A method to enhance existing business-IT alignment approaches

Abstract

Enterprise engineering has recently emerged as a new discipline to address the intensified complexity and dynamics of the evolving enterprise by designing, aligning, and governing its development. Enterprise designers employ various approaches, frameworks, and methodologies to design and align various components in the enterprise. This paper takes a closer look at alignment between the business and IT components of an enterprise, and the need for a theoretical backing when combining multiple approaches during enterprise design. The main contribution of this paper is the development of a 'method artefact'. The method artefact applies an existing model, called the business-IT alignment model, and is useful to enterprise designers when they need to enhance an existing business-IT alignment approach. As an additional contribution, the paper emphasises the role of an emerging research methodology, called 'design research', in developing the new method artefact. The paper demonstrates the use of the method artefact by enhancing the 'foundation for execution' approach with an element from the 'essence of operation' approach, and concludes with opportunities for further research.

Ondernemingsontwerp het onlangs ontwikkel as 'n nuwe dissipline om die intensiteit van die ondernemingsdinamika en kompleksiteit te adresseer deur middel van ontwerp, belyning en leiding tydens ondernemingsontwikkeling. Ondernemingsontwerpers gebruik verskillende benaderings, raamwerke, en metodologieë om verskeie komponente van die onderneming te belyn en te ontwerp. Dié artikel ondersoek die belyning van die besigheidskomponente en inligtingstegnologie-komponente, asook die behoefte aan 'n teoretiese onderbou vir die kombinering van veelvuldige benaderings gedurende onder-nemingsontwerp. Die kernbydrae van die artikel is die ontwikkeling van 'n 'metode-artefak'. Die metode-artefak inkorporeer 'n bestaande model, die besigheidsinligtings-tegnologie belyningsmodel, en is bruikbaar wanneer ondernemingsontwerpers 'n bestaande besigheids-inligtingstegnologie belyningsbenadering wil uitbrei. As addisionele bydrae, beklemtoon die artikel die rol van 'n groeiende navorsingsmetodologie, genaamd 'ontwerp-navorsing', met die ontwerp van die nuwe metode-artefak. Die artikel toon die gebruik van die metode-artefak wanneer die 'foundation for execution' benadering uitgebrei word met 'n element van die 'essence of operation' benadering, en sluit af met geleenthede vir verdere navorsing.