received a lot of attention in the practitioner literature in recent years. However, academic research on real-time BI and its role in improving overall organizational agility is scarce today. Most research on the real-time phenomenon has focused on technological, as opposed to organizational, issues. Using practitioner models of information value as a starting point, we draw from theories on individual and organizational decision making to create a model of the components of latency that impact an organization’s ability to both sense and respond to business events in real time. Failure to take all the antecedents of these latency components into account when implementing a real-time BI system can have serious consequences on a firm’s ability to optimize benefits from conversion to real-time BI systems. We close with suggestions for future IS research on this important emerging topic

An inside view on changes to achieve efficiency

Software development is a discipline that is almost as old as the history of computers. With the advent of the Internet and all of its related technologies, software development has been on high demand. But, and especially in SME (small and medium enterprise), this was not accompanied with a comparable effort to develop a set of sustainable and standardized activities of project management, which lead to increasing inefficiencies and costs. Given the actual economic situation, it makes sense to engage in an effort to reduce said inefficiencies and rising costs. For that end, this work will analyze the current state of software development’s project management processes on a Portuguese SME, along with its problems and inefficiencies in an effort to create a standardized model to manage software development, with special attention given to critical success factors in an agile software development environment, while using the best practices in process modeling. This work also aims to create guidelines to correctly integrate these changes in the existing IS structure of a company

The integrity of digital technologies in the evolving characteristics of real-time enterprise architecture

Advancements in interactive and responsive enterprises involve real-time access to the information and capabilities of emerging technologies. Digital technologies (DTs) are emerging technologies that provide end-to-end business processes (BPs), engage a diversified set of real-time enterprise (RTE) participants, and institutes interactive DT services. This thesis offers a selection of the author’s work over the last decade that addresses the real-time access to changing characteristics of information and integration of DTs. They are critical for RTEs to run a competitive business and respond to a dynamic marketplace. The primary contributions of this work are listed below. • Performed an intense investigation to illustrate the challenges of the RTE during the advancement of DTs and corresponding business operations. • Constituted a practical approach to continuously evolve the RTEs and measure the impact of DTs by developing, instrumenting, and inferring the standardized RTE architecture and DTs. • Established the RTE operational governance framework and instituted it to provide structure, oversight responsibilities, features, and interdependencies of business operations. • Formulated the incremental risk (IR) modeling framework to identify and correlate the evolving risks of the RTEs during the deployment of DT services. • DT service classifications scheme is derived based on BPs, BP activities, DT’s paradigms, RTE processes, and RTE policies. • Identified and assessed the evaluation paradigms of the RTEs to measure the progress of the RTE architecture based on the DT service classifications. The starting point was the author’s experience with evolving aspects of DTs that are disrupting industries and consequently impacting the sustainability of the RTE. The initial publications emphasized innovative characteristics of DTs and lack of standardization, indicating the impact and adaptation of DTs are questionable for the RTEs. The publications are focused on developing different elements of RTE architecture. Each published work concerns the creation of an RTE architecture framework fit to the purpose of business operations in association with the DT services and associated capabilities. The RTE operational governance framework and incremental risk methodology presented in subsequent publications ensure the continuous evolution of RTE in advancements of DTs. Eventually, each publication presents the evaluation paradigms based on the identified scheme of DT service classification to measure the success of RTE architecture or corresponding elements of the RTE architecture

Virtual learning process environment (VLPE): a BPM-based learning process management architecture

E-learning systems have significantly impacted the way that learning takes place within universities, particularly in providing self-learning support and flexibility of course delivery. Virtual Learning Environments help facilitate the management of educational courses for students, in particular by assisting course designers and thriving in the management of the learning itself. Current literature has shown that pedagogical modelling and learning process management facilitation are inadequate. In particular, quantitative information on the process of learning that is needed to perform real time or reflective monitoring and statistical analysis of students’ learning processes performance is deficient. Therefore, for a course designer, pedagogical evaluation and reform decisions can be difficult. This thesis presents an alternative e-learning systems architecture - Virtual Learning Process Environment (VLPE) - that uses the Business Process Management (BPM) conceptual framework to design an architecture that addresses the critical quantitative learning process information gaps associated with the conventional VLE frameworks. Within VLPE, course designers can model desired education pedagogies in the form of learning process workflows using an intuitive graphical flow diagram user-interface. Automated agents associated with BPM frameworks are employed to capture quantitative learning information from the learning process workflow. Consequently, course designers are able to monitor, analyse and re-evaluate in real time the effectiveness of their chosen pedagogy using live interactive learning process dashboards. Once a course delivery is complete the collated quantitative information can also be used to make major revisions to pedagogy design for the next iteration of the course. An additional contribution of this work is that this new architecture facilitates individual students in monitoring and analysing their own learning performances in comparison to their peers in a real time anonymous manner through a personal analytics learning process dashboard. A case scenario of the quantitative statistical analysis of a cohort of learners (10 participants in size) is presented. The analytical results of their learning processes, performances and progressions on a short Mathematics course over a five-week period are also presented in order to demonstrate that the proposed framework can significantly help to advance learning analytics and the visualisation of real time learning data

Data limitations can be overcome to move toward effective business system integration

Investigation indicates that data quality and consistency issues will continue to be overwhelming impediments to the complete integration of all information systems in the current Information Technology (IT) environment. However, there is evidence that businesses can still move toward an effective Digital Business Design (DBD) by focusing on a relatively small number of critical success factors. The possible approaches to integration available in the current IT environment were reviewed to gain insight into candidate design bases available. The DBD implementations of sample firms were examined to explore what aspects of integration they considered in their implementations and whether or not they achieved significant levels of integration from a customer perspective. Based on these examinations, several key points that should be kept in focus when contemplating a DBD integration project were identified

The Case of Mongolia

학위논문(석사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 공과대학 협동과정 기술경영·경제·정책전공, 2021.8. Jorn Altmann.Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered key players in any country's social and economic development. Adopting innovative technologies such as Big Data Analytics (BDA) can bring better performance and competitive advantage for SMEs, which is important for a country's economic growth. This study aims to assess the main challenges and potentials of BDA adoptions in SMEs and examine the impacts of its adoption into business performance for SMEs in developing countries aspect. To achieve the study's goal, a systematic literature review (SLR) is conducted regarding the adoption of BDA in SMEs. The most common SLR method among the researchers in information system research, which was initiated by Kitchencham et al. (Kitchenham, Budgen, & Brereton, 2015) and Okoli et al.(Okoli & Schabram, 2010), is adapted in the study. In doing so, the SLR is focused on defining SMEs within various aspects and is directed to determine the most common influencing factors in BDA adoption in SMEs. In the result of the SLR, widely discussed 34 distinct influencing factors are identified in the adoption of BDA in SMEs from the previous literature. In addition, the hypotheses are developed based on the influencing factors, which show consensus among the researchers. After that, a conceptual framework is developed for developing the country aspect and control variables, and the moderating variables’ effect is also estimated. To evaluate hypotheses and the conceptual framework, an online questionnaire is conducted among Mongolia SMEs which run businesses in various industries. The online questionnaire is distributed to decision-makers and information technology specialists in the firm. In total, 170 respondents participated in the online survey. Based on the survey result, hypotheses are tested. As a consequence, the collected data and proposed framework are analyzed by using Partial Least Squares (PLS). This is a method of Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) that allows investigating the inter-relationship between the latent and observed variables. In terms of statistical software tools, Smart PLS v3.3.3 was employed, which is one of the useriv friendly tools for data analysis. Finally, policies and recommendations are deployed based on the findings.중소기업 (SME)은 모든 국가의 사회 및 경제 개발에서 핵심적인 역할을 하고 있는 것으로 간주된다. 빅 데이터 분석 (BDA)과 같은 혁신적인 기술의 채택은 국가 경제 성장에 중요한 역할을 하는 있는 중소기업에 더 나은 경영 성과와 경쟁력을 가져올 수 있다. 본 연구는 중소기업에서 BDA 채택하는 데에 있는 주요 과제와 잠재력을 평가하고 개발 도상국 측면에서 BDA 채택은 중소기업의 경영 성과에 대한 영향을 조사하는 것을 목표로 한다. 본 연구의 목표를 이루기 위해 우선 SME에서 BDA 채택과 관련한 문헌검토(systematic literature review (SLR))를 하였다. 정보 시스템 연구자들 중에 Kitchencham et al [1]과 Okoli et al. [2]에 의해 시작된 정보 시스템 연구는 가장 일반적인 SLR 방법이라고 할 수 있다. 이 방법은 본 연구에 적용됩니다. 본 연구는 문헌 검토를 통해서 다양한 측면에서 SME를 정의하는 데 초점을 맞추고 있으며 SME에서 BDA 채택의 가장 일반적인 영향 요인을 밝혔다 . 문헌 검토한 결과를 보면, 선행 연구에서 SME의 BDA 채택에 있어서 34 개의 뚜렷한 영향 요인을 논의했다는 것을 확인되었다. 본 연구의 가설은 연구자들의 일치한 관점을 보여주는 영향 요인을 기반으로 설정하었다. 그 다음에 개발 도상국을 위한 개념의 체계를 세우고 통제 변인과 조절 변인의 영향도 추정하였다. 가설과 개념 체계를 평가하기 위해 본 연구는 몽골의 다양한 사업을 운영하고 있는 중소기업을 대상으로 온라인 설문조사를 실시하였다. 온라인 141 설문조사의 참여자는 회사의 주요 의사 결정자 및 정보 기술 전문가였다. 이를 통해 수집 된 데이터와 제안 된 체계를 PLS (Partial Least Squire)를 사용하여 분석하였다. 이 방법은 잠재 변수와 관찰 변수 간의 상호 관계를 조사 할 수있는 구조 방정식 모형 (SEM) 방법이다. 통계 소프트웨어 도구 측면에서는 접하기가 쉬운 데이터 분석 도구 중 하나인 SmartPLS v3.3.3 을 이용하였다. 마지막으로, 본 연구는 분석한 결과를 기반하여 정책 및 제안을 제시하였다.Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Chapter 2. Background on Big Data Analytics Adoption 6 2.1 Defination of Big Data 6 2.2 Defination of Small and Medium enterprises 9 2.3 Role of Big Data 10 2.4 Charateristics of developing countries 11 Chapter 3. Methodology and Model Design 13 3.1 Methdogology fused for analyzing Big Data Analytics in Small and Medium Enterprises in Developing countries 13 3.2. Model design 26 3.2.1 Factors 26 3.2.2. Theories 28 3.2.3. Classification of factors into categories 36 3.2.4. Impact on developing country 46 3.2.5. Impact on different industries 50 3.2.6. Theoritical background and hypothesis development 51 3.2.7. Technological context 54 3.2.8. Organizational context 58 3.2.9. Environmental context 61 3.2.10. Moderating variables 63 3.2.11. Control variables 65 Chapter 4. Framework for Mongolian case 67 4.1. Mongolia 67 4.2. Data collection 68 4.3. Basic understanding on moderating effect 70 4.4. Data analysis 71 4.5. Results 74 4.5.1. Reliability and validity 74 4.5.2. Structual model analysis 78 4.5.3. Moderating variables 82 Chapter 5. Conclusion 85 5.1. Discussion 85 5.1.1. Technological context 85 5.1.2. Organizational context 88 5.1.3. Environmental context 88 5.2. Contrubitions 89 5.3. Policy implication 90 5.4. Limitation and outlok 91 Appendix.1 93 Appendix.2 110 Bibliography 115 Abstract in Korean 140석

Decision-making support for the alignment of business-process-driven organization with strategic plans.

Los planes de negocio son documentos en los que los equipos ejecutivos de las organizaciones (BETs, por sus siglas en inglés), especifican todos y cada uno de los aspectos de la organización. Dos componentes muy importantes de los planes de negocio son el plan de operaciones y el plan estratégico. El plan de operaciones recoge, tanto las actividades/tareas que se pueden realizar en la organización, para proporcionar los productos o servicios que se ofrecen, cómo la forma en que se han de llevar a cabo estas actividades/tareas; El plan estratégico especifica la dirección y los objetivos de la organización, elabora objetivos e identifica estrategias para alcanzar éstos objetivos. Las organizaciones siguen la dirección establecida sus planes estratégicos, pero debido a diversos factores, a menudo esto, mantener la dirección establecida es difícil. Uno de estos factores es la influencia de las personas, las cuales toman decisiones, en ocasiones basadas en su conocimiento local de la organización, sus experiencias previas y/o su intuición, en lugar de hacerlo mediante un análisis cuantitativo de cómo sus decisiones pueden afectar a la organización, y por tanto cómo de alineadas están con la dirección establecida. Esto hace que, en ocasiones, las decisiones no estén alineadas con la dirección marcada por la organización, y que además que ni se tenga constancia de este hecho. En esta tesis doctoral se proponen metodologías y mecanismos para ayudar a las personas, a tomar decisiones alineadas con la dirección establecida por la organización. La consultora GartnerTM considera que la capacidad de ayudar en el proceso de toma de decisión es crucial para los sistemas que respaldan las operaciones de la empresa (BPMSs, por sus siglas en inglés). Por esta razón, las metodologías y mecanismos propuestos en esta tesis, se integran dentro con los BPMSs, como sistemas de ayuda a la toma de decisiones (DSS, por sus siglas en inglés). De un análisis sistemático de la literatura existente, se derivaron varias propuestas para la mejora de DSSs, y se identificaron tres tipos de decisiones que se toman en procesos de negocio, las cuales no están ampliamente respaldadas por los DSSs actuales: (1) decisiones que direccionan la instancia de proceso de negocio (BPI, por sus siglas en inglés); (2) decisiones sobre el valor de las variables de entrada; y (3) decisiones sobre qué proceso de negocio (BP, por sus siglas in inglés) ejecutar. En esta tesis se proponen tres DSSs, cada uno de ellos, alineado con uno de los tipos de decisión antes mencionados. Los DSSs para el direccionamiento de BPIs constituyen uno de los campos de estudio más conocidos en el contexto de la toma de decisiones en BPs, sin embargo, las propuestas encontradas en la literatura, no permiten considerar el contexto en el que se está ejecutando la BPI, es decir, estas propuestas solo consideran la información relacionada con BPI en ejecución (es decir, sólo tienen en cuenta información local) y no consideran el estado global de la organización. El DSS, para direccionar BPIs presentado en esta tesis, propone un lenguaje que permite definir variables, la cuales representan el estado global de la organización, y además mecanismos para utilizar éstas variables en las decisiones de direccionamiento de la BPI. Gracias a esto, las decisiones se pueden tomar de manera global a la organización. Otro tipo de decisiones que se toman en BP está relacionado con elegir valores de entrada de los BP (por ejemplo, la cantidad a invertir o la cantidad de empleados que se asignan a una tarea). La elección de valores de entrada en BP puede influir directamente en que la empresa consiga los objetivos marcados, o no. Para determinar los valores más adecuados para las variables de entrada de los BP, se deben analizar tanto las instancias pasadas, como los modelos de procesos de negocio. En el DSS propuesto en esta tesis para decidir sobre los valores de entrada, la información extraída de instancias pasadas es utilizada utiliza para sugerir el rango de valores dentro del cual, el valor de la variable está alineado con los objetivos marcados por la organización. Dado que la información empleada para extraer el conocimiento de los BPI finalizados se almacena en bases de datos, también se propone una metodología para validar la alineación de los datos de estas instancias anteriores con el BP. Los DSS descritos anteriormente están relacionados con las decisiones tomadas sobre BPI, es decir BP que se están ya ejecutando; sin embargo, la elección de qué BP se debe ejecutar, también constituye una decisión en sí misma. Esta decisión también puede afectar el estado de la organización y, por lo tanto, puede afectar el logro de los objetivos especificados en los planes estratégicos de la organización. Estas decisiones se conocen como decisiones de gobernanza, y también deben estar alineadas con los planes estratégicos. Con el fin de conseguir este alineamiento, en esta tesis se propone una metodología para modelar, tanto los BP, como la medida en que la ejecución de éstos afecta a los indicadores de la organización. Éste modelad lo hacen personas (expertos en negocios), por lo que en esta tesis también se proponen mecanismos para su validación respecto de la actividad de la organización en el pasado. El DSS propuesto para decisiones de gobernanza, se basa en la capacidad de simular estos modelos, para predecir el estado final de la organización en caso de ejecutar uno varios procesos de negocio, en un momento determinado. Los DSSs y técnicas propuestas en esta tesis mejoran la capacidad de toma de decisiones en cuatro aspectos: 1. Ayudan a los usuarios a tomar decisiones alineadas con la dirección marcada por la organización, en función del estado general de la empresa y de lo que sucedió en el pasado. 2. Aseguran que las decisiones tomadas estén alineadas con los planes estratégicos, por lo que todas las personas involucradas en la organización toman decisiones de acuerdo con los objetivos definidos por la organización. 3. Aprovechan la información de ejecuciones pasadas de BP de la empresa, para mejorar la organización. 4. Aprovechan el conocimiento de las personas involucradas en la organización tienen del funcionamiento de la misma, al tiempo que permiten tomar decisión razonadas sobre por qué se toma realiza una acción u otra. Por otro lado, estas técnicas están orientadas a: ser utilizadas por expertos del negocio, es decir, personas sin formación técnica; contribuir a una mejor comprensión de cómo las acciones realizadas en la organización pueden afectar el logro de los objetivos definidos; y a permitir que información del estado de la organización pueda ser utilizada por terceras aplicaciones. Por último, destacar que las propuestas desarrolladas en el contexto de esta tesis y los ejemplos utilizados para ilustrarlas han sido extraídas de casos de empresas reales

Dynamic enterprise modelling: a methodology for animating dynamic social networks

PhD ThesisSince the introduction of the Internet and the realisation of its potential companies have either transformed their operation or are in the process of doing so. It has been observed, that developments in I.T., telecommunications and the Internet have boosted the number of enterprises engaging into e-commerce, e-business and virtual enterprising. These trends are accompanied by re-shaping, transformation and changes in an enterprise's boundaries. The thesis gives an account of the research into the area of dynamic enterprise modelling and provides a modelling methodology that allows different roles and business models to be tested and evaluated without the risk associated with committing to a change