Journey ontologies
Though "journey management" is already used by some practitioners, how it articulates with "project management", "programme management" is unclear in global "project management" published practices and "journey management"is still an object under research in the academic arena [1].
In common language, a journey is a "movement from end to end in a fixed course" (Fr : un mouvement d'un bout à l'autre selon un parcours fixé), a travel [2] (Fr : voyage)
Taking a management perspective, we prefer to define a journey as an "initiatory path"[3] (Fr : parcours initiatique) (CC-BY Licence 2.0 France Tru Dô-Khac)
Under this definition, we might revisit various ontologies [4] as journey ontology and identify an IT center transformation journey, a process journey [6], a sourcing journey [7],...
A set of IT function profiles (Fr : profil de la fonction SI) [5] as an IT center transformation journey
- 1. Utility ("Utilitaire"),
- 2. Technology ("Technologique"),
- 3. Service Center ("Centre de Service"),
- 4. Business Partner ("Partenaire des Métiers"),
- 5. Core Business ("Coeur de Métier").
A set of "Capability Levels" of a sourcing ontology [7] as a sourcing journey :
"Capability Level 1. Performing Sourcing",
"Capability Level 2. Consistently Managing Sourcing",
"Capability Level 3. Managing Organisational Sourcing Performance",
"Capability Level 4. Pro-actively Enhancing Value",
"Capability Level 5. Sustaining excellence".
A Service Integration Maturity Model [8] [9] as a IT architecture journey
- 1.Silo (data integration)
- 2.Integrated (application integration)
- 3.Componentized (functional integration)
- 4.Simple services (process integration)
- 5.Composite services (supply-chain integration)
- 6.Virtualized services ( virtual infrastructure)
- 7.Dynamically reconfigurable services (eco-system integration)
A SOA Maturity Model [10] as an IT engineering journey
- 1. "Cosmetic SOA" (revamping legacy IS)
- 2. "Overhaul SOA" (redevelopment without encapsulating business rules and master data)
- 3. "Extended SOA" (encapsulating business rules and master data)
Notes
- [1] Professor Dr David Dombkins, "Redefining our profession Part 2: The history and future of project management", PM World Today, February 2009, (Vol XI, issue II)
- [2] Chambers twentieth century dictionary, Chambers, 1972
- [3] Source : eSourcing Governance Thesaurus, Tru Dô-Khac, 2009-2010.
- [4] We define ontology , composed of the Greek words ontos (being) and logos (discourse), as a "discourse on being". Ex : an ontology on IT is a discourse on the nature of IT.
- [5] "L'information: prochain défi pour les entreprises - Pratiques de création de valeur par les SI et leur usage : cartographie 2009 ", CIGREF and Capgemini Consulting, Capgemini Consulting, 2009, page 14.
- [6] Cobit 4.1 Exerpt, IT Governance Institute, 1996-2007, page 26.
- [7]"The eSourcing Model for Client Organisations (eSCM-CL) v1.1, Model Overview", William E. Hefley, Ethel A. Loesche, ITSqc, Van Haren Publishing, 2010.
- [8] "The Open Group SOA Source Book", 2009. The model is called The Open Group Service Integration Maturity Model (OSIMM). Direct link provided as a courtesy from The Open Group. OSIMM was based on a model provided by IBM [9]
- [9] "Increase flexibility with the Service Integration Maturity Model (SIMM), Maturity, adoption, and transformation to SOA", Dr. Ali Arsanjani, Kerrie Holley, IBM, sept. 2005.
- [10] "Sustainable IT Architecture, The progressive way of overhauling information systems with SOA", Pierre Bonnet, Jean-Michel Detavernier, Dominique Vauquier and al., ISTE, John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
Authored by Tru Dô-Khac, Paris, France. Published on May 31. 2010, Paris in www.journey-ontologies.com. Copyright Tru Dô-Khac, Paris, 2010.
dimanche 29 mai 2011
IT governance ontologies
An original IT governance ontology rooted in French culture and history
Notion of IT Governance ontology
Ontology is one of the most difficult concept in philosophy : you might remember a lecture in college [1] on the “Ontological Proof” (Fr : Preuve Ontologique) by René Descartes, a French philosopher of the XVI century (famous for his “cogito ergo sum”, “I think therefore I am”). Composed by the Greek word ontos , being, (Fr : étant) and logos, discourse (Fr : discours), ontology could be translated with discourse on being (Fr : “discours sur l'être”). Applied to a specific domain or entity, it could be translated into representing (Fr: représenter) the domain or the entity or modelling the domain or the entity.
For exemple, “governance ontology” simply means “governance modelling”.
In information systems management, modelling systems happens when ensuring interoperation between IT systems or integrating a component into a system. When the modelling follows some specific semiologic rules, computer science calls it ontology : “ “Within the context of computer science, an ontology defines a set of representational primitives with which to model a domain of knowledge or discourse. The representational primitives are typically classes (or sets), attributes (or properties), and relationships (or relations among class members)...” [GRUBER 2009]
Three classical IT governance ontologies
There are three classical IT governance ontologies :
These ontologies might be revealed by three streams of thought leaderships on IT governance [WIKI 2009].
The first stream is leaded by Professor Peter Weill and Professor Jeanne Ross (MIT, USA) who formulated IT governance as "decision rights and accountability framework for encouraging desirable behaviour in the use of IT"[MIT 2002].
The second stream, probably the most widely followed, was initiated by the IT Governance Institute (USA), an institute sponsored by ISACA. ITGI retained the following definition: "(...)leadership and organisational structures and processes that ensure that the organisation's IT sustains and extends the organisation’s strategies and objectives" [ITGI 2003]. The definition is tightly coupled with the reputed best practices library COBIT (Control Objectives of Information and related Technologies), which represents a collection of 34 management processes organised in four families named as "Plan and organize" or "Acquire and Implement"[ITGI 1996-2007]. Similar definitions have been adopted by other frameworks which represent a collection of processes such as ITIL [ITIL 2007]
The third one is the most recent and is promoted by ISO: "(...)it includes the strategy and policies for using ICT within an organisation" [ISO 2008].
For each of these thought leadership, ontological primitives can be drawn out from the respective governance definitions.
This hints to the fact that governance primarily is a political notion and suggests whereas more traditional thinking say that IT governance were a branch of “Corporate Governance” or a discipline of its kind and called “IT Governance” with upper case letters, that IT governance might be simply “governance applied to IT”
“definition, application and management of IT governance regime”
where “IT governance regime” is simply a “regime for IT”. (©Tru Dô-Khac, France) The associated ontological analysis results into an outstanding simple output.
[GRUBER 2009] Definition by [ Tom Gruber ], Encyclopedia of Database Systems, Ling Liu and M. Tamer Özsu (Eds.), Springer-Verlag, 2009
[ISO 2008] "IT governance standard", 2008, ISO.
[ITGI 2003] "Board Briefing on IT Governance, 2nd Edition", IT Governance Institute, 2003, page 10.
[ITGI 1996-2007] Cobit 4.1 Exerpt, IT Governance Institute, 1996-2007, page 26.
[ITIL 2007] ITIL® V3 Glossary v3.1.24, May 11 2007, page ,
[MIT 2002] "Don’t just lead: govern. Implementing effective IT governance", Peter Weill, Richard Woodham, 2002, MIT CISR, page 1, 3.
[MIT 2004] "IT governance on One Page", Peter Weill, Jeanne Ross, 2004, MIT CISR, page 4.
[WIKI 2009] en.wikipedia.org, Information technology governance/definitions, 31 janvier 2009.
[1] Tribute to Lycée Louis-Le-Grand and ist professors who raised me to Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech.
- it carries some creative work; - it is endorsed by its creator; - the history of the page is traced; - the creative work is anchored in previous creative works; - the creative work is marked with the freedom the creator wants it to carry, so others can share, remix, use commercially, or any combination thereof. This knowledge cell is a cell of The Archilogy Institute, an open creative knowledge community addressing governance within enterprises and ecosystems.
- Regime Management professional services, - Journey Management professional services, - business relationship reengineering professional services, - business process transactioning professional services, - IT center transformation, - R&D center transformation.
A genuine IT governance ontology rooted in French culture and history by Tru Dô-Khac, France est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Paternité - Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale - Partage des Conditions Initiales à l'Identique 2.0 France.
“Share, Remix, Reuse -Legally” is the motto of Creative Commons, « a nonprofit organization dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright. Creative Commons provides free licenses and other legal tools to mark creative work with the freedom the creator wants it to carry, so others can share, remix, use commercially, or any combination thereof ».
It is remixed through Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license
Notion of IT Governance ontology
Ontology is one of the most difficult concept in philosophy : you might remember a lecture in college [1] on the “Ontological Proof” (Fr : Preuve Ontologique) by René Descartes, a French philosopher of the XVI century (famous for his “cogito ergo sum”, “I think therefore I am”). Composed by the Greek word ontos , being, (Fr : étant) and logos, discourse (Fr : discours), ontology could be translated with discourse on being (Fr : “discours sur l'être”). Applied to a specific domain or entity, it could be translated into representing (Fr: représenter) the domain or the entity or modelling the domain or the entity.
For exemple, “governance ontology” simply means “governance modelling”.
In information systems management, modelling systems happens when ensuring interoperation between IT systems or integrating a component into a system. When the modelling follows some specific semiologic rules, computer science calls it ontology : “ “Within the context of computer science, an ontology defines a set of representational primitives with which to model a domain of knowledge or discourse. The representational primitives are typically classes (or sets), attributes (or properties), and relationships (or relations among class members)...” [GRUBER 2009]
Three classical IT governance ontologies
There are three classical IT governance ontologies :
- IT entitlements and IT accountabilities
- the above plus IT organisational structures and IT management processes
- the above plus the IT strategy and IT policy.
These ontologies might be revealed by three streams of thought leaderships on IT governance [WIKI 2009].
The first stream is leaded by Professor Peter Weill and Professor Jeanne Ross (MIT, USA) who formulated IT governance as "decision rights and accountability framework for encouraging desirable behaviour in the use of IT"[MIT 2002].
The second stream, probably the most widely followed, was initiated by the IT Governance Institute (USA), an institute sponsored by ISACA. ITGI retained the following definition: "(...)leadership and organisational structures and processes that ensure that the organisation's IT sustains and extends the organisation’s strategies and objectives" [ITGI 2003]. The definition is tightly coupled with the reputed best practices library COBIT (Control Objectives of Information and related Technologies), which represents a collection of 34 management processes organised in four families named as "Plan and organize" or "Acquire and Implement"[ITGI 1996-2007]. Similar definitions have been adopted by other frameworks which represent a collection of processes such as ITIL [ITIL 2007]
The third one is the most recent and is promoted by ISO: "(...)it includes the strategy and policies for using ICT within an organisation" [ISO 2008].
For each of these thought leadership, ontological primitives can be drawn out from the respective governance definitions.
| Authors | Primitives |
|---|---|
| P. Weill and J. Ross (USA) | Decision rights Accountabilities |
| ISACA / ITGI | Leadership Organisational structures Processes |
| OGC | Policies Strategy Processes Roles |
| ISO | Directing systems Controlling systems Use plans IT strategies IT policies |
Users voice
Should we consult the user side, we could knock at CIGREF, an association of the leading French companies which was created 40 years ago in Paris to address the usage of information technologies within the enterprise. CIGREF bears the user voice of a community strong of 130 companies which form more than 95% of companies of the CAC 40 and 50% of Euronext 100. In a report of a study on IT governance conducted in 2002, CIGREF noted that "chaque fois que différents acteurs veulent exercer un pouvoir sur un système, ils évoquent la notion de gouvernance" [CIGREF 2002] (Ang : "any time various actors are willing to exercise some power on a system, they summon the notion of governance".
It is noticeable that the word “power” (Fr : pouvoir) is used in this user voice instead of “authority” (Fr : autorité) or “accountability” (Fr : responsabilité) that could have been used without modifying dramatically the meaning of the phrase.This hints to the fact that governance primarily is a political notion and suggests whereas more traditional thinking say that IT governance were a branch of “Corporate Governance” or a discipline of its kind and called “IT Governance” with upper case letters, that IT governance might be simply “governance applied to IT”
A genuine IT governance ontology
Contemplating that regime (Fr : régime), a notion deeply rooted in the French culture and history, was a primitive notion in political science, we have crafted this genuine definition of IT governance :“definition, application and management of IT governance regime”
where “IT governance regime” is simply a “regime for IT”. (©Tru Dô-Khac, France) The associated ontological analysis results into an outstanding simple output.
| IT governance definition | Primitive |
|---|---|
| Definition, application and management of IT governance regime where IT governance regime is a [governance] regime for IT | Regime |
References
[CIGREF 2002] "Gouvernance du SI, problématiques et démarches" (Ang: IT governance, problematics and approaches), CIGREF, 2002, page 11.[GRUBER 2009] Definition by [ Tom Gruber ], Encyclopedia of Database Systems, Ling Liu and M. Tamer Özsu (Eds.), Springer-Verlag, 2009
[ISO 2008] "IT governance standard", 2008, ISO.
[ITGI 2003] "Board Briefing on IT Governance, 2nd Edition", IT Governance Institute, 2003, page 10.
[ITGI 1996-2007] Cobit 4.1 Exerpt, IT Governance Institute, 1996-2007, page 26.
[ITIL 2007] ITIL® V3 Glossary v3.1.24, May 11 2007, page ,
[MIT 2002] "Don’t just lead: govern. Implementing effective IT governance", Peter Weill, Richard Woodham, 2002, MIT CISR, page 1, 3.
[MIT 2004] "IT governance on One Page", Peter Weill, Jeanne Ross, 2004, MIT CISR, page 4.
[WIKI 2009] en.wikipedia.org, Information technology governance/definitions, 31 janvier 2009.
[1] Tribute to Lycée Louis-Le-Grand and ist professors who raised me to Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech.
About this page
This page is a creative knowledge cell :Contacting the knowledge cell nurturer
The present cell is nurtured by Tru Dô-Khac , a Paris based independent consultant in IT and innovation governance.Sustaining this knowledge cell
To raise a family while sustaining various cells of The Archilogy Institute, Tru Dô-Khac delivers professionals services:Tracing the knowledge cell life
- Published by Dô-Khac Decision, Paris, on June 27. 2010 on www.it-governance-ontologies.com«Sharing, Reusing, Remixing, - Legally», the knowledge cell content
A genuine IT governance ontology rooted in French culture and history by Tru Dô-Khac, France est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Paternité - Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale - Partage des Conditions Initiales à l'Identique 2.0 France.
“Share, Remix, Reuse -Legally” is the motto of Creative Commons, « a nonprofit organization dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright. Creative Commons provides free licenses and other legal tools to mark creative work with the freedom the creator wants it to carry, so others can share, remix, use commercially, or any combination thereof ».
It is remixed through Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license
