Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Information Technology (IT) artefacts, such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs), promise much with regard to meeting the requirements of organisations. In the knowledge economy, organisations require real time data, information flow and integration of business processes to remain financially viable and competitive. However, organisations often fail to harness ERP systems effectively. This thesis attempts to unpack a section of the complex nature of ERPs with emphasis on the post-adoption phase of the systems’ development life cycle. This study explores the complex interface between rigid IT artefacts like ERPs and the, often unpredictable, reality of organisational work processes. Focus falls, in particular, on the workaround practices that end users of the system perform and the effects these have on the integrity of the business process. Based on an extensive literature review, an integrated framework for business process integrity is developed and formulated. This model is applied to the analysis of a qualitative data set compiled during an empirical investigation of a large Local Government Organisation utilising a proprietary ERP product. The data set includes semi-structured interviews with members of the ERP user community relating to their handling of impositions or deficiencies experienced when using the artefact. To define the relationship between business process integrity and workaround practices, each workaround identified is individually analysed to determine the reasons and outcomes that are associated with its enactment. Results indicate that workaround practices have diverse impacts on the various dimensions of business process integrity. While, in certain scenarios, they pose serious threats to organisational performance, they also play a particularly important role in enhancing the organisation’s ability to handle non-standard business cases. Despite their informal and often covert nature, workaround practices are at the heart of the balance between control and flexibility in organisations and their existence suggests that, contrary to common beliefs, ERPs only have limited agency in determining organisational workflow. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inligtingstegnologie (IT) artefakte, soos ondernemingshulpbronbeplanningstelses (OHBs), beloof baie ten einde aan organisasies se vereistes te voldoen. In die kennis-ekonomie vereis organisasies regstreekse data, inligtingsvloei en integrasie van besigheidprosesse om finansieel lewensvatbaar en kompeterend te bly. Dikwels faal organisasies egter om OHB stelsels effektief te benut. Hierdie tesis poog om ʼn deel van die ingewikkelde aard van OHBs te ontleed, met klem op die postaanvaardingsfase in die stelsels se lewensiklus. Hierdie studie ondersoek die ingewikkelde koppelvlak tussen rigiede IT artefakte soos OHBs en die dikwels onvoorspelbare realiteit van organisatoriese werk prosesse. Die klem val in besonder op die alternatiewe praktyke wat eindgebruikers van die stelsel gebruik, en die uitwerking wat hierdie praktyke op die integriteit van die besigheidsproses het. Gegrond op ʼn uitgebreide literatuurstudie, is ʼn geïntegreerde raamwerk vir besigheidsprosesintegriteit ontwikkel en geformuleer. Hierdie model is toegepas op die ontleding van ʼn kwalitatiewe datastel wat saamgestel is tydens ʼn empiriese ondersoek van ʼn Plaaslike Regeringsorganisasie wat ʼn privaat patent OHB-produk gebruik. Die datastel sluit semigestruktureerde onderhoude in wat met lede van die OHB gebruikersgemeenskap gevoer is met betrekking tot hul hantering van opleggings of tekortkominge wat tydens die gebruik van die artefakte ondervind word. Om die verhouding tussen besigheidsprosesintegriteit en die toepassing van omweë te definieer, is elke geïdentifiseerde alternatief individueel ontleed om sodoende die redes en uitkomste wat met die uitvoer daarvan geassosieer word, te bepaal. Resultate dui aan dat alternatiewe gebruike diverse uitwerkings op die verskillende dimensies van besigheidsprosesintegriteit het. Terwyl, in sommige gevalle, dit ernstige bedreigings vir organisatoriese prestasie inhou, speel dit ook ʼn besonder belangrike rol in die verbetering van die organisasie se nie-standaard bedryfsake. Ten spyte van hul informele en dikwels verborge aard, is alternatiewe gebruike die hart van die balans tussen beheer en buigsaamheid in organisasies, en hul bestaan dui daarop dat, in teendeel met algemene oortuigings, OHBs net beperkte werking het met betrekking tot die bepaling van organisatoriese werksvloei.

Orientador: Renato de Campos / Banca: Rodolfo Florence Teixeira Junior / Banca: Marcius Fabius Henriques de Carvalho / Resumo: Para o aumento da capacidade gerencial e competitiva das empresas um dos principais recursos é o uso dos sistemas integrados de gestão ou Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Os ERPs livres de código aberto têm ganhado uma aceitação cada vez maior, oferecendo vantagens como diminuição dos custos e o acesso ao código. Para usufruir destas vantagens são necessários métodos e ferramentas adequadas para o levantamento do modelo de requisitos de negócios, visando facilitar o desenvolvimento ou implantação do software. Linguagens de modelagem de empresas contribuem para a definição de requisitos de empresas por possuir sintaxe e semântica mais adequada para este fim. Atualmente várias linguagens de modelagem de empresas são propostas, como por exemplo, a linguagem CIMOSA. Pretende-se nesta pesquisa estudar e comparar linguagens de modelagem de empresas, visando definir um conjunto de construtores de linguagem que mais se adéqüe ao desenvolvimento e adaptação de ERPs, em específicos para ERPs livres de código aberto. Também, são propostos uma estrutura conceitual e diretrizes para a passagem de modelos de empresa para o modelo de sistema ERP5. / Abstract: In order to improve the competitive and management capacity of a company, one of the main resources is the use of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The ERPs free of open code have gained an increasing acceptance, offering advantages such as lower costs and access to the codes. To enjoy these benefits, appropriate methods and tools are necessary in order to set up the model of business requirements, to facilitate the development or customization of software codes. Business modeling languages contribute for the definition of companies requirements because they have syntax and semantics more appropriate for this purpose. Nowadays, several languages are proposed for business modeling, for example CIMOSA. The main objective of this work is to study business modeling languages, comparing them and mapping the builder of CIMOSA language. Based on the definition of a more complete group of business modeling languages builders, and consistent with ERP5 classes, it is proposed guidelines for the implementation or customization of the ERP5, through the passage of a business model to the information system model, in a more systematic and appropriate way. / Mestre

The aim of the Diploma work was to evaluate the phases of the enterprise lifecycle, as well as to focus on the phase of the crisis and consequently to reveal the impact of the crisis by means of a system of indicators. In the theoretical part of the Diploma work, the enterprise lifecycle including its individual phases were described followed by the causes of the crisis and the possibilities of financial rehabilitation. In the practical part of the Diploma work, the particular enterprise was introduced at first, followed by the desription of its economic characteristics, which were used to identify the phases of the enterprise lifecycle for the period 2004 ? 2012. Corresponding results were found out with respect to the enterprise activities. The year 2009 meant crisis for the enterprise. The crisis was caused by the ongoing global economic recession, as well as by strong links to foreign partners associated with high foreign exchange losses. The following year, however, the enterprise recovered from the crisis and launched the re-growth phase, which in 2012 was transformed into the phase of stability, maturity, and with which the enterprise would like to keep up for as long as possible.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-07-16Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:27:00Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 rochetti_at_me_bauru.pdf: 1501607 bytes, checksum: 61def01439b574afddb60f9158749ba5 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Para o aumento da capacidade gerencial e competitiva das empresas um dos principais recursos é o uso dos sistemas integrados de gestão ou Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Os ERPs livres de código aberto têm ganhado uma aceitação cada vez maior, oferecendo vantagens como diminuição dos custos e o acesso ao código. Para usufruir destas vantagens são necessários métodos e ferramentas adequadas para o levantamento do modelo de requisitos de negócios, visando facilitar o desenvolvimento ou implantação do software. Linguagens de modelagem de empresas contribuem para a definição de requisitos de empresas por possuir sintaxe e semântica mais adequada para este fim. Atualmente várias linguagens de modelagem de empresas são propostas, como por exemplo, a linguagem CIMOSA. Pretende-se nesta pesquisa estudar e comparar linguagens de modelagem de empresas, visando definir um conjunto de construtores de linguagem que mais se adéqüe ao desenvolvimento e adaptação de ERPs, em específicos para ERPs livres de código aberto. Também, são propostos uma estrutura conceitual e diretrizes para a passagem de modelos de empresa para o modelo de sistema ERP5. / In order to improve the competitive and management capacity of a company, one of the main resources is the use of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The ERPs free of open code have gained an increasing acceptance, offering advantages such as lower costs and access to the codes. To enjoy these benefits, appropriate methods and tools are necessary in order to set up the model of business requirements, to facilitate the development or customization of software codes. Business modeling languages contribute for the definition of companies requirements because they have syntax and semantics more appropriate for this purpose. Nowadays, several languages are proposed for business modeling, for example CIMOSA. The main objective of this work is to study business modeling languages, comparing them and mapping the builder of CIMOSA language. Based on the definition of a more complete group of business modeling languages builders, and consistent with ERP5 classes, it is proposed guidelines for the implementation or customization of the ERP5, through the passage of a business model to the information system model, in a more systematic and appropriate way.

In order to solve a problem of Business and IT Alignment (BITA) it is important to consider various dimensions of it: strategic, structural, social and cultural. In the context of dealing with BITA, Enterprise Modeling (EM) is an acknowledged and widely used practice. On one hand, EM facilitates the creation of integrated models that capture and represent different focal areas of an enterprise, there-fore it allowing to obtain a multidimensional view on an enterprise and to inte-grate these multiple dimensions into a coherent structure. These capabilities make EM a powerful tool for dealing with the strategic and structural dimen-sions of BITA. On the other hand, solving a BITA problem requires dealing with the numerous points of view of the stakeholders and creating a shared under-standing between them, which refers to the social and cultural dimensions of BITA. In this regard EM is also able to provide support to the development of an understanding about the current multidimensional praxis and future vision and strategies. Thus, EM has a high potential for dealing with the strategic, structur-al, social and cultural dimensions of BITA. This licentiate thesis investigates the applicability of EM in the light of BITA and proposes a framework that allocates intentions of EM application within the frame of the Strategic Alignment Model. The framework positions EM conceptually in the context of BITA and identifies a number of EM challenges and recommendations to suggest how EM can be used to facilitate BITA.

nÃo hà / O trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a dinÃmica da evoluÃÃo no valor das empresas, descrita pelas variÃveis Equity e Entreprise Value, das Companhias de capital aberto do setor de mineraÃÃo e siderurgia listadas na BOVESPA, entre janeiro de 2002 a dezembro de 2012, o qual contribui com a literatura ao utilizar como ferramenta de anÃlise um modelo autoregressivo com valor limite endÃgeno, e ajuda a captar se existe mudanÃa de padrÃo do valor das empresas ante as alteraÃÃes no cenÃrio e na polÃtica econÃmica, para prever um valor mais justo das empresas no futuro, uma vez que sua utilizaÃÃo à de extrema importÃncia para tomada de decisÃes empresariais e outras finalidades. Indicadores quantitativos para essas duas variÃveis foram calculados e a metodologia permitiu investigar, simultaneamente, a linearidade e estacionaridade de suas trajetÃrias. Os resultados mostraram, atravÃs das variÃveis selecionadas, ocorreram trÃs situaÃÃes diferentes entre as empresas: i) dinÃmicas lineares, nÃo estacionaridade para o Equity e Enterprise Value, atinge a Ferbasa e Equity a Vale; porÃm o Enterprise Value da Vale segue uma dinÃmica estacionÃria; ii) dinÃmicas nÃo lineares, o que segue uma mudanÃa de padrÃo nas variÃveis selecionadas, para Equity e o Enterprise Value, adicionalmente, nÃo estacionaridade nos dois regimes, para o Equity e Enterprise Value, atingem a Gerdau e Usiminas, e iii) dinÃmica nÃo linear para o Equity e dinÃmica linear para o Enterprise Value para a companhia SiderÃrgica Nacional, que adicionalmente, apresenta para o Equity com raiz unitÃria parcial e globalmente estacionÃria, e para o Enterprise Value apresenta nÃo estacionaridade. / The study aims to evaluate the dynamics of evolution of corporate value; described by the variables Equity and Enterprise Value, the publicly traded companies in the mining and steel sector listed on the BOVESPA, between January 2002 and December 2012, which contributes with to the literature to use as a tool to analyze an autoregressive model with endogenous threshold value, and helps to capture changes on the default value of the companies placed on our current scenario and economic policy, to provide a more fair value of companies in the future since their use is of utmost importance to business decision-making and other purposes. Quantitative indicators for these two variables were calculated and the methodology allowed to investigate both the linearity and stationarity of their trajectories. The results showed, through the selected variables, three different situations among the selected companies: i) linear dynamics, non-stationarity for Equity and Enterprise Value, reaches Ferbasa and Equity the Vale; but the Enterprise Value of the Vale follows a stationary dynamics;ii) non-linear dynamics, which follows a pattern change in selected variables for Equity and Enterprise Value additionally non-stationarity in the two regimes, for Equity and Enterprise Value reaches Gerdau and Usiminas; and iii) non-linear dynamic for Equity and linear for the Enterprise Value for the National Steel Company, which additionally presents for Equity partial and globally stationary unit root, dynamic and Enterprise Value presents non-stationarity.

nÃo hà / A partir de dados trimestrais para o valor de mercado do Equity (capital prÃprio) e o Enterprise Value (valor de mercado da empresa) de empresas de capital aberto do setor de alimentos e bebidas listadas na Bovespa, o presente trabalho avalia como a instabilidade econÃmica do perÃodo 2002-2012 impactou o valor de empresas selecionadas. Em particular, foi selecionada uma amostra de 4 (quatro) empresas: AMBEV, BRFoods, PÃo de AÃÃcar e Rasip Agro, no referido perÃodo e Ãs duas variÃveis supracitadas foi aplicado um modelo autoregressivo com valor limite endÃgeno com o objetivo de captar mudanÃas de regime na dinÃmica descrita pelo valor dessas empresas, bem como de descrever o processo estocÃstico descrito pelas variÃveis selecionadas no perÃodo acima mencionado. Os indicadores quantitativos para essas variÃveis foram entÃo calculados e a metodologia permitiu investigar a linearidade e estacionaridade de suas trajetÃrias, produzindo resultados que revelaram situaÃÃes diferentes para as empresas em suas duas variÃveis: i) Capital prÃprio e valor da empresa de Ambev e BRFoods apresentaram dinÃmicas lineares com tendÃncias explosivas; ii) O valor de PÃo de AÃÃcar apresentou uma dinÃmica nÃo-linear e raiz unitÃria com tendÃncia explosiva, porÃm o Equity apresentou dinÃmica nÃo-linear e raiz unitÃria parcial com valor limite endÃgeno estimado de 5,89; iii) Rasip Agro apresentou dinÃmica nÃo-linear e raiz unitÃria parcial, com estacionaridade acima do limiar estimado. Em conjunto, tais constataÃÃes sugerem que muito embora se tratem de empresas de setores de bens essenciais, a instabilidade econÃmica impactou de forma diferenciada no valor das empresas: o tamanho econÃmico de Ambev e BRfoods se mostra como causa natural da nÃo mudanÃa de regime na dinÃmica de seu valor, alÃm do fato de estas empresas estarem menos sujeitas a choques idiossincrÃticos. / From quarterly data for the market value of equity ( equity ) and Enterprise Value ( market value of the company ) of publicly traded companies in the food and beverage sector listed on the Bovespa, this paper examines how the economic instability period 2002-2012 impacted the value of selected companies. Specifically, we selected a sample of four (4) companies: AMBEV, BRFoods, Bread-cane group and Agro Rasip during that period to these two variables, an autoregressive model was applied with endogenous threshold value in order to capture changes of regime in dynamics described by the value of these companies as well as to describe the stochastic process described by for variables selected in period abovementioned. Quantitative indicators for these variables were then calculated and the methodology allowed to investigate the linearity and stationarity of their trajectories, producing results that revealed different situations for companies in its two variables: i) value of equity and enterprise value of AmBev and BRFoods showed linear dynamic with explosive tendencies; ii) the value of Bread-cane group presented a nonlinear dynamic and explosive unit root trend, but the value of Equity presented nonlinear dynamics and partial unit root with endogenous estimated value threshold of 5.89; iii) The Rasip Agro introduced nonlinear dynamics and partial unit roots with stationary above the estimated threshold. Together, these findings suggest that although be they of essential goods sector enterprises, economic instability impacted differently on the value of firms. The economic size of AmBev and BRFoods is natural cause of no regime change in dynamic of its value, and the fact that these companies are less subject to idiosyncratic shocks.

Increasingly, eGovernment (the use of ICTs in order to achieve better government) is moving its focus from web presence and electronic service provision to striving for an interoperable public sector. Interoperability refers to the ability for information exchange across organizational borders, concerning technology as well as business aspects. Policy for such change has been formulated and implementation is currently taking place in many government sectors. In such programs there is a strong need for coordination with regard to the way in which interoperability is to be implemented. Interoperability work requires coordination, as it is a complex endeavour because of the interrelatedness of information systems, public services, departments and organizations, as well as policies, constraints and regulations. In order to achieve interoperability, architectural approaches are increasingly used in the public sector to try to coordinate interoperability work. One such approach, Enterprise Architecture (EA), is becoming increasingly influential. EA has been defined as an overview of the complete business processes and business systems, both in terms of how they overlap and their interrelatedness. However, previous research show that state-of-the-art EA is seldom fully applied in practice. Previous research has also proposed that information infrastructures and architectures should be seen as evolving dynamically during the implementation process through changing relationships between actors. The implementation of IS architecture for interoperability is thus seen as an evolving process of social production. As the research field is still immature further research on the evolution of public information infrastructures and architectures is needed, as well as how the strategic alignment of handling of goals, and ambiguities in implementation is done.   This thesis hence addresses the challenges of implementing national public sector interoperability as an evolving process by addressing the research question: How is interoperability interpreted and enacted by different actors in public sector implementation?   In order to approach the research question, an interpretive case study is performed. The case studied in this thesis is from the implementation of the Strategy for eHealth in Sweden, where healthcare is mainly publicly funded, and catered for by 20 county councils (who mainly focus on healthcare, and 290 municipalities (who also cater for a great deal of other public services). The case is an example of how interoperability is implemented, from the early stages of outlining a general picture of goals and requirements, to the formulation of a strategy and an architecture. This case is also an example of how EA influences an interoperability program through enterprise thinking.   The research uses an interpretive case study approach influenced by Actor-Network Theory (ANT). ANT is used as a toolbox for telling stories about technology in practice, as emergent in socio-material relations. A number of complementary qualitative methods are used. These include semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis, with the foremost part of the empirical material being first-hand.   In order to understand interoperability implementation in the public sector I examine the background to eGovernment implementation, by contrasting conceptualizations of eGovernment evolution to contemporary theories of public policy implementation. It is shown that, during the last decade, stage models have been used as tools for describing, predicting and directing the evolution of eGovernment.  The stage model approach has been criticized for presenting a linear development which has little empirical support and delimits the understanding of eGovernment development as a dynamic process. Newer stage models have started to take this criticism into consideration and alternative models on eGovernment have also been developed. Consequently, eGovernment implementation is in this thesis perceived as a process in which technologies, policies and organizations are in a process of mutual shaping, where policymaking and policy implementation are intermingled. Implementing interoperability is hence not a matter of disseminating a policy that is to be implemented in every setting exactly as stated on paper, but a process in which the goals and means of interoperability are constantly being negotiated. Also, EA has been proposed as an approach to treat technology and business in the public sector as interrelated. However, since previous research show that state-of-the-art EA is seldom fully applied in public sector practice, the concept of enterprise thinking is developed in this thesis. Enterprise thinking is intended to be a concept that describes EA as a contemporary zeitgeist which in practice is adopted in varying ways.   The results of the thesis show how interoperability in eHealth was roughly outlined before implementation although still containing conflicts and ambiguities. Central to this thesis is the controversy of defining “the enterprise”, as the health care sector was delimited as one enterprise, which became increasingly problematic during implementation. This to a large extent concerned municipalities, whose business area stretched much wider than just the health care sector, and hence the definition of the enterprise became problematic. Another central aspect was legal obstacles to cooperation, as there was a clash between the values of efficiency and patient privacy as a result of a new law that had been implemented in order to allow for information sharing. The legal grounds for sharing information proved to be problematic, which lead to that several involved actors perceived that a large portion of the patients in health care could not benefit from interoperability as their information could not be shared despite this law. The legal challenges also dampened the enthusiasm for the eHealth program as a whole.    The program had also outlined a technology architecture before implementation. This architecture was however treated in conflicting ways, both as a blueprint (something to be implemented) and a tool for communication (as a way of discussing what was to be implemented). For instance, several municipalities perceived that the planned infrastructure was unsuitable to their business needs (as it did not meet the requirements of other actors in eGovernment), and thus questioned it, using it as a tool for communication rather than a blueprint. Meanwhile, other actors argued that the blueprint had already been decided, and thus needed to be implemented.  The case also shed light on the use of informal networks, outside traditional bureaucracy, as a means to deal with interoperability. Such networks were used in order to align actions and perceptions of a large number of autonomous municipalities. This revealed issues concerning local decision as knowledge of, and resources for, ICT and architectural work was lacking in several municipalities. Also, as the networks lacked formal power no decisions could be taken jointly, but in the end had to be negotiated locally. This made coordinated decision making hard as the processes were lengthy and often lacked clear incentives. Furthermore, ambiguous feedback from national authorities, as well as an overall lack of understanding among local actors, concerning what was legal to do in terms of procurement and information sharing, complicated the situation further. These findings are summarized in four main conclusions;   The process of defining which organizations are to be made interoperable, or what is to be considered as “the enterprise”, is a political process which might be brought into question and require re-negotiations throughout implementation, as the drawing of boundaries of “the enterprise” can be filled with conflict.   Different perspectives on an enterprise, from different architectural viewpoints, are often described as complementary, and it has previously been shown that different architectural metaphors can be used by different actors during implementation. However, in practice, different use of metaphors for architectures can open up for discussion and conflict. These may not only be different, but may also contradict other actors’ use of metaphors, since different metaphors might clash.   Interoperability work can be a novel task for some local governments. Therefore, there is a need for negotiation and to establish forms of formal decision making and informal dissemination because such structures might be lacking. It should be anticipated that implementation might be slow because of a lack of understanding about interoperability programs (particularly in terms of something other than ICT). In addition, there may be few forums for coordinated decision making, or there may be obstructions in the form of prior formal and legal arrangements.    Enterprise thinking is interconnected with Enterprise Architecture as a zeitgeist for interoperability work. It draws upon EA as an ideal, whilst acknowledging that public organizations are influenced by this zeitgeist, although practical conditions might not allow for adoption of an EA approach. Enterprise thinking thus refers to the notion of EA as an ideal, not as a specific way of applying EA.  Enterprise thinking has a process focus on interoperability. ICT, business goals, and work practices are perceived as interconnected, and hence need to be treated from a holistic perspective. How this is approached is, however, dependent upon the context in which it is implemented.   Further research efforts could approach how enterprise thinking affects interoperability work in the long run with a longitudinal approach. Also, as this thesis has shown how the use of different architectural metaphors can clash, further research could focus on the positive and negative effects of negotiations being initiated by such conflict. From a project management perspective the risks and benefits of using smaller projects as “enrolment devices” for interoperability programs, where an architecture cannot be pushed but is voluntary, should be of interest. Furthermore the use of EA as an ideal which cannot be fully followed in several public settings, although might intentionally be used as a guiding light, is interesting for further research.  For instance, it would be of interest to see how the rhetoric of EA may be applied in practice in order to legitimate programs. This is of interest as to examine to which extent the use of such concepts influence actual practice, or if they are only “empty words”. The conceptualization of enterprise thinking proposed in the conclusions of this thesis can be used in further research. Indeed, they could be useful for investigating different approaches, influenced by EA, in different contexts. For instance, it may be of interest to countries that might not share the same institutional characteristics of Sweden, but are influenced by enterprise thinking in different ways. This would be of interest for outlining different practical approaches to enterprise thinking. Also, the further development in Sweden specifically could be of interest, as other sectors are at the time of writing preparing their own interoperability programs, and aim to benefit from the lessons learned in the healthcare sector. / I ökande utsträckning har e-förvaltningens (användningen av IKT för att förbättra verksamheten i offentlig sektor) fokus förflyttats från webb-närvaro och elektroniska tjänster mot att sträva efter en interoperabel offentlig sektor. Interoperabilitet avser möjligheten för informationsutbyte över verksamheters olika gränser, vilket innefattar teknologiska såväl som organisatoriska aspekter. Policys för sådana förändring har utarbetats och implementeras för närvarande i flera offentliga organisationer. I sådana program finns det ett starkt behov av samordning gällande det sätt på vilket interoperabilitet skall genomföras. Interoperabilitetsarbete kräver således samordning, eftersom det är en komplex uppgift på grund sammanvävda informationssystem, offentliga tjänster, organisationer, policys, begränsningar och regler. För att uppnå interoperabilitet används arkitekturella tillvägagångssätt alltmer inom den offentliga sektorn, för att försöka samordna arbetet. Ett sådant tillvägagångssätt, Enterprise Architecture (EA), har fått ett ökande inflytande. EA har definierats som en översikt av hela affärsprocesser och affärssystem, både vad gäller hur de överlappar med varandra och hur de hänger samman. Dock visar tidigare forskning att EA i praktiken sällan tillämpas fullt ut. Tidigare forskning har också påvisat att informationsinfrastrukturer och arkitekturer bör ses som dynamiskt framväxande under implementeringsprocessen, genom förändrade relationer mellan aktörer. Implementering av informationssystemsarkitektur för interoperabilitet bör därmed ses som en framväxande och socialt producerad process. Då forskningsområdet fortfarande är omoget behövs ytterligare forskning om framväxten av offentliga informationsinfrastrukturer och arkitekturer, samt hur strategisk sammanjämkning av mål och oklarheter i implementeringen sker.   Denna avhandling behandlar därför utmaningarna som finns i implementeringen av interoperabilitet i offentlig sektor, som en framväxande process, genom att behandla frågeställningen: Hur tolkas och sätts interoperabilitet i praktiken av olika aktörer under implementering i offentlig sektor? För att närma sig frågeställningen utförs en tolkande fallstudie. Fallet som studerats i denna avhandling är från implementeringen av strategin IT-strategin för vård och omsorg (eHälsostrategin) i Sverige, där vården i huvudsak är offentligt finansierad, och tillhandahålls av 20 landsting (som huvudsakligen fokuserar på sjukvård), och 290 kommuner (som också tillhandahåller en mängd andra offentliga tjänster). Fallet är ett exempel på hur interoperabilitet implementeras, från de tidiga skeden då en generell bild av mål och krav målas upp, till utformningen av en strategi och en arkitektur. Detta fall är också ett exempel på hur EA påverkar ett interoperabilitetsprogram via ”enterprise thinking”. En fallstudie genomförs med en tolkande ansats, influerad av Actor-Network Theory (ANT). ANT används som en verktygslåda för att berätta historier om teknik i praktiken, som framväxande genom sociomateriella relationer.  Merparten av det empiriska materialet har samlats in i förstahand och ett antal kompletterande kvalitativa metoder används. Dessa metoder inkluderar semi-strukturerade intervjuer, observationer och dokumentanalys. För att förstå interoperabilitetsimplementering i offentlig sektor undersöker jag bakgrunden till implementation av e-förvaltning, genom att kontrastera begreppsbildningar av hur e-förvaltningen växer fram mot samtida teorier om implementation i offentlig sektor. Jag påvisar att under det senaste decenniet har stegmodeller använts som verktyg för att beskriva, förutsäga och styra utvecklingen av e-förvaltning. Denna typ av modeller har kritiserats då de framhåller en linjär utveckling som har bristande empiriskt stöd och begränsar förståelsen för e-förvaltningens framväxt som en dynamisk process. Nyare stegmodeller har börjat ta hänsyn till denna kritik och alternativa modeller på e-förvaltning har också utvecklats. Följaktligen ses i denna avhandling implementeringen av e-förvaltning som en process där teknik, policy och organisationer är i en ständig process av ömsesidig påverkan, där policyskapande och policyimplementering är sammanvävt. Att implementera interoperabilitet är därför inte en fråga om att sprida en policy som skall genomföras av varje aktör så som det står angivet på pappret, utan en process där mål och metoder för interoperabilitet ständigt omförhandlas. EA har föreslagits som ett tillvägagångssätt för att behandla teknik och verksamhet som integrerade. Dock, eftersom tidigare forskning visar att EA sällan tillämpas fullt ut i praktiken i offentlig sektor, så utvecklas begreppet enterprise thinking i denna avhandling. Enterprise thinking är avsett att vara ett koncept som beskriver EA som en samtida tidsandan som i praktiken närmas på olika sätt. Resultaten i avhandlingen visar hur interoperabilitet i e-hälsa skisserades ut grovt innan implementeringen, i en bild som innehöll konflikter och tvetydigheter. Centralt för denna avhandling är problematiken i att definiera verksamheten (”the enterprise”), då hälso- och sjukvårdssektorn var avgränsad som en verksamhet, vilket blev allt mer problematiskt under implementeringen. Detta berörde till stor del kommuner, vars verksamhetsområde sträcker sig mycket bredare än bara hälso- och sjukvården. Därmed blev definitionen av verksamheten problematisk. En annan central aspekt var juridiska hinder för samverkan, då det fanns en konflikt mellan värdena effektivitet och patientens integritet. Detta var delvis en följd av en ny lag som hade införts just i syfte att möjliggöra informationsutbyte. De rättsliga grunderna för att dela information visade sig vara problematiska, vilket ledde till att flera inblandade aktörer uppfattade att en stor del av patienterna i vården inte kunde dra nytta av interoperabilitet, eftersom deras information inte kunde delas trots denna lagändring. De rättsliga utmaningarna dämpade också entusiasmen för eHälsoprogrammet som helhet.    Programmet hade också skisserat ut en teknikarkitektur innan implementeringen. Denna arkitektur behandlades dock på motstridiga sätt, både som en ”ritning” (en klar bild av vad som skulle genomföras) och som ett verktyg för kommunikation (som ett sätt att diskutera vad som skulle genomförts). Till exempel uppfattade flera kommuner att den planerade infrastrukturen var olämpliga för deras verksamhetsbehov (då den inte uppfyllde kraven från andra aktörer inom e-förvaltning), och ifrågasatte därmed den genom att använda arkitekturen som ett verktyg för kommunikation snarare än en ritning. Samtidigt menade andra aktörer att man redan hade tagit beslut om denna ritning och att den därmed skulle följas. Fallstudien kastar också ljus på användningen av informella nätverk, utanför den traditionella byråkratin, som ett sätt för att arbeta med interoperabilitetsfrågor. Sådana nätverk användes i syfte att sammanjämka åtgärder och uppfattningar hos ett stort antal självstyrande aktörer. Detta visade på en problematik gällande lokalt beslutsfattande och resurser gällande IKT och arkitekturellt arbete, då kompetenser och erfarenheter för detta saknades hos flera kommuner. Relaterat till detta är att i de nätverk där diskussionerna fördes saknades även formell makt, och inga beslut kunde fattas gemensamt därigenom. I slutändan var man istället tvungna att diskutera de frågor som togs upp där lokalt. Detta gjorde samordnat beslutsfattande svårt eftersom processerna var långa och ofta saknade tydliga incitament. Dessutom fanns en problematik i att nationella aktörer ofta gav tvetydig respons på frågor, samt en allmän brist på förståelse bland lokala aktörer, gällande vad som var lagligt att göra beträffande upphandling och informationsutbyte. Detta komplicerade situationen ytterligare. Dessa resultat sammanfattas i fyra huvudsakliga slutsatser; 1. Processen med att definiera vilka organisationer som skall göras interoperabla, eller vad som ska betraktas som ”verksamheten”, är en politisk process som kan ifrågasättas och kräva omförhandlingar under implementeringen, eftersom hur man definierar gränserna kring ”verksamheten” kan vara konfliktfyllt. 2. Olika perspektiv på en verksamhet, från olika arkitekturella perspektiv, beskrivs ofta som komplementära, och det har tidigare visats att olika arkitekturella metaforer kan användas av olika aktörer under implementeringen. I praktiken kan dock olika användning av arkitekturella metaforer öppna upp för diskussion och konflikt. Dessa är inte nödvändigtvis bara annorlunda och komplementära, utan kan också motsäga andra aktörers användning av metaforer, då olika metaforer kan kollidera. 3. Interoperabilitetsarbete kan vara en ny uppgift för lokala aktörer. Det finns därför ett behov av förhandlingar och att upprätta former för formellt beslutsfattande och informell ”spridning” av information eftersom strukturer för detta kan saknas. Detta kan vara en långsam process på grund av bristande förståelse för interoperabilitetsprogram (särskilt i fråga om att de skulle handla om något annat än bara IKT). Dessutom finns ibland få (om ens några) forum för samordnat beslutsfattande, och det kan även finnas formella och legala hinder för detta. 4. Enterprise thinking (”verksamhetstänkande”) är sammankopplat med Enterprise Architecture, som är en tidsanda för interoperabilitetsarbete. Det bygger på EA som ett ideal, då offentliga organisationerna påverkas av denna tidsanda, men att praktiska förutsättningar kanske inte möjliggör att man antar en EA-strategi. Enterprise thinking hänvisar således till EA-begreppet som ett ideal, och är alltså inte ett specifikt sätt att tillämpa EA. Enterprise thinking har ett processfokus på interoperabilitet. IKT, verksamhetens mål och arbetsrutiner ses som sammanlänkade och måste därför behandlas utifrån ett helhetsperspektiv. Hur man närmar sig detta i praktiken är dock beroende på i vilken kontext det implementeras. Vidare forskning skulle kunna behandla hur enterprise thinking påverkar interoperabilitetsarbete på lång sikt, med en longitudinell ansats. Då denna avhandling visar på hur användningen av olika arkitekturella metaforer kan kollidera föreslås ytterligare forskning som fokusera på de positiva och negativa effekterna av att förhandlingar initieras av sådana konflikter. Från ett projektledningsperspektiv kan riskerna och fördelarna med att använda mindre projekt som symboler för att få med flera aktörer i interoperabilitetsprogram fokuseras. Detta är i synnerhet intressant i arkitekturprogram där en arkitektur inte kan tvingas på aktörerna, men att implementation är frivillig. Användning av EA som ett ideal som ofta inte kan följas fullt ut i offentlig sektor, men avsiktligt användas som en ledstjärna, är intressant för vidare forskning. Till exempel skulle det vara intressant att se hur EA-retorik kan tillämpas i praktiken för att legitimera program. Det är av intresse att undersöka i vilken utsträckning användningen av dessa begrepp påverkar verksamheten, eller om de bara är tomma ord. Begreppet enterprise thinking föreslås som användbart för vidare forskning. Det kan vara användbart för att undersöka olika tillvägagångssätt, influerade av EA, i olika kontexter. Exempelvis kan det vara av intresse att se till länder som inte har samma institutionella egenskaper som Sverige, men påverkas av enterprise thinking på olika sätt. Detta skulle vara av intresse för att undersöka på vilka olika sätt enterprise thinking närmas i praktiken. Även den fortsatta utvecklingen i Sverige kan vara av särskilt intresse, då andra sektorer i skrivande stund förbereder egna interoperabilitetsprogram och ämnar dra nytta av lärdomar från arbetet inom vårdsektorn.

Enterprise models are usually developed with ambition to capture the current or desired situation in enterprises with respect to performed or planned processes, organizational structure (including organization units, roles and competences), products or services produced and IT systems available in the enterprise.The above aspects are mutually reflective. Such enterprise models are often represented in formal modeling languages, like UEML (Unified Enterprise Modeling Language) or GEM (General Entity Manipulator) language allowing for the development of applications, which interprets or compute them. Enterprise ontologies basically allow the representation of the same aspects of an enterprise (processes, organizational structure, products and systems). However, enterprise ontologies use another representation (like OWL- Web Ontology Language) and often are developed for other application purposes than enterprise model. The objective of this thesis is to develop strategies for transforming enterprise models into enterprise ontologies.  There should be maximum preservation of semantics and minimum loss of information during the process of transformation. On the basis of meta-model (model to model) transformation, we propose three elements mapping approaches. Each approach has a number of elements mapping rules. After comparative study the best suitable approach according to objective of this thesis is selected for implementation purpose. From a technical perspective, a tool named “EM2EO” is developed, which accepts an enterprise model as input and produces ontology as output.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document. / Dissertation (MCom (Accounting Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Accounting / unrestricted