Extending the enterprise: An evaluation of ERP and EAI technologies within a Case Study organisation

It is widely understood that both Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS), provide great benefits in improving the visibility of supply and value chains within and across organisational boundaries. Those enterprises which can realise the benefits of extending their core business processes outwards to clients and trading partners, will be able to create unique supply chain-dependent products and solutions. Thus, such business infrastructures have enabled organisations to expand and improve the effectiveness of their enterprise. One method to achieve this, has been to integrate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems with web-based and other IS systems, using Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) technologies. This paper seeks to investigate those factors which contributed to a case organisation’s extended enterprise experiences, by using extant ERP and EAI implementation IS evaluation criteria; and by placing the research results within the context of applicable IS research techniques in the area

On the User Perception of Configurable Reference Process Models - Initial Insights

Enterprise Systems potentially lead to significant efficiency gains but require a well-conducted configuration process. A configurable reference modelling language based on the widely used EPC notation, which can be used to specify Configurable EPCs (C-EPCs), has been developed to support the task of Enterprise Systems configuration. This paper presents a laboratory experiment on C-EPCs and discusses empirical data on the comparison of C-EPCs to regular EPCs. Using the Method Adoption Model we report on modeller’s perceptions as to the usefulness and ease of use of C-EPCs, concluding that C-EPCs provide sufficient yet improvable conceptual support towards reference model configuration

Enterprise Engineering - A New Organizational Discipline (2)

The e-business ecosystem generates pressure on modern companies to invest massively in technologies that can bring them into the digital world of business. In their race to become a player in the global information system, companies have accumulated many layers of software that, in turn, generated what is now known as the software complexity issue. What is missing in most organizations is a mechanism that can align or “bridge the gap†between the concerns of corporate strategists and IT project managers. As a consequence, a new discipline has evolved, enterprise engineering, to deal with enterprise architectures. The enterprise architecture describes the logical linkages between the enterprise business, information and technical architectures and the enterprise IT solutions. Standards for building the enterprise architecture have been lately adopted in order to draw the architectural guidelines for enterprise engineers. This paper continues a series of articles that will provide an overview of frameworks, metamodels and technologies available today for enterprise engineering.Enterprise Engineering, Business Process Modeling, Enterprise Modeling Standards

Toward Process Modeling in Creative Domains

Process modeling has emerged as a widely accepted approach in order to reduce organizational complexity in organizations. Process models are used for different purposes, including process analysis and redesign, risk management, and the implementation of software systems. However, the majority of existent approaches is restricted to processes that are wellstructured and predictable. Highly creative environments, such as the film industry or R&D departments, however, are characterized by high levels of flexibility. As existent approaches do not provide ample means to model such processes, this paper discusses the capabilities that a conceptual process modeling grammar for processes in creative environments must provide. Furthermore, we suggest an approach to process analysis that aims at the identification and specification of creativity in business processes. The study belongs to the design science paradigm; the discussion is grounded in a theory that explains the nature of processes that rely on creativity

Management collusion: Keeping the lid on the \u27can of worms\u27

CIOs and CEOs are confronted with the key question of choosing the right ERP software for their company. The evaluation process tends to be painstaking as the outcome usually affects the competitiveness and thus the future of the company itself. Packaged software has become so powerful in recent years that it fulfils the requirements of companies from different industries after a thorough customization process. Nevertheless, case studies and anecdotal evidence show that in many cases ERP implementation projects are demanding and results do not meet expectations. This leads to the question of whether and how ERP vendors are addressing the perceived problems of ERP users. Is there work in progress that will help facilitate the selection and implementation of ERP packaged software for users? Will there be tools available to adopt ERP modules to the specific business processes of a company and – taking into account that processes are likely to change over time – will there be mechanisms available to adapt the software to changing requirements (in the literature discussed as “agility”)? These are the questions that stimulated an in-depth study of the Germanspeaking ERP software market. In a qualitative study based on thirty interviews with ERP vendors we draw a picture of the value proposition of future ERP software

A framework of issues in large process modeling projects

As process management projects have increased in size due to globalised and company-wide initiatives, a corresponding growth in the size of process modeling projects can be observed. Despite advances in languages, tools and methodologies, several aspects of these projects have been largely ignored by the academic community. This paper makes a first contribution to a potential research agenda in this field by defining the characteristics of large-scale process modeling projects and proposing a framework of related issues. These issues are derived from a semi-structured interview and six focus groups conducted in Australia, Germany and the USA with enterprise and modeling software vendors and customers. The focus groups confirm the existence of unresolved problems in business process modeling projects. The outcomes provide a research agenda which directs researchers into further studies in global process management, process model decomposition and the overall governance of process modeling projects. It is expected that this research agenda will provide guidance to researchers and practitioners by focusing on areas of high theoretical and practical relevance

Business Process Model Reuse In A Multi-Channel / Multi-Product Environment–Problem Identification And Tentative Design

Business Process Modeling has become a common activity in organisations. However, as the number of process models increases, so too does the number of duplicated models increase and the level of process model reuse has been found to be surprisingly low. In organisations which operate in an environment with multiple channels, products and customer types, complete process model reuse becomes especially challenging. Without a well-defined approach, such an environment could easily result in dozens of slight variations of what is essentially the same process which will lead to future model and repository management challenges. In response to this problem this paper reviews the literature of complete business process reuse in a multi-channel / multi-product environment. We find that there is a clear gap in the literature in terms of practical solutions that address the problem described but were able to distil five practices that can increase complete model reuse. This review and the practices described will help practitioners grappling with these challenges and paves the way for further needed research on this problem

Enterprise Modeling in the context of Enterprise Engineering: State of the art and outlook

[EN] Enterprise Modeling is a central activity in Enterprise Engineering and can facilitate Production Management activities. This state-of-the-art paper first recalls definitions and fundamental principles of enterprise modelling, which goes far beyond process modeling. The CIMOSA modeling framework, which is based on an event-driven process-based modeling language suitable for enterprise system analysis and model enactment, is used as a reference conceptual framework because of its generality. Next, the focus is on new features of enterprise modeling languages including risk, value, competency modeling and service orientation. Extensions for modeling collaborative aspects of networked organizations are suggested as research outlook. Major approaches used in enterprise modeling are recalled before concluding.Vernadat, F. (2014). Enterprise Modeling in the context of Enterprise Engineering: State of the art and outlook. 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A Method for Building a Referent Business Activity Model for Evaluating Information Systems: Results from a Case Study

In this dynamic age of corporate acquisitions, mergers, and enterprise integration, decisions concerning the evaluation and selection of information systems require comparing the functionality of each candidate system to the intended business activities that it will support. However, consensus on the definition of business activities used to support this evaluation is rare. What is needed is a referent business activity model that defines the business in a manner to serve as the basis for determining how well each candidate system supports the business. This paper 1) defines the referent business activity model concept; 2) provides an example from a case study of business activity modeling; and 3) demonstrates the utility of this model in defining functional requirements for selecting the optimal system from a set of 30 legacy systems to be used throughout the United States Department of Defense (DoD). Twenty-nine DoD business experts were able to construct a referent business activity model consisting of 65 business activities organized in a hierarchical manner. These activities served as the foundation for a questionnaire of 165 questions used to select three information systems out of the over 300 known systems that supported one or more of the 65 business activities. This experience demonstrated the feasibility of achieving consensus among business experts on one referent business model. It also demonstrated the utility of that model in evaluating legacy systems. This case provides a detailed example that business experts can bridge the gulf of ambiguous systems requirements that exists between real-world business activities and the information systems that support them