INTRODUCTION
Business process management has long been a topic of great interest in operations management research. Early research on business process management focuses on workflow analysis and process optimization. These types of research evaluate and analyze a predefined set of procedures from a process perspective. That said, with a list of activities, constraints and criteria, the procedural workflow are specified and examined. Then, process analysts come up with suggestions to optimize the process and speed up the workflow. Research findings are widely applied in production and logistics; however, some works are criticized as being too rigid and only suitable for a stable business environment (Burns, 1993).
With the recent advances of information technologies (IT), research topics, including enterprise resource planning (Hong & Kim, 2002), computer integrated manufacturing (Burns, 1993) and total integrated management (Azhashemi & Ho, 1996), have become popular. Technologies are now playing a more significant role in organizations than before. They help organizations achieve higher competitive advantages, and facilitate the operations in all functional areas, such as marketing and sales, cash receipts, purchasing, cash disbursement, production and logistics and human resources (Valiris & Glykas, 2004). Transactions and financial data are gathered and stored, and technologies make data available for operational units and management to make decisions. Operations are sped up and an enduring dialogue in the intra- and inter-organizational contexts is built.
Technologies, on one hand, create substantial values to organizations. On the other hand, technologies are moving too fast, resulting in a rapidly-changing business environment. With the rapidly-changing environment, organizations face challenges. From a technological point of view, new technologies emerge and organizations conduct business in a more dynamic environment (Neiderman, Brancheau, & Wetherbe, 1991). For instance, although the Internet provides rich opportunities for organizations to exchange information, it greatly reduces the switching cost of users. This results in fierce competitions among organizations. Organizations have to reduce their costs in the hope of remaining competitive. Moreover, communities, such as W3C and IEEE, constantly propose new technology standards.Among various standards,
Web services are the most dominant. Sets of Web services standards, such as extensible markup language, were put forward in the early 2000s. An organization can use these standards to easily integrate multiple systems across platforms. The standards also allow various organizations to share data and applications (Coetzee & Eloff, 2007). Much research (e.g., Moitra & Ganesh, 2005) explores how Web services increase the flexibility of business processes. At present, many technology leaders, such as Microsoft, IBM, Google and Amazon, have already adopted Web services. With high external pressure, other organizations are likely to follow the technology trend and quickly adopt Web services to maintain their competitive advantage.
New technologies not only shape the operation and business environments, but also influence government regulations that pose new requirements and constraints on business processes. With transactions migrating to a computer platform, IT frauds become a concern for process analysts, management and auditors. Thus, the federal government proposes new regulations. For instance, Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA) expands the significance of internal controls of processes. It explicitly states that managers and auditors are responsible for enacting and enforcing proper internal controls throughout their organizations. Technologies become a means to achieve improved quality of operational controls, and the ultimate objective of using technologies in business processes is to achieve high effectiveness, high efficiency and high security of organizations.
The article describes an architecture approach for business process management, and is organized as follows: first, we review the literature on architecture. Next, we outline a de facto standard for the architecture approach, and highlight the strength of using an architecture approach. Finally, we describe future trends, and conclude the article.
BACKGROUND
Business Processes and Their Importance
A business process is defined as a set of related, structured activities, or a chain of events, that produces a specific out-come for a particular user or users. This set of activities is in pursuit of a common goal. Typical business goals include receiving sales orders, marketing services, selling products, delivering services, distributing products, invoicing for services, accounts receivable, purchasing and accounts payable. Business processes directly support organization strategies, and hence the processes are valuable corporate assets.
Figure 1. General steps in business process redesign
To tackle the challenges by the rapid changes in technologies, presumably, organizations are required to evaluate business processes on a regular basis. As a result, organizations are paying more attention to supporting business process management and redesigning the processes to adapt to the new environments (Davenport & Stoddard, 1994). Figure 1 depicts the general steps of business process redesign.
During business process redesign, organizations have a specific case for examination. They identify the processes of interests and evaluate the opportunities and constraints. They improve the processes by integrating them into new technology platforms, and processes are redesigned in the hope of cutting costs, improving controls, speeding up the operations and achieving higher efficiency in the interactions between the internal processes and interactions of the processes with the environment (Arlbjorn, Wong, & Seerup, 2006; Hofmann & Reiner, 2006). Process redesign can help to achieve strategic advantages. Thus, it is not surprising to see the increasing amount of resources that organizations invest in redesigning their business process (Tinnila, 1995).
Prior research shows that most organizations are not familiar with business process redesign and change management. Also, they do not have a structured methodology for process redesign. However, even if a few organizations adopt a structured methodology, some researchers criticize that their methodology is prescientific and ad hoc (Valiris & Glykas, 2004), and most approaches cannot provide a holistic view from management and operations (Avison & Wood-
Harper, 1990). In the following, we will provide a high-level architecture approach, which is influenced by organizational theories, IS development and existing work in business process redesign. Architecture views are representations of the overall system that are meaningful to all stakeholders, such as management board, chief information officer, users, designers and analysts, in the enterprise. It also provides a holistic approach to help stakeholders gather relevant and sufficient information for business process redesign.
An Architecture Approach
The word, architecture, originates from Latin. It is the art and science of building structures. In recent years, the word, architecture, has been used in application coordination (King, 1995), software management (Greefhorst, Koning, & Vliet, 2006) and enterprise management (Johnson, Lagerstrom, Narman, & Simonsson, 2007). It is the abstraction used to deal with complexity. By extension, the term “architecture” has come to denote the art and discipline of creating an actual, or inferring an implied or apparent plan of any complex object or system. Architecture is analogous to a blueprint for the object or the system. It details how the design is to be divided into individual functional components and the way in which these components are to interact to provide the overall functionality. According to IEEE Standard 14712000, architecture is “the fundamental organization of a system embodied in its components, their relationships to each other, and to the environment, and the principle guiding its design and evolution.”
In the context of an organization undergoing business process redesign, architecture is a blueprint which specifies data architecture, business architecture, technical architecture and process architecture. An architecture approach is usually taken by large enterprises. As an organization grows in complexity and size, several factors hinder its abilities to solve the problems that it faces. The point is rapidly reached where the factors that come into play in structuring and conducting the business of the enterprise become too numerous and complex to manage. When dealing with such complex systems, a complicated problem is usually broken into subsets or domains, which is less complex and more manageable. This helps to make sure the orchestration of the interaction among those subsets or domains. Thereby, an architecture approach is typically adopted by large enterprises. We refer to it as enterprise architecture. Enterprise architecture is a specific type of architecture and can be considered to be the description and documentation of the current and desired information and technology environment, and its relationship to processes and business strategy. It coordinates various facets, including process models, diagrams or textual documents (Puschmann & Alt, 2005).
ARCHITECTING AN ENTERPRISE
Major Issues when Architecting an Enterprise
Enterprise architecture is a means for describing processes that connect business structures. Its objective is to let the stakeholders of the organization have a clear vision of the desired future state of the entire system, including such dimensions as business strategies, process design and technology infrastructure. To achieve this vision, all stakeholders must have a common context both for diagnosing the needs for changes and for managing the process of changes. Hence, the common context acts as an integrating force for the multitude of apparently disparate changes to be made. It is where the concept, architecture, comes in.
There are four dimensions in enterprise architecture. They are data architecture, business architecture, technical architecture and process architecture. These dimensions provide a holistic view of an enterprise (see Figure 2). Data architecture defines how data is stored, managed and used in an enterprise. It establishes common guidelines for data operations and thus it is possible to predict, model, gauge, and control the flow of data in the enterprise. It provides the basis for business architecture, technical architecture and process architecture. Business architecture structures the accountability over business strategies and activities prior to any further effort to structure individual aspects.
Technical architecture refers to hardware and software architecture. It is the structured process of designing and building technology hardware at enterprise level. Issues including the legacy systems, middleware and network communications are all within the scope of hardware architecture. Technical architecture also deals with software architecture, which focuses on functions of the software programs and data transfer between programs. Process architecture is the structural design of general process systems and covers process design, logistics, policy and procedures. The overall inputs, outputs and functionality of the process architecture are also specified.
The enterprise architecture approach facilitates the business process management by providing frameworks and methodologies to support: (1) a shared understanding of business functionality and data usage across the virtual enterprise; (2) a baseline from which applications can be deployed or integrated in a coordinated fashion; (3) a context for performing business-driven process and information modeling; (4) an understanding of how business models drive the creation of functional IT and data models; (5) the capability for planners and business owners to communicate and exchange requirements with IT; and (6) the ability for chief information officers to understand and respond to dynamic business impacts on the IT environment (Johnson et al., 2007).
When architecting the enterprise, stakeholders generally have concerns about cost, value, risks, time, control and so forth. Table 1 shows a list of typical questions raised by the stakeholders.
Figure 2. An overview of enterprise architecture
Table 1. Examples of typical questions raised by architects and top management
| Process issues | Performance
• Is IT making the business more agile? • Is significant improvement of information technology actually possible? • Is full advantage being taken of the progression in hardware technology and software techniques? • Is there an ongoing program for rationalizing systems? Expertise and Resources • Can we identify the solutions specialists in our organization? Risk and Security • What are the possible risks? What are their levels of damages? • Are security and availability risks fully managed? |
| Strategy issues | Cost and Return on Investment
• Is the value of IT investments being measured? If so, by how? • Are the results of these investments as good as possible? • How can the finite resources be most effectively used? • Is the asset value of IT understood and acceptable? Impacts on Business Strategies • Is information technology focused on business outcomes? • Is the business strategy being realized? |
| Policy issues | Governance
• Are our key development partners independent? • How does the organization deal with increasing regulatory requirements? |
Technologies Related to the Architecture Approach
Tools supporting architecture are commonly available. One of the most widely applied tools is Zachman Framework for Information Systems Architecture by John Zachman (Zach-man, 1987). The Zachman Framework is an enterprise-class framework which provides a formal and highly structured way of defining an enterprise. It has a series of views describing how business planners and owners envision IT requirements, and how designers and developers view a logical or physical implementation of those same requirements.
The Zachman Framework is made up of two dimensions. The first dimension contains six aspects by using the basic communication interrogatives (What, How, Where, Who, When, and Why). The second dimension consists of six viewpoints by six groups of stakeholders (Planner, Owner, Designer, Builder, Subcontractor and Worker). Table 2 presents the six aspects and the six viewpoints.
Figure 3 shows a picture of the Zachman Framework. There are 36 (=6×6) cells in the framework model. The intersecting cells depict the related documentation modeling techniques or technology to address the questions by the stakeholders. The framework draws stakeholders’ focus to relevant domains and stimulates them to ask relevant questions. It also organizes descriptive artifacts of an enterprise, such as models, pictures, diagrams, or textual documents, and classifies them into one of the 36 cells.
Apart from the Zachman Framework, other enterprise-class frameworks are available. They include the Information Framework (Evernden, 1996); the Open Group Architecture Framework (Open Group, 2006); and the Methodology for Architecture Description (Meinema, 1999). These are all de facto standards. Architects decide to use which framework based on criteria, such as their expertise and organizational practice.
Reasons to Adopt an Architecture Approach
To deal with global competition, organizations seek ways to regularly reconsider their IT environments and optimize their business processes. Organizations redesign their information systems and business processes, in the hope of reducing the cost and helping themselves respond to a changing environment rapidly.
Table 2. The six aspects and the six viewpoints of the Zachman Framework
| The Six Aspects | 1. The Data aspect – What?
2. The Function aspect – How? 3. The Network aspect – Where? 4. The People aspect – Who? 5. The Time aspect – When? 6. The Motivation aspect – Why? |
| The Six Viewpoints | 7. The Scope (Contextual) viewpoint aimed at the planner
8. The Business Model (Conceptual) viewpoint aimed at the owner 9. The System (Logical) viewpoint aimed at the designer 10. The Technology (Physical) viewpoint a imed at the builder 11. The Detailed Representations (Out-of-Context) viewpoint a imed at the subcontractor 12. The Functioning Enterprise viewpoint a imed at the worker |
Figure 3. The Zachman Framework
Enterprises taking an architecture approach to redesign their process can achieve the following benefits: Firstly, enterprise architecture allows the business and IT to work together as harmoniously as the business and finance do. It provides a set of tools, the common language for which is needed to allow the stakeholders to become partners with the same mission (Zachman, 1987). With an enterprise architecture approach, organizations describe and document the current and desired information and technology environment, and its relationship to business strategy and processes, thus providing a platform for better quality and quicker decision making.
Secondly, it provides a means for the business and IT to communicate effectively, ensuring that IT is supporting the business. Effective communication leads to a clear understanding of the current IT situation and how well it fits the business. It also facilitates IT planning so that all impacts on the business are clearly understood.
Thirdly, an architecture approach allows a business to be more flexible and agile, thus enabling a quick and cost effective response to changes in the environment. The approach also helps to manage the business risk relating to the use of IT, and reduce the risk of problems with technology and how it is applied.
FUTURE TRENDS
Managing business processes, in particular for an enterprise, is a challenging task because business processes interact with data, technology infrastructure and business strategies. While careful planning typically goes into its design, architecture actually emerges as a result of implementing business processes with the consideration of aspects from various stakeholders. It is a de facto standard and provides the capabilities for executing business strategies, and understanding this emergent architecture is of paramount importance.
Further research can be conducted to improve the architecture framework. One of the limitations of the framework is its complexity. Organizations have to invest time and resources to fill in each cell of the framework, and sometimes, not all information in all cells are important. Attempts by researchers and practitioners can be made to simplify the framework. They can prioritize the dimensions of the framework and customize the framework to different industrial domains. We believe the simplified version will be very useful to medium-sized firms.
CONCLUSION
The fierce competition of business leads to a strong need of improving and adapting business processes to the new environment. This chapter introduces an architecture approach of business improvement. We particularly focus on the enterprise architecture approach and its related technologies.
We also provide explanations to address the importance of an architecture approach and how it helps to improve business process management. Currently, enterprise architecture is still considered to be a costly and highly sophisticated technology, which requires input from the management board, chief information officer, users, designers and analysts. With the high complexity of business activities and continuous awareness of situations, we believe an architecture approach will gain significant attention in the near future.
KEY TERMS
Blueprint: It is a document to detail how the design is to be divided into individual functional components and the way in which these components are to interact to provide the overall functionality.
Business Process: A business process is defined as a set of related, structured activities, or a chain of events, that produces a specific outcome for a particular user or users. This set of activities is in pursuit of a common goal.
Business Architecture: It structures the accountability over business strategies and activities prior to any further effort to structure individual aspects.
Enterprise Architecture: It is a specific type of architecture and can be considered to be the description and documentation of the current and desired information and technology environment, and its relationship to processes and business strategy.
Data architecture: It defines how data is stored, managed and used in an enterprise, and establishes common guidelines for data operations.
Technical architecture: It refers to hardware and software architecture.
Process architecture: It is the structural design of general process systems and covers process design, logistics, policy and procedures. The overall inputs, outputs and functionality of the process architecture are also specified.
Zachman Framework: It is a tool supporting enterprise architecture, and was developed by John Zachman.
