Mårten Simonsson

Enterprise architecture analysis with extended influence diagrams

The discipline of enterprise architecture advocates the use of models to support decision-making on enterprise-wide information system issues. In order to provide such support, enterprise architecture models should be amenable to analyses of various properties, as e.g. the level of enterprise information security. This paper proposes the use of a formal language to support such analysis. Such a language needs to be able to represent causal relations between, and definitions of, various concepts as well as uncertainty with respect to both concepts and relations. To support decision making properly, the language must also allow the representation of goals and decision alternatives. This paper evaluates a number of languages with respect to these requirements, and selects influence diagrams for further consideration. The influence diagrams are then extended to fully satisfy the requirements. The syntax and semantics of the extended influence diagrams are detailed in the paper, and their use is demonstrated in an example.

The Effect of IT Governance Maturity on IT Governance Performance

There are several best practice based frameworks that detail effective arrangements for the internal structure of an IT organization. Although it is reasonable that there is a correlation between the quality of the internal structure of an IT organization – labeled IT governance maturity, and the external impact of the same IT organization on the business – labeled IT governance performance, this has not been validated. The results, based on 35 case studies, confirm the hypotheses of a positive correlation between IT governance maturity and IT governance performance. Among IT processes described in 34 references, the internal structure of the IT organization, clearly defined organizational structures and relationships, mature quality management, and cost allocation show the strongest positive correlation to IT governance performance. The maturity of project management and service level management, as well as performance and capacity management, show almost no correlation to IT governance performance. The findings can be used to improve current frameworks for IT governance.

The IT Organization Modeling and Assessment Tool: Correlating IT Governance Maturity with the Effect of IT

Does good IT governance improve the effect of IT? This paper presents the IT Organization Modeling and Assessment Tool (ITOMAT) which has been created to overcome operationalization and subjectivity weaknesses in the Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) framework. ITOMAT was applied to assess IT governance maturity in four case studies. Simultaneously, external metrics of the effect of IT were collected and correlated to the maturity levels. Based on the correlations, a model linking internal and external measures was created. The model can be used to predict the effect of IT given the maturity levels of IT processes.

Extended Influence Diagrams for Enterprise Architecture Analysis

The discipline of enterprise architecture advocates the use of models to support decision-making on enterprise-wide information system issues. In order to provide such support, enterprise architecture models should be amenable to analyses of various properties, as e.g. the level of enterprise information security. This paper proposes the use of a formal language to support such analysis. Such a language needs to be able to represent causal relations between, and definitions of, various concepts as well as uncertainty with respect to both concepts and relations. To support decision-making properly, the language must also allow the representation of goals and decision alternatives. This paper evaluates a number of languages with respect to these requirements, and selects influence diagrams for further consideration. The influence diagrams are then extended to fully satisfy the requirements. The syntax and semantics of the extended influence diagrams are detailed in the paper, and their use is demonstrated in an example

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.

A Bayesian network for IT governance performance prediction

The goal of IT governance is not only to achieve internal efficiency in an IT organization, but also to support ITs role as a business enabler. The latter is here denoted IT governance performance. IT management cannot control the IT governance performance directly. Instead, their realm of control includes several IT governance maturity indicators such as the existence of different IT activities, documents, metrics and roles. Current IT governance frameworks are suitable for describing IT governance, IT-systems, and business processes, but lack the ability to predict how changes to the IT governance maturity indicators affect IT governance performance. Bayesian networks are widely used for goal modeling and prediction in several research fields. This paper presents an application of Bayesian networks for IT governance performance prediction. Data from 35 case studies conducted in a variety of organizations has been used to determine the behavior of the network. An assumption on linearity is introduced in order to compensate for the limited amount of data, and the network learns using the proposed Linear Conditional Probability Matrix Generator. The resulting Bayesian network for IT governance performance prediction can be used to support IT governance decision-making.

IT governance decision support using the IT Organization Modeling and Assessment Tool

It is important to ensure that the IT governance is not only designed to achieve internal efficiency in the IT organization, such as deploying good IT processes and making sure that the means and goals are documented. The final goal of good IT governance is rather to provide the business with the support needed in order to conduct business in a good manner. This paper describes the IT organization modeling and assessment tool (ITOMAT) and how it can be used for IT governance decision making. ITOMAT consists of an enterprise architecture metamodel that describes IT organizations. ITOMAT further contains a Bayesian network for making predictions on how changes to IT organization models will affect the IT governance performance as perceived by business stakeholders. In order to make such predictions accurately, the network learns from data on previous experience. Thorough case studies at 20 different companies have been conducted in order to calibrate the network. Finally, the paper describes a case study where ITOMAT was used to analyze the future impact of two IT organization change scenarios in a medium sized engineering company.

The IT Organization Modeling and Assessment Tool for IT Governance Decision Support

This short paper describes the IT Organization Modeling and Assessment Tool (ITOMAT) and how it can be used for IT governance decision making support. ITOMAT consists of an enterprise architecture metamodel that describes IT organizations. ITOMAT further contains a Bayesian network for making predictions on how changes to IT organization models will affect the IT governance performance as perceived by business stakeholders. In order to make such predictions accurately, the network learns from data on previous experience. Case studies at 35 companies have been utilized for calibration of the network.

It Governance Decision Support Using The It Organization Modeling And Assesment Tool

This paper describes the information technology (IT) organization modeling and assessment tool (ITOMAT) and how it can be used for IT governance decision making. The ITOMAT consists of an enterprise architecture metamodel that describes IT organizations. Further, ITOMAT contains a Bayesian network for making predictions on how changes to IT organization models will affect the IT governance performance as perceived by business stakeholders. Thorough case studies at 20 different companies have been conducted in order to calibrate the network. Finally, the paper describes a case study where ITOMAT was used to analyze the future impact of two IT organization change scenarios in a medium-sized engineering company.