María A. Pérez

Critical success factors for a customer relationship management strategy

Most organizations have perceived the customer relationship management (CRM) concept as a technological solution for problems in individual areas, accompanied by a great deal of uncoordinated initiatives. Nevertheless, CRM must be conceived as a strategy, due to its human, technological, and processes implications, at the time an organization decides to implement it. On this basis, the main goal stated in this research is to propose, justify, and validate a model based on critical success factors (CSFs) that will constitute a guide for companies in the implementation and diagnosis of a CRM strategy. The model is conformed by a set of 13 CSFs with their 55 corresponding metrics, which will serve as a guide for organizations wishing to apply this type of strategy. These factors cover the three key aspects of every CRM strategy (human factor, processes, and technology); giving a global focus and propitiating success in the implementation of a CRM strategy. These CSFs - and their metrics - were evaluated by a group of internationally experts allowing determining guidelines for a CRM implementation as well as the probable causes of the deficiencies in past projects.

Critical Success Factors for Managing Systems Integration

Abstract System integration is a complex technological task, and an infrastructure decision that seems right today might well be obsolete tomorrow. This article proposes a framework of critical success factors (CSFs) that can be used to manage IS integration projects, according to a firms current stage of IT integration maturity and other IS infrastructure characteristics. To demonstrate the potential utility of this CSF framework, the authors analyze case studies at two firms using 86 metrics for 20 CSFs developed by the authors.

Evaluation of Workflow-type software products: a case study

Abstract The main objective of this paper is to propose a set of indicators for the evaluation of Workflow software-type products within the context of Information Systems. This paper is mainly based on a comprehensive bibliographical review of all topics referring to the Workflow Technology and Information Systems. Next, sets of indicators are presented for the selection of a Workflow software based on the realities of the business world, including a method of examination so as to obtain an integral evaluation on the Workflow software. Finally, the evaluation method for two types of Workflow software is applied: Lotus Domino / Notes ® and Microsoft Exchange ® , for the billing subsystems of a company called MANAPRO Consultants, Inc. ® .

Comparison of EAI ∗ Frameworks

EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) is defined as the set of plans, methods and tools aimed at modernizing, consolidating, integrating and coordinating information systems within an enterprise. An EAI Framework (EAIF) is presented to provide sound and unified definitions of the modeling elements involved in the EAI approach. The goal of this work is to compare EAIF with other widely accepted frameworks that can be used to model EAI. A set of reusable features are defined to identify the main weakness and strength of these frameworks. As a result, EAIF has been enriched with the “human aspects” feature.

Quality models to design software architectures

We address the problems related with the construction of quality software systems. A generally accepted claim is that the evaluation and control of each stage of development in a well-defined process will improve the overall quality of the final software product. In particular, we are interested in the early analysis and design stages, where the architecture of the system is an intermediate product. Several approaches are discussed, where quality models are established in order to determine the influence of the system non-functional characteristics, as part of the software initial requirements, on the final software system. These characteristics affect mostly the software system structure or architecture. The main goal is to discuss three important approaches based on quality models: ISO 9126, Dromey and ABAS (Attribute-Based Architectural Styles), and establish several criteria or points of comparison.

Quality in Development Process for Software Factories According to ISO 15504

Currently the concept of Software Factories (SF), where reuse plays a leading role, is being adopted. Due to the different approaches in this area, and although SF concept is not new in Software Engineering, it is still not mature enough to clearly identify the treatment of certain variables within the process. One of these variables is Quality. Therefore, this paper presents a historical review of the SF concept, proposes an ontology based on the most recent definitions and establishes a relationship between these concepts and the ISO 15504 standard, with the purpose of specifying the systemic quality in software developer companies that decide to implement an SF strategy.

Feature analysis for architectural evaluation methods

Given the complexity of todays software systems, Software Architecture is a topic that has recently increased in significance. It is consider as a key element in the design and development of systems and has the ability to promote/punish some quality characteristics. Quality is related mainly to the non-functional requirements expected of the system. Using appropriate methods for Architectural Evaluation can help to reduce the risk of low quality Architecture. The objective of this research is to conduct a Features Analysis for three Architectural Evaluation Methods applied to a single case. This resulted in two significant contributions; the aspects which must be present in an architectural evaluation method which is translated in a set of 49 metrics, grouped into features and sub-features to enable the evaluation of a particular method. Different methods can be compared on the basis of these features; however, the choice of method will depend largely on the requirements of the evaluating team. The second contribution pinpoints the strengths of the methods evaluated. The methods studied were: Design and Use of Software Architectures, Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method, and Architectural Evaluation Method. The evaluation method employed for this research was Features Analysis Case Study.

Evaluation of environments for portals development: A case study

Abstract With the growing application of the Internet, business portal software is becoming increasingly complex given the wide variety of technologies it must integrate. It is therefore most important to have development environments that enable this type of software to be built efficiently. This justifies the need to evaluate the quality of business portal development environments. The objective of this article is to propose the definition of a quality model for business portal development environments, based on ISO/IEC 9126, with the appropriate metrics for estimating quality. the estimation model was evaluated through a case study using a commercial business portal development environment. the rational unified process (RUP) methodology was chosen to build a business portal prototype.

Conceptual framework for business processes compositional verification

Context: To guarantee the success of Business Process Modelling (BPM) it is necessary to check whether the activities and tasks described by Business Processes (BPs) are sound and well coordinated. Objective: This article describes and validates a Formal Compositional Verification Approach (FCVA) that uses a Model-Checking (MC) technique to specify and verify BPs. Method: This is performed using the Communicating Sequential Processes +Time (CSP+T) process calculus, which adds new constructions to timed Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) modelling entities for non- functional requirement specification. Results: Using our proposal we are able to specify the BP Task Model (BPTM) associated with BPs by formalising the timed BPMN notational elements. The proposal also allows us to apply MC to BPTM verification. A real-life example of verifying a BPTM in the field of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is discussed as a practical application of FCVA. Conclusion: This approach facilitates the verification of complex BPs from independently verified local processes, and establishes a feasible way to use process calculi to verify BPs using state-of-the-art MC tools.

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH FOR DEVELOPING A KMS: A CASE STUDY

This article describes the construction of a Knowledge Management System (KMS) by applying fundamental concepts and principles of Software Engineering, such as process, models, methodology, technology and architectures, among others. They are applied to the field of Knowledge Management as a means of improving the process of developing applications in this domain, in an endeavor to increase its effectiveness. This paper’s main contribution is a methodological approach progressing from knowledge processes to a set of appropriate systems. The use of modeling techniques and technologies that may prove helpful to the Software Engineer are suggested as part of this approach, while the technological, social and organizational aspects to be considered are highlighted. This proposal was evaluated through the development of a Knowledge Management System for a Venezuelan organization – a research center. The evaluation proved the effectiveness of the methodological aspects proposed. These may be of use as inputs for some Learning Software Organizations dedicated to the development of this type of system.