The developments in the ICT led companies to strive to make parts of the business transaction electronic and raised again the issue of interoperability. Although interoperability between computer systems has been widely addressed in literature, the concept of interoperability between organizations is still to a large extent unexplored. Standards are claimed to help achieving interoperability. However, experience with the implementation of EDI standards shows that many EDI implementation projects led to technical solutions with unclear business benefits. New standards are currently being developed, however their implementation can also lead again to purely technical solution, if the social context is not taken sufficiently into account. In this paper we address the problem on how to identify interoperability problems on a pragmatic level that can occur between organizations that want to carry out business transactions electronically. We also point out that, in order to identify interoperability problems on a pragmatic level, it is necessary to capture the communication requirements of the business parties and to evaluate to what extent a standard is capable to meet these requirements. To perform that evaluation we develop a meta model for describing communication. The meta model is based on theory of speech-act and communicative actions. The use of the meta model to identify interoperability problems on a pragmatic level is illustrated with an example.

The developments in the ICT led companies to strive to make parts of the business transaction electronic and raised again the issue of interoperability. Although interoperability between computer systems has been widely addressed in literature, the concept of interoperability between organizations is still to a large extent unexplored. Standards are claimed to help achieving interoperability. However, experience with the implementation of EDI standards shows that many EDI implementation projects led to technical solutions with unclear business benefits. New standards are currently being developed, however their implementation can also lead again to purely technical solution, if the social context is not taken sufficiently into account. In this paper we address the problem on how to identify interoperability problems on a pragmatic level that can occur between organizations that want to carry out business transactions electronically. We also point out that, in order to identify interoperability problems on a pragmatic level, it is necessary to capture the communication requirements of the business parties and to evaluate to what extent a standard is capable to meet these requirements. To perform that evaluation we develop a meta model for describing communication. The meta model is based on theory of speech-act and communicative actions. The use of the meta model to identify interoperability problems on a pragmatic level is illustrated with an example.

In a business-to-business setting there is a growing need for organizations to be interoperable. Computer systems involved in automating parts of a business process need to become an integral part of the business process. Before automation is achieved, the part of the business process to be automated needs to be made explicit and then operationalized. Business process models could be used to make the process explicit. Domain standards could be used to make the process operational. However, there is no method available to evaluate the fit between business process requirements, a modeling technique and a standard. In this paper we argue that a set of business process concepts can be useful for the evaluation of the fit. We further propose a method how to perform the evaluation and we illustrate the use of the method. The construction of a complete set of business process concepts remains out of the scope of this paper.

Little specific research has been conducted to date on the adaptation of agile information systems development (ISD) methods. This article presents the work practice in dealing with the adaptation of such a method in the ISD department of one of the leading financial institutes in Europe. Two forms of method adaptation, static adaptation and dynamic adaptation, are introduced and discussed in detail. We provide some insights plus an instrument that the ISD department studied uses to deal with the dynamic method adaptation. To enhance our understanding of the observed practice, we take into account two complementary perspectives: the engineering perspective and the socio-organizational perspective. Practical and theoretical implications of this study are discussed.

Information systems involved in automating parts of a business process need to be process-aware, in order to become an integral part of it.Before automation is achieved, the part of the business process to be automated needs to be made explicit and then operationalized.Business process models could be used to make the process explicit.Domain standards could be used to make it operational.However, there is no approach available to evaluate to what extent both the chosen modelling technique and standard are able to cover the actual requirements of the business process.A meta model for business process concepts can help for such an evaluation.Although there have been attempts to identify business process concepts and to create a meta model of business process concepts, the current studies do not include an explicit approach on how to identify these concepts.Further, how to construct such a meta model and how to include new elements to it remains implicit.This paper presents an approach on how to construct a meta model for business process concepts.The approach defines how to capture and define business process concepts, how to construct a meta model using these concepts and how to extend the meta model.The paper also illustrates how to apply the approach.The actual construction of the meta model for business process concepts is a subject of further research.

One can find enough evidence in the IS development (ISD) literature supporting the significance of method adaptation for the realization of an effective ISD. Method adaptation involves a decision making process through which the agent(s) modifies the project situation, including the method and the project context, at hand. This paper aims at exploring how a better delivery of guidance and advice (decision support) on method adaptation, i.e. the degree of which the decision support to be provided is employed successfully, can be achieved. To do this we study several stages in which a set of advice and guidance with some decision support tools on method adaptation realized in a large-scale IT department. Each stage is distinguished with respect to the underlying discourses proposed in the decision support literature and elaborated in terms of the method used, the involved parties concerning method adaptation, and the means used in a ten-year timeline in the department. This study shows that agility of the method used, the degree of sharedness of the meaning of method adaptation held by involved parties, the decision support approach (top-down, bottom-up, or middle-out approaches reflecting the degree of dominations of involved parties) to method adaptation, and the combination of humanand technology-driven guidance are essential to an appropriate delivery of decision support for method adaptation.

The use of standards to support the electronic execution of parts of a business transaction could provide substantial benefit. However, underestimating the need to evaluate the fit between the business requirements and the capabilities of a standard to meet these requirements (at an early stage of a standard implementation project) can lead to problems and even project failure. Currently there is little research on how to evaluate this fit. In this paper we propose to create a meta model to evaluate the fit between the business requirements and the characteristics of a standard. The meta model is to be used at an early stage of a standard implementation project and aims to facilitate early problem identification. We describe the approach followed to construct the meat model. The actual construction of the meta model will be a subject of further research.

From the Publisher:Despite the rapid advance of technology in the last few decades, accurate, on-time and on-budget completion of information systems development projects is still a vision rather than a reality. Information modeling techniques are used during information systems analysis and design, and are important kinds of techniques that are part of information systems development methodologies. An optimal information modeling technique may be defined as an information modeling technique that is most appropriate to be applied in a specific situation indicated by certain contingency factors. Optimal Information Modeling Techniques examines these methods and provides the most recent research in the field, to be applied to the management applications of modern organizations.

Organizational memory information systems have a diversity of contents and may need a variety of information technologies. To cope with this diversity, OMIS requires specific development methodological guidelines. First the OMIS’s objectives have to be stated in organizational functional requirements. Second, the conceptual OMIS model has to be defined at a high level in terms of organizational memory subsystems, and a diversity of modelling techniques are required to develop these subsystems. An OMIS also may profit more from a description of its technological and organizational infrastructure than from a business-led architecture definition. An OMIS needs clear role definitions of its stakeholders, an organizational (improvisational) change scenario, and a non-linear systems procurement scenario. Much of OMIS development happens in its use-stage. Consequently OMIS development has to cope with high levels of complexity, diversity and organizational and IT developments. Several suggestions for further research complete the paper.