Showing papers on "Enterprise systems engineering published in 2008"

Market Overview of Enterprise Mashup Tools

Abstract: A new paradigm, known as Enterprise Mashups, has been gain momentum during the last years. By empowering actual business end-users to create and adapt individual enterprise applications, Enterprise Mashups implicate a shift concerning a collaborative software development and consumption process. Upcoming Mashup tools prove the growing relevance of this paradigm in the industry, both in the consumer and enterprise-oriented market. However, a market overview of the different tools is still missing. In this paper, we introduce a classification of Mashup tools and evaluate selected tools of the different clusters according to the perspectives general information, functionality and usability. Finally, we classify more than 30 tools in the designed classification model and present the observed market trends in context of Enterprise Mashups.

Enterprise ontology in enterprise engineering

Abstract: Originating from quite different fields of theory and practice, the terms "Enterprise Ontology" and "Enterprise Architecture" currently belong to the standard vocabulary of those professionals who are concerned with (re) designing and (re) engineering enterprises, thereby exploiting modern information and communication technologies for innovating products and services as well as for optimizing operational performance. Because of the inherent characteristics of modern enterprises, often operating within networks of cooperating enterprises, the task of these professionals can rightly be characterized as having to master unprecedented high complexity. The statement, put forward in the paper, that the current notion of Enterprise Ontology does not offer satisfactory help and thus needs to evolve into an effective conceptual tool, is clarified in a historical context. A standard is recently set by DEMO (Design and Engineering Methodology for Organizations). In this methodology, Enterprise Ontology is conceptually defined as the implementation independent essence of an enterprise, understood from a holistic systemic point of view. Operationally, it consists of a complete, consistent and coherent set of ontological aspect models, by which a reductio of complexity is achieved of well over 90%. The new, evolved notion of Enterprise Ontology is clarified and illustrated using a case example.

The rise of enterprise 2.0

Abstract: This paper looks at how collaborative technologies are being adapted inside the enterprise, based on global field research involving more than 2,800 executives, and enriched by an online board discussion contrasting motivations of early versus late adopters of ‘enterprise 2.0’. It is observed that ‘enterprise 2.0’ diffusion is relatively rapid and that one key rationale of adoption is to leverage new dimensions of collaborations that can form the basis for a new source of competitive advantage. While there is evidence of large pay-offs from the use of ‘enterprise 2.0’, the key challenge lies not in the promise of the technology, but more into superb execution — the paper closes with a set of key themes for successful implementation.

Enterprise Systems for Management

Abstract: Motiwalla teaches students the components of an ERP system as well as the process of implementing the systems within a corporation to increase its success. This text covers ERP systems, implementation of these systems, issues involving employees and organizational change, as well as ERP extensions such as Supply Chain Management and Customer Resource Management. This book would be helpful for professionals, top management, and other participants like subject matter experts, involved in an enterprise systems implementation project. Professionals would find this as a good reference for terminology and a knowledge-base for launching enterprise systems.

Enterprise Mashups: Design Principles towards the Long Tail of User Needs

Abstract: A new type of Web-based applications, known as Enterprise Mashups, has been gaining momentum in the last years. Novel design principles are currently about to emerge allowing to cover the long tail of user needs and to provide individual and heterogeneous enterprise applications in a shorter time. In this paper, we introduce the main components of this new paradigm, and discuss the design principles of the architecture (Enterprise Mashup Stack), upcoming intermediaries and mass collaboration, lightweight composition as well as perpetual beta development model.

Active Knowledge Modeling of Enterprises

Abstract: Enterprise Modeling has been defined as the art of externalizing enterprise knowledge, i.e., representing the core knowledge of the enterprise. Although useful in product design and systems development, for modeling and model-based approaches to have a more profound effect, a shift in modeling approaches and methodologies is necessary. Modeling should become as natural as drawing, sketching and scribbling, and should provide powerful services for capturing work-centric, work-supporting and generative knowledge, for preserving context and ensuring reuse. A solution is the application of Active Knowledge Modeling (AKM). The AKM technology is about discovering, externalizing, expressing, representing, sharing, exploring, configuring, activating, growing and managing enterprise knowledge. An AKM solution is about exploiting the Web as a knowledge engineering medium, and developing knowledge-model-based families of platforms, model-configured workplaces and services. This book was written by the inventors of AKM arising out of their cooperation with both scientists and industrial practitioners over a long period of time, and the authors give examples, directions, methods and services to enable new ways of working, exploiting the AKM approach to enable effective c-business, enterprise design and development, and lifecycle management. Industry managers and design engineers will become aware of the manifold possibilities of, and added values in, IT-supported distributed design processes, and researchers for collaborative design environments will find lots of stimulation and many examples for future developments.

Providing supplier relationship management software application as enterprise services

Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including systems and computer program products, for a services architecture design that provides enterprise services having supplier relationship management functionality at the level of an enterprise application. The design includes a set of service operations, process components, and optionally deployment units. Suitable business objects are also described.

Enterprise architecture governance: the need for a business-to-IT approach

Abstract: The importance of enterprise architecture is not only understood in corporate IS/IT departments. The numerous usage potentials for corporate planning as well as for compliance management, business continuity management, risk management etc. are successively discovered by the business side. In order to provide an aligned support instrument for IS/IT departments as well as business units and the corporate center, enterprise architecture management has to be anchored in IS/IT as well as in business. Clear and effective governance is required to assure consistency and timeliness of enterprise architecture process outputs. Based on a business-to-IT approach to enterprise architecture, governance practices in industry are analyzed, and initial findings are consolidated which contribute to design requirements for effective enterprise architecture governance.

An approach to enterprise process dynamic modeling supporting enterprise process evolution

Abstract: This study presents an evolutionary approach to support dynamic enterprise modeling for enterprise process cooperative scheduling and management. In this paper, an evolutionary dynamic enterprise process modeling method was proposed from the concepts of enterprise process evolution to zero-time enterprise modeling and layered complex enterprise modeling. Based on an autonomous agent development platform, an agent-based enterprise collaborative modeling environment has been implemented by integrating several software resource agents that wrap main function modules of EPMS. Scheduling strategies, algorithms, and process-driven cooperative scheduling mechanism are also discussed.

A Consulting Diaspora? Enterprising Selves as Agents of Enterprise

Abstract: While the concept of enterprise identity has been extensively discussed, the active role of individuals in promoting enterprise is less understood. This article presents enterprising selves not sim...

Decentralized Overlay for Federation of Enterprise Clouds

Abstract: This chapter describes Aneka-Federation, a decentralized and distributed system that combines enterprise Clouds, overlay networking, and structured peer-to-peer techniques to create scalable wide-area networking of compute nodes for high-throughput computing. The Aneka-Federation integrates numerous small scale Aneka Enterprise Cloud services and nodes that are distributed over multiple control and enterprise domains as parts of a single coordinated resource leasing abstraction. The system is designed with the aim of making distributed enterprise Cloud resource integration and application programming flexible, efficient, and scalable. The system is engineered such that it: enables seamless integration of existing Aneka Enterprise Clouds as part of single wide-area resource leasing federation; self-organizes the system components based on a structured peer-to-peer routing methodology; and presents end-users with a distributed application composition environment that can support variety of programming and execution models. This chapter describes the design and implementation of a novel, extensible and decentralized peer-to-peer technique that helps to discover, connect and provision the services of Aneka Enterprise Clouds among the users who can use different programming models to compose their applications. Evaluations of the system with applications that are programmed using the Task and Thread execution models on top of an overlay of Aneka Enterprise Clouds have been described here.

Building the Agile Enterprise: With SOA, BPM and MBM

Abstract: In the last ten years IT has brought fundamental changes to the way the world works. Not only has it increased the speed of operations and communications, but it has also undermined basic assumptions of traditional business models and increased the number of variables. Today, the survival of major corporations is challenged by a world-wide marketplace, international operations, outsourcing, global communities, a changing workforce, security threats, business continuity, web visibility, and customer expectations. Enterprises must constantly adapt or they will be unable to compete. Fred Cummins, an EDS Fellow, presents IT as a key enabler of the agile enterprise. He demonstrates how the convergence of key technologies--including SOA, BPM and emerging enterprise and data models--can be harnessed to transform the enterprise. Cummins mines his 25 years experience to provide IT leaders, as well as enterprise architects and management consultants, with the critical information, skills, and insights they need to partner with management and redesign the enterprise for continuous change. No other book puts IT at the center of this transformation, nor integrates these technologies for this purpose. "Building the Agile Enterprise not only covers many corner stones of enterprise agility, it delivers an integrated view of how agility is enabled by policies and a business awareness supported by technology architecture/design patterns. Fred Cummins has hit the mark by aggregating the many tributaries of agility instead of picking one pattern and/or technology. This is a sophisticated and integrated atlas that is a challenge for IT professionals to implement, but a must for flourishing organizations." ~Jim Sinur, Vice President, Gartner "Never before has technology been so close to the business. In fact, technology is becoming more and more embedded in the business. This means that change has to go hand in hand on both at the business and the technology side, -- or that technology has to at least support the high demands of business change. In particular, enterprise agility is a major requirement for those organizations that want to succeed in this new world dominated by rapid change. Business are increasingly asked to change and to react quickly to changes in market conditions -- look at what's happening currently in the car manufacturing space with the increases in petrol prices or in the financial community with the sub-prime crises as just two examples. This book provides a marvelous, clear, and comprehensive road map of how key technologies such as service-oriented architecture, business process management, and model-based management are instrumental and key in realizing a truly agile enterprise. It explains why and how a structured and strategic approach to SOA, along with the adoption of other available paradigms and technologies, can enable future enterprise agility. As Fred suggests, this is a must-read for CIOs, enterprise architects, and IT management in general that is embracing transformation and innovation programs; I would go further and say that some key chapters will make great reading for CxOs outside IT and in the driving seat of the enterprise." ~Diego Lo Giudice, Principal, Forrester Research "The author, Mr. Cummins, has already made a tremendous contribution to the discipline of Enterprise Business Management through his leadership in the development of business modeling standards as a co-chair of the Object Management Group's Business Modeling and Integration Domain Task Force. This book breathes life into those standards, with simple and clear explanations of how to apply these and other information technology standards in what is described as the Agile Enterprise, incorporating and expounding upon the most important trends in the advancement of information technology, such as Service Oriented Architecture and Business Process Management, culminating in a what he defines and explains as the discipline of Model Based Management. The authors level of experience is obvious from the generous use of industry examples and analogies. A must read for business leaders that need to demystify these technologies and standards, and other agents of enterprise transformation and adaptation!" ~George Thomas, Enterprise Chief Architect, US General Services Administration (GSA) * Shows how to integrate and deploy critical technologies to foster agility. * Details how to design an enterprise architecture that takes full advantage of SOA, BPM, business rules, enterprise information management, business models, and governance * Outlines IT's critical mission in providing an integration infrastructure and key services, while optimizing technology adoption throughout the enterprise. * Illustrates concepts with examples and cases from large and small commercial enterprises. * Shows how to create systems that recognize and respond to the need for change. * Identifies the unique security issues that arise with SOA and shows how to deploy a framework of technologies and processes that address them.

Social Entrepreneurship as Algorithm: Is Social Enterprise Sustainable?

Abstract: Social enterprise is charity's web 2.0 - a would-be revolution as open to interpretation as a Rorschach blot. For social enterprise to be more than the latest passing fad in doing good, we need a rigorous re-assessment of the link between system dynamics and social institutions. To that end this article has three distinct yet related aims. First, I want to offer a new definition of social enterprise, one that reflects its essential nature as a simple rule with complex results. Besides re-defining social enterprise, my next goal is to provide an explanation for organizational altruism that goes beyond latching onto the latest popular trends. My alternative approach is to ground such concepts as civil society and corporate charity within corporate identity itself - in particular, the historic function of organizational form as a means of modeling emergent patterns. This article's final aim is to explain how social enterprise can have its greatest sustainable impact - by making itself obsolete.

An enterprise architecture framework for collaboration of virtual enterprise chains

Abstract: The competitive power in the dynamically changing business environment has moved from individual enterprises to virtual enterprise chains. The collaboration of enterprises in a virtual enterprise chain requires that all of the enterprise elements should interact efficiently with each other based upon a virtual framework. However, any efficient framework for the collaboration is not introduced yet due to the incompatibility problem which stems from the inherent complexity of diverse enterprise elements. This paper introduces a new framework, the Virtual Enterprise Chain Collaboration Framework (VECCF), to guide enterprises to promote their collaboration efforts by addressing the incompatibility problem of enterprise elements. VECCF focuses on three aspects of enterprise elements which are capturing the different views of the collaboration: business processes, application software, and enabling technologies. In addition, the structure of VECCF conforms to OMG’s metamodel architecture so that the enterprise models can be extended to specific value chains when it is necessary. The enterprise models of a design chain and a supply chain are applied to VECCF and then integrated into a merged value chain to verify the adaptability and the extensibility of the proposed framework.

Web Enabled Wireless Sensor Networks for Facilities Management

Abstract: The cornerstone of building and overall facilities management is accurate and up-to-date monitoring of the context of the enterprise building environment and its surroundings, usually performed by sensors dispersed throughout the premises. Currently, the majority of building management systems is tightly coupled with the sensors that they utilize, restricting their extensibility. The emergence of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) has brought significant benefits as far as monitoring is concerned, since they are more cost-efficient, due to the lack of wiring installations, compared to wired sensor solutions and allow for flexible positioning of the sensors, especially when building retrofitting is concerned. In line with the established move towards integration of enterprise level services, it is beneficial to consider the WSNs within that scope. In this paper, we propose to exploit a service oriented architecture for developing an enterprise networking environment that is used for integrating facilities management applications and building management systems with other operational enterprise functions for the purpose of information sharing and monitoring, controlling, and managing the enterprise environment. The WSN is viewed as an information service provider not only to building management systems but also to wider applications in the enterprise infrastructure. We provide specification and implementation details of the proposed architecture and discuss evaluation planning.

Object-oriented systems analysis and design

Abstract: KEY BENEFIT: This text teaches students object-oriented systems analysis and design in a highly practical and accessible way.KEY TOPICS: Information systems, information technology, the concept of applications, information systems as products, the enterprise of software development, and infrastructural information systems. For business professionals who would like a firm grounding in object-oriented systems and theory.

Fostering enterprise relationships

Abstract: The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can facilitate, enrich, or nurture relationships in a business enterprise environment. In particular, the architecture can construct a set of profiles associated with entities of the enterprise (e.g., employees, teams, departments, or the enterprise) based upon a wide range of transactions (e.g., behavior, activity, productivity, relationships, explicit or implicit feedback from collaborators . . . ) relating to the entity. Based upon these profiles, the architecture can determine a set of tasks and also identify advantageous relationships, wherein the tasks and relationships are deemed to facilitate accomplishing an objective to benefit the enterprise or entity. In addition, the architecture can nurture or cultivate the advantageous relationships by suggesting suitable behavior or performing opportunistic actions.

Advances in Government Enterprise Architecture

Abstract: Over the past two decades, the government sector has emerged as the area of largest implementation of enterprise architecture - a critical success factor for all types, scales, and intensities of e-government programs.Advances in Government Enterprise Architecture is a seminal publication in the emerging and evolving discipline of enterprise architecture (EA). Presenting current developments, issues, and trends in EA, this critical resource provides IT managers, government CIOs, researchers, educators, and professionals with insights into the impact of effective EA on IT governance, IT portfolio management, and IT outsourcing, creating a must-have holding for academic libraries and organizational information centers.

Consistency in multi-viewpoint design of enterprise information systems

Abstract: Different stakeholders in the design of an enterprise information system have their own view on that design. To help produce a coherent design this paper presents a framework that aids in specifying relations and consistency rules between such views. The contribution of our framework is that it provides a collection of basic concepts. These basic concepts aid in relating viewpoints by providing: (i) a common terminology that helps stakeholders to understand each others concepts; and (ii) re-usable consistency rules. We show that our framework can be applied, by performing a case study in which we specify the relations and consistency rules between three RM-ODP viewpoints.

An Approach for the Evaluation of the Agility in the Context of Enterprise Interoperability

Abstract: Today the concept of agility has become popular and is still growing in popularity in the management and technology literatures. How do we really define an agile information system? How do we know if an information system is agile? And how do we evaluate the agility in the context of enterprise information systems? This paper tries to answer some of these questions. It precisely aims to present the concept of agility of information systems and also provides an approach for the evaluation of this agility, namely POIRE approach that evaluates the agility as an amalgamation function that combines the agility measure of five complementary aspects that are Process, Organizational, Informational, Resource and Environmental aspects. Finally, this paper studies the role of interoperability in achieving agility and also the rapprochement of the concept of interoperability with the concept of agility.

Designing and utilising business indicator systems within enterprise models – Outline of a method

Abstract: The design of effective indicators and indicator systems requires a pro-found understanding of the relevant business context. Numerous relations and de-pendencies within an indicator system exist, which need to be analysed thoroughly: Many relations are based on implicit assumptions or sometimes not known by the management at all. This is of particular relevance for business success, since im-properly used indicator systems may lead to ‘dysfunctional effects’ like opportun-istic behaviour. This paper outlines a method for designing and utilising indicator systems. It fosters a convenient and consistent definition and interpretation of indi-cator systems. Furthermore, it serves as a conceptual foundation for related per-formance management systems, such as dashboard systems. 1. Motivation and Scope In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for indicators to guide and justify management decisions. These business indicators – often referred to as Key Performance Indicators (KPI) – promise to reduce complexity and to promote a focus on relevant goals. Therefore, they are regarded by some as a key instrument of professional man-agement, especially with regard to supporting, measuring, and monitoring decisions ([Si90], p. 12). For instance, in the field of Performance Measurement (PM) indicators are supposed to reflect aspects that are pivotal for certain decisions; therefore, strategies and goals are repeatedly refined and put in more concrete terms until they become meas-ureable by KPIs. As a result, managers receive a set of various indicators that aim at the measurement of an enterprise’s performance (called ‘indicator system’). Well-known examples of indicator systems are

Method and system for managing enterprise workflow and information

Abstract: A system for enterprise workflow management includes software and hardware for gathering information regarding the current state of workflows within the enterprise, examining the operational relationships among the systems and entities relating to the workflows, and facilitating improvement of the workflows throughout their respective lifecycles.

Challenges for the Manufacturing Enterprise to Achieve Sustainable Development

Abstract: Manufacturing enterprises are striving to achieve sustainability through changes in products, processes, and systems. Decision-support tools and methods are rooted not only in improving environmental aspects of manufacturing, but also in ensuring long-term productivity and social well-being. Refocused efforts on the development of sustainable technologies can further aid continuous improvement and stimulate revolutionary advancements industry-wide. Current and future challenges facing the manufacturing industry are addressed in terms of manufacturing enterprise, product life cycle design, and manufacturing processes and systems. Opportunities for future research are discussed within each of these areas.

Manufacturing perspective of enterprise application integration: the state of the art review

Abstract: Manufacturing enterprise today has become a matter of effective and efficient application of information technology and knowledge-based engineering. Several new manufacturing paradigms such as virtual enterprise (or extended enterprise) and mass customization have resulted in a highly distributed and autonomous manufacturing system. On the one hand, this will increase the competitiveness of a firm in terms of quickly meeting dynamic changes in the market; on the other hand, this will also increase the difficulty of integrating different information and knowledge systems residing in each member firm. This integration is also called enterprise application integration (EAI) (here the term application means information systems or software systems for supporting manufacturing or service activities). The methodology for EAI has been studied for at least a decade; but no satisfactory solution has been found from a practical viewpoint. EAI is becoming even more difficult due to the boom in various enterprise info...

Embedding Enterprise in Science and Engineering Departments.

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to focus on the attempts to implement the challenges of teaching enterprise to science and engineering students by the embedding approach chosen by the White Rose Centre for Enterprise (WRCE), one of the centres formed under the Science Engineering Challenge in the UK.Design/methodology/approach – WRCE's objective was to have departmental science and engineering staff teach enterprise modules as part of their overall departmental teaching and to have such modules integrated into the course provision. The WRCE approach emphasized the value of giving students some real life or simulated “real” experience and of developing a strand or track of enterprise through the years of the course.Findings – The general propositions of WRCE are reviewed in the light of the outcomes in a number of departments, but most specifically within the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sheffield, which would claim to be one of the most successful departmental interventions of WRCE. Whilst good examp...