The large volumes of data (Big Data) that are generated on a global scale and within organizations along with the knowledge that resides in people and in business processes makes organizational knowledge management (KM) very complex. A right KM can be a source of opportunities and competitive advantage for organizations that use their data intelligently and subsequently generate knowledge with them. Two of the fields that support KM and that have had accelerated growth in recent years are business intelligence (BI) and enterprise architecture (EA). On the one hand, BI allows taking advantage of the information stored in data warehouses using different operations such as slice, dice, roll-up, and drill-down. This information is obtained from the operational databases through an extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) process. On the other hand, EA allows institutions to establish methods that support the creation, sharing and transfer of knowledge that resides in people and processes through the use of blueprints and models. One of the objectives of KM is to create a culture where tacit knowledge (knowledge that resides in a person) stays in an organization when qualified and expert personnel leave the institution or when changes are required in the organizational structure, in computer applications or in the technological infrastructure. In higher education institutions (HEIs) not having an adequate KM approach to handle data is even a greater problem due to the nature of this industry. Generally, HEIs have very little interdependence between departments and faculties. In other words, there is low standardization, redundancy of information, and constant duplicity of applications and functionalities in the different departments which causes inefficient organizations. That is why the research performed within this dissertation has focused on finding an adequate KM method and researching on the right technological infrastructure that supports the management of information of all the knowledge dimensions such as people, processes and technology. All of this with the objective to discover innovative mechanisms to improve education and the service that HEIs offer to their students and teachers by improving their processes. Despite the existence of some initiatives, and papers on KM frameworks, we were not able to find a standard framework that supports or guides KM initiatives. In addition, KM frameworks found in the literature do not present practical mechanisms to gather and analyze all the knowledge dimensions to facilitate the implementation of KM projects. The core contribution of this thesis is a hybrid infrastructure of KM based on EA and BI that was developed from research using an empirical approach and taking as reference the framework developed for KM. The proposed infrastructure will help HEIs to improve education in a general way by analyzing reliable and cleaned data and integrating analytics from the perspective of EA. EA analytics takes into account the interdependence between the objects that make up the organization: people, processes, applications, and technology. Through the presented infrastructure, the doors are opened for the realization of different research projects that increment the type of knowledge that is generated by integrating the information of the applications found in the data warehouses together with the information of the people and the organizational processes that are found in the EA repositories. In order to validate the proposal, a case study was carried out within a university with promising initial results. As future works, it is planned that different HEIs' activities can be automated through a software development methodology based on EA models. In addition, it is desired to develop a KM system that allows the generation of different and new types of analytics, which would be impossible to obtain with only transactional or multidimensional databases.

Les Smart Grids sont des réseaux électriques intelligents permettant d’optimiser la production, la distribution et la consommation d’électricité grâce à l’introduction des technologies de l’information et de la communication sur le réseau électrique. Les Smart Grids impactent fortement l’ensemble de l’architecture d’entreprise des gestionnaires de réseaux électriques. Simuler une architecture d’entreprise permet aux acteurs concernés d’anticiper de tels impacts.Dès lors, l’objectif de cette thèse est de fournir des modèles, méthodes et outils permettant de modéliser puis de simuler une architecture d’entreprise afin de la critiquer ou de la valider.Dans ce contexte, nous proposons un framework multi-vues, nommé ExecuteEA, pour faciliter la modélisation des architectures d’entreprise en automatisant l’analyse de leurs structures et de leurs comportements par la simulation. ExecuteEA traite chacune des vues métier, fonctionnelle et applicative selon trois aspects : informations, processus et objectifs. Pour répondre au besoin d’alignement métier/IT, nous introduisons une vue supplémentaire : la vue intégration. Dans cette vue nous proposons de modéliser les liens de cohérence inter et intra vues.Nous mettons, par ailleurs, à profit des techniques issues de l’ingénierie dirigée par les modèles en tant que techniques support pour la modélisation et la simulation d’une architecture d’entreprise. Notre validons ensuite notre proposition à travers un cas métier Smart Grid relatif à la gestion d’une flotte de véhicules électriques. / In this thesis, we propose a framework that facilitates modeling Enterprise Architectures (EA) by automating analysis, prediction, and simulation, in order to address the key issue of business/IT alignment. We present our approach in the context of Smart Grids, which are power grids enabled with Information and Communication Technologies. Extensive studies try to foresee the impact of Smart Grids on electric components, telecommunication infrastructure, and industrial automation and IT. However, Smart Grids also have an impact on the overall EA of grids operators. Therefore, our framework enables stakeholders to validate and criticize their modeling choices for the EA in the context of Smart Grids. What we propose is a multi-view framework with three aspects – information, processes, and goals – for each view. In addition to thebusiness, functional and application views, we add an integration view to ensure inter and intra-view consistency. We rely on Model Driven Engineering (MDE) techniques to ease the holistic modeling and simulation of enterprise systems. Finally, we show the utility of our approach by applying it on a Smart Grid case study: the management of an electric vehicles fleet.

Information Technology (IT) has evolved over the decades, where its role and impact have transitioned from being a tactical tool to a more strategic one for driving business strategies to transform organizations. The right alignment between IT strategy and business has become a compelling factor for Chief Information Officer (CIO)s where misalignment could lead to a degradation of organization performance and slow them down in the landscape of market competition. Enterprise Architecture (EA) in practice is one of the approaches where this alignment can be achieved. Through Enterprise Modeling (EM), EA supports all the stakeholders (Business and IT) of an organization to have a common understanding for communication of information, making decisions, and coordinating actions. EM results in EA models that are composed of enterprise components and relationships, that are stored in a repository. Over time, the repository grows as architects design new models or update existing models with complex structures. This opens up new avenues of research where the data can be used to provide intelligence. One such field is Recommender Systems (RS) which are software tools and techniques to provide meaningful suggestions to the user. RS can take different forms in the EM domain. For instance, identifying semantically similar components [8] or modeling assistance during the EM process [40]. Each form of recommendation can be enhanced with sophisticated recommendation models over time implemented in different technologies. We focus on the latter problem in this thesis where we implement a recommender framework that contains a robust architecture that easily integrates with different RS. We present the robustness and the ease of integration criteria for the framework. The framework is distributed as a plugin for Archi, a modeling toolkit used by Enterprise Architects to create EA models. / Information Technology (IT) har utvecklats under decennierna, där dess roll och inverkan har övergått från att vara ett taktiskt verktyg till ett mer strategiskt verktyg för att driva affärsstrategier för att transformera organisationer. Den rätta anpassningen mellan IT-strategin och verksamheten har blivit en övertygande faktor för Chief Information Officer (CIO):er där felanpassning kan leda till en försämring av organisationens prestanda och sakta ner dem i konkurrensen på marknaden. Enterprise Architecture (EA) är i praktiken ett av tillvägagångssätten där denna anpassning kan uppnås. Genom Enterprise Modeling (EM) stöder EA alla intressenter (Business och IT) i en organisation att ha en gemensam förståelse för kommunikation av information, fatta beslut och samordna åtgärder. EM resulterar i EA-modeller som är sammansatta av företagskomponenter och relationer, som lagras i ett arkiv. Med tiden växer förvaret i takt med att arkitekter designar nya modeller eller uppdaterar befintliga modeller med komplexa strukturer. Detta öppnar för nya forskningsvägar där data kan användas för att tillhandahålla intelligens. Ett sådant fält är Recommender Systems (RS) som är mjukvaruverktyg och tekniker för att ge meningsfulla förslag till användaren. RS kan ha olika former i EM-domänen. Till exempel identifiera semantiskt liknande komponenter [8] eller modelleringshjälp under EM-processen [40]. Varje form av rekommendation kan förbättras med sofistikerade rekommendationsmodeller över tid implementerade i olika teknologier. Vi fokuserar på det senare problemet i den här avhandlingen där vi implementerar ett recommender-ramverk som innehåller en robust arkitektur som enkelt integreras med olika RS. Vi presenterar robustheten och enkelheten i integrationskriterierna för ramverket. Ramverket distribueras som en plugin för Archi, en verktygssats för modellering som används av Enterprise Architects för att skapa EA-modeller.

Effektiv användning av IT-resurser i organisationer kräver en optimerad anpassning mellan affärsverksamheten och IT-verktyg. Enterprise Architecture är ett välkänt koncept som används för att anpassa strukturen av IT-system i linje med affärsverksamheten. Tidigare forskning har mestadels fokuserat på Enterprise Architecture i stora organisationer och därmed saknas tillräcklig forskning om hur konceptet används eller kan användas i små och medelstora företag. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur små och medelstora företag, medvetet eller omedvetet, arbetar eller kan arbeta med Enterprise Architecture i sin kontext. Ett sekundärt syfte var att arbeta fram ett ramverk för att stödja små och medelstora företag i detta arbete. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med personer i ledande befattningar i små och medelstora företag (n = 4). Intervjutranskriptionerna analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ dataanalys. Resultaten av denna studie ger insikt i ett antal utmaningar och möjligheter som små och medelstora företag möts av när det gäller arbete med Enterprise Architecture. Utmaningarna var att de inte inser värdet konceptet kan skapa, resursbrist, missuppfattning om att konceptet måste appliceras fullskaligt, att ramverken är för rigida, att involvera ledningsgruppen som ofta är mer intresserade av ekonomiska nyckeltal, flytande rollfördelningar samt bristande långsiktigt tänk. Möjligheterna var att förbättra samarbetet mellan verksamhetens IT- och affärssida, integrera IT-system för att säkerställa att systemen går i linje med verksamhetens mål och visioner, stödja långsiktigt tänkande, ge en bättre överblick och struktur på verksamheten samt minska kostnader och optimera arbetsprocesser. I arbetet med Enterprise Architecture bör små och medelstora företag använda anpassningsbara ramverk, hantera samspelet mellan kortsiktiga och långsiktiga mål, involvera hela verksamheten, upprätta en aktiv kommunikation mellan avdelningar samt endast använda det som behövs i verksamheten. Baserat på teoretiska och empiriska insikter har ett ramverk arbetats fram, som ska kunna användas för att stödja arbetet med Enterprise Architecture i små och medelstora företag. / Efficient use of IT resources in organizations requires an optimized alignment between business operations and IT. Enterprise Architecture is a well-known concept used to align the structure of IT systems with the business operations. Previous research has mostly focused on Enterprise Architecture in large organizations, thus there is a lack of research on how the concept is applied, or can be applied, in small and medium-sized enterprises. The purpose of this study was to investigate how small and medium-sized enterprises, consciously or unconsciously, work or can work with Enterprise Architecture in their context. The secondary purpose was to develop a framework to support small and medium-sized enterprises in this work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people in senior positions in small and medium-sized enterprises (n = 4). The interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative data analysis. The results of this study provide insight into a number of challenges and opportunities that small and medium-sized enterprises face when it comes to embracing Enterprise Architecture. The challenges were that they did not realize the value the concept can create, lack of resources, misconception that the concept must be applied fully, that the frameworks are too rigid, to involve the management team who are often more interested in financial performance indicators, floating role distributions and lack of long-term thinking. The opportunities were to improve the collaboration between IT and business, integrate IT systems and ensure that the systems are in line with the company's goals and visions, support long-term thinking, provide a better overview and structure of the business, reduce costs and optimize work processes. When working with Enterprise Architecture, small and medium-sized enterprises should use adaptable frameworks, manage the interplay between short-term and long-term goals, involve the entire business, establish active communication between different departments and only use what is needed in the business. Based on theoretical and empirical insights, a framework has been developed, which can be used to support the work with Enterprise Architecture in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Not being able to, or not knowing how to make use of, ICT is becoming a clear factor of economic exclusion for businesses in developing countries. Several studies has investigated the correlation between access to information about ICT and the overall development of the country suggesting a strong bond. How information regarding ICT solutions can be structured to improve access has been investigated in this thesis using work conducted at the Havana University of Technologies José Antonio Echeverría in Cuba as a basis. This paper explores how information regarding the use of ICT in Cuban enterprises can be structured to eventually allow for further analysis. The information gathered is centered around Enterprise Architecture with a focus on alignment between business areas, processes and applications. The findings suggest that the information can be structured in a foreseeable manner using a database and the analysis of the data may be feasible. The report highlights the difficulties related to heterogeneity and dissimilarities of Enterprise Architecture data limiting the catalogue being used for statistical analysis. Furthermore, this paper gives a recommendation of how the gathering of the information regarding ICT solutions should be structured to increase the relevancy of the database and analysis. / Att inte kunna eller inte veta hur man kan nyttja ICT är en betydande anledning förekonomisk uteslutning för företag i utvecklingsländer. Flera studier har undersökt korrelationen mellan tillgången till information om ICT, och den övergripande utvecklingen av landet som tyder på ett starkt band. Hur information kopplat till ICT lösningar kan struktureras för att ge nya insikter har undersökts i denna avhandling med hjälp av arbeten som utförts på Havana University of Technologies José Antonio Echeverría på Kuba som en fallstudie. I denna avhandling så undersöks hur samlad information om användningen av ICT i kubanska företag kan struktureras för att möjliggöra ytterligare analyser. Den information som samlas in är centrerad kring Enterprise Architecture med fokus på anpassning mellan affärsområden, processer och applikationer. Resultaten tyder på att informationen kan struktureras på ett överskådligt sätt med hjälp av en databas, och analysen av datan kan vara genomförbart. Avhandlingen belyser svårigheter kopplat till att heterogen Enterprise Architecture data och hur detta begränsar databasen från att tillämpa statistisk analys. Vidare ger denna avhandling en rekommendation om hur ytterligare insamling av informationen om ICT-lösningarna ska struktureras för att öka relevansen av databasen och analysen.

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.

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I enighet med teknikutvecklingen förändras även förutsättningarna för kostnadseffektiva IT-miljöer. Systemarkitekturen för mjukvarusystem förändras i samband med detta och verksamhetens systemdesign måste följa denna utveckling för att vara konkurrenskraftig på IT-marknaden.Implementeringar av Service Oriented Architecture, förkortat SOA, har i många fall visat sig vara lönsamma investeringar till en modernare arkitektur. Denna rapport förklarar på vilka sätt SOA kan vara kostnadseffektivt för verksamheter, samt identifierar kritiska framgångsfaktorer som är avgörande vid systemskiften till SOA.I kombination av en teoretisk litteraturstudie, analys av publicerade företagsfall och empirisk undersökning visar sig SOA-baserade lösningar vara kostnadseffektiva genom sänkta kostnader, tidsbesparingar och snabbare produktutveckling. Studien identifierar huvudsakligen fem kritiska framgångsfaktorer som är direkt kopplade till hur pass kostnadseffektiv en implementering av SOA kan komma att bli. / In unity with the technological evolution the conditions for cost-effective IT environments also changes. In this context, the architecture of software systems is changing and the business system design has to follow this development in order to be competitive on the IT market.Implementations of Service Oriented Architecture, abbreviated as SOA, have in many cases proven to be profitable investments to a modern architecture. This thesis explains in which ways SOA may turn out to be cost-effective for companies, and identifies critical success factors that are crucial within a system transition to SOA.The combination of a theoretical literature study, analysis of published business cases and empirical studies provided a result in which SOA-based solutions was cost-effective by reduced costs, time savings and faster product development. The study identifies five main critical success factors which are directly related to how cost-effective an implementation of SOA may be.

Affärsnytta är ett mångtydigt och svårdefinierat begrepp, men det är något som alla verksamheter vill uppnå.Uppsatsen avgränsar sig till särskilda kvalitativa egenskaper som definieras av ISO/IEC FDIS 25010:2010 under kapitlet "Quality in use". Uppsatsen går ut på att utvärdera de kvalitativa egenskaperna och om SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) bidrar till dessa samt inom vilken aspekt av affärsnytta. För att svara på frågan var det relevant att utvärdera begreppen Affärsnytta och Kvalitativ nytta samt definiera SOA.Resultatet fick vi genom kvalitativa intervjuer från fyra respondenter som har deltagit i ett lyckat SOA projekt och har goda kunskaper inom SOA och dess koppling till affärsnytta inom olika aspekter.Utifrån litteraturen och resultatet ser vi indikationer på att SOA bidrar till de utvalda kvalitativa egenskaperna. Resultatet visar även indikationer på att SOA bidrar till kvalitativ nytta och att det är en drivande kraft för strävan av affärsnytta. / Business value is ambiguous and very hard to define, but it is something that all enterprises strive for.The thesis focuses on specific quality characteristics defined by ISO / IEC FDIS 25010:2010 chapter "Quality in use". The thesis aims to evaluate the qualitative attributes and to find out if SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) contributes to these and in what aspect of business value. To answer the question it was relevant to define Business Value, Qualitative value and SOA.Our results are based on four qualitative interviews from respondents who have participated in a successful SOA project and have knowledge about SOA and it’s connection to business value in various aspects.We see indications that SOA contributes to the selected qualitative characteristics based on the litterature and result. The result also indicates that SOA contributes to qualitative value and that it is the driving force behind the pursuit of business value.