Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Strategy-IT Alignment

Assuring Alignment Using a Relation Algebra Method

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Business Modeling and Software Design (BMSD 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 319))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 2097 Accesses

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a model that assures the alignment between business and IT (BITA) for IT projects, based on the Ampersand method. BITA is essential in gaining value from IT investments to improve technical and human performance, to produce enhanced organizational strategies that yield competitive advantage and to perform better than businesses that do not align their business strategies with their IT strategies. The literature research proposes that Ampersand together with the Business Motivation Model (BMM) can assure BITA in two ways. First, it assures strategic fit between business strategy and business infrastructure and processes. Secondly, it assures functional integration between business infrastructure and processes, and IS infrastructure and processes. The BMM identifies ends (vision, goals, and objectives) and means to achieve the ends (missions, strategies, tactics, and business rules) of an organization. These concepts are relevant to an IT project, especially during the requirements engineering (RE) phase. For an organization to be effective and efficient, the ends and means have to be related to each other in some way. The proposed model records the relations between the ends and means and additionally checks the integrity of these relations using multiplicity constraints and business rules by using the Ampersand method.

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    RuleSpeak® is a set of guidelines for expressing business rules in concise, business-friendly fashion as much as possible.

  2. 2.

    https://github.com/AmpersandTarski/RAP.

References

  1. Luftman, J., Kempaiah, R.: An update on business-IT alignment: “a line” has been drawn. MIS Q. Exec. 6(3), 165–177 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Chan, E.Y., Reich, H.B.: IT alignment: what have we learned? J. Inf. Technol. 22(4), 297–315 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Henderson, J.C., Venkatraman, N.: Strategic alignment: leveraging information technology for transforming organisations. IBM Syst. J. 32(1), 4–16 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Lee, S.M., et al.: Developing a socio-technical framework for business-IT alignment. Ind. Manag. Data Syst. 108(9), 1167–1181 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Luftman, J.: Assessing business-IT alignment maturity. Strat. Inf. Technol. Gov. 4, 99 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Singh, S.N., Woo, C.: Investigating business-IT alignment through multi-disciplinary goal concepts. Requir. Eng. 14(3), 177–207 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Wetering, R.: Modeling alignment as a higher order nomological framework. In: Abramowicz, W., Alt, R., Franczyk, B. (eds.) BIS 2016. LNBIP, vol. 263, pp. 111–122. Springer, Cham (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52464-1_11

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Ullah, A., Lai, R.: Modeling business goal for business it alignment. J. Comput. Inf. Syst. 51(3), 21–28 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bush, M., et al.: The alignment of information systems with organizational objectives and strategies in health care. Int. J. Med. Inform. 78(7), 446–456 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Michels, G., Joosten, S., van der Woude, J., Joosten, S.: Ampersand. In: de Swart, H. (ed.) RAMICS 2011. LNCS, vol. 6663, pp. 280–293. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21070-9_21

    Chapter  MATH  Google Scholar 

  11. Wedemeijer, L.: A relation-algebra language to specify declarative business rules. In: 4th International Symposium on Business Modeling and System Design, BMSD 2014 (2014). Revised Selected Papers: Shiskov, B. (ed.) BMSD 2014. LNBIP, vol. 220, pp. 63–73. Springer

    Google Scholar 

  12. Sandkuhl, K., Stirna, J., Persson, A., Wißotzki, M.: Enterprise Modeling. Tackling Business Challenges with the 4EM Method, vol. 309. Springer, Heidelberg (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43725-4

    Book  Google Scholar 

  13. OMG: The Business Motivation Model Version 1.3 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Gregor, S., Hevner, A.R.: Positioning and presenting design science research for maximum impact. MIS Q. 37(2), 337 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Peffers, K., et al.: A design science research methodology for information systems research. J. Manag. Inf. Syst. 24(3), 45–77 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hevner, A.R., et al.: Design science in information systems research. MIS Q. 28(1), 75–105 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Joosten, S.: Deriving Functional Specifications from Business Requirements with Ampersand. Open University of the Netherlands (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Scaled Agile Inc.: Story - Scaled Agile Framework (2017). http://www.scaledagileframework.com/story/. 9 Dec 2017

  19. Shewhart, W.A., Deming, W.E.: Statistical Method from the Viewpoint of Quality Control. Courier Corporation, Chelmsford (1939)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  20. Grave, F.: Assuring strategy and IT alignment: a relation algebra method using relation algebra to assure alignment between business and IT. Master’s thesis, Open University in the Netherlands, March 2018

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is based on the Master’s Thesis of the first author, Grave [20].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Open University of the Netherlands, Valkenburgerweg 177, 6419 AT, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    Frank Grave, Rogier van de Wetering & Lloyd Rutledge

Authors
  1. Frank Grave
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rogier van de Wetering
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lloyd Rutledge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lloyd Rutledge .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics (IMI)/Interdisciplinary Institute for Collaboration and Research on Enterprise Systems and Technology (IICREST), Sofia, Bulgaria

    Boris Shishkov

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Grave, F., van de Wetering, R., Rutledge, L. (2018). Strategy-IT Alignment. In: Shishkov, B. (eds) Business Modeling and Software Design. BMSD 2018. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 319. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94214-8_26

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94214-8_26

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-94213-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-94214-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics