E-business value web

• US 8,548,837 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2003
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ahern, Marybeth, Law, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sterrett, Jonathan G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Swartz, Stephen S
• Application Number:
  US10/643,987
• Publication Number:
  US 20050043977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,695 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/7.39, 705/7.12, 705/7.24
• US Class Current: 705/7.12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/783 Distributed allocation of resources, e.g. bandwidth brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/83 based on usage prediction

Abstract

A method and system is provided to manage and track changes in enterprise architectures. The invention provides a hierarchical visual management tool to manage and update relational information within an enterprise in a controlled fashion. The relationship may be maintained in a database and displayed via graphical user interface. Enterprise assets are categorized into such categories as goals, customer values or requirements, capabilities, resources, and the like. A hierarchy is constructed so that relationships between these various categories are identified and captured using the invention. Weights may be assigned to each element of the categories so that any proposed change to an enterprise architecture may be viewed so that a value can be ascertained and compared between other values of other proposed changes. In this manner, tracking and management of evolutionary changes to an architecture may be accomplished using relational information.

Claims

1. A method for managing and tracking changes in an organization, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a web based application management tool implemented in a processor and operable to illustrate and quantify a value of transforming an enterprise business model from a current “

as-is”

state to a proposed “

to-be”

state;

capturing and displaying current resources of the organization and how they relate to an organizations'"'"' mission in real-time;

directly tracking which specific current resources directly support which current capabilities of the organization;

defining at least one customer requirement for an enhancement to an enterprise architecture of the organization, wherein implementation of the enhancement transforms the enterprise business model to the proposed “

to-be”

state;

evaluating the current capabilities to determine whether at least one of the current capabilities is sufficient to provide the enhancement to the enterprise architecture;

when at least one of the current capabilities is not sufficient to provide the enhancement, identifying at least one new capability that is sufficient to provide the enhancement;

determining whether at least one of the current resources of the organization satisfy the at least one new capability;

when at least one of the current resources satisfy the at least one new capability, defining a relationship with the web based application management tool between the at least one current resource and the at least one new capability, wherein the defining the relationship comprises;

defining one or more metrics to gauge performance for each of the at least one current resource'"'"'s contributions to the at least one new capability; and

assigning weights to each of the at least one current resource'"'"'s contributions to the at least one new capability;

estimating at least one of a revenue increase and a cost saving associated with implementation of the at least one new capability to provide the enhancement and achieve the proposed “

to-be”

state;

determining a value provided by the at least one new capability based upon the defined one or more metrics, the assigned weights for each of the at least one current resource'"'"'s contributions, an implementation cost,and the at least one of the revenue increase and the cost saving;

projecting an alternative value based upon implementation cost and at least one of revenue increase and cost saving for at least one alternative combination of at least one capability and at least one resource that are sufficient to provide the enhancement to the enterprise architecture, wherein the alternative value is further based on one or more metrics and assigned weights for the at least one resource'"'"'s contributions to the at least one capability;

comparing a value of the current “

as-is”

state of the enterprise business model to the value and the alternative value of the proposed “

to-be”

state of the enterprise business model for implementation of the enhancement to determine an optimum qualitative value;

choosing to stay with the current “

as is”

state, adopt the value of the proposed “

to-be”

state, or adopt the alternative value of the proposed “

to-be”

state based on which option is determined to provide the optimum qualitative value;

using a database to store a hierarchical relationship of a goal, the value of the current “

as-is”

state, the value of the proposed “

to-be”

state, the alternative value of the “

to-be”

state, the current capabilities, the at least one new capability, current resources of the organization, and the at least one of the current resource, the hierarchical relationship having a plurality of levels with one or more dynamic links that differ between the plurality of levels;

displaying the hierarchical relationship between the goal, the values which are associated with the goal, the current capabilities and the at least one new capability, which represent critical functions for ensuring delivery of the values, and the current and at least one current resource, which enable the current capabilities and the at least one new capability;

capturing and linking process measurements from one or more external modeling tools to the database to allow process performance of the chosen current “

as-is”

state or proposed “

to-be”

state to be accessed by the system; and

updating the hierarchical relationship to include a hierarchical relationship between the at least one capability and the at least one resource that comprise the option determined to provide the optimum qualitative value,

wherein the determining the value and alternative value of the proposed “

to-be”

state comprises illustrating and quantifying the value of transforming the enterprise business model of the organization from the current “

as-is”

state to the proposed “

to-be”

state; and

the goal is defined as a corporate directive establishing a final end point of an enterprise change, the value and alternative value of the proposed “

to-be”

state are defined as a customer value, the at least one new capability is a strategic capability that represents critical functions that the organization must be capable of performing to insure delivery of the customer value, and the at least one current resource is defined as a physical component that must be present and supports the at least one new capability.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of mapping the at least one customer requirement to the at least one new capability.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the at least one of the current resources of the organization satisfy the at least one new capability includes identifying the at least one of the current resources to support the at least one new capability.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifying the at least one new capability includes identifying at least one of a business process, a personnel skill/competency, a physical entity, an information technology, a system component, and an infrastructure component.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising prioritizing each of the at least one current resource based on the assigned weights.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the defined one or more metrics are outcome based performance metrics to the at least one current resource.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of implementing the at least one current resource and tracking the at least one current resource based on the outcome based performance metrics.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

assigning a weight to the at least one new capability; and

prioritizing the at least one new capability based on the assigned weight.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

assigning outcome based performance metrics to the at least one new capability; and

implementing the at least one new capability and tracking the at least one new capability based on the outcome based performance metrics.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one customer requirement is defined in response to a request by a customer.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the value is monetary or in terms of strategic business worth.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the defined one or more metrics are defined and tested by conducting facilitated working sessions or building simulation models.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the estimates are at least one of entered, recorded, or modified as additional real performance information is observed.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing at least one organizational executive to track functionality and flag one or more of the at least one new capability.

25. The method of claim 8, further comprising using the assigned weights to make a decision based on one or more of the implementation cost, the revenue increase, and the cost saving.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a user with a plurality of dynamic links to operational elements of the system, the plurality of dynamic links structured to link a business model vision, a transition plan, a strategic plan, a business process, a business case, the at least one new customer requirement, an operational model, a functional model, a component model, and a lifecycle costing to the system.

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing updates to the database dynamically as changes are made to the hierarchical relationship.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the system to transition the at least one new capability into actual operations.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising determining whether the at least one new capability supports and satisfies the customer value.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising conducting a tradeoff analysis and a business case analysis, the tradeoff analysis being based on a cost, a time factor, and a benefit.

10. A system comprising hardware and software for managing and tracking changes in an organization, the system comprising:

a web based application management tool operable to illustrate and quantify a value of transforming an enterprise business model from a current “

as-is”

state to a proposed “

to-be”

state, the web based application management tool being configured to;

capture and display current resources of the organization and how they relate to an organizations'"'"' mission in real-time;

directly track which specific current resources directly support which current capabilities of the organization;

define at least one customer requirement for an enhancement to an enterprise architecture of the organization, wherein implementation of the enhancement transforms the enterprise business model to the proposed “

to-be”

state;

evaluate the current capabilities to determine whether at least one of the current capabilities is sufficient to provide the enhancement to the enterprise architecture;

when at least one of the current capabilities is not sufficient to provide the enhancement, identify at least one new capability that is sufficient to provide the enhancement;

determine whether at least one of the current resources of the organization satisfy the at least one new capability;

when at least one of the current resources satisfy the at least one new capability, define a relationship between the at least one current resource and the at least one new capability, wherein the defining the relationship comprises;

defining one or more metrics to gauge performance for each of the at least one current resource'"'"'s contributions to the at least one new capability; and

assigning weights to each of the at least one current resource'"'"'s contributions to the at least one new capability;

estimate at least one of a revenue increase and a cost saving associated with implantation of the at least one new capability to provide the enhancement and achieve the proposed “

to-be”

state;

determine a value provided by the at least one new capability based upon the defined one or more metrics, the assigned weights for each of the at least one current resource'"'"'s contributions, the implementation cost, and the at least one of a revenue increase and the cost saving;

project an alternative value based upon implementation cost and at least one of revenue increase and cost saving for at least one alternative combination of at least one capability and at least one resource that are sufficient to provide the enhancement to the enterprise architecture, wherein the alternative value is further based on one or more metrics and assigned weights for the at least one resource'"'"'s contributions to the at least one capability;

compare a value of the current “

as-is”

state of the enterprise business model to the value and the alternative value of the proposed “

to-be”

state of the enterprise business model for implementation of the enhancement to determine an optimum qualitative value; and

select the current “

as is”

state, the value of the proposed “

to-be”

state, or the alternative value of the proposed “

to-be”

state based on which option is determined to provide the optimum qualitative value;

a database configured to store a hierarchical relationship of a goal, the value of the current “

as-is”

state, the value of the proposed “

to-be”

state, the alternative value of the “

to-be”

state, the current capabilities, the at least one new capability, current resources of the organization, and the at least one of the current resource, the hierarchical relationship having a plurality of levels with one or more dynamic links that differ between the plurality of levels; and

a graphic user interface (GUI) configured to display the hierarchical relationship between the goal, the values which are associated with the goal, the current capabilities and the at least one new capability, which represent critical functions for ensuring delivery of the values, and the current and at least one current resource, which enable the current capabilities and the at least one new capability,

wherein the web based application management tool is further operable to;

capture and link process measurements from one or more external modeling tools to the database to allow process performance of the chosen current “

as-is”

state or proposed “

to-be”

state to be accessed by the system; and

update the hierarchical relationship to include a hierarchical relationship between the at least one capability and the at least one resource that comprise the option determined to provide the optimum qualitative value;

the determining the value and alternative value of the proposed “

to-be”

state comprises illustrating and quantifying the value of transforming the enterprise business model of the organization from the current “

as-is”

state to the proposed “

to-be”

state; and

the goal is defined as a corporate directive establishing a final end point of an enterprise change, the value and alternative value of the proposed “

to-be”

state are defined as a customer value, the at least one new capability is a strategic capability that represents critical functions that the organization must be capable of performing to insure delivery of the customer value, and the at least one current resource is defined as a physical component that must be present and supports the at least one new capability.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the web based application management tool is further configured to map the at least one customer requirement to the at least one new capability.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the enterprise architecture includes at least one of a hardware architecture and a software architecture.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the identifying the at least one new capability includes identifying at least one of a business process, a personnel skill/competency, a physical entity, an information technology, a system component, and an infrastructure component.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the web based application management tool is further configured to prioritize each of the at least one current resource based on the assigned weights.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the defined one or more metrics are outcome based performance metrics to the at least one current resource.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the web based application management tool is further configured to track the at least one current resource based on the outcome based performance metrics.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the web based application management tool is further configured to:

assign a weight to the at least one new capability; and

prioritize the at least one new capability based on the assigned weight.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the web based application management tool is further configured to assign outcome based performance metrics to the at least one new capability.

19. A computer program product usable for managing and tracking changes in an organization and comprising a computer readable storage medium having readable program code embodied in the storage medium, the computer program product includes at least one component operable to:

illustrate and quantify a value of transforming an enterprise business model from a current “

as-is”

state to a proposed “

to-be”

state;

capture and display current resources of the organization and how they relate to an organizations'"'"' mission in real-time;

directly track which specific current resources directly support which current capabilities of the organization;

define at least one customer requirement for an enhancement to an enterprise architecture of the organization, wherein implementation of the enhancement transforms the enterprise business model to the proposed “

to-be”

state;

evaluate the current capabilities to determine whether at least one of the current capabilities is sufficient to provide the enhancement to the enterprise architecture;

when at least one of the current capabilities is not sufficient to provide the enhancement, identify at least one new capability that is sufficient to provide the enhancement;

determining whether at least one of the current resources of the organization satisfy the at least one new capability;

when at least one of the current resources satisfy the at least one new capability, define a relationship between the at least one current resource and the at least one new capability, wherein the defining the relationship comprises;

defining one or more metrics to gauge performance for each of the at least one current resource'"'"'s contributions to the at least one new capability; and

assigning weights to each of the at least one current resource'"'"'s contributions to the at least one new capability;

estimate at least one of a revenue increase and a cost saving associated with implementation of the at least one new capability to provide the enhancement and achieve the proposed “

to-be”

state;

determine iteratively a qualitative value provided by the at least one new capability for various options of the proposed “

to-be”

state of the enterprise business model comprising different combinations of the at least one current resource based upon the defined one or more metrics and the assigned weights for each of the at least one current resource'"'"'s contributions to the at least one new capability, the implementation cost, and the at least one of a revenue increase and the cost saving;

compare a qualitative value of the current “

as-is”

state of the enterprise business model to the determined qualitative values for various options of the proposed “

to-be”

state of the enterprise business model for implementation of the enhancement to determine an optimum qualitative value;

select the current “

as is”

state or one of the options of the various options of the proposed “

to-be”

state of the enterprise business model based on which option is determined to provide the optimum qualitative value;

store in a database a hierarchical relationship of a goal, the qualitative value of the current “

as-is”

state, the qualitative values for the various options of the proposed “

to-be”

state, the current capabilities, the at least one new capability, current resources of the organization, and the at least one of the current resource, the hierarchical relationship having a plurality of levels with one or more dynamic links that differ between the plurality of levels;

capture and link process measurements from one or more external modeling tools to the database to allow process performance of the selected current “

as-is”

state or proposed “

to-be”

state to be accessed;

updating the hierarchical relationship to include a hierarchical relationship between the at least one capability and the at least one resource that comprise the option determined to provide the optimum qualitative value; and

display on a graphic user interface (GUI) the hierarchical relationship between the goal, the values which are associated with the goal, the current capabilities and the at least one new capability, which represent critical functions for ensuring delivery of the values, and the current and at least one current resource, which enable the current capabilities and the at least one new capability,

wherein the determining iteratively the qualitative values for the various options comprises illustrating and quantifying the qualitative value of transforming the enterprise business model of the organization from the current “

as-is”

state to the proposed “

to-be”

state; and

the goal is defined as a corporate directive establishing a final end point of an enterprise change, the qualitative values for the various options are defined as a customer value, the at least one new capability is a strategic capability that represents critical functions that the organization must be capable of doing to insure delivery of the customer value, and the at least one current resource is defined as a physical component that must be present and supports the at least one new capability.