An Integrated Enterprise Architecture Framework for Business-IT Alignment

When different businesses want to integrate part of their processes and IT, they need to relate their enterprise architecture frameworks. An enterprise architecture framework (EAF) is a conceptual framework for describing the architecture of a business and its information technology (IT), and their alignment. In this paper we provide an integration among some well-known EAFs (Zachman, Four-domain, TOGAF and RM-ODP) and produce an integrated EAF (IEAF) that can be used as common framework to communicate about EAFs of differrent businesses and relate them to each other

Managing Changes in Collaborative Networks: A Conceptual Approach

Collaborative Networks represent organizational forms that became omnipresent in today’s way of making business. Such organizational forms are often established in order to satisfy a complex customer need, which one company could not satisfy on its own. This means that the participating companies are to a certain degree dependent on each other. Managing inter-firm relationships by means of inter-organizational interdependencies represents an important Business-IT Alignment issue. In this paper, we present the Dependency-based Alignment Framework, which represents a conceptual approach for managing changes in Collaborative Networks from a holistic perspective. A detailed and methodologically well-founded approach in the definition and design of our framework is accompanied by a detailed investigation of relevant properties of this design artifact. To demonstrate the applicability of our framework in practice, we introduce a case study, which uses Semantic Media Wiki and the SPARQL query language. Finally, we evaluate our results in an argumentative and deductively descriptive way

Requirements Catalog for Business Process Modeling Recommender Systems

The manual construction of business process models is a time-consuming and error-prone task. To improve the quality of business process models, several modeling support techniques have been suggested spanning from strict auto-completion of a business process model with pre-defined model elements to suggesting closely matching recommendations. While recommendation systems are widely used and auto-completion functions are a standard feature of programming tools, such techniques have not been exploited for business process modeling although implementation strategies have already been suggested. Therefore, this paper collects requirements from different perspectives (literature and empirical studies) of how to effectively and efficiently assist process modelers in their modeling task. The condensation of requirements represents a comprehensive catalog, which constitutes a solid foundation to implement effective and efficient Process Modeling Recommender Systems (PMRSs). We expect that our contribution will fertilize the field of modeling support techniques to make them a common feature of BPM tools

Process Modeling Recommender Systems - A Generic Data Model and Its Application to a Smart Glasses-based Modeling Environment

The manual construction of business process models is a time-consuming, error-prone task and presents an obstacle to business agility. To facilitate the construction of such models, several modeling support techniques have been suggested. However, while recommendation systems are widely used, e.g., in e-commerce, these techniques are rarely implemented in process modeling tools. The creation of such systems is a complex task since a large number of requirements and parameters have to be taken into account. In order to improve the situation, the authors have developed a data model that can serve as a backbone for the development of process modeling recommender systems (PMRS). This article outlines the systematic development of this model in a stepwise approach using established requirements and validates it against a data model that has been reverse-engineered from a real-world system. In a last step, the paper illustrates an exemplary instantiation of the data model in a Smart Glasses-based modeling environment and discusses business process agility issues. The authors expect their contribution to provide a useful starting point for designing the data perspective of process modeling recommendation features that support business agility in process-intensive environments

Global Crises and the Role of BISE

The COVID-19 pandemic has surprised the modern world and has presented challenges on an unprecedented scale. Within a few months of the first case being reported at the end of 2019, almost every country in the world is now affected (WHO 2020). Restrictions on public life were not made fast enough and, in some cases, were not sufficient to stop the global spread. Here we see the dark sides of globalization. The crisis is coming with an intensity undreamt of for today’s generations, affecting all areas of life and, at least temporarily, fundamentally changing them. The social, economic and political effects are clearly noticeable and solutions are being sought everywhere to mitigate the crisis and both its direct and indirect consequences

Improving the Success of Continuous Auditing Projects with a Comprehensive Implementation Framework

The major aim of this paper is to create awareness of the demand for computer-assisted audit solutions within the European research community. The cause of this demand is twofold; on the one hand, regulatory pressure is increasing through both the reform of the audit sector in the European Union regarding mandatory audit firm rotation and tightened independence requirements. On the other hand, the speed and volume of data processing requires fast and qualitative audit results. These circumstances lead to the need to shift audit processes from traditional sample selection based on historical data to permanent monitoring and assurance of accounting-relevant processes and data–Continuous Auditing (CA). However, the implementation of CA systems is a recognized challenge for researchers and practitioners. Through the review of relevant literature regarding the issues and barriers of CA projects, sixteen critical success factors (CSFs) of CA were explored. These CSFs were condensed into one framework considering three different levels of business diffusion (strategy, processes, and systems) as well as stakeholders of CA projects (enterprise, project management, audit, and external environment). In terms of the conceptual level of the proposed framework, the authors of this paper chose a fictitious scenario and conducted an informed argument to evaluate the framework

Managing Internal Control: Designing a Wiki-based Information System for Continuous Process Assurance

The assessment of a client’s internal control environment is a recognized and crucial part of financial statements auditing. Appropriate tools and techniques are required in order to enable the auditor to understand the organizational environment and to evaluate the compliance of controls along accounting-relevant processes. This research-in-progress paper provides initial research findings in the area of continuous assurance in terms of collecting requirements for the support of process auditing, and the extension of core functionalities of an existing prototype. This prototype is realized as a web application combining complete wiki functionality with a modeling component, and enables the automated synchronization between workflow procedures and business process models. This empowers the auditor to monitor and assess changes of client’s business environment and internal control constantly. In conclusion, the paper introduces future work encompassing the strengthening of analysis and design as well as evaluation by implementing the prototype in multiple organizations

An Integrated Approach for Teaching Professionals IT Management and IT Consulting

In this paper, we develop an integrated approach for teaching professionals IT management and IT consulting (ITMC). With the help of a design science research methodology, we aim to facilitate and improve the collaboration between research and practice. After a comprehensive literature study we conduct interviews in order to identify problems and requirements for an integrated teaching approach. Furthermore, we analyze existing offerings from universities all over the world. Based on this, we present the framework for our approach and describe an exemplary module. Finally, we evaluate the concept and its applicability. By reviewing our approach one can say that all derived requirements are fulfilled and the feasibility can be shown

IMUCON - Gestaltung einer Weiterbildungsveranstaltung im IT-Management und -Consulting

In der heutigen Welt kann kein Unternehmen ohne Innovationen langfristig am Markt bestehen. Nahezu alle modernen Formen von Innovationen basieren auf Informationstechnologie (IT). Es ist die Aufgabe von IT-Managern und -Beratern mit den dadurch aufkommenden Anforderungen umzugehen. Damit diese sich in dem sich laufend wandelnden technologischen Umfeld zu Recht finden, benötigen sie permanent aktualisierte Kenntnisse. Im Rahmen des Projektes IMUCON wurde daher eine Weiterbildungsveranstaltung entwickelt, die IT-Mitarbeiter befähigt, die neuen Technologien sinnvoll und gewinnbringend einzusetzen. Den Teilnehmenden aus der regionalen und überregionalen Wirtschaft werden Kompetenzen und Fähigkeiten für die Praxis der betrieblichen IT-Nutzung – insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Bedürfnisse von kleinen und mittelständischen Unternehmen (KMU) und regionale Gegebenheiten – vermittelt. Dieser Beitrag umfasst die wichtigsten Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse aus der Konzeption, Aufsetzung und Evaluation der Veranstaltungen, die in den Jahren 2011–2013 erfolgreich durchgeführt wurden. Abschließend wird aufgezeigt, welchem Nutzen und Verwertungspotenziale das neue Konzept erbringt