Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

International Conference on Exploring Services Science

IESS 2017: Exploring Services Science pp 295–308Cite as

Digital Transformation at the University of Porto

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 279))

Abstract

Digital transformation has become a priority for any organization and Universities are not an exception. This paper deals with the digital transformation that is being undertaken at the University of Porto (U. Porto). In order to understand its major guidelines, it is important to clarify the term “digital transformation” and “digital business strategy”, comparing these new concepts with prevailing views of aligning the business strategy with the IT strategy. A newly created Shared Services Center (UPSSC) is at the core of the digital business strategy of U. Porto. This endeavor triggered a profound university wide re-engineering, that was enabled by a new work management system, hereafter referred to as UPWMS. The discussion of the distinctive characteristics of this work management system and how it copes with the diversity and heterogeneity of the requests received by the Shared Services, is the main objective of the paper. A discussion of the main cornerstones of the project in the context of the digital transformation strategy finishes the paper.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Ward, J., Peppard, J.: Strategic Planning for Information Systems. Wiley, Chichester (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Matt, C., Hess, T., Benlian, A.: Digital transformation strategies. Bus. Inf. Syst. Eng. 57(5), 339–343 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bharadwaj, A., El Sawy, O., Pavlou, P., Venkatraman, N.: Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights. MIS Q. 37(2), 471–482 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Mithas, S., Tafti, A., Mitchell, W.: How a firm’s competitive environment and digital strategy posture influence digital business strategy. MIS Q. 37(2), 511–536 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Hess, T., Benlian, A., Matt, C., Wiesböck, F.: Options for formulating a digital transformation strategy. MIS Q. Exec. 15(2), 123–139 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  6. University of Porto (2014). http://www.up.pt

  7. Faria, J.A., Nóvoa, H.: An agile BPM system for knowledge-based service organizations. In: Nóvoa, H., Drăgoicea, M. (eds.) IESS 2015. LNBIP, vol. 201, pp. 65–79. Springer, Cham (2015). doi:10.1007/978-3-319-14980-6_6

    Google Scholar 

  8. TIC: SIGARRA - information system for the aggregated management of resources and academic records. https://sigarra.up.pt/up/en/WEB_BASE.GERA_PAGINA?P_pagina=2418

  9. Mangan, P., Sadiq, S.: On building workflow models for flexible processes. J. Aust. Comput. Sci. Commun. 24(2), 103–109 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Stavenko, Y., Kazantsev, N., Gromoff, A.: Business process model reasoning: from workflow to case management. Procedia Technol. 9, 806–811 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Škrinjar, R., Trkman, P.: Increasing process orientation with business process management: critical practices. Int. J. Inf. Manag. 33(1), 48–60 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Hill, C., Yates, R., Jones, C., Kogan, S.L.: Beyond predictable workflows: enhancing productivity in artful business processes. IBM Syst. J. 45(4), 663–682 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Alter, S.: Service system fundamentals: work system, value chain, and life cycle. IBM Syst. J. 47(1), 74 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Sadiq, S.W., Orlowska, M.E., Sadiq, W.: Specification and validation of process constraints for flexible workflows. Inf. Syst. 30(5), 349–378 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Pesic, M., Schonenberg, H., van der Aalst, W.M.P.: DECLARE: full support for loosely-structured processes. In: 11th IEEE Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference (EDOC 2007), p. 287 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Markus, M., Majchrzak, A., Gasser, L.: A design theory for systems that support emergent knowledge processes. MIS Q. Exec. 26(3), 179–212 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Heylighen, F., Vidal, C.: Getting things done: the science behind stress-free productivity. Long Range Plan. J. 41(6), 585–605 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Allen, D.: Getting Things Done. Penguin, London (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Ciborra, C.: The Labyrinths of Information: Challenging the Wisdom of Systems. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2002)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank N. Almeida and M. Fernandes for their invaluable work in developing UPWMS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INESC TEC and Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    José António Faria

  2. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    Henriqueta Nóvoa

Authors
  1. José António Faria
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Henriqueta Nóvoa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to José António Faria .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics, eCampus University, Rome, Italy

    Stefano Za

  2. Department of Automatic Control and System Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Monica Drăgoicea

  3. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Maurizio Cavallari

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this paper

Cite this paper

Faria, J.A., Nóvoa, H. (2017). Digital Transformation at the University of Porto. In: Za, S., Drăgoicea, M., Cavallari, M. (eds) Exploring Services Science. IESS 2017. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 279. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56925-3_24

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56925-3_24

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56924-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56925-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation