The DySIIM model for managing IS integration in mergers and acquisitions

Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are prominent means for corporate strategy. In many M&As information systems (IS), integration is critical for achieving the intended goals. By integrating previous research on M&A and IS integration, we develop a six‐dimensional theoretical framework for IS integration in corporate M&As. The framework is used to describe and explain IS integration management in four M&As. Based on the four cases, the theoretical framework and the existing literature, an initial model (Dynamic System of IS Integration in M&A, DySIIM) describing and explaining how IS integration relates to the M&A process is developed. Through the combination of the DySIIM's dimensions, the dynamics of different parts of the M&A process are captured. The model can be used in further research to build cumulative knowledge about how to manage IS integration in M&A. The model can also be used by companies in their M&A since through the combination of dimensions, it shows the IS integration issues, decisions and actions that a company has to address in the process.     

A change management framework for macroergonomic field research

With the proliferation of macroergonomic field research, it is time to carefully examine how such research should be managed and implemented. We argue that the importance of attending to high-quality implementation of field research is equal to that of methodological rigor. One way to systematically manage the implementation process is to adopt a change management framework, wherein the research project is conceptualized as an instance of organization-level change. Consequently, principles for successful organization-level change from the literature on change management can be used to guide successful field research implementation. This paper briefly reviews that literature, deriving 30 principles of successful change management, covering topics such as political awareness, assembling the change team, generating buy-in, and management support. For each principle, corresponding suggestions for macroergonomic field research practice are presented. We urge other researchers to further develop and adopt frameworks that guide the implementation of field research.     

Understanding the most critical skills for managing IT projects: A Delphi study of IT project managers

The skill requirements for project managers in information technology (IT) projects have not been widely studied in the past, especially in terms of their relative importance. We addressed this gap in the literature by conducting a Delphi study with 19 IT project managers (PMs). Among the list of 48 skills identified, our panelists selected 19 skills as being the most critical for IT PMs and then ranked them based on their relative importance. Follow-up interviews were conducted with selected panelists to gain insights into the importance of the top-ranked IT PM skills. We compare our results with two previous studies of IT PM skills and discuss the implications for research and practice.     

A unified framework for managing Web-based services

The emergence of Web technologies enables a variety of Web-based service applications, which can be examined from business process integration, supply chain management, and knowledge management perspectives. To categorize existing Web-based services while foreseeing potential new types, a unified view is needed to represent the structures and processes of Web-based services. This paper proposes a general framework to identify essential structures and operations of Web-based services, and then models these components. We articulate the framework with Web technologies, such as Web service and semantic Web, multi-agent and peer-to-peer, and Web information retrieval and mining. Two comprehensive examples in insurance and knowledge services are used to elaborate the use of Web-based service framework in fulfilling business processes. This study synthesizes essential structures and processes of Web-based services to build a framework for researchers and practitioners to develop Web-based services and techniques.     

An Annual Report for the Data Center

As the data center's role in many corporations continues to grow, communication among data center personnel, users, and corporate management concerning developments and expenditures becomes increasingly important for maintaining the credibility of the data center and ensuring smooth relations within the corporate hierarchy. An annual report written according to procedures developed to suit the corporation's needs is an important part of this communication.     

Mining version histories for change impact analysis in business process model repositories

In order to remain competitive and sustainable in today's ever-changing business environments, organizations need to frequently make changes to their business activities and the corresponding business process models. One of the critical issues that an organization faces is change impact analysis: estimating the potential effects of changing a business process to other processes in the organization's business process repository. In this paper, we propose an approach to change impact analysis which mines a version history of a business process model repository. Our approach then identifies business process models that have been co-changed in the past and uses this knowledge to predict the impact of future changes. An empirical validation on a real business process model repository has showed the effectiveness of our approach in predicting impact of a change.     

Spheres of It Project Complexity and It Project Manager Archetypes and Roles: A Case Study

ABSTRACT

Effective information technology (IT) project managers (PMs) are recognized as being essential for project success. However, little research has focused on the roles IT PMs must play. Utilizing a qualitative field study, we found 4 IT PM archetypes (checklist, technical lead, organizational process lead, and poly-synchronous) employed in practice. We discuss our findings regarding the assignment of multiple PMs in the presence of complex IT projects and provide organizations with practical inferences to consider.     

The change in user and IT dynamics: Blogs as IT-enabled virtual self-presentation

Using the blogosphere as an enabling IT environment, this paper investigates how self-concept influences virtual self-presentation behavior and the use of IT artifacts. Self-presentation theory is adapted from the social psychology literature to develop a theoretical research model of virtual self-presentation. We tested the research model and hypotheses with data collected from 312 bloggers. Structural equation analysis of this data reveals a nomological net of self-concept leading to IT-enabled virtual self-presentation and the use of IT artifacts. Our findings provide a new perspective of users as heterogeneous individuals who have various self-concepts that change the sequence and dynamics among users, IT artifacts, and tasks. In contrast to traditional systems, in the social context of virtual self-presentation, users are the primary and essential drivers who determine vaguely defined tasks and systems.     

Assessing and managing the benefits of enterprise systems: the business manager's perspective

This paper focuses on the benefits that organizations may achieve from their investment in enterprise systems (ES). It proposes an ES benefit framework for summarizing benefits in the years after ES implementation. Based on an analysis of the features of enterprise systems, on the literature on information technology (IT) value, on data from 233 enterprise systems vendor‐reported stories published on the Web and on interviews with managers of 34 organizations using ES, the framework provides a detailed list of benefits that have reportedly been acquired through ES implementation. This list of benefits is consolidated into five benefits dimensions: operational, managerial, strategic, IT infrastructure and organizational, and illustrated using perceived net benefit flow (PNBF) graphs. In a detailed example, the paper shows how the framework has been applied to the identification of benefits in a longitudinal case study of four organizations.     

A framework for project management

Various technologies have been developed to try to realize the ideal of a fully integrated project support environment, including: centralized repositories, complex configuration management systems, process modelling and workflow, cooperating objects. The different approaches have led to a number of partial solutions and it has often proved difficult to integrate two or more of them to give more complete lifecycle coverage or a more complete view. This paper sets out some requirements for support environments for the management of software engineering projects by considering the major elements that constitute such a project and the necessary interactions between those elements.     

Exploring the path to success: A review of the strategic IT benchmarking literature

Information technology (IT) organizations use strategic IT benchmarking (SITBM) to revise IT strategies or perform internal marketing. Despite benchmarking's long tradition, many SITBM initiatives do not reveal the desired outcomes. The vast body of knowledge on benchmarking and IT management does not help overcome the challenges of successful SITBM. We therefore synthesize the existing research on IT management and benchmarking into a concept relationship map and derive future research avenues. We find that there is much literature on how to obtain SITBM results. However, research does not explain how these results are transformed into outcomes – essentially the problem many practitioners struggle with.     

A conceptual framework for understanding business processes and business process modelling

It is increasingly common to describe organizations as sets of business processes that can be analysed and improved by approaches such as business process modelling. Successful business process modelling relies on an adequate view of the nature of business processes, but there is a surprising divergence of opinion about the nature of these processes. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to organize different views of business processes under four headings. It also aims at providing an integrated discussion of the different streams of thought, their strengths and limitations, within business process modelling. It argues that the multifaceted nature of business processes calls for pluralistic and multidisciplinary modelling approaches.     

A management framework for systems users

Many business managers today are in need of practical guidance in determining which information systems management practices are appropriate for their particular organization. Of central importance is the management of the information systems development process. A field research study was conducted at five major U.S. corporations to determine those information systems development management practices that had proved successful. The research method consisted of in-depth interviews with managers and technical people at each company. In addition, the reputation of each company as a successful manager of the information systems function was validated using a set of organizational performance criteria developed by a panel of prominent information systems professionals. The results of the research are presented in the form of a planning and control framework of successful management practices. The framework describes and classifies those practices common to all companies and clearly differentiates those practices which varied significantly among the companies studied. The framework is designed to enable management to readily identify those information system development practices that have proved successful and to select from among them those most appropriate to the local situation. It can also serve as a guide for self-study on the part of the individual manager.     

A logistic regression framework for information technology outsourcing lifecycle management

We present a methodology for managing outsourcing projects from the vendor's perspective, designed to maximize the value to both the vendor and its clients. The methodology is applicable across the outsourcing lifecycle, providing the capability to select and target new clients, manage the existing client portfolio and quantify the realized benefits to the client resulting from the outsourcing agreement. Specifically, we develop a statistical analysis framework to model client behavior at each stage of the outsourcing lifecycle, including: (1) a predictive model and tool for white space client targeting and selection—opportunity identification (2) a model and tool for client risk assessment and project portfolio management—client tracking, and (3) a systematic analysis of outsourcing results, impact analysis, to gain insights into potential benefits of IT outsourcing as a part of a successful management strategy. Our analysis is formulated in a logistic regression framework, modified to allow for non-linear input–output relationships, auxiliary variables, and small sample sizes. We provide examples to illustrate how the methodology has been successfully implemented for targeting, tracking, and assessing outsourcing clients within IBM global services division.Scope and purposeThe predominant literature on IT outsourcing often examines various aspects of vendor–client relationship, strategies for successful outsourcing from the client perspective, and key sources of risk to the client, generally ignoring the risk to the vendor. However, in the rapidly changing market, a significant share of risks and responsibilities falls on vendor, as outsourcing contracts are often renegotiated, providers replaced, or services brought back in house. With the transformation of outsourcing engagements, the risk on the vendor's side has increased substantially, driving the vendor's financial and business performance and eventually impacting the value delivery to the client. As a result, only well-ran vendor firms with robust processes and tools that allow identification and active management of risk at all stages of the outsourcing lifecycle are able to deliver value to the client. This paper presents a framework and methodology for managing a portfolio of outsourcing projects from the vendor's perspective, throughout the entire outsourcing lifecycle. We address three key stages of the outsourcing process: (1) opportunity identification and qualification (i.e. selection of the most likely new clients), (2) client portfolio risk management during engagement and delivery, and (3) quantification of benefits to the client throughout the life of the deal.     

A view framework for modeling and change validation of artifact-centric inter-organizational business processes

Over the past several years, more efficient approaches have been on increasing demands for designing, modeling, and implementing inter-organizational business processes. In the process collaboration across organizational boundaries, organizations still stay autonomic, which means each organization can freely modify its internal operations to meet its private goals while satisfying the mutual objectives with its partners. Recently, artifact-centric process modeling has been evidenced with higher flexibility in process modeling and execution than traditional activity-centric modeling methods. Although some efforts have been put to exploring how artifact-centric modeling facilitates the collaboration between organizations, the achievement is still far from satisfaction level, particularly in aspects of process modeling and validating. To fill in the gaps, we propose a view framework for modeling and validating the changes of inter-organizational business processes. The framework consists of an artifact-centric process meta-model, public view constructing mechanism, and private view and change validating mechanisms, which are specially designed to facilitate the participating organizations to customize their internal operations while ensuring the correctness of the collaborating processes. We also implement a software tool named Artifact-M to help organizations to automatically construct a minimal and consistent public view from their processes.     

An IT management assessment framework: evaluating enterprise architecture scenarios

Enterprise architecture, EA, is an established approach for the model-based and holistic management of IT. The scope of EA is however wide and the predominant EA frameworks suggest the creation of broad and detailed models. IT management cannot control all areas spanned by the present frameworks for EA models. In order to ensure well-informed decisions, IT management has a series of questions that need to be answered. This paper proposes an assessment framework that can be used to identify relevant questions for assessments of EA and EA scenarios, within the areas of EA that IT management can control. Three top dimensions in the proposed framework are presented: IT organization, IT systems, and Business organization. The framework further includes sub dimensions for identifying questions. An application of the assessment framework, as it was applied to assess EA scenarios in a power company, is also described.     

Understanding ontology evolution: A change detection approach

In this article, we propose a change detection approach in the context of an ontology evolution framework for OWL DL ontologies. The framework allows ontology engineers to request and apply changes to the ontology they manage. Furthermore, the framework assures that the ontology and its depending artifacts remain consistent after changes have been applied. Innovative is that the framework includes a change detection mechanism that allows generating automatically a detailed overview of changes that have occurred based on a set of change definitions. In addition, different users (such as maintainers of depending artifacts) may have their own set of change definitions, which results into different overviews of the changes, each providing a different view on how the ontology has been changed. Using these change definitions, also different levels of abstraction are supported. Both features will enhance the understanding of the evolution of an ontology for different users.     

A multi-level, multi-theory perspective of information technology implementation

Abstract.  Much of information technology (IT) implementation research has focused on individuals' acceptance of IT by examining their behaviour when faced with new IT and the antecedents of these behaviours. As they are frequently undertaken within a project framework, IT implementations also entail the application of project management practices in order to be successful. Based on the premise that antecedents of lower level theories are frequently determined by the outcomes of a higher level theory, the present paper illustrates how organizational-level decisions, examined from the perspective of economics theories, can help explain the antecedents of project risk management at the project and individual levels. To do so, the paper describes an IT implementation effort which went through three phases; the first two of which were abandoned versions of the same project. An organizational-level analysis of the case from an economics perspective and its project-level analysis from a risk management perspective show how organizational-level decisions influenced the antecedents at the project and individual levels, providing a more complete understanding of the IT implementation in question, an understanding which neither a theory approach nor a level perspective could provide on its own.     

A holistic approach to managing software change impact

Change is inevitable in the software product lifecycle. When a software change occurs, all of the stakeholders and related artifacts should be considered in determining the success of the change action in a collaborative development environment such as JAD (joint application development). In this regard, current implementation-based or homogeneous impact analyses are insufficient; therefore, this paper presents a holistic approach to change impact analysis in handling not only software contents but also other items such as requirements, documents and data. This approach characterizes product contents and relates heterogeneous items by using attributes and linkages. It also uses an object-oriented propagation mechanism to handle dynamic looping in determining the impact of changes. A prototype, EPIC, was built to realize this approach and these concepts. A walkthrough example is provided in order to verify the work of the proposed approach. An empirical study is presented to discuss the benefits of the proposed approach and the application of EPIC in a software company. Lessons learned from the case study and improvement issues of the proposed approach and the tool are also discussed.     

Knowledge-based management support: an application to the IS change agent role problem

This paper explores how the change agent role problem can be detected and alleviated with the help of a knowledge-based support tool. The mismatch between MIS specialist change agent role style and IS environment is a complex problem to solve. The problem results when the MIS specialist's role outlines responsibilities that cannot possibly manage the change and related uncertainty surrounding an IS initiative. MIS specialists are classified by change agent roles that reflect varying types of responsibility for social and technological change. Evaluation of IS environment constructs provide the MIS specialist with a formal way to compare the different IS change agent roles to moderate IS uncertainty, thereby increasing the likelihood of IS success. The relevant IS change agentry relationships are identified from a literature review. Results from a multiple case study were used to develop and validate a conceptual model of the IS change agentry application domain. Based on this model, a suitable knowledge representation scheme is developed that provides a high level structure to the IS change agent role application domain and also guides the reasoning process. The proposed approach supports the interpretation of domain relationships applicable when choosing among change agent roles. Therefore, it could be used by IS specialists proactively to facilitate the analysis of complex domain facts prior to committing resources to a change agent role. The approach is illustrated with case data. Managerial implications of the study are discussed.