Michiko Oba

Evaluating the quantitative effects of workflow systems based on real cases

The effects of introducing a workflow system include improved work efficiency, reduced processing time (that is, turnaround time), standardized business processes, and paperless processing. However, no concrete methodology for quantitatively evaluating these effects has been established. By analyzing some examples of introducing workflow systems, we extracted the factors that influence the effects, and we used quantification theory type I to create a mathematical model for predicting the rate of reduction of processing time as an effect of introducing a workflow system. As a result, we concluded that: (1) the process improvement and (2) business process classification, before the introduction of the workflow system, are the factors that influence the effects. As a predictive model, multiple correlation coefficient R is 0.932, showing that the two factors have a considerable influence.

Multiple type workflow model for enterprise application integration

The business environment is changing rapidly everyday. Enterprise information systems must be able to adapt to changes in markets quickly and flexibly. Enterprises control large amounts of software resources and these software resources must be integrated. One solution that is attracting a great deal of attention is the concept of enterprise application integration (EAI). EAI can adapt to changes in markets quickly and flexibly. As a method for implementing EAI, we are proposing business process-based integration using workflow techniques. Business process-based integration divides an enterprise information system into business processes and the work logic that comprises the system. We propose a new type of workflow for EAI. The new workflow for EAI uses a CORBA interface to integrate different types of systems and uses a state transition model based on a database to dynamically control processes. An organization can define business processes and rules so that the business processes can flexibly adapt to changes in the organization and applications. We have confirmed the effectiveness of this new workflow management system for EAI by applying it in an actual test case.

Classification of energy-saving operations from the perspective of system management

System management operations consist of detecting events that have occurred in a monitored system, checking system conditions, judging appropriate actions to be taken, and implementing the chosen actions. There are several patterns of system management operations. In this paper, the authors classify energy-saving operations in data centers according to patterns of system management operations. This classification helps enterprises consider what kind of energy-saving operations are feasible in current system management environments and what kind of improvement should be made in order to implement desired energy-saving operations. Use cases are provided for each pattern of system management operations. A quantitative estimation of power consumption reduction and analysis for improvement based upon the estimation are provided for one use case.

Using a validation model to measure the agility of software development in a large software development organization

This paper provides a metric for evaluating the agility of software development projects and organizations. The metric is based on a validation model derived from the V&V model. In this metric, agility is defined as minimizing the time between the production of intermediate deliverables and the validation of those deliverables. The major distinguishing feature of this metric is that it is independent of any particular software development process model, such as agile software development methods or the waterfall model. Therefore, this metric can be used for software development organizations that have a wide variety of software development projects with varying kinds of development processes. This metric has been shown to be practical in large software development organizations through exhaustive use in more than 7,000 projects over the last 9 years.

Application of Web Services Security Using Travel Industry Model

Web Services Security (WS-Security) is a specification that protects SOAP messages to ensure end-to-end security for web services. WS-Security was approved as the OASIS standard in April 2004 and the first stage of standardization has been completed. Although the interoperability of WS-Security itself has been examined, business applications of WS-Security have not yet been fully investigated. Applying WS-Security to actual businesses is the next step. We conducted a large-scale demonstration experiment with web services using a travel industry model. We applied WS-Security to travel booking transactions and succeeded in ensuring end-to-end security by signing and encrypting credit card numbers. We give an overview of the experiment, point out the problems experienced and provide a possible solution. The experiment revealed that problems still remain with respect to communication via an intermediary.

Web services experiment using TravelXML: standard XML for electronic commerce in the travel industry

The travel industry requires computerized standardization of the information exchanged between travel agents, transportation systems, and accommodation facilities. Consequently, the Japan Association of Travel Agents and the XML Consortium are currently engaged in efforts to standardize an XML format (called TravelXML) for electronic commerce in the travel industry. A new business model for the travel industry was recently proposed and tested by the XML Consortium, using TravelXML and web services. 15 XML Consortium company members participated in the experiment. In this paper, we show the results of applying TravelXML and web services to a real business model through the experiment.

Message analysis method based on a stream database for information system management

The authors conducted a detailed survey of a large-scale data center. They found that automated monitoring of messages produced by operating systems, middleware, and applications was adopted as a key method for detecting system failures and malfunctions, and found that this was an effective method for improving the quality of system management operations. The survey revealed that message occurrences are not only monitored, they are also analyzed for particular patterns. Those patterns include multiple occurrences surpassing a threshold in a predefined time period, consecutive occurrences within a predefined time interval, or occurrences violating predefined sequences, and so on. A custom-made application is currently used for this message analysis. The authors found some problems in implementation of the application. To overcome these problems and aid information system management, the authors proposed a message analysis method using a stream database. An experiment proved the effectiveness of the method.