Examination paper for TDT4175 Information Systems

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1 Department of Computer and Information Science Examination paper for TDT4175 Information Systems Academic contact during examination: John Krogstie Phone: Examination date: 13/ Examination time (from-to): 09:00-13:00 Allowed aids: C Specified printed and handwritten material is allowed. In the run of the course the book "BPMN Method & Style", Bruce Silver. (Edition 1 or 2) has been specified. Clean copies of the chapters 1-6 used in the course also allowed. In addition standard dictionaries (English-English, and from English to other languages) are allowed to bring. No additional printed or handwritten materials are allowed. An approved simple calculator is allowed. Tillatte hjelpemidler: Kode C - Spesifiserte trykte og håndskrevne hjelpemidler tillatt. Følgende er spesifisert: Boken BPMN Method & Style", Bruce Silver. (Edition 1 or 2) er tillatt, enten hele boken, eller lett identifiserbare uannoterte kopier av (deler av) boken. I tillegg kan man ha med standard ordliste (engelsk-engelsk, og fra enkelsk til andre språk). Ingen øvrige trykte eller håndskrevne hjelpemidler er tillatt. Bestemt, enkel kalkulator tillatt Read the text of each task carefully. Make sure that you understand the assignment. Answers must be based on the curriculum. Note the percentage for each question which sums up to 100 %, so you use your time wisely. The exam-text is below found both in English, norsk bokmål and nynorsk. The English version is to be regarded as the original if there are any discrepancies. If you consider the information given incomplete or inaccurate, then make a note of the assumptions you find it necessary to make in order to answer the question. Good Luck! Number of pages: 5 Checked by: Prof. G. Sindre Page 1 of 8 Date Signature

2 English version Task 1 (5 points) - What are the differences between data, information, and knowledge? SG: Data consist of raw facts, such as an employee number, total hours worked. When facts are arranged in a meaningful manner they become information, i.e. information is a collection of facts organized in such a way that they have value beyond the facts themselves. Knowledge is awareness and understanding of a set of information held by a human. The answer will be further improved if it is exemplified by an example, but this is not mandatory. Task 2 (25 points) - Appendix A describes development, publication, and reporting of scientific papers. Develop a BPMN model of the case described in this appendix. Explain your modeling decisions. (Tip: You might need to divide the model over two pages). SG: Below one possible solution. The text can be interpreted in somewhat different ways so one can have different solutions as for what is done by reviewer and publisher, although assumptions made should be written. The process should be complete though covering all main in writing, evaluating, and publishing the paper. It is important that BPMN is used correctly (syntax), that labeling is right etc. Also some common mistakes is to have the tool Cristin as a lane. Different variants of pools and lanes is OK. It is not to expect that the layout is perfect. Task 3 (5 points) - What are the characteristics of a knowledge management system? SG: A KMS is an Organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices to: Create, store, share, and use the organization s knowledge and experience Task 4 (10 points) - As written in the case description in Appendix A, the development of a scientific paper is a knowledge intensive task, both because it uses the knowledge of many coauthors, combines own research and research results from others, and produces new knowledge (represented in the new paper). Which parts of the process that you have modeled in task 2 could be improved with a knowledge management system? (You do not have to redraw the whole model, just indicate where improvements can be made) SG: This is a bit depending on the layout of the model that has been made. We have provided the development of the paper (write paper) as a sub-process, which is the main knowledge intensive tasks, and which could benefit from a KMS, e.g. having structured description of earlier articles, to better be able to compare as for related work and assure novelty, to have access to the different parts of the research results from the project for all relevant people, tracking who has written what etc.). Also the reviewing (Review Paper) can be thought about as being knowledge intensive, since one would like to get an overview of all relevant existing articles by the authors and other to judge novelty and significance, and also to check if the research method is used correctly. Task 5 (5 points) - What are the characteristics of a transaction processing system? Page 2 of 8

3 SG: Transaction processing systems are cross-functional information systems that process data resulting from the occurrence of business transactions, such as sales, purchases, deposits, withdrawals, refunds, and payments. A TPS also acts as main link between the organization and external entities, such as customers' suppliers, distributors, and regulatory agencies Task 6 (8 points) - The reporting of published papers to Cristin described in Appendix A can be looked upon as a set of transaction. The information about published papers is already available from the publishers, thus it is not really necessary that the researcher reports this himself. Reengineer the reporting part of the process described in Appendix A, and make a BPMN model of the changed part. SG: Re-engineering is described as a process redesign, often with a Radical redesign of business processes, organizational structures, information systems, and values of the organization to achieve a breakthrough in business results. The main change here is thought to be that the publishers update Cristin as soon as the paper is published. An alternative is that Cristin import information from the publisher, in all cases the researcher is out of the loop (alternatively is given an alert by Cristin (and similar systems in other countries) when the paper is registered to check that everything is OK. Task 7 (5 points) - In the curriculum, we discuss different values that might be achieved when introducing information systems. Provide a short description of different kinds of value that can be created through the use of IT. SG: Here different responses (on different level of granularity) are acceptable, one relates to the following four areas (treated also in the lectures): Ensure economic gain Ensure personal gain Ensure organisational (business) gain Ensure societal gain Personal and societal gain might be linked to economic gain, but they can raise a number of goals in addition, which are not purely economical. Economical value is highly tangible and can be viewed from different stakeholder perspectives. Business value is somewhat less tangible that includes all forms of value that determine the health and well-being of an organisation in the long run. Business value expands the concept of economical value to include other forms of value such as employee value, customer value, supplier value, managerial value and potentially also societal value (related to corporate responsibility). Business value also often embraces intangible assets not necessarily attributable to any stakeholder group such as intellectual capital and a fi rm s business model and public opinion. Also other approaches to this can be used, but one should include both economic and other benefits to persons and organization. A good answer should also include societal benefits Task 8 (5 points) - What kind of value (referring to task 7) will the reengineering done in task 6 result in? SG: Since the researcher does not need to do a task, it ensures personal gain. If the result is that more papers are registered, it also brings economic gain to the university, if more papers are registered. The publisher can add this as a service providing business gain. Since reporting then Page 3 of 8

4 might be done quicker, the information about the paper can be available at an earlier stage, providing societal gain. Task 9 (12 points) - Whereas so far publishers have been necessary to distribute research results in a trustable way, many argue that all the work on development and quality control of the research papers is done by the researchers themselves for free. Discuss how the use of modern IT could disrupt the whole publication industry, potentially removing this actor completely from the process of academic publication. SG: Here one can remove the publisher task, thus get rid of an actor. Note that the reason in the text to have a publisher is that they provide a reputeable publication outlet, but this is primarily based on the quality control of papers, thus this can still be done even without the publisher How would this kind of change potentially influence the solution you have proposed in task 6? SG: If one remove the publisher, one also remove the possibility suggested in task 6, to have them report the paper. Task 10 (10 points) - Describe the area of Enterprise Architecture, mentioning main frameworks and modeling approaches. SG: An enterprise architecture is a formal description of an enterprise, a detailed map of the enterprise at component level to guide its changes. Provide the structure of an enterprise s components, their inter-relationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution over time. EA is meant to bridge strategy and implementation Important frameworks treated in the course are Zachman providing a taxonomy of possibly relevant products/models, and TOGAF presenting the ADM process. EA can be divided in different sub-architectures e.g. business architecture, application architecture, data architecture and technology architecture. Archimate is amodeling approach supporting modelling according to the different sub-architectures described in TOGAF, in a way making it possible to integrate the different sub-architecture Task 11 (10 points) - IT development is usually done according to agile methods. Enterprise Architecture on the other hand is looked upon as not being agile. In light of that only a small proportion of the work done on IT is used to develop new systems, how can agile development and enterprise architecture be combined to achieve value from the effort used on IT? SG: This can be regarded as a difficult question, although points to an essential issue in information systems, the balance of short term and long-term value that will always be relevant (and thus an area any consultant in this field will need to be able to reflect upon). This was discussed explicitly in several lectures both relating EA and agile development, and how to combine long-term RE with Agile methods. Some points: EA and agile have different scope (product/process). Agile looks upon a single product during development (short-term value, quickly producing systems that can produce value). EA is long-term to provide long-term possibilities for evolution of systems so they provide value both today and can be made to provide value also (many years) later through maintenance and evolution activities Page 4 of 8

5 Agile without a EA framework can quickly produce solutions that is hard to maintain over time Danger that EA becomes a strait-jacket, making it hard to quickly come up with and implement new solutions Enterprise Architecture can also become very comprehensive, so that it itself is hard to maintain (and that this maintenance can only be done by a limited set of EA-experts) Right level of abstraction on EA. Agile Enterprise Architecture Where details can be updated can business professional through normal activities e.g. using Active Knowledge Modeling Page 5 of 8

6 Norsk bokmål versjon Oppgave 1 (5 poeng) - Hva skiller data, informasjon og kunnskap? Oppgave 2 (25 poeng) - Appendix A beskriver utvikling, publisering og rapportering av vitenskaplige artikler. Lag en BPMN-modell basert på beskrivelsen i dette vedlegget. Forklar de valg du tar. (Tips: Det kan være lurt å dele opp modellen over to sider) Oppgave 3 (5 poeng) - Hva kjennetegner systemer for kunnskapsforvaltning (Knowledge Management)? Oppgave 4 (10 poeng) - Som beskrevet i Appendix A, er det å skrive vitenskaplige artikler en kunnskapsintensiv aktivitet, fordi man bygger på kunnskapen fra flere medforfattere og også fra andre forskere og lager ny kunnskap som representeres i den nye artikkelen. Hvilke deler av prosessen som du har modellert i oppgave 2 kan forbedres/støttes bedre med et system for kunnskapsforvaltning? (Du trenger ikke å tegne modellen på nytt, bare indiker hvor det kan gjøres forbedringer) Oppgave 5 (5 poeng) - Hva kjennetegner et transaksjonsprosesseringssystem? Oppgave 6 (8 poeng) - Rapportering av publikasjoner til Cristin som beskrevet i Appendix A kan ses på som et sett transaksjoner. Forlaget (Publisher) har allerede all nødvendig informasjon, så det er ikke nødvendig at forskeren selv skal rapportere dette manuelt. Laft om (Reengineer) rapporteringsdelen av prosessen beskrevet i Appendix A, og lag en BPMN-modell av den endrede prosessen. Oppgave 7 (5 poeng) - Gi en kort beskrivelse av de ulike type verdier (values) som kan oppnås ved innføring og bruk av IT-løsninger. Oppgave 8 (5 poeng) - Hvilke type verdi (som beskrevet under oppgave 7) vil en omlaftning (re-engineering) som du har beskrevet som svar på oppgave 6 resultere i? Oppgave 9 (12 poeng) - Så langt har forlag blitt sett på som nødvendige for å distribuere forskningsresultater på en tillitvekkende måte. Mange vil hevde at alt arbeidet med å skrive og evaluere artikler gjøres gratis av forskerne selv. Diskuter hvordan bruk av moderne IT kan skape store omveltninger i forlagsverdenen, potensielt ved å fjerne forlagene helt fra prosessen rundt akademisk publisering. Hvordan vil en slik endring potensielt påvirke besvarelsen din fra oppgave 6? Oppgave 10 (10 poeng) - Beskriv området virksomhetsarkitektur (Enterprise Architecture). Nevn viktige rammeverk og modelleringsmetoder i dette feltet. Oppgave 11 (10 poeng) - IT-utvikling gjøres nå ofte i henhold til smidige metoder. Virksomhetsarkitektur på sin side oppfattes som lite smidig. I lys av at kun en liten del av ITarbeidet går med til å lage nye systemer, hvordan kan man kombinere bruk av smidige metoder og virksomhetsarkitektur for å oppnå verdi av arbeidet som gjøres med IT? Page 6 of 8

7 Nynorsk versjon Oppgåve 1 (5 poeng) - Kva skil data, informasjon og kunnskap? Oppgåve 2 (25 poeng) - Appendix A skildrar utvikling, publisering og rapportering av vitskaplege artiklar. Lag ein BPMN modell basert på teksten i dette vedlegget. Forklar dei vala du tar. (Tips: Det kan vere lurt å dele opp modellen over to sider) Oppgåve 3 (5 poeng) - Kva kjenneteiknar system for kunnskapsforvaltning (Knowledge Management)? Oppgåve 4 (10 poeng) - Som det står i Appendix A, er det å skrive vitskaplege artiklar ein kunnskapsintensiv aktivitet, fordi ein byggjer på kunnskapen frå fleire medforfattarar og også frå andre forskarar og lagar ny kunnskap som blir presentert i den nye artikkelen. Kva delar av prosessen som du har modellert i oppgåve 2 kan gjerast betre med eit system for kunnskapsforvaltning? (Du treng ikkje å teikne modellen på nytt, berre indiker kor det kan gjerast betringar) Oppgåve 5 (5 poeng) - Kva kjenneteiknar eit transaksjonsprosesseringssystem? Oppgåve 6 (8 poeng) - Rapportering av publikasjonar til Cristin som skildra i Appendix A kan sjåast på som eit sett transaksjonar. Forlaget (Publisher) har allereie all naudsynt informasjon, så forskaren sjølv skulle ikkje trenge å rapportere dette manuelt. Laft om (Reengineer) rapporteringsdelen av prosessen skildra i Appendix A, og lag ein BPMNmodell av den nye prosessen. Oppgåve 7 (5 poeng) - Gi ei kort oppsummering av dei ulike typane av verdiar (values) som ein kan oppnå ved innføring og bruk av IT-løysingar Oppgåve 8 (5 poeng) - Kva type verdi (som skildra under oppgåve 7) vil ei omlafting (reengineering) som du har diskutert som svar på oppgåve 6 resultere i? Oppgåve 9 (12 poeng) - Så langt har forlag blitt sett på som naudsynte for å distribuere forskning på ein tillitvekkjande måte. Mange vil hevde at alt arbeidet med å skrive og evaluere artiklar blir gjort gratis av forskarane sjølve. Diskuter korleis bruk av moderne IT kan skape store endringar i forlagsbransjen, potensielt ved å fjerne forlaga heilt frå prosessen rundt akademisk publisering. Korleis vil ei slik endring potensielt påverke løysinga di frå oppgåve 6? Oppgåve 10 (10 poeng) - Forklar området verksemdarkitektur (Enterprise Architecture). Nemn viktige rammeverk og modelleringsmetodar i dette feltet. Oppgåve 11 (10 poeng) - IT-utvikling bruker ofte smidige metodar. Verksemdsarkitektur på si side blir oppfatta som lite smidig. I lys av at berre ein liten del av IT arbeidet går med til å lage nye system, korleis kan ein kombinere bruk av smidige metodar og verksemdsarkitektur for å oppnå verdi av arbeidet som gjerast med IT? Page 7 of 8

8 Appendix A Case description Writing scientific papers is a knowledge intensive task. The paper reports scientific results that have been developed in a research project. Research projects are often collaborations between different people, often working in different parts of the world. Also the paper writing is often done as a collaborative effort. Although there are different patterns of author collaboration, one often found pattern is that one researcher receives information about an interesting conference from the conference organizers. Since all conferences are focused on some topics, it is important that the research results are relevant for this focus. The paper is to report research results that also others have contributed to and have knowledge on, thus these people are invited to be part of the paper writing. If enough of the relevant co-authors agree to be part of the paper writing, one continues the process. A plan for who is to write each part of the paper is made and the different parts (on related work, research method, and research contributions) are developed in parallel. At a given time the main writer (i.e. the initiator) collects all parts and puts the paper together. The final version is then sent to all co-authors to get final feedback. In some cases one also sends the paper to a professional language editing company, to ensure that the English is flawless. When the paper is finished it is submitted for review. It is important that the paper is submitted before the submission deadline. The review might either result in acceptance or rejection. Even if the paper is accepted, one will get feedback on things to address in a final version of the paper, which then has to be submitted after one have addressed the comments. The reviewers of papers typically consider evaluation criteria such as relevance (to the conference), novelty (is there enough new results compared to what is already reported in the research literature?), significance (are the results important?), method (have appropriate research methods been used?), and presentation (is the paper format correct and the language good?). Eventually the paper is made available by a publisher that the conference organizer has an agreement with. It is important to have a reputable publisher, since this is looked upon as a sign of quality. The paper has to be registered by the authors in their national systems for research publications (In Norway this system is called Cristin - Current Research Information SysTem In Norway). The deadline for the registration is January 20 for all papers that were published the year before, if the paper is to count in the national statistics (which is used in deciding the budget of the University where the researcher / paper author is employed). Page 8 of 8

9 Conference information Write paper Publish information on conference Submit paper Paper Receive paper Receive feedback Feedback on paper Review paper No Accepted? No Accepted? Yes Yes Develp final paper Final paper Publish final paper Final paper Publish paper Register paper Publisher Conference organizer Researcher

10 Invite co-writers No Yes Enough accept? Plan and delegate work Write related work Write research method Write research contribution Develop and review complete paper Perform language check yes Language check? no

11 Conference Information Write paper Publish information on conference Submit paper Paper Receive paper Receive feedback Feedback on paper Review paper No Accepted? no Accepted? Yes yes Develp final paper Final paper Publish final paper Final paper Publish paper Register paper Publisher Conference organizer Researcher