Identifying and Assessing Opportunities for the Introduction of Web Services through Business Process Modelling

Table of Contents

1 Introduction

1.1 Motivation for Research

1.2 Research Objective and Research Questions

1.3 Thesis’ Structure

2 Research Methodology

2.1 Research Design

2.2 Literature Review

2.3 Focus Group

2.3.1 The Focus Group as a research method

2.3.2 Characteristics of Focus Groups

2.3.3 Conducting Focus Groups

2.4 Creation of an exemplary Business Process Model

3 Web Services facilitating Business Processes

3.1 Growing economic challenges

3.2 Service-Oriented Architecture

3.2.1 Concept

3.2.2 Evolution of major system architectures

3.2.3 Characteristics and principles

3.2.4 Interaction model

3.2.5 Impact

3.3 Web Services defined

3.4 Challenges addressed

3.5 Architectural elements

3.5.1 Foundation standards and protocols

3.5.2 The enabling Service Grid

3.5.3 Application services

3.6 Web Service evolution – Web Services compared

3.6.1 Web Services and components

3.6.2 Web Services’ communication styles

3.6.3 Web Services vs. ASP

3.6.4 Web Services vs. EAI

3.6.5 Web Services vs. EDI

3.7 Web Service impact and benefits

3.7.1 Main technical benefits

3.7.2 Main business benefits

3.7.3 Web Services benefit framework

3.8 Web Service purposes and adoption

3.8.1 Business purposes driving Web Service projects

3.8.2 Web Service technology adoption phases

3.8.3 Current adoption stage and trend

3.9 Web Service implementation example review

3.10 Web Service issues

3.10.1 Technical domain

3.10.2 Financial domain

3.10.3 Organisational domain

4 Web Services & Business Process Modelling

4.1 Introduction to Business Process Modelling

4.2 Business Process Modelling for composite Web Services

4.2.1 Motivation

4.2.2 Choreography and Orchestration

4.2.3 Executable and abstract processes

4.2.4 Overview of current specification activities

4.2.5 Need for evaluation

4.2.6 Lack of mature, intuitive BPM support for Web Services

4.3 Business Process Modelling supporting Web Services uptake

4.3.1 Different perceptions of business processes

4.3.2 BPM to support Web Service-related business decisions

5 BPM for Web Service assessment & deployment

5.1 BPM for identifying first Web Service projects

5.1.1 Introduction to the decision methodology

5.1.2 1st stage – Process rejection based on discarding criteria

5.1.3 2nd stage – Process characteristics

5.1.4 3rd stage – Organisational characteristics

5.1.5 Optional stage - Assessment of WS’ strategic importance for organisation

5.1.6 4th stage – Assigning WS implementation priority to suitable processes

5.1.7 Support through Business Process Modelling

5.2 BPM for Web Service deployment

5.2.1 Support through Business Process Modelling

6 Example: A collaborative Business Process Model for Web Service application in e-Procurement

6.1 Introduction to ARIS

6.1.1 Description

6.1.2 Justification

6.1.3 Elements and functionalities of the ARIS Toolset

6.1.4 ARIS model types

6.2 Description of adequate modelling constructs

6.3 Matching critical information with appropriate ARIS constructs

6.4 E-Procurement as a potential area for Web Service deployment

6.5 Design of a Business Process Model for Web Service integration

6.6 Discovered limitations of the modelling tool

7 Conclusion

7.1 Thesis Summary

7.2 Limitations

7.3 Outlook

Research Objective and Scope

This thesis investigates how Business Process Modelling (BPM) can bridge the gap between technical Web Service implementations and business-oriented strategic planning. The research aim is to develop a methodology that enables organizations to systematically assess the impact, risks, and benefits of Web Services within their existing business processes to facilitate adoption.

• Characterization of Web Services and Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA).
• Development of a structured assessment framework for identifying viable Web Service projects.
• Mapping of critical information types required for WS assessment onto Business Process Models.
• Application and validation of the methodology via a collaborative Business Process Model for e-Procurement.
• Discussion of current technical, financial, and organizational barriers to Web Service adoption.

Excerpt from the Book

Summary of Chapters

1 Introduction: Outlines the motivation for using Web Services, defines the research objective, and provides the structure of the thesis.

2 Research Methodology: Explains the research design, including the literature review and the use of Focus Group sessions to gather practitioner input.

3 Web Services facilitating Business Processes: Describes Service-Oriented Architectures, architectural elements, benefits, and adoption challenges of Web Services.

4 Web Services & Business Process Modelling: Introduces the dual relationship between Web Services and BPM, covering composition and business assessment.

5 BPM for Web Service assessment & deployment: Proposes a structured framework and decision methodology for assessing and prioritizing Web Service implementation projects.

6 Example: A collaborative Business Process Model for Web Service application in e-Procurement: Illustrates the practical application of the methodology using the ARIS Toolset in an e-Procurement scenario.

7 Conclusion: Summarizes the thesis, acknowledges limitations, and provides an outlook for future research in the field.

Keywords

Web Services, Service-Oriented Architecture, Business Process Modelling, BPM, E-Procurement, ARIS, IT Alignment, Business Strategy, Interoperability, XML, SOAP, WSDL, UDDI, Process Improvement, Collaborative Commerce

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the core focus of this research?

The research focuses on the business alignment of Web Services, exploring how Business Process Modelling can help organizations systematically identify and evaluate opportunities for Web Service integration.

What are the primary themes discussed?

The central themes include the characterization of Web Services, the challenges and benefits of implementation, and the role of Business Process Modelling in providing a decision-support instrument for IT projects.

What is the main objective of the thesis?

The objective is to design a methodology that allows decision-makers to identify potential areas for improvement using a service-oriented approach and to assess the associated benefits and risks.

Which scientific methods are utilized?

The work employs a comprehensive literature review and exploratory Focus Group sessions with industry representatives to derive a conceptual framework for Web Service adoption.

What topics are covered in the main section?

The main part covers the technical foundations of Web Services, the current adoption stages, critical issues in different domains (technical, financial, organizational), and a detailed framework for process evaluation.

Which keywords best describe this research?

Key terms include Web Services, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Business Process Modelling (BPM), e-Procurement, and ARIS methodology.

How is the ARIS Toolset applied in this work?

ARIS is used to map identified critical information for Web Service evaluation and deployment into collaborative Business Process Models, serving as a practical, illustrated example.

What is the role of the "Focus Group" in this thesis?

The Focus Group sessions served as a source of practitioner-based insight to validate and complete lists of benefits, risks, and criteria for potential application areas of Web Services.