Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
extracted. This Analysis captures the informal aspects through the
Business Service
Norms Analysis,
eliciting the organisation's business norms within the business proc-
esses that support the business services. To complement the analysis in achieving the
holistic view of the business service, its cultural value is evaluated in
Business Service
Valuation
. The analysis will be presented and discussed in detail in the following
section.
Business Process Analysis
provides detailed descriptions of processes/sub-
processes and activities involved in the business services. The business processes are
influenced by, and are tightly integrated with, business norms. The business service
norms analysis captures the behaviour patterns as requirements enabling us to derive
the business rules from both the business and customer focused perspective. It also
identifies the informal factors involved in the business service, such as strategies,
cultures, unwritten conventions and common practices supporting the business capa-
bility. The analysis extends the details of the business rules and procedures with
knowledge of any pre-conditions and post-condition from the Business Process
Analysis.
Stakeholder
Analysis
is the component where the detailed analysis and elicitation
of requirements of the associated stakeholders of the business service is performed.
Stakeholder Analysis enables the identification and evaluation of highly influential
stakeholders and their influence on business services in the enterprise, refining the
stakeholder information identified in the business service analysis. Stakeholders per-
ceive different values for the business services according to their perspectives. The
stakeholder valuation of the business service is one of the important factors in the
Business Service Analysis.
IT Inventory
is the IT applications requirements analysis, where detailed informa-
tion concerning the IT applications assigned to support the business services are elic-
ited. The IT Application Inventory analyses all the IT applications in the enterprise to
provide a foundation for further valuation assessment. The inventory component is
divided into: 1)
current IT applications (as-is state); and 2) recommendation for future
changes to IT applications (to-be state). In the as-is state, each IT application avail-
able within the enterprise is recorded and described in detail: its capabilities, financial
cost and technical value. The IT application value is evaluated in a separate compo-
nent in the second stage
, IT Application Valuation
whereas, in the to-be state, the
inventory includes recommendations for decisions to be made for the status of each IT
applications (e.g. to be outsource, upgrade to improve performance, merge with other
applications etc). The comprehensive requirements from both the business processes
and services and IT applications form the basis for the components in the next stage,
the Strategy Formulation to formulate future IT strategy that improves the business-IT
alignment.
4.2 The Application of Business Services Analysis
Fig. 2 presents a case study to illustrate the framework. Techniotics™ is an advanced
systems development company operating in three markets: advanced intelligent sys-
tems, defence electronics and robotics, alternative energy systems. It has global pres-
ence and market capitalisation and the following core competences: 1) highly skilled
and rewarded, networked and virtual workforce; 2) patented processes for advanced
