A publication by Fraunhofer IESEFraunhofer IESE is an institute of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. T... more A publication by Fraunhofer IESEFraunhofer IESE is an institute of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. The institute transfers innovative software development techniques, methods and tools into industrial practice, assists companies in building software competencies customized to their needs, and helps them to establish a competetive market position. Fraunhofer IESE is directed by
Abstract. Software product line engineering has become a widely used and popular approach for dev... more Abstract. Software product line engineering has become a widely used and popular approach for developing products that are targeted at a specific market. Strategic reuse is a key factor in its success. Large organizations, such as in the financial industry, cover large domains and thus have huge existing infrastruc-tures running in separate business units. Systems running on these infrastruc-tures have been separately built in each business unit using a project-oriented approach. This implies that a system is built to satisfy a single user’s require-ments, thus there is a high possibility of duplicate systems occurring across business units of an organization, costing them enormous amounts of money. In order to reduce development and maintenance costs for these organizations, we propose a product line-oriented approach to incorporate strategic reuse into ex-isting infrastructures of large organizations. These concepts have not been ap-plied at a level of granularity that is most ben...
The momentum created by web services has opened a number of topics that relate to the ability of ... more The momentum created by web services has opened a number of topics that relate to the ability of non-technical people to construct and deploy complex business management software. History has shown that every time a promise of this nature is made that disillusionment sets is before realistic expectations are set. How realistic is the vision of having non-technical people constructing systems, and still having data integrity, performance and usability attributes attended to? Rules of how a business system can be abstracted must be defined in order for development and delivery organizations to operate together in providing software solutions. This paper presents an approach to doing application assembly and deployment, by understanding the separate elements from
Built to Thrive is about unpacking the drivers that I have noticed in the landscape that do not y... more Built to Thrive is about unpacking the drivers that I have noticed in the landscape that do not yet have a place in our existing vocabulary. It is about ceasing to ignore the signs and beginning to embrace the changes that are becoming more tangible with every day that passes. It is about recognizing the amplified importance of the human as a social being in this dawning age of transparency and systemic activity. The individual becomes the collective as we move into a sphere of shared value-creation, ideation and knowledge dissemination. Existing in this new business landscape is not about eliminating the competition, but rather working together in a bid to share resources and expand far beyond what we could ever hope to achieve as individual organizations. Through Built to Thrive, I hope to open your mind and introduce you to a way of thinking that will fundamentally shift your views, and may provide a lifeline in a world where the new school will rule.
This book proposes various conceptual models that can be used to facilitate process innovation. T... more This book proposes various conceptual models that can be used to facilitate process innovation. The result of this research is that formal processes, such as those presented in various capability based models, do not dampen innovation, nor slow down creativity, but are incomplete in facilitating innovation to its full potential. The research indicates that product innovation increases when the models presented in this book are used. Process Innovation is the fundamental concept needed to facilitate revolutionary and evolutionary process development breakthroughs in organizations that wish to remain sustainable and competitive.
This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application the evolution ... more This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application the evolution of development processes; improvements in development; metrics gathered for performance; and effort expended during development versus benefits gained. The paper briefly describes the meta-processes used during development: the Product Development Funnel, dictating overall strategic development; and the use of the Learning model, providing continual feedback to the development cycle. The focus of the paper is on the resulting metrics which have been drawn from the development process over the past four years how can we assure the continual growth of the work-product and be assured that innovations will still occur in the future, rather than stagnation? 1.
The importance of quality is often recognised more by its absence at the end of a software projec... more The importance of quality is often recognised more by its absence at the end of a software project, than by its presence at the start of a new project. Quality cannot be added into a product after it has been developed, it should be built into it from the start. This paper investigates the application of metrics to measure duration, effort and quality, as related to software supporting the Matrix Model. The number of problems and defects in software products is a reflection of the suitability and effectiveness of an organisation’s processes. In order to improve processes a strategic product development framework must be in place. The product development funnel is used to explore new ideas and concepts. The key to getting products accepted by customers is to have more releases early in the product life cycle with a tight feedback loop. The evaluation in this paper is based on the experiences recorded within a specific time frame. Experiences are the happenings of a process.
Product strategists are faced with difficult, but challenging tasks when it comes to product inno... more Product strategists are faced with difficult, but challenging tasks when it comes to product innovation, concept development and product commercialization. Product innovation must take place in order to create products and services that potential customers do not yet know they need. Different, but integrated, standards are needed in the pursuit of building capable processes for delivering these products. Strategic product development is an approach that uses a number of industry standards in building an organization capable of delivering commercially successful products. This paper presents an overview of the integrated approach that ties many concepts together in assisting the product development team to deliver world-class software products. Rubico Technologies is used as a case study to show how the concepts were implemented.
1 Abstract Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of... more 1 Abstract Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of a component model. Techniques such as Prediction-Enabled Component Technology (PECT) [4] combine component technologies with analysis models to address the issue of consumer trust in the quality of assemblies. Service-oriented thinking and challenges surrounding distributed environments are not new, yet they raise certain prominent issues that need to be addressed when crossing organizational and deployment boundaries. This paper describes a common architecture for enterprise application assembly where the focus lies with components and service-assemblies. We consider the aspects surrounding predictability using a service-oriented perspective. Contemporary industry technologies such as.NET and J2EE are used to present a case study of predictable assembly in a broader service-oriented architectural scope. Additional aspects are identified when considering a service-oriented perspective. 1
1Abstract Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of ... more 1Abstract Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of a component model. Techniques such as PredictionEnabled Component Technology (PECT) [4] combine component technologies with analysis models to address the issue of consumer trust in the quality of assemblies. Service-oriented thinking and challenges surrounding distributed environments are not new, yet they raise certain prominent issues that need to be addressed when crossing organizational and deployment boundaries. This paper describes a common architecture for enterprise application assembly where the focus lies with components and service-assemblies. We consider the aspects surrounding predictability using a service-oriented perspective. Contemporary industry technologies such as .NET and J2EE are used to present a case study of predictable assembly in a broader service-oriented architectural scope. Additional aspects are identified when considering a service-oriented perspective.
Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of a componen... more Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of a component model. Techniques such as Prediction-Enabled Component Technology (PECT) [4] combine component technologies with analysis models to address the issue of consumer trust in the quality of as-semblies. Service-oriented thinking and challenges surrounding distributed en-vironments are not new, yet they raise certain prominent issues that need to be addressed when crossing organizational and deployment boundaries. This pa-per describes a common architecture for enterprise application assembly where the focus lies with components and service-assemblies. We consider the as-pects surrounding predictability using a service-oriented perspective. Contem-porary industry technologies such as .NET and J2EE are used to present a case study of predictable assembly in a broader service-oriented architectural scope. Additional aspects are identified when considering a service-oriented perspec-tive.
Businesses that operate in local or global economies all face the challenges of automating their ... more Businesses that operate in local or global economies all face the challenges of automating their key value-creation and product producing processes. The product producing software companies have effectively organised themselves around the key needs of these businesses. Some processes are fairly easy to automate when the requirements are clearly defined and shared amongst a wider customer base. The reality around differentiation is that no two organisations should be the same when it comes to the key value proposition of their offerings. Differentiation might be achieved through better pricing, more innovative customer facing processes and quality of products, as examples. This notion has caused many product selection problems and produced a multitude of solutions that are normally methodology based. Business and technology groups have different drivers when selecting commercial off the shelf (COTS) based products versus the development of software products from the ground up. This paper presents a model that can addresses the dilemma that exists in this problem space, where suppliers of software products and users of software products, both have problems in effectively matching the business requirements to software products. Software products that are needed to fulfil this need, can be classified and selected, based on their key strengths and weaknesses without increasing risks. A model is presented that can be used to assist in the selection of a software solution that encompasses architecture, COTS product requirements, and tools that deal with assembly. It is presented as a continuum whereby users of the model can use key drivers most suited to their environment to make a product selection.
This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application – the evolutio... more This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application – the evolution of development processes; improvements in development; metrics gathered for performance; and effort expended during development versus benefits gained. The paper briefly describes the meta-processes used during development: the Product Development Funnel, dictating overall strategic development; and the use of the Learning model, providing continual feedback to the development cycle. The focus of the paper is on the resulting metrics which have been drawn from the development process over the past four years – how can we assure the continual growth of the work-product and be assured that innovations will still occur in the future, rather than stagnation?
Institutionalizing product line practices is a complex task, requiring thorough understanding of ... more Institutionalizing product line practices is a complex task, requiring thorough understanding of concepts, and change processes with strong business commitment. This research reveals that financial services organizations in South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom have business models that focus on business autonomy and agility to ensure financial performance without much concern for understanding technology commonalities. Business pressures are forcing these organizations to find models that can assist with leveraging common technologies more effectively. Although the set of product line practices and patterns available provide comprehensive coverage of the paradigm, financial services organizations struggle to implement the concepts effectively. This paper describes a Platform Operating Model (POM) which is used as a globally deployable change framework aimed at multi- national financial services organizations. The approach, as implemented in a number of organizations, focuses on the simplification and adaptation of product line techniques without compromising the essentials associated with successful product line institutionalization and operation.
Product Line concepts are widely used and adopted across a number of industries. Whilst the softw... more Product Line concepts are widely used and adopted across a number of industries. Whilst the software product line concepts are readily accessible to commercial software product companies, the application within corporate environments whose core business is not software has been less evident. What are the types of challenges that large corporate organisations need to overcome? This paper presents a number of hurdles which have been observed during the adoption of the concepts at two large financial services organisations. One particular hurdle relates to the difficulty that business divisions within those organisations have in perceiving a return on investment when a product line is established that crosses business unit boundaries. Furthermore a number of enabling mechanisms, related to funding, IT project and general management aspects are proposed which are showing positive results in facilitating the adoption of Product Line Practices in corporate financial service organisations.
Product Line concepts are widely used and adopted as Product Line Practices. The SEI/CMU has deve... more Product Line concepts are widely used and adopted as Product Line Practices. The SEI/CMU has developed, together with a global community, a body of knowledge that encompasses a set of practices and patterns, that are used for software related product lines. How relevant are these practices to large financial services organizations that construct service oriented platforms? This paper presents some conceptual findings from research studies and implementation projects undertaken by SystemicLogic in South-African and Australian banks and insurance companies. We reason that a move towards Service Lines is needed to capture the benefits in service and more dynamic industries that do not develop software systems for deployment, but software for delivering on-demand process automation capability. The service line concept is outlined and some of the benefi ts and challenges discussed. The overall objective of this paper is to present some of the reasoning behind the development of service line practices .
There exists a need to effectively model and solve recurring business problems within the busines... more There exists a need to effectively model and solve recurring business problems within the business environment. Effective recognition of reusable software artifacts is also of great importance and calls for software product line practices. This document describes the major constructs involved in the creation of a currency converter through patterns, and places it into perspective to the software product line practice. The ultimate aim of the analysis is to illustrate techniques that explore different levels of abstraction. Aspects concerning the structuring of services will also be placed in perspective using the separation continuum. An introduction to the Y-Model as a system modeling approach is given as well as an exploration of patterns, reuse and variability. The application of these techniques will be described through the example of a convert pattern and a currency converter service using Microsoft .NET and J2EE technologies.
The quest for understanding systems and dealing with complexities that exist in and amongst syste... more The quest for understanding systems and dealing with complexities that exist in and amongst systems has never been stronger. Many concepts, frameworks and processes exist today that can assist with the analysis of systems. Systems can represent the human body, political or computer systems for example. Some of these systems are complex and others are simple. A complex system is one that is composed of many parts that interact in heterogeneous ways. It also appears to be orderly and disorderly, regular and irregular, variant and invariant, constant and changing, and stable and unstable. There are common characteristics that must be considered to obtain a proper understanding of the dynamics of a system or interrelated systems. Most systems are dynamic in nature and are exposed to evolutionary forces. This chapter presents a model that helps to describe systems by using a well-known visual modelling standard Unified Modeling Language, (UML), in order to obtain the clear picture of three dimensions needed to understand the inner workings of a system. Each dimension presents its own view, visual models and thinking process of the system under study. The abstract and boundaries dimension is needed to provide scope and context to the other dimensions. With the boundaries set and the abstract defined, the other dimensions deal with the structure and behavioural definitions of the system. The structural definition of a system describes the more static, non-event related information. Behaviour encapsulates the events, stimulus responses and intrinsic behaviours of the system, based as defined by the structure and boundary definitions. Once the dimensions of a system are understood and described, methods are included to test the completeness and correctness of the systemic representation. The chapter continues to discuss the characteristics required in order to implement the model successfully. It also covers the use of the model in relation to an international process and maturity assessment standard, SPICE, and closes by showing how the model is used throughout a design process.
This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application – the evolutio... more This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application – the evolution of development processes, improvements in development, metrics gathered for performance and effort expended during development versus benefits gained. The paper briefly describes the meta-processes used during development: the Product Development Funnel, dictating overall strategic development; and the use of the Learning model, providing continual feedback to the development cycle. The focus of the paper is on the resulting metrics which have been drawn from the development process over the past four years – how can we assure the continual growth of the work-product and be assured that innovations will still occur in the future, rather than stagnation?
A publication by Fraunhofer IESEFraunhofer IESE is an institute of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. T... more A publication by Fraunhofer IESEFraunhofer IESE is an institute of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. The institute transfers innovative software development techniques, methods and tools into industrial practice, assists companies in building software competencies customized to their needs, and helps them to establish a competetive market position. Fraunhofer IESE is directed by
Abstract. Software product line engineering has become a widely used and popular approach for dev... more Abstract. Software product line engineering has become a widely used and popular approach for developing products that are targeted at a specific market. Strategic reuse is a key factor in its success. Large organizations, such as in the financial industry, cover large domains and thus have huge existing infrastruc-tures running in separate business units. Systems running on these infrastruc-tures have been separately built in each business unit using a project-oriented approach. This implies that a system is built to satisfy a single user’s require-ments, thus there is a high possibility of duplicate systems occurring across business units of an organization, costing them enormous amounts of money. In order to reduce development and maintenance costs for these organizations, we propose a product line-oriented approach to incorporate strategic reuse into ex-isting infrastructures of large organizations. These concepts have not been ap-plied at a level of granularity that is most ben...
The momentum created by web services has opened a number of topics that relate to the ability of ... more The momentum created by web services has opened a number of topics that relate to the ability of non-technical people to construct and deploy complex business management software. History has shown that every time a promise of this nature is made that disillusionment sets is before realistic expectations are set. How realistic is the vision of having non-technical people constructing systems, and still having data integrity, performance and usability attributes attended to? Rules of how a business system can be abstracted must be defined in order for development and delivery organizations to operate together in providing software solutions. This paper presents an approach to doing application assembly and deployment, by understanding the separate elements from
Built to Thrive is about unpacking the drivers that I have noticed in the landscape that do not y... more Built to Thrive is about unpacking the drivers that I have noticed in the landscape that do not yet have a place in our existing vocabulary. It is about ceasing to ignore the signs and beginning to embrace the changes that are becoming more tangible with every day that passes. It is about recognizing the amplified importance of the human as a social being in this dawning age of transparency and systemic activity. The individual becomes the collective as we move into a sphere of shared value-creation, ideation and knowledge dissemination. Existing in this new business landscape is not about eliminating the competition, but rather working together in a bid to share resources and expand far beyond what we could ever hope to achieve as individual organizations. Through Built to Thrive, I hope to open your mind and introduce you to a way of thinking that will fundamentally shift your views, and may provide a lifeline in a world where the new school will rule.
This book proposes various conceptual models that can be used to facilitate process innovation. T... more This book proposes various conceptual models that can be used to facilitate process innovation. The result of this research is that formal processes, such as those presented in various capability based models, do not dampen innovation, nor slow down creativity, but are incomplete in facilitating innovation to its full potential. The research indicates that product innovation increases when the models presented in this book are used. Process Innovation is the fundamental concept needed to facilitate revolutionary and evolutionary process development breakthroughs in organizations that wish to remain sustainable and competitive.
This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application the evolution ... more This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application the evolution of development processes; improvements in development; metrics gathered for performance; and effort expended during development versus benefits gained. The paper briefly describes the meta-processes used during development: the Product Development Funnel, dictating overall strategic development; and the use of the Learning model, providing continual feedback to the development cycle. The focus of the paper is on the resulting metrics which have been drawn from the development process over the past four years how can we assure the continual growth of the work-product and be assured that innovations will still occur in the future, rather than stagnation? 1.
The importance of quality is often recognised more by its absence at the end of a software projec... more The importance of quality is often recognised more by its absence at the end of a software project, than by its presence at the start of a new project. Quality cannot be added into a product after it has been developed, it should be built into it from the start. This paper investigates the application of metrics to measure duration, effort and quality, as related to software supporting the Matrix Model. The number of problems and defects in software products is a reflection of the suitability and effectiveness of an organisation’s processes. In order to improve processes a strategic product development framework must be in place. The product development funnel is used to explore new ideas and concepts. The key to getting products accepted by customers is to have more releases early in the product life cycle with a tight feedback loop. The evaluation in this paper is based on the experiences recorded within a specific time frame. Experiences are the happenings of a process.
Product strategists are faced with difficult, but challenging tasks when it comes to product inno... more Product strategists are faced with difficult, but challenging tasks when it comes to product innovation, concept development and product commercialization. Product innovation must take place in order to create products and services that potential customers do not yet know they need. Different, but integrated, standards are needed in the pursuit of building capable processes for delivering these products. Strategic product development is an approach that uses a number of industry standards in building an organization capable of delivering commercially successful products. This paper presents an overview of the integrated approach that ties many concepts together in assisting the product development team to deliver world-class software products. Rubico Technologies is used as a case study to show how the concepts were implemented.
1 Abstract Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of... more 1 Abstract Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of a component model. Techniques such as Prediction-Enabled Component Technology (PECT) [4] combine component technologies with analysis models to address the issue of consumer trust in the quality of assemblies. Service-oriented thinking and challenges surrounding distributed environments are not new, yet they raise certain prominent issues that need to be addressed when crossing organizational and deployment boundaries. This paper describes a common architecture for enterprise application assembly where the focus lies with components and service-assemblies. We consider the aspects surrounding predictability using a service-oriented perspective. Contemporary industry technologies such as.NET and J2EE are used to present a case study of predictable assembly in a broader service-oriented architectural scope. Additional aspects are identified when considering a service-oriented perspective. 1
1Abstract Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of ... more 1Abstract Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of a component model. Techniques such as PredictionEnabled Component Technology (PECT) [4] combine component technologies with analysis models to address the issue of consumer trust in the quality of assemblies. Service-oriented thinking and challenges surrounding distributed environments are not new, yet they raise certain prominent issues that need to be addressed when crossing organizational and deployment boundaries. This paper describes a common architecture for enterprise application assembly where the focus lies with components and service-assemblies. We consider the aspects surrounding predictability using a service-oriented perspective. Contemporary industry technologies such as .NET and J2EE are used to present a case study of predictable assembly in a broader service-oriented architectural scope. Additional aspects are identified when considering a service-oriented perspective.
Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of a componen... more Software components are deployed in tightly coupled environments within the context of a component model. Techniques such as Prediction-Enabled Component Technology (PECT) [4] combine component technologies with analysis models to address the issue of consumer trust in the quality of as-semblies. Service-oriented thinking and challenges surrounding distributed en-vironments are not new, yet they raise certain prominent issues that need to be addressed when crossing organizational and deployment boundaries. This pa-per describes a common architecture for enterprise application assembly where the focus lies with components and service-assemblies. We consider the as-pects surrounding predictability using a service-oriented perspective. Contem-porary industry technologies such as .NET and J2EE are used to present a case study of predictable assembly in a broader service-oriented architectural scope. Additional aspects are identified when considering a service-oriented perspec-tive.
Businesses that operate in local or global economies all face the challenges of automating their ... more Businesses that operate in local or global economies all face the challenges of automating their key value-creation and product producing processes. The product producing software companies have effectively organised themselves around the key needs of these businesses. Some processes are fairly easy to automate when the requirements are clearly defined and shared amongst a wider customer base. The reality around differentiation is that no two organisations should be the same when it comes to the key value proposition of their offerings. Differentiation might be achieved through better pricing, more innovative customer facing processes and quality of products, as examples. This notion has caused many product selection problems and produced a multitude of solutions that are normally methodology based. Business and technology groups have different drivers when selecting commercial off the shelf (COTS) based products versus the development of software products from the ground up. This paper presents a model that can addresses the dilemma that exists in this problem space, where suppliers of software products and users of software products, both have problems in effectively matching the business requirements to software products. Software products that are needed to fulfil this need, can be classified and selected, based on their key strengths and weaknesses without increasing risks. A model is presented that can be used to assist in the selection of a software solution that encompasses architecture, COTS product requirements, and tools that deal with assembly. It is presented as a continuum whereby users of the model can use key drivers most suited to their environment to make a product selection.
This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application – the evolutio... more This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application – the evolution of development processes; improvements in development; metrics gathered for performance; and effort expended during development versus benefits gained. The paper briefly describes the meta-processes used during development: the Product Development Funnel, dictating overall strategic development; and the use of the Learning model, providing continual feedback to the development cycle. The focus of the paper is on the resulting metrics which have been drawn from the development process over the past four years – how can we assure the continual growth of the work-product and be assured that innovations will still occur in the future, rather than stagnation?
Institutionalizing product line practices is a complex task, requiring thorough understanding of ... more Institutionalizing product line practices is a complex task, requiring thorough understanding of concepts, and change processes with strong business commitment. This research reveals that financial services organizations in South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom have business models that focus on business autonomy and agility to ensure financial performance without much concern for understanding technology commonalities. Business pressures are forcing these organizations to find models that can assist with leveraging common technologies more effectively. Although the set of product line practices and patterns available provide comprehensive coverage of the paradigm, financial services organizations struggle to implement the concepts effectively. This paper describes a Platform Operating Model (POM) which is used as a globally deployable change framework aimed at multi- national financial services organizations. The approach, as implemented in a number of organizations, focuses on the simplification and adaptation of product line techniques without compromising the essentials associated with successful product line institutionalization and operation.
Product Line concepts are widely used and adopted across a number of industries. Whilst the softw... more Product Line concepts are widely used and adopted across a number of industries. Whilst the software product line concepts are readily accessible to commercial software product companies, the application within corporate environments whose core business is not software has been less evident. What are the types of challenges that large corporate organisations need to overcome? This paper presents a number of hurdles which have been observed during the adoption of the concepts at two large financial services organisations. One particular hurdle relates to the difficulty that business divisions within those organisations have in perceiving a return on investment when a product line is established that crosses business unit boundaries. Furthermore a number of enabling mechanisms, related to funding, IT project and general management aspects are proposed which are showing positive results in facilitating the adoption of Product Line Practices in corporate financial service organisations.
Product Line concepts are widely used and adopted as Product Line Practices. The SEI/CMU has deve... more Product Line concepts are widely used and adopted as Product Line Practices. The SEI/CMU has developed, together with a global community, a body of knowledge that encompasses a set of practices and patterns, that are used for software related product lines. How relevant are these practices to large financial services organizations that construct service oriented platforms? This paper presents some conceptual findings from research studies and implementation projects undertaken by SystemicLogic in South-African and Australian banks and insurance companies. We reason that a move towards Service Lines is needed to capture the benefits in service and more dynamic industries that do not develop software systems for deployment, but software for delivering on-demand process automation capability. The service line concept is outlined and some of the benefi ts and challenges discussed. The overall objective of this paper is to present some of the reasoning behind the development of service line practices .
There exists a need to effectively model and solve recurring business problems within the busines... more There exists a need to effectively model and solve recurring business problems within the business environment. Effective recognition of reusable software artifacts is also of great importance and calls for software product line practices. This document describes the major constructs involved in the creation of a currency converter through patterns, and places it into perspective to the software product line practice. The ultimate aim of the analysis is to illustrate techniques that explore different levels of abstraction. Aspects concerning the structuring of services will also be placed in perspective using the separation continuum. An introduction to the Y-Model as a system modeling approach is given as well as an exploration of patterns, reuse and variability. The application of these techniques will be described through the example of a convert pattern and a currency converter service using Microsoft .NET and J2EE technologies.
The quest for understanding systems and dealing with complexities that exist in and amongst syste... more The quest for understanding systems and dealing with complexities that exist in and amongst systems has never been stronger. Many concepts, frameworks and processes exist today that can assist with the analysis of systems. Systems can represent the human body, political or computer systems for example. Some of these systems are complex and others are simple. A complex system is one that is composed of many parts that interact in heterogeneous ways. It also appears to be orderly and disorderly, regular and irregular, variant and invariant, constant and changing, and stable and unstable. There are common characteristics that must be considered to obtain a proper understanding of the dynamics of a system or interrelated systems. Most systems are dynamic in nature and are exposed to evolutionary forces. This chapter presents a model that helps to describe systems by using a well-known visual modelling standard Unified Modeling Language, (UML), in order to obtain the clear picture of three dimensions needed to understand the inner workings of a system. Each dimension presents its own view, visual models and thinking process of the system under study. The abstract and boundaries dimension is needed to provide scope and context to the other dimensions. With the boundaries set and the abstract defined, the other dimensions deal with the structure and behavioural definitions of the system. The structural definition of a system describes the more static, non-event related information. Behaviour encapsulates the events, stimulus responses and intrinsic behaviours of the system, based as defined by the structure and boundary definitions. Once the dimensions of a system are understood and described, methods are included to test the completeness and correctness of the systemic representation. The chapter continues to discuss the characteristics required in order to implement the model successfully. It also covers the use of the model in relation to an international process and maturity assessment standard, SPICE, and closes by showing how the model is used throughout a design process.
This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application – the evolutio... more This paper describes the development of a real-life dynamic rule-based application – the evolution of development processes, improvements in development, metrics gathered for performance and effort expended during development versus benefits gained. The paper briefly describes the meta-processes used during development: the Product Development Funnel, dictating overall strategic development; and the use of the Learning model, providing continual feedback to the development cycle. The focus of the paper is on the resulting metrics which have been drawn from the development process over the past four years – how can we assure the continual growth of the work-product and be assured that innovations will still occur in the future, rather than stagnation?
So, why did we create this book? For us, this is a reference publication that represents experi... more So, why did we create this book? For us, this is a reference publication that represents experiences and a snapshot of time. These experiences are characteristic of the types of issues that our customers needed us to look at. It does not mean that all the concepts are relevant and appropriate to everybody all of the time. Concepts are explained in a number of different ways and will allow you to get a feel for the type of research performed.
It is important to understand that SystemicLogic is an Applied Research organization. This often equates to the ways in which research institutes operate. The SystemicLogic Research Institute that operates primarily from the Innovation Center is the part of our organization that focuses on delivering reports and other tangible artefacts for businesses to apply “out of the box”. The intent of this volume is to have reference material handy.
SystemicLogic was founded to solve problems for our participants. The participants’ process is used to obtain a clear understanding of the pressing issues faced on a day to day basis. Understanding problems allows us to direct research activities in order to obtain appropriate answers. Answers must be presented in such a way that it instills confidence. The types of answers expected are varied and involve various degrees of detail. We have a lot to learn when it comes to communicating the various types of research artefacts. Hopefully, this volume is one step closer in listening to you.
In reviewing the material for this volume, I was once again amazed at the level of people we have access to at SystemicLogic. It is a privilege to work in such a team of participants. Organizations that participated in the 2003-2004 cycle include; Nedbank, Standard Bank, Absa Bank, First National Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Sanlam, Old Mutual, Hollard Insurance, and Medscheme. Our mode of working allows people to engage at any level, hence the spread of business, process and technology topics.
I need to personally thank the people at GIBS (Gordon Institute of Business Science) who have provided a platform for presenting some of the breakthrough ideas developed at SystemicLogic. We are confident that this ability to bring new and exciting content to the classroom will strengthen our relationship. This volume does not include any of the case studies developed for the class room, giving GIBS a jump start in providing relevant and fresh content.
Our organization is founded on its people. Each person was specially selected for his or her strengths. The SystemicLogic team has sacrificed a lot to assist in establishing this initiative and turn it in to a viable organization. Hang in there team, our hard work and diligence will pay off.
Keep this manual on your shelve or anywhere close by, look at it, page through it, read bits and pieces of it, write in it, draw in it, but never let it gather dust!
We can’t wait to hear your comments, however good or bad.
Dr. Jay van Zyl
SystemicLogic Research Institute
Johannesburg, South Africa, November 2004
This book is intended to provide you with the following:
• An understanding of object orientatio... more This book is intended to provide you with the following:
• An understanding of object orientation concepts.
• A guide to solve business problems by using object orientated concepts.
• A roadmap to deliver effective requirements definitions that fit the business.
• The understanding of how visual models can be used to document business rules.
This book is aimed at giving credence to the Y-Model and its implementations as an international practice. It is essential to business and software consultants that deal with moderate to complex problems.
The purpose of this document is to provide Rational with an overview of how Rubico handles the UM... more The purpose of this document is to provide Rational with an overview of how Rubico handles the UML in business design. It is specifically created to show some of the elements that are used in building an enterprise solution.
It gives a complete overview of the Rubico Methodology and then shows links to the UML (unified modeling language). Also included is a sample model with its related project plan to show how a real life project was implemented.
SystemicLogic as an applied research company is still making inroads into the re- search business... more SystemicLogic as an applied research company is still making inroads into the re- search business landscape. We have shaped and reshaped our portfolio many times over the last three years. Producing research outputs might be seen as an easy process of finding a problem worth solving and then getting on with it. But, we've found that it's not quite that easy. Firstly finding the correct problems and secondly working the process of finding potential solutions require an enormous amount of time and effort.
I have to take my hat off to the many people that contributed to once again make this publication a reality. We are lucky in that our research participants, consulting customers, partners and our staff work diligently to produce world class artifacts. The Value Network was established in 2002 and is still shaped to ensure that maxi- mum value is delivered to our customers.
The theme of this book is different to our first edition in that the classification scheme used in 2004 is replaced with a more practical section oriented method. Business, Process and Technology Landscaping served its purpose in the past, but we need to move onto more topical methods of grouping out outputs. You will probably see a major rework of the ontology by the end of this year the same as what happened in the 2004 re-classification project.
Enterprise Architecture has become a war cry for some organizations to deal with the changes faced in this highly competitive era. How do we create an organization that is agile and yet governed? This is a typical question asked in the context of companies trying to make sense of complexity as they grow and transform them- selves into new modes of operation. What are the key elements that need to be looked at to ensure that innovation is not killed and the current operating environ- ment is not disrupted?
Systems and management complexity and the rethink of how technology is man- aged are on the forefront of the research agenda. How can we leverage the old, im- plement the new and keep our customers happy? Living with legacy environments will not go away any time soon, in actual fact we find that the problem is amplified due to the sheer amount of work and investment required to replace older systems. The promises behind service oriented architecture as a concept are replaced by a sense of reality. We've seen a major re-emergence of initiatives in this area and have found that product line practices can be used to ease the pain of rolling out enterprise wide service oriented initiatives.
In closing, we've seen that “health checks” can deliver extraordinary value if admin- istered well. A health check is a quick way to determine if your actions are in line with the realities on the ground. You may question the validity of doing a quick health assessment, but we've seen time and time again that the results are pretty close to the mark. If the assessment is qualitative or quantitative is not the ques- tion, the underlying assumptions of what's being checked need to be re-looked at as you go through change.
Built to Thrive is about unpacking the drivers that I have noticed in the landscape that do not y... more Built to Thrive is about unpacking the drivers that I have noticed in the landscape that do not yet have a place in our existing vocabulary. It is about ceasing to ignore the signs and beginning to embrace the changes that are becoming more tangible with every day that passes. It is about recognizing the amplified importance of the human as a social being in this dawning age of transparency and systemic activity. The individual becomes the collective as we move into a sphere of shared value-creation, ideation and knowledge dissemination. Existing in this new business landscape is not about eliminating the competition, but rather working together in a bid to share resources and expand far beyond what we could ever hope to achieve as individual organizations. Through Built to Thrive, I hope to open your mind and introduce you to a way of thinking that will fundamentally shift your views, and may provide a lifeline in a world where the new school will rule.
This book proposes various conceptual models that can be used to facilitate process innovation. T... more This book proposes various conceptual models that can be used to facilitate process innovation. The result of this research is that formal processes, such as those presented in various capability based models, do not dampen innovation, nor slow down creativity, but are incomplete in facilitating innovation to its full potential. The research indicates that product innovation increases when the models presented in this book are used. Process Innovation is the fundamental concept needed to facilitate revolutionary and evolutionary process development breakthroughs in organizations that wish to remain sustainable and competitive.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become essential to businesses as it enables organizations to st... more Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become essential to businesses as it enables organizations to stay competitive, streamline operations, and enhance customer experiences. The use of AI in language and image generation can translate into valuable applications for businesses, such as customer service, content creation, and targeted marketing.
There are two main types of machine learning: batch and real-time. Batch learning processes large volumes of data at once and updates the model periodically, while real-time learning continually updates the model as new data becomes available. Understanding which method is more suitable for specific business cases is crucial for optimizing AI implementation.
Despite the potential benefits of AI, businesses must be aware of common misconceptions, such as the belief that AI can replace human intelligence completely or that only large corporations can benefit from its use. Understanding its limitations and potential applications can help organizations harness the power of AI effectively.
Implementing AI in a business can present some risks, such as unanticipated costs or the unintended amplification of biases within data. These risks can be mitigated through thorough planning, transparent communication, and ongoing monitoring of AI systems.
Determining the best use cases for AI implementation within a business involves identifying operational areas where automation, optimization, and prediction can deliver significant value. An example of successful AI implementation is Starbucks' AI-driven personalization engine that offers customers tailored product recommendations, improving their experience and driving customer loyalty.
Business leaders need to have a foundational understanding of the technical aspects of AI in order to make informed decisions and integrate AI systems effectively within their organization. A solid grasp of the technical side of AI allows leaders to engage with their teams effectively and drive innovation.
AI can significantly improve customer engagement and experiences by providing personalized offerings, automating interactions, and offering real-time support. To measure the ROI of AI implementation, businesses can track metrics such as engagement rates, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction scores.
AI can also enhance decision-making processes within a business by generating data-driven insights, automating repetitive tasks, and uncovering hidden trends. Business people can stay up-to-date with the latest AI advancements by attending industry conferences, subscribing to industry publications, and engaging with AI professionals.
Ethical considerations must also be addressed when implementing AI in businesses. Companies should work to ensure their AI technology operates responsibly and does not contribute to biases or discrimination by regularly auditing AI algorithms and promoting diversity in development teams.
In summary, AI is a valuable tool for businesses that can streamline operations, enhance customer engagement and make data-driven decisions. Business leaders must equip themselves with the knowledge to harness AI effectively and ethically, bearing in mind its potential risks and the importance of responsible implementation. By doing so, they can ensure long-term success and maintain a competitive edge in today's rapidly evolving business landscape.
Uploads
Papers
It is important to understand that SystemicLogic is an Applied Research organization. This often equates to the ways in which research institutes operate. The SystemicLogic Research Institute that operates primarily from the Innovation Center is the part of our organization that focuses on delivering reports and other tangible artefacts for businesses to apply “out of the box”. The intent of this volume is to have reference material handy.
SystemicLogic was founded to solve problems for our participants. The participants’ process is used to obtain a clear understanding of the pressing issues faced on a day to day basis. Understanding problems allows us to direct research activities in order to obtain appropriate answers. Answers must be presented in such a way that it instills confidence. The types of answers expected are varied and involve various degrees of detail. We have a lot to learn when it comes to communicating the various types of research artefacts. Hopefully, this volume is one step closer in listening to you.
In reviewing the material for this volume, I was once again amazed at the level of people we have access to at SystemicLogic. It is a privilege to work in such a team of participants. Organizations that participated in the 2003-2004 cycle include; Nedbank, Standard Bank, Absa Bank, First National Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Sanlam, Old Mutual, Hollard Insurance, and Medscheme. Our mode of working allows people to engage at any level, hence the spread of business, process and technology topics.
I need to personally thank the people at GIBS (Gordon Institute of Business Science) who have provided a platform for presenting some of the breakthrough ideas developed at SystemicLogic. We are confident that this ability to bring new and exciting content to the classroom will strengthen our relationship. This volume does not include any of the case studies developed for the class room, giving GIBS a jump start in providing relevant and fresh content.
Our organization is founded on its people. Each person was specially selected for his or her strengths. The SystemicLogic team has sacrificed a lot to assist in establishing this initiative and turn it in to a viable organization. Hang in there team, our hard work and diligence will pay off.
Keep this manual on your shelve or anywhere close by, look at it, page through it, read bits and pieces of it, write in it, draw in it, but never let it gather dust!
We can’t wait to hear your comments, however good or bad.
Dr. Jay van Zyl
SystemicLogic Research Institute
Johannesburg, South Africa, November 2004
• An understanding of object orientation concepts.
• A guide to solve business problems by using object orientated concepts.
• A roadmap to deliver effective requirements definitions that fit the business.
• The understanding of how visual models can be used to document business rules.
This book is aimed at giving credence to the Y-Model and its implementations as an international practice. It is essential to business and software consultants that deal with moderate to complex problems.
It gives a complete overview of the Rubico Methodology and then shows links to the UML (unified modeling language). Also included is a sample model with its related project plan to show how a real life project was implemented.
I have to take my hat off to the many people that contributed to once again make this publication a reality. We are lucky in that our research participants, consulting customers, partners and our staff work diligently to produce world class artifacts. The Value Network was established in 2002 and is still shaped to ensure that maxi- mum value is delivered to our customers.
The theme of this book is different to our first edition in that the classification scheme used in 2004 is replaced with a more practical section oriented method. Business, Process and Technology Landscaping served its purpose in the past, but we need to move onto more topical methods of grouping out outputs. You will probably see a major rework of the ontology by the end of this year the same as what happened in the 2004 re-classification project.
Enterprise Architecture has become a war cry for some organizations to deal with the changes faced in this highly competitive era. How do we create an organization that is agile and yet governed? This is a typical question asked in the context of companies trying to make sense of complexity as they grow and transform them- selves into new modes of operation. What are the key elements that need to be looked at to ensure that innovation is not killed and the current operating environ- ment is not disrupted?
Systems and management complexity and the rethink of how technology is man- aged are on the forefront of the research agenda. How can we leverage the old, im- plement the new and keep our customers happy? Living with legacy environments will not go away any time soon, in actual fact we find that the problem is amplified due to the sheer amount of work and investment required to replace older systems. The promises behind service oriented architecture as a concept are replaced by a sense of reality. We've seen a major re-emergence of initiatives in this area and have found that product line practices can be used to ease the pain of rolling out enterprise wide service oriented initiatives.
In closing, we've seen that “health checks” can deliver extraordinary value if admin- istered well. A health check is a quick way to determine if your actions are in line with the realities on the ground. You may question the validity of doing a quick health assessment, but we've seen time and time again that the results are pretty close to the mark. If the assessment is qualitative or quantitative is not the ques- tion, the underlying assumptions of what's being checked need to be re-looked at as you go through change.
There are two main types of machine learning: batch and real-time. Batch learning processes large volumes of data at once and updates the model periodically, while real-time learning continually updates the model as new data becomes available. Understanding which method is more suitable for specific business cases is crucial for optimizing AI implementation.
Despite the potential benefits of AI, businesses must be aware of common misconceptions, such as the belief that AI can replace human intelligence completely or that only large corporations can benefit from its use. Understanding its limitations and potential applications can help organizations harness the power of AI effectively.
Implementing AI in a business can present some risks, such as unanticipated costs or the unintended amplification of biases within data. These risks can be mitigated through thorough planning, transparent communication, and ongoing monitoring of AI systems.
Determining the best use cases for AI implementation within a business involves identifying operational areas where automation, optimization, and prediction can deliver significant value. An example of successful AI implementation is Starbucks' AI-driven personalization engine that offers customers tailored product recommendations, improving their experience and driving customer loyalty.
Business leaders need to have a foundational understanding of the technical aspects of AI in order to make informed decisions and integrate AI systems effectively within their organization. A solid grasp of the technical side of AI allows leaders to engage with their teams effectively and drive innovation.
AI can significantly improve customer engagement and experiences by providing personalized offerings, automating interactions, and offering real-time support. To measure the ROI of AI implementation, businesses can track metrics such as engagement rates, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction scores.
AI can also enhance decision-making processes within a business by generating data-driven insights, automating repetitive tasks, and uncovering hidden trends. Business people can stay up-to-date with the latest AI advancements by attending industry conferences, subscribing to industry publications, and engaging with AI professionals.
Ethical considerations must also be addressed when implementing AI in businesses. Companies should work to ensure their AI technology operates responsibly and does not contribute to biases or discrimination by regularly auditing AI algorithms and promoting diversity in development teams.
In summary, AI is a valuable tool for businesses that can streamline operations, enhance customer engagement and make data-driven decisions. Business leaders must equip themselves with the knowledge to harness AI effectively and ethically, bearing in mind its potential risks and the importance of responsible implementation. By doing so, they can ensure long-term success and maintain a competitive edge in today's rapidly evolving business landscape.