Mika Helenius

Aligning Alignment with Strategic Context: A Literature Review

The alignment of business and IT has been a persistent topic of discussion in the past decades. As information systems have evolved from an administrative support function to an integral part of business fabric, the classic “internal” perspective adopted by the bulk of alignment research falls short in accounting for the dynamic business network context and continuous evolution with the environment. The information systems planning and strategy discourse should transcend the notion of “alignment” and bring out the strategy-shaping role of IT. This paper presents a classification of business–IT alignment approaches vis-a-vis respective schools of thought in strategic management. Both disciplines are seen to co-evolve with the increasingly complex “strategic context”. The approach is meant to help contextualize extant and future work in terms of underlying assumptions and thereby make more conscious statements about the practical applicability of research topics, methods and results in varying contexts. As relatively simple, static and mechanistic conceptualizations of strategy and business-IT alignment render inadequate, concepts such as dynamic capabilities, co-evolution and organizational ambidexterity represent a more adaptive and more encompassing approach to make sense of the increasingly complex strategic context.

Architects' Perceptions on EA Use -- An Empirical Study

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is increasingly being utilized by organizations as an approach to manage the complexity of business processes, information systems and technical infrastructure. Although EA is generally regarded as an effective management tool, its full benefits can be realized only when it is incorporated into day-to-day operations of the organization. In the Finnish public sector, the use of EA has recently been mandated by the newly passed Act on Information Management Governance in Public Administration. The aim of the legislation is to achieve more efficient, integrated and cost-efficient public services. This article describes the results of a survey aimed to identify perceptions on actual EA work among Finnish public sector participants currently undertaking EA initiatives. The results highlight potential issues related to successful EA adoption.

Connecting Enterprise Architecture with Strategic Planning Processes: Case Study of a Large Nordic Finance Organization

The business environment is changing faster than ever before. Successful navigation in these treacherous waters requires both business agility and capability to govern strategy-driven business transformation. Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an approach providing insight and overview to manage the complexity of an organization and to aid strategic decision-making. Studies have tried to bridge the gap between EA and strategy, but very few empirical studies have been published on the subject. In this exploratory case study, we provide an empirical view of how EA can be connected to the strategic planning process and bring value to an organization. The findings are based on 13 interviews conducted in a large Nordic financial services group. This study strengthens the view that although EA could provide significant value in the strategy formulation phase it is still mainly a tool for translating the strategy into actions. EA can thus provide the most value in the strategy implementation phase of the strategic planning process.

Business and Information Systems Engineering -- In Quest for Research and Education Agenda in Europe

The new complex digital and information services systems and industries are calling for new transdisciplinary approaches on how to achieve technical, social, and cultural knowledge and skills to serve future needs of the industry and society. The leading digital industry is in demand of engineers with knowledge and capabilities to collaborate and move between highly complex digital business and technical systems domains. The new reality is under constant transformation, highly intangible and nonlinear interconnected system. Transformative digital business innovations, rapidly evolving business models, architectures enabled business model scalability and ultra large-scale of systems are the new characteristics of this software-dominant-logic. This paper aims at covering contemporary challenges of the interdisciplinary in business, service, software and systems engineering by analyzing different research ontologies and curriculum models. The paper analyses recent Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS) curriculum developments and reflects through different ontologies and recent research. Paper uses Service Design and Engineering (SDE) as a didactic and curriculum model for future Information Systems Engineering (ISE) and Business and Information Systems Engineering (BISE). The new curriculums serve the needs of global information start-ups, businesses, governments, and societies. This paper aims at describing the ontological foundations and conflicts, the axiology of the new curriculum model and proposes an integrated multi-ontology as the foundation for BISE new curriculum.

Experiences from the Launch of a New International Master's Program in Service Design and Engineering

Services and service businesses are driving the current industrial ecosystem at a pace that sets new requirements for academic institutions to provide world-class professionals for the industry. As a result, two international masters programs regarding service science have been established at Aalto University: Service Design and Engineering (SDE) and Service Management and Engineering (SME). Aalto University is among the first in the world to combine engineering, business, and industrial design in a single curriculum, providing an excellent platform for a multi-disciplinary service science masters program. This paper presents the experiences of establishing the Masters Programme in Service Design and Engineering at Aalto University, which we feel provides valuable insights for the service science audience worldwide.