Innovation in the public sector using in-house competence in enterprise modelling

In this paper we present preliminary results from a project concerning the use of enterprise modelling to improve innovation in the public sector in Norway and Sweden. During the project employees from participating organizations got the competence to model their organization, including goals and business processes, thereby trying to capture the essence of the practices that only they know well. The research is an exploratory case study, and we found the approach promising for service and process innovation. Enterprise modelling done by employees builds competence and may be a fruitful way to make successful innovation projects turn into an organizational capability.In this paper we present preliminary results from a project concerning the use of enterprise modelling to improve innovation in the public sector in Norway and Sweden. During the project employees from participating organizations got the competence to model their organization, including goals and business processes, thereby trying to capture the essence of the practices that only they know well. The research is an exploratory case study, and we found the approach promising for service and process innovation. Enterprise modelling done by employees builds competence and may be a fruitful way to make successful innovation projects turn into an organizational capability

Business process management in functional organizations : an empirical case study from the Norwegian offshore supply industry

The business process concept is considered powerful, and business processes are widely used in many areas that include not only IS, IT, enterprise architecture, and business process management but also quality and safety management and many industries such as production and service industries (e.g., telecom), supply chains, and logistics. At the same time, implementation and institutionalization of business process management (BPM) has not reached its expected success and is still not generally used by management as a perspective on business and organizations. The research literature argues that BPM should be integrated into the overall organizational management control system that incorporates all the tools, mechanisms, methods, infrastructure, and procedures for the alignment of operations with strategic objectives and development of organizational process orientation. However, much of the emphasis in the BPM literature and in industry is on BPM from an IS viewpoint and BPM as process supporting software. The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how management systems handle a process perspective, particularly how a process view and BPM exist alongside hierarchical structures.  For this aim, the study draws from an exploratory case study of two Norwegian shipping companies that provide supply services for offshore installations

The Moby Dick architecture

This document is deliverable II.3.1, and presents the the MobyDick architecture. The introduction outlines the main areas of use and the main characteristics of the Pocket Companion, and ends up with the overall demands we put on the architecture. In chapter 2 Quality of Service (QoS) as we use it in MobyDick QoS is presented. It gives the foundation the adaptability used in the chapters to follow. In chapter 3 an overview of the software architecture of the Pocket Companion is presented. The security architecture of the Pocket Companion is presented in chapter 4, and the consistency architecture is presented in chapter 5. In chapter 6, the system\ud architecture of the Pocket Companion is outlined

Enterprise architecture to enhance organizational agility? An exploratory study

Contemporary organisations experience an increasing pressure to change. This requires organisational agility, i.e. the ability to sense and respond continuously to changes in the environment. To support this unprecedented challenge, Enterprise Architecture has been proposed as an architectural and organisational foundation. This is a rather grand promise. In this exploratory study we discuss the usefulness of the approach, building on the framework of Ross et.al. Our research question is, to what degree can medium sized organisations use EA to build organisational agility? Our empirical evidence is a case study with four medium sized Norwegian organisations. We find that the adoption of EA principles is contingent and pragmatic, and that maturity levels are generally low. We find reasonable support for the assumption that EA is actually increasing organisational agility, in particular the capability to respond to external changes

QoS applied to security in mobile computing

Hand-held mobile computers have the potential to become important communication tools for roaming users. As such, they will also become very personal. They will be used under a wide range of operating conditions, and tight user control will be enforced on issues like power consumption, consistency control, and trust management. Their ability to adapt will be the key to their success. In this paper we outline our notion and use of Quality of Service (QoS) to the design of adaptive software systems for mobile computers. They have been developed in the MobyDick and GDD projects. We do not emphasize on the provision of QoS guarantees. In stead, our notion of QoS is used to convey relevant and timely management information between service users and providers on the correct abstraction level. It structures adaptability management in the hand held machine, and it captures adaptability to changes both stemming from the hosting environment and user commands. As an example of how the architecture works, the importance of adaptivity of security services for personal companions are explained, and we show how our notion of QoS may realize adaptable security services

User Controlled Sharing in a Variable Connected Distributed System

This paper describes the design and implementation of a distributed file repository that supports data sharing in a variable connected environment. Our design is based on the observation that it is difficult to make a clean cut between the various choices for important issues like consistency and concurrency control when the system is designed. Hence, we make it possible for the user to choose whether to adopt an optimistic or a pessimistic approach, rather than embedding it into the system; that is, the user is placed in the decision loop. Unlike many contemporary systems, our repository treats the optimistic and pessimistic approach uniformly and allows users to select them on a per-file basis. Furthermore, even if a file has to be managed pessimistically, the advantage of the optimistic approach--- high availability---is retained. The file repository has been implemented, and it is our research vehicle. 1. Introduction The main aim of this paper is to focus on the importance of, a..

Supporting Mobile Users in a Variable Connected Distributed System: the PASTA Approach

The Pasta project addresses the consistency problems that occur when data is replicated in a distributed system with mobile machines; characterised by frequent disconnection and varying communication capability. This paper introduces the main problem area for the Pasta project, gives an overview of the solutions offered by the File Repository (Fr), and presents some initial results. The Fr allows users to copy shared data from a distributed file repository onto portable computers before disconnection, and later safely update the data when sufficiently connected. Choice between optimistic and pessimistic concurrency control is offered. Our approach is to provide tools for finding the balance between consistency and desire for progress in a system subject to variable connectivity and write--write conflicts. 1 Introduction With the increasing usefulness of small computers, many users add a portable computer to the set of computers they use to process their data. One person may use a wor..

Bitstream - Capacity Building for Innovation : Final report

The main objective of the Bitstream project was to create a transnational platform for capacity building and exchange of experiences in the area of innovative business development. This includes capacity building for staff in the public sector in Norway and Sweden. The project deliverables has been to accomplish A virtual and physical transnational platform for capacity building that includes a cross-border exchange of experiences, research and developments in innovative business development. Increased competence of the public sector to conduct innovative business development and to act as a competent authority in procurement processes, and also increased competence of Norwegian ICT companies. Prototypes of methods and tools that are adapted to sustainable innovative business development in the public sector.Bitstream, finansierat av Interreg. Botnia Atlantic

Bitstream - Capacity Building for Innovation : Final report

The main objective of the Bitstream project was to create a transnational platform for capacity building and exchange of experiences in the area of innovative business development. This includes capacity building for staff in the public sector in Norway and Sweden. The project deliverables has been to accomplish A virtual and physical transnational platform for capacity building that includes a cross-border exchange of experiences, research and developments in innovative business development. Increased competence of the public sector to conduct innovative business development and to act as a competent authority in procurement processes, and also increased competence of Norwegian ICT companies. Prototypes of methods and tools that are adapted to sustainable innovative business development in the public sector.Bitstream, finansierat av Interreg. Botnia Atlantic