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A Model-BasedManagement Dashboard:Harmonizing Management Efforts to Optimize the Enterprise

by Fred A. Cummins

This Executive Report proposes personalized dashboards for all managers in

an enterprise as well as an active business model based on the Value Delivery

Modeling Language (VDML). The report describes the VDML concepts and

facilities that model the operation of the enterprise, the mechanisms for

integrating the model with operational business systems, and, finally, the

implications of the shared VDML model and modeling facilities to the future

evolution of the enterprise.

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Rob Austin Ron Blitstein Tom DeMarco Lynne Ellyn Israel Gat Vince Kellen Tim Lister Lou Mazzucchelli Ken Orr Robert Scott

THIS ISSUE’S AUTHOR

IN THIS ISSUE

2 VDML Modeling Concepts

9 Linking the Model to Reality

14 The Evolving Reality

16 Conclusion

17 Endnotes

17 About the Author

1©2013 Cutter Consortium Vol. 13, No. 1, 23 January 2013 DATA INSIGHT & SOCIAL BI

A Model-Based Management Dashboard:Harmonizing Management Efforts to Optimize the Enterprise

A conventional executive dashboard provides a windowon key measurements of the operation of the enterprise.Implementation of the dashboard generally offers aparticular viewpoint with access to current operatingdata to support that view. When the executive observesa change of concern, or the dashboard raises an alarmbased on monitoring certain variables, the executivewill likely turn to a staff member to look into the situa-tion further since the dashboard does not contain thedetail of related variables or more specific businessoperations.

Unfortunately, the data and exceptions of interest arenot always the same, and top executives cannot addresseverything that deserves attention. To manage an enter-prise most effectively, managers across the organizationrequire data and awareness of exceptions within theirown sphere of influence. Thus, a management dash-board system should be a tool to support enterprisemanagement at all levels. It should provide data aboutcurrent operations and highlight exceptions that requireattention. Furthermore, to avoid working at cross-purposes, managers need a common understanding ofthe current state of the enterprise and how it works.

This Executive Report proposes the development of amodel-based dashboard capability. While managersthroughout the enterprise have their own domains ofinterest, a shared enterprise model — defined usingthe Value Delivery Modeling Language (VDML) —can align their individual views. For the proposeddashboard, the model is linked to sources of actualoperating data, providing each manager with the dataand alerts of interest to them. The dashboard interfaceenables managers to define those interests and, asrequired, to probe deeper into the operation of theenterprise in order to understand the source of vari-ances, anticipate the consequences, collaborate acrossthe enterprise, and explore remedial action.

Implementation of this dashboard capability requiresa major investment to meet the occasional and somewhatunpredictable needs of an executive. However, a model-based, adaptable dashboard that meets the informationneeds of business leaders throughout the enterprise will

Fred A. Cummins

www.cutter.comEXECUTIVE REPORT 2

pay off with increased efficiency and innovation.Importantly, the model supports analysis of correctiveaction and operating improvements, empowering eachmanager to innovate within his or her area of respons-ibility. Furthermore, the model clarifies when managersshould collaborate with other managers on shared chal-lenges and opportunities with a shared understandingof their impact on the rest of the enterprise.

In this report, we will first discuss the concepts and facil-ities of VDML for modeling the enterprise. We will thenexamine the requirements of a model-based dashboardsystem that provides business insights based on cur-rent operational data in the context of a VDML model.Finally, we will consider the evolution of an enterprisethat a model-based dashboard and its associated busi-ness modeling capabilities promotes and supports.

VDML MODELING CONCEPTS

VDML is a robust business analysis and design model-ing language for businesspeople. It incorporates con-cepts from a number of business modeling and analysistechniques. VDML supports business analysis, design,decision making, and transformation planning from anenterprise, value-driven perspective. Managers will useVDML to gain insights and explore alternatives. Theywill be assisted by business analysts that build andanalyze the models. Some managers will also becomebusiness analysts as they learn to appreciate the valueof VDML as a management tool.

Work on VDML began when the Object ManagementGroup (OMG) issued an RFP in the spring of 2009.1 Thefocus of the initial submission (early in 2010) was valuechain modeling in support of capability analysis. Thisoffered the opportunity to evaluate business operationsin terms of customer value and to identify potentialimprovements to capabilities as well as operating strate-gies. Participation of the NEFFICS project (NetworkedEnterprise transFormation and resource management inFuture internet enabled Innovation CloudS) as well asparticipation of additional business modeling expertsenhanced the scope of this work. The result is a model-ing language that incorporates business modeling con-cepts from such techniques as the following:

Value chain analysis2

Value stream analysis3

Capability analysis4

Value network analysis5

Resources, events, and agents6

e3value7

Possession, ownership, and availability8

Business model cube9

Business Model Canvas10

The VDML metamodel specification is stable, withcurrent work focusing on refinements to notation (i.e.,graphical displays) and reconciliation with relatedOMG modeling specifications. The VDML objective is toprovide a modeling language that is business-orientedand supports analysis, design, and transformation witha focus on optimization of both customer value andbusiness operations from an enterprise perspective.Value-creation modeling is a distinguishing feature ofVDML. VDML offers a representation of the design ofthe enterprise that is meaningful to businesspeople andprovides a basis for collaboration on challenges andopportunities.

A VDML model represents the design of the enterprisethat includes measurements of operating variables andvalue contributions. These measurements are the basisfor assessing the effectiveness of the business operation.Changes to the design or variables will be propagatedto changes in the measurements that describe perfor-mance and customer satisfaction. Different scenarioscan represent different operating circumstances, differ-ent product mixes, or different customer market seg-ments along with their impact on values. Some of thesesame measurements provide or support the key perfor-mance indicators (KPIs) that a manager wants in his orher dashboard. As such, a VDML model with currentdata can support an adaptable dashboard as well asmore in-depth analysis and resolution of concernsraised by the dashboard.

A VDML business model is composed of modelingelements representing several fundamental concepts.The following sections discuss those concepts and theirrelationships. This will provide a general understandingof the VDML business modeling capabilities both forsupport of the model-based dashboard and for supportof related problem-solving, planning, and transforma-tion efforts. Throughout this discussion, we will usea hypothetical small manufacturing company, HypoManufacturing, to illustrate VDML modeling.

Collaborations and Roles

The fundamental, structural concept of a VDML modelis collaboration. A collaboration is a group of participants,working together for a shared purpose. An enterpriseinvolves many networked collaborations, including col-laborations with customers and suppliers. Roles withina collaboration define how each participant contributesto the collaboration. A participant can be an actor (e.g.,


3©2013 Cutter Consortium Vol. 13, No. 1 DATA INSIGHT & SOCIAL BI

person or automaton), a supporting collaboration, oranother role. For example, an enterprise can assign amanager (role) of an organization (collaboration) as amember (role) of a taskforce (collaboration).

There are four specialized types of collaboration inVDML: an organization unit, a business network, acommunity, and a capability method.

Organization Unit

An organization unit is a collaboration that is relativelystable with associated resources, including people,facilities, and intellectual capital. The roles in an orga-nization unit may be filled by people and/or otherorganization units, thus representing an organizationhierarchy. Notably, some organization units in an enter-prise, such as project teams and committees, do not fitthe conventional organization hierarchy pattern. Therealso may be individuals who have roles in multipleorganizations.

Figure 1 illustrates a partial organizational structurefor the product development activities of HypoManufacturing. Each rectangle represents a collabora-tion. The fork icon indicates an organization-unit collab-oration. The three-arrows icon (left side) represents abusiness network where representatives from ElectronicsSupplier and Hypo Manufacturing collaborate. An ovaldepicts a role. The large oval contains the role name

with a solid line representing its collaboration. A smalloval illustrates that the attached collaboration is within arole of the collaboration connected by the solid line; therole name is next to the small oval. A dashed arrow indi-cates that the role at the arrow tail fills a role at the head.For example, the manager role of the Electronics Groupfills three other roles in the enterprise; he or she is also amember of the Electronics Design Liaison, the DesignReview Committee, and the Manufacturable Committee.This person is a member of these other collaborationsbecause he or she is manager of the Electronics Group.

Organization units typically have defined capabilitiesbased on their resources, facilities, and intellectual capi-tal. A business analyst can model the activities requiredfor an organization unit to perform a specific capabilityas a capability method, discussed later in this report.

Business Network

A business network is a collaboration among economi-cally independent business entities. This may representcustomer relationships and relationships with suppliersor other business partners. Business networks focus onthe exchange of products, services, money, and relatedvalues such as product quality and availability of fieldsupport.

Figure 2 illustrates a VDML view of a business networkfor a Hypo Manufacturing line of business (LOB). Each

ElectronicsSupplier

EngineeringDepartment

ProductEngineering

ManufacturableCommittee

ManufacturingDepartment

ElectronicsGroup

PlasticsGroup

Manager Manager

InjectionMolding

HypoManufacturing

Manager

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member Member

ElectronicsDesign Liaison

Liaison

Group

DepartmentDepartment

GroupGroup

Unit Unit

ProductEngineering

Design ReviewCommittee

Figure 1 — Hypo Manufacturing organization chart in VDML.



oval depicts a role in the network and each squaredepicts a value proposition. A value proposition repre-sents the values offered by a provider to a recipient(more about value propositions later). As shown inthe figure, the LOB provides a product to the customerand the customer provides payment. The LOB acquiresplastic and electronic parts from the two suppliers andprovides payments to them. Each participant in a busi-ness network must perceive that it receives more valuethan it provides, or the network is not viable. In thiscase, the cost of the product offered by each supplier andthe LOB is less than the payment each receives in return,but each product recipient considers the product (and itsrelated value) to have more value than the price paid.

Community

A community is a loose association of members, suchas a professional association, an industry standardsgroup, a market segment, or employees with a commoninterest who share ideas. In Figure 2, the customerrole represents a typical member of the community ofcustomers. A particular business network transactionwill engage one customer from the market segmentcommunity.

Capability Method

A capability is the ability to perform a certain kind ofwork. A capability method is a collaboration with definedroles and activities for applying a business capabilityto deliver a particular result. An organization unit mayhave a general capability, but it typically delivers morespecific capabilities using its resources, facilities, andintellectual capital. Its capability methods define activi-ties and resources required to perform the more specificcapabilities.

A capability method can represent any form of repeti-tious, organized behavior, including adaptive proc-esses that perform some activities only part of the time.Measurements associated with activities each representan average per unit of production, so an activity maybe engaged only once for one unit of production, butmultiple times for another unit of production.

Figure 3 illustrates activities of a capability methodperformed by the LOB in the business network ofFigure 2. Activities are the boxes with rounded corners.The inverted pyramids represent stores of orders com-ing in and products going out. Each activity has anexpansion icon, a small box with a plus sign, indicatingthat it delegates to a participating collaboration.

A capability method design may be defined and main-tained by the same organization unit that provides thecapability or a by a different organization unit so thecapability method specification can be shared. Next, weexplore capability methods in greater detail in connec-tion with activities and capabilities.

Activities, Deliverable Flows, and Stores

Within any collaboration, activities define what theparticipants do in their roles within the collaboration.Activities produce deliverables consumed by otheractivities, or stores. Most deliverables are consumedby activities or stores in the same collaboration, butsome are the outputs to other collaborations, includingexternal business entities.

Each activity requires a capability. The activity defineshow that capability contributes to the particular collabo-ration. Each activity has a role assigned to one partici-pant (i.e., the provider of the required capability). Therole of one participant may be associated with multiple

‘Hypo Mfg.LOB

PlasticSupplier

CustomerPlastic

Payment Payment

Product

ElectronicsSupplier

ElectronicParts

Payment

Figure 2 — A business network for a Hypo Manufacturing line of business.



activities in the collaboration. The participant must meetthe capability requirements of each activity associatedwith that role.

A role may be filled by an actor (a person or automa-ton), or, where the work of the activity requires multipleparticipants, it may be filled by an organization unitwith the required capability. The business analyst candefine the work performed by the organization unitvia a capability method that is engaged by the activitythrough delegation. In Figure 3, the Order Fulfillmentactivity delegates to the capability method of Figure4. Where an activity delegates to a capability method,inputs to the delegating activity are passed to the per-forming capability method, and results are returned forfurther use within the parent collaboration. This mecha-nism supports the structuring of complex undertakingsand can represent the use of shared services.

In Figure 4 (as in Figure 3), the arrows represent deliv-erable flows. The elements that flow are business items,including parts, orders, raw materials, tools, machines,and other things used or consumed. The inverted pyra-mids represent stores (i.e., holders of business items).The sideways pyramids represent input (on the left) oroutput (on the right) of the capability method throughdelegation. Business items can be passed as inputs andoutputs of a collaboration. A person can be input to acollaboration as a business item to be assigned to a role.

To get a complete picture, from Figure 3 we see that theinput to Order Fulfillment is an order and the outputis a product, corresponding to the input and output of

Figure 4. Figure 4 illustrates additional inputs fromstores: plastic, electrical parts, fasteners, and packagingmaterials. Outside suppliers or other organization unitssupply these stores. Recall from Figure 2 how the busi-ness network depicts the suppliers of plastics and elec-trical parts.

Values and Value Propositions

Activities produce deliverables and also add values notshown on an activity diagram. Value adds contribute tovalue propositions and may be positive or negative. Anactivity, such as Injection Molding, may consume rawmaterial and produce a part conveyed by a deliverableflow, as depicted in Figure 4. Associated values may bethe cost per part, the probability of defects, the durationof the activity, or other characteristics that ultimatelymay be of interest to a customer or other stakeholder.Other values such as the durability or flammability ofthe plastic may come from the supplier. Each value-addcontribution is expressed with a measurement, and foreach type of value, measurements are aggregated if theyare contributed by multiple activities. The formula ofaggregation will depend on the nature of the value.

Figure 5 illustrates the aggregation of cost and defectvalue adds, depicted by dashed lines since this viewdoes not represent a defined VDML diagram. Valueadds and value propositions are typically displayedin tables. While this diagram depicts each activity ascontributing to each value type, for some values, onlycertain activities may contribute. Where an activity

ProcessOrder

OrderFulfillment

DistributionOrder Product

Figure 3 — Capability method supporting the business network.

Injection Molding

FinalAssembly

ElectricalAssembly

Packaging

Plastic

ElectricalParts

FastenersPackagingMaterials

ProductOrders

Components

Components

Product

Figure 4 — Capability method for Hypo Manufacturing Order Fulfillment.



delegates to another collaboration, the delegation returnsthe aggregated values of the activities in the collabora-tion. In Figure 5, the aggregations are the additions ofcost and defect rates. Each contribution is from a dele-gating activity and thus includes value contributionsreturned from the delegation. The values of interest willdepend on the values of interest to the recipient of thevalue proposition as well as the values of interest todashboard users.

In a normal VDML model, the value-add measurementsare based on a unit of production, but are statisticalmeasurements, not individual measurements. The costof an activity is the average, or a statistical distributionof costs for individual units. For the dashboard, meas-urements for individual units will be reported andcompared to upper and lower limits in order to identifyexceptions. Some measurements will contribute to theKPIs of a manager’s dashboard. Some measurementsmay only be of interest when there is a significant vari-ance or exception, or there is a need for more informa-tion to address a concern.

Value contributions support value propositions. A valueproposition is a package of values and deliverable(s)offered to a recipient, typically a customer, but a valueproposition can also be offered to other stakeholderssuch as business owners or internal “customers.” Thevalue proposition incorporates those value contribu-tions that are of interest to the recipient. The valueproposition expresses its values from the recipient’sperspective. For each type of value, the aggregatedmeasure transforms to a level of satisfaction based on aformula for the particular recipient. An overall expectedlevel of satisfaction can also be computed based ona weighted average of the value satisfaction levels.

Different customers or market segments may be inter-ested in different values with different priorities, soseparate value propositions can represent the levels of

satisfaction for these different recipients. Value proposi-tions may also be compared to the offerings of competi-tors to assess competitive position and evaluate changesthat might yield competitive advantage.

Value Stream

The activities, deliverables, and values that contribute toa value proposition are characterized as the value streamfor that value proposition. Essentially, value contribu-tions and deliverable flows that feed the value proposi-tion can be traced back to the activities involved andthe capabilities they use to contribute to the valueproposition.

Returning to Figure 5, we see a value stream for theHypo Manufacturing LOB first represented in thebusiness network in Figure 2. We can derive the valuestream from the VDML model through identificationof the activities that contribute to the value propositionoffered to the customer. Other value propositions, suchas to other stakeholders, may define different, over-lapping value streams.

The full value stream for the Hypo Manufacturing LOBincludes the expanded delegations of these activities aswell as the suppliers to the stores of plastic and electri-cal parts depicted in Figure 4. The value contributionsof suppliers will be taken from the measurementsincorporated in their value propositions since HypoManufacturing is not expected to have access to thebusiness design of its suppliers’ internal operations.

Some of the collaborations in a value stream mayinvolve shared capabilities that the enterprise uses morethan once in the same value stream or in different valuestreams, potentially other LOBs. Consequently, whena shared capability changes or suffers a disruption, allvalue streams in which it participates will experiencethe impact. The values contributed by a shared capabil-ity will likely be different when an enterprise uses the

ProcessOrder

OrderFulfillment

Distribution

Customer ValueProposition

CostCostCost

Defects Defects Defects

Order Product

Figure 5 — Aggregation of activity value contributions.



capability in different contexts. We will address this dif-ference in the discussion of measurements and scenarioslater in this report.

When a value proposition indicates a poor level of satis-faction of a value, a business analyst can examine thevalue stream in order to identify the activities and thusthe capabilities that contribute to that value, looking forpotential improvements that could raise the satisfactionlevel. Again, if the focus is on a shared capability, theremay be multiple value streams affected, and they maynot all be affected in the same way.

Conversely, when a KPI of an activity or a collaborationexceeds acceptable limits, a business analyst can tracethe effects to all affected value propositions and anassociated decline in level of satisfaction may determinethe urgency with which the enterprise should resolvethe variance.

Capabilities

As indicated earlier, a capability is the ability to performa particular type of work. An enterprise will have manycapabilities. VDML supports a capability library forspecification of a capability taxonomy. The taxonomyaddresses two important requirements: (1) it helps abusiness analyst or planner determine if the enterprisecurrently has a needed capability; and (2) it providesconsistent definitions and identifies similarities thathelp determine if multiple organizations provide thesame capabilities, thus offering candidates for consoli-dation. Note that while different organization units may

provide the same capability, each organization unit mayhave different qualities, such as location or capacity,that would justify redundancy.

Figure 6 illustrates a capability map. This is a popularway to represent a capability hierarchy. Enterprisesoften use a capability map as a “heat map,” which high-lights capabilities that require attention. A capabilityhierarchy may have the appearance of an organizationhierarchy, but these are distinct perspectives. In anenterprise with LOB silos, capabilities may be scatteredacross lines of business, and within a silo, the organiza-tion structure may reflect other influences such as shar-ing of resources, geographical locations, or managementof a critical path. Consideration of capabilities indepen-dent of organizational structure enables a more objec-tive consideration of the work to be done and thevalues achieved.

In general, capabilities are offered by organization unitsthat have the resources, facilities, intellectual capital,and responsibility to deliver the capability. A capabilitydefinition in the capability library identifies the organi-zation units that offer that capability. An organizationunit may assign a person or assemble a team to respondto each request for a capability, and there may be noformal pattern to the way work gets done. However,if there is a pattern to the work, a capability methodshould define it.

A capability method, as discussed previously, definesthe roles, inputs, activities, stores, deliverables, andvalue contributions for delivery of the capability. It is

InjectionMolding

FinalAssembly

Packaging

ElectricalAssembly

Loading

Tracking

Shipping

Advertising

OrderProcessing

CustomerRelations

SalesEngineering Manufacturing Distribution

Plastics

Assembly

Production

Electrical

Hypo Manufacturing Company

Figure 6 — Hypo Manufacturing capability map.



similar to a business process definition but does not getinto the decisions and flows of control for individualrequests. Instead, a capability method identifies statisti-cal measures of the activities, stores, values, and flowsover a number of occurrences. It may represent workthat is somewhat unpredictable — sometimes character-ized as case management — where the same activitiesoccur in different sequences and sometimes not at all.The dependencies between activities (deliverable flows)are important because they define the value stream andthe aggregation of value measurements. For example,“time to deliver” depends on the critical path of activi-ties determined by deliverable flows.

Capability Management

Any collaboration can have roles, activities, deliver-ables, and value contributions. An organization unitgenerally has resources that can do more than one kindof work (i.e., provide more than one service under ageneral capability). Consequently, a business analystcan specify the activities, deliverables, and value contri-butions of organization units with capability methodsthat describe each of the more specific capabilitiesoffered by the organization unit.

An LOB is an organization unit that delivers end prod-ucts or services. LOB capability methods define thehigh-level value streams for each product or service. In

an enterprise that makes extensive use of shared capa-bilities, an LOB capability method will be primarily theactivities that engage shared capabilities.

Typically, a collaboration that fills a role of an activityis an organization unit that manages the capabilityrequired by that activity. If that role performs multipleactivities in the parent collaboration, then the organiza-tion unit must have the capabilities required by eachof the activities. For each offered capability that hasdefined roles and activities, the organization unit willuse a capability method to define the delivery of thatspecific capability. The capability method will use theresources and facilities of the organization unit and mayfurther delegate some of its work to other units andtheir capability methods.

Figure 7 illustrates a VDML capability management dis-play. The large boxes represent the organization unitsnamed in the small rectangles at the top of each largebox (i.e., Fans LOB and Sales). The stretched hexagonsrepresent capability offers (e.g., Order Fulfillment). Acapability offer indicates that the associated organiza-tion unit can provide the capability. Multiple organiza-tion units can offer the same capability, and each willshow a capability offer. A heavy dashed line connectsa capability offer to the capability method used by theorganization unit to provide the capability. The dottedarrows lead from a capability method to a capabilityoffer used by the capability method through delegationfrom one or more of its activities.

An organization unit can offer and provide a capabilitybut need not own the capability method. For instance,the bottom of Figure 7 shows that Sales offers CustomerRelations but the Fans LOB owns the capability method.This means that the Fans LOB defines the method butSales receives the requests and assigns the resources toprovide the capability.

Measurements and Scenarios

VDML provides the ability to represent the same busi-ness model under different circumstances. The struc-ture may be the same, but the measurements differ. Wedescribe these different circumstances as scenarios. Soa VDML model might represent measurements of dif-ferent product mixes with different scenarios. In addi-tion, a capability defined by a capability method mightbe engaged more than once within a value stream. Themeasurements of the capability method will likely bedifferent in the different contexts. VDML manages themeasurements separately for each occurrence.

For a management dashboard, the current state of thebusiness would be one scenario. However, through

Fans LOB

Sales

OrderProcessing

CustomerRelations

Advertising

Distribution

OrderFulfillment

ProcessOrder

Order Processing

CustomerRelations

Advertising

Distribution

OrderFulfillment

Fans LOBFans Business

Operation

SalesPersons

ProcessOrder

Figure 7 — A capability management diagram.



VDML, business analysts can capture the state of thebusiness at different times, or for different productmixes, as separate scenarios for comparison or futurereference. If business analysts are exploring potentialchanges or hypothetical circumstances, they should doso in separate models in order to maintain the integrityof the dashboard.

For a dashboard, expected measurements should beexpressed as upper and lower bounds. As a default,variances within six standard deviations might beconsidered normal, while measurements outside sixstandard deviations could be flagged as deviations.

LINKING THE MODEL TO REALITY

Elements of a VDML model represent the operationalstructure and associated measurements of an enterprise.For the model-based dashboard, these measurementsmust come from the actual operation of the enterprise.In order for the measurements to be timely, it is neces-sary to implement an automated linkage between themodel and the operational business systems. If only oneor a few executives have dashboards, they may onlyneed a limited number of monitored measurements, soa business analyst can design the dashboard to specifi-cally query several databases to retrieve those variousmeasurements. However, the goal of the model-baseddashboard is to provide not only the measurements ofimmediate concern, but also to meet the needs of allbusiness leaders as their needs evolve as well as to pro-vide supporting detail for a deeper understanding ofproblems and potential consequences of correctiveactions.

The model-driven dashboard should be available toall managers, and probably business analysts andarchitects throughout the enterprise as well. The dash-board should provide current information about theuser’s area of responsibility. A user’s area of concern isexpressed by the KPIs selected for his or her dashboardand by the target scenario selected for evaluation ofvariances. The user should be able to use other VDMLmodeling facilities to understand consequences andexplore ideas. Each user will have different interests,different KPIs, and different ways of monitoring thosemeasurements of interest. The benefits of timely andconsistent access to data and business models by allmanagers will justify the investment in a model-basedsystem.

Figure 8 depicts the components of a model-based dash-board and business modeling system. The followingsections discuss each component.

Dashboard User Interface

The dashboard user interface is primarily a graphicaldisplay. The simplest graphical element would be anumber with a caption, or a table with a column of cap-tions and a column of measurements. Upper and lowerlimits can be displayed in additional columns. Thegraphical elements in Figure 9 represent those typicalin dashboard systems:

Graphic A is essentially a meter indicating a currentvalue within a range and with the current valuedisplayed in a box.

Graphic B shows variation in the value of a measure-ment over time. The X-axis is time over which values

QueryService

DashboardUser Interface

BusinessSystems

VDML UserInterface

Current-StateScenario

TargetScenarios

User DashboardDesigns

What-IfScenarios

EventService

Figure 8 — Model-based dashboard system components.



have been collected (possibly hours since capturingthe most recent measurement), and the Y-axis is themeasurement value. Horizontal lines above andbelow represent the upper and lower limits ofexpected values. The most recent measurement ison the right, so the graph rolls to the left, showingmeasurements retained for a specified time period.

Graphic C shows a bar graph comparing multiplemeasurements. Each bar would be identified for themeasurement it represents, and the measurementsalong the bottom would be scaled to contain thelongest bar. This might, for example, represent thecontributions to a particular value by a number ofdifferent activities in a collaboration or value stream,with the longest bar representing the greatest impactand potentially the activity/capability with the great-est opportunity for improvement.

Graphic D provides another form of comparison ofmeasurements. A pie chart would have an associatedlegend for each pie segment.

Graphic E shows another bar graph, where the barrepresents the expected range of each measurementand the pointer identifies the value of the most recentmeasurement for each.

This is not a comprehensive set of graphics but illus-trates some potential diversity. Each graphic shouldhave a pop-up display for additional detail. Eachgraphic may also specify an action to perform when ameasurement exceeds limits, such as flashing, soundingan audible alarm, or sending an email or text messageto the user. This illustrates the types of displays thatmeasurements must support.

VDML User Interface

The current-state scenario, the target scenarios, and thewhat-if scenarios are all developed and managed in theVDML modeling environment. In addition to the con-cepts and some proposed displays described earlier,a VDML implementation will include various tabulardisplays of attributes and measurements to supportanalysis and data entry, including tables for compar-isons of equivalent measures over multiple scenarios.We expect that implementers of VDML will defineadditional user-interface displays based on marketdemand and implementer innovation.

Business Systems

Operational business systems, at the bottom of Figure 8,are the source of operating data to support the dash-board and detail of the VDML model. The measure-ments that appear in a manager’s dashboard as well asthe measurements that support the related VDML mod-els will originate from heterogeneous data stores acrossthe enterprise. This may include relational databases,object-oriented databases, hierarchical databases, morefundamental file structures, and enterprise applications.These sources will have different data structures anddata element specifications and names. Some will bebatch processing systems that update their data storesperiodically. Others may be updated as messages arereceived and activities are recorded. Operating activitiesmay not be completed on a regular schedule. A dash-board must be supported by these diverse sources.

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Query Service

The query service retrieves operational data fromvarious sources as required to update the dashboard.Queries may be issued on a periodic basis to update thedashboard, or they may be issued on demand when theuser expresses an interest.

One approach to query support is to use an enterpriseinformation integration (EII) system. EII products havebeen available for the last 10 years.11 We will use the EIIapproach to illustrate the dashboard system require-ments. Other system integration products may provideother mechanisms to access the heterogeneous sources.

An EII product provides a virtual database interfacethrough which data from heterogeneous sources canbe accessed. The virtual database is a representation ofenterprise data that supports a consistent expressionof queries to heterogeneous data sources. The datasources are modeled by the query service respectingtheir particular technology. The virtual database schemais modeled as a relational schema. The transformationsbetween the virtual database and the data stores aremodeled. The Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM)from OMG provides the modeling standard for thistransformation.

When a user submits a query against the virtual data-base, it is translated into queries for relevant elementsin one or more of the data source(s). The responsesto these queries are then integrated to conform tothe virtual database schema and the original queryspecification. The use of standard modeling technologysimplifies the implementation and maintenance of theseEII services.

The links from the VDML model to the query serviceshould not only provide the appropriate measurements,but they should also provide access to business meta-data. Business metadata should include properties ofeach data element such as source, date/time of origin,and possibly a confidence-level indication. Differentsources may be more or less reliable, they may beupdated more or less frequently, and there may beinconsistencies in the basis of measurements fromdifferent sources. For example, measurements maybe based on inconsistent units of production. When ameasurement is computed, the metadata available tothe business user should include the computation andbusiness metadata for each element of the computation.

Event Service

The event service (sometimes called an event broker)conveys event notices to the current-state scenario toupdate its measurements. Events may originate from

business transactions or updates of business systems.These events are typically communicated as messagesspecified with the XML Schema language. Event ser-vices have been available for a number of years as acomponent of enterprise application integration (EAI)and may exist in various forms in commercially avail-able application integration products.

An event service receives notices of actions or dataupdates and delivers those notices to subscribers. Forthe dashboard system, there is seldom a need to receiveupdates for data that is not currently of interest, so sub-scriptions may only be posted for data of current inter-est in at least one dashboard. If some events seldomoccur, then they should be accepted so that when theybecome of interest, the associated measurements havea current value without waiting for the next event tooccur. Furthermore, only some data element updateswill be available as events, and only some data elementsare sufficiently significant to require real-time updates,particularly for top management. So use of the eventservice should be selective. Finally, business metadataassociated with events should be available within theevent notices forwarded by the event service.

Current-State Scenario

The VDML current-state scenario, representing thecurrent state of the business, is the central componentof the model-based dashboard. It determines the meas-urements that are monitored. For data from the queryservice, it defines the query expressions and frequencyof queries. For data updated by events, it initiates eventnotification by the event service. It holds the latest value(or sequence of values for a defined time period) foreach monitored measurement.

All users share the current-state scenario so redundantupdates are not required. Rather than constantly query-ing for every measurement, the requirements of cur-rently active dashboards and the dynamic nature of eachmeasurement should drive the queries. Furthermore,the current-state scenario should track measurementsfor which there is current interest — at least one activedashboard design. Certain other measurements may beidentified for continuing updates while the remainingmeasurements may be retrieved on demand to supportsituation analysis. If a measurement is infrequentlyupdated by an event, then it may be updated eventhough it is not currently of interest. When a userrequires additional data to support analysis, or uponactivation of a new dashboard design, then queries andevent service subscriptions should be issued for theadditional data.



It is also desirable to trace the value of a measurementover time. The need for such historical data is primarilya function of user interest, so it may be appropriate forthe dashboard to maintain a history or initiate captureonly for selected measurements being observed. How-ever, there may be some measurements where a historyis important even though the measurement has not beenrecently of interest. Consequently, it may be desirablefor the current-state scenario always to retain a historyfor selected measurements.

For efficiency, individual queries may be used to retrievemultiple, related measurements. For batch processingsystems, this should include data from business trans-actions that have occurred since the previous batch pro-cessing cycle. Depending on the volume, data for alltransactions may be held in the current-state scenario,or if the volume is high, then a sampling of the valuesover the period may be sufficient.

In general, it is preferable for measurements to beretrieved at an elementary level with computationsfor aggregation of measurements from more detailedactivities performed in the VDML model. This has thefollowing benefits: (1) detailed data will be availablefor investigation of the root cause of a problem; and(2) the structure of elementary capabilities tends to bestable even though higher-level capabilities, and thusthe current-state model, may be reconfigured. However,in the early stages of development, the detail of moreelementary methods may not be available, so thedashboard can observe measurements reported forthe higher-level, delegating activities.

Target Scenarios

A major challenge for dashboard designers is to presentconsistent data. A business does not deliver a product(including the result of a service) by simultaneousoperation of all the activities in the value stream.Upon delivery of a product, the value stream consists ofactivities that contributed to that product perhaps days,weeks, or months in the past, depending on the natureof the business. Consequently, measurements associatedwith current product delivery may be the result of con-tributions that do not reflect current operation of thoselong-completed activities.

Furthermore, the data available from heterogeneoussources may be captured at different times and reportedfor different periods or units of production. Some meas-urements may be reported as they happen. Some willbe reported as the result of an important event or at theend of a shift or other time period. What should appearon the dashboard?

The dashboard should focus on current operations andexceptions. Variances should be based on limits devel-oped from statistical measurements of each operationalvariable during a typical time period. Exceptions arethen defined as statistically significant variations. Upperand lower limits may be generated from the statisticalmeasurements used in a typical VDML model, or theuser may set them, particularly for KPIs with targetsthat differ from actual experience.

In the model-based dashboard system, target scenariosare user-defined scenarios associated with the current-state model. A dashboard user can create a targetscenario to define targets for those measurements ofinterest to that user. The scope is typically one valuestream, or a segment of the value stream of interest tothat user. The targets become input to a dashboarddesign to define the expected limits on measurements.The VDML user interface allows users to view andmodify target scenarios.

Comparison of current measurements against targetmeasurements has several advantages:

The user can compare current operating measure-ments (in the current-state scenario) to limits definedin alternative target scenarios if the current circum-stances change.

Measurements are evaluated independent of the timebasis of other measurements that may reflect earlieror later stages in a production process.

Measurements are independent of different units ofproduction that may occur in different branches of avalue stream.

If there is significant variance, then the associatedoperation is a concern even though the end productmay not be delivered until long into the future.

Measurements will persist even though processesand organizational responsibilities change.

In order to measure variances against an appropriatetarget, different scenarios can represent the expectedmeasurements for different classes of product. Thus, thecurrent measurements of an activity can be compared toa target measurement appropriate to the target productof that activity.

In order to support analysis of exceptions that occurlater in the value stream, it may be desirable to capturea history of exceptions earlier in the value stream. Atarget scenario could enable a user to specify thosemeasurements for which exceptions may later be ofinterest, even though they may not be actively dis-played on the dashboard.



What-If Scenarios

What-if scenarios are scenarios that represent alterna-tive circumstances. These may be historical scenariosbut more often they will be scenarios used to explorebusiness changes or consequences of variances. Usersshould define these scenarios in VDML models that areseparate from the model that supports the current-stateand target scenarios. The current-state scenario and thetarget scenarios should not be altered to explore ideas.The user interface to these scenarios is the VDMLuser interface provided by a VDML modeling systemprovider.

The VDML user interface should support the creation ofwhat-if models from the current-state scenario or one ormore target scenarios. For example, a business analystcan create a what-if model and scenario as a copy of thecurrent-state scenario for analysis and exploration of acurrent problem. Or, a business analyst can create awhat-if model and scenario from a target scenario toanalyze statistical measurements for a value stream.

A business analyst can also create a broader what-ifmodel by combining the current-state scenario withtarget scenarios for different value streams. For a sharedcapability method, the what-if scenario will containa set of measurements for each use of the capabilitymethod. Tabular displays should support comparisonof the corresponding measurements for each use of thecapability method. Similarly, each value stream willhave its own value proposition(s) within a combinedwhat-if scenario.

Not all what-if scenarios should be implemented inthe same VDML modeling environment. It should beexpected that users may have personal VDML modelsand associated scenarios, independent of the dashboardsystem, to support their efforts.

Later, in the “Evolving Reality” section, we will con-sider some of the implications of using the VDMLmodel beyond the scope of dashboard support.

User Dashboard Designs

The dashboard provides a display capability, discussedearlier, that can be tailored to the specific requirementsof each manager. A manager should be able to con-figure his or her dashboard similar to a diagram in aPowerPoint slide with the addition of some data specifi-cations. A manager may have a number of dashboarddesigns in his or her library that may be useful underdifferent business conditions.

A dashboard design will include the specificationsfor each monitored measurement by reference to thecurrent-state model, along with the graphical form of themeasurement as well as the placement of the graphicalelement on the dashboard canvas. The dashboard designwill incorporate one or more target scenarios to definethe upper and lower limits for measurements. It mightalso specify email or text messages to be generated forcertain events or exceptions. The dashboard will triggerqueries to the query service and subscriptions to theevent service through the current-state scenario.

Implementing a Dashboard System

A complete dashboard system that covers the enter-prise for all LOBs, business leaders, and capabilities is amajor undertaking. The process should move forwardin beneficial increments.

The first step toward implementation of a model-baseddashboard is the development of a VDML model for aselected value stream with manually entered measure-ments. The implementation should focus on measure-ments of the most important values. This provides abasis for understanding the modeling concepts andshould provide benefit for the analysis of value deliveryand the evaluation of potential improvements to specificcapabilities. The granularity of the model will be a fac-tor in both the time to develop the model and the bene-fit derived from it. In the long term, enterprises shouldmodel activities and supporting capabilities at a level ofdetail where the most detailed capabilities are relativelygeneric and useful as sharable value stream buildingblocks. Users can then aggregate measurements fromthese capabilities to the more abstract levels.

However, in the short term, it may be more practical tolimit detail and use aggregated measurements observedfor higher-level, delegating activities. Enterprises canthen expand this foundation over time to model addi-tional detail and additional value streams, providingsupport for consideration of consolidation and manage-ment of shared capabilities. This is all within theexpected scope of a VDML model.

The next step involves implementation of the query ser-vice, the dashboard user interface with the dashboarddesigns, and the target scenarios. This should beginwith one value stream as well. The value stream modelwill identify the required measurements and providea basis for specification of accesses to the business sys-tems by the query service. Once the pilot value streamis stable, additional value streams should be added foran expanded user community.



Implementation of the event service may be deferreddepending on the nature of data sources and the needfor immediate updates. Generally, managers closer toactual business operations will need more timely data inorder to react in a timely manner. If executives are theinitial users, it may be practical to defer implementationof event-driven updates. However, coordination ofupdates with batch processes may still require thatsome updates be event-driven.

THE EVOLVING REALITY

The use of VDML should not be limited to supportinga management dashboard, but rather should providea modeling environment for ongoing analysis, design,and transformation of the enterprise. VDML can pro-vide a better understanding of business relationshipsby modeling relationships that often do not appear onorganization charts. Many existing enterprises operatein LOB silos with business processes optimized fordelivery of current products. VDML is particularlysuited to the development and management of sharedcapabilities, and optimization from an enterprise per-spective. The modeling capabilities of VDML along withother changes in technology, markets, and the businessecosystem will shape the evolution of the business.12 Inthis section, we present several aspects of such businesstransformation.

Capability Consolidation

Consolidation of capabilities as shared services willdrive separation of the management of shared servicesfrom LOB management. Shared services will supportmultiple lines of business. Management of those sharedcapabilities must be unbiased in their support for thedifferent LOBs and must focus on meeting customerrequirements and achieving economies of scale.

Consolidation of shared capabilities may also lead tooutsourcing. For non-mission-critical capabilities, anoutsourcing provider can achieve greater economies ofscale (across multiple clients) and will likely providegreater scalability to accept new clients and enable thoseclients to adapt to changes in market demand. VDMLmodels will assist in defining the scope of outsourcingand in managing the relationship.

A shared capability may be used to provide multipleservices to multiple internal customers. The manager ofa shared capability should have well-defined capabilityinterfaces and service-level requirements (i.e., valuepropositions). Users of the shared capability should notbe concerned about how the service is performed,

except as it impacts the product of their value streamand the cost, timeliness, and quality of their product.

Thus, the dashboard should be a primary tool formonitoring both LOB performance and performance ofshared services — both internal and outsourced. Eachhas a value stream, and their value propositions shouldreflect the multiple measurements of their performance.

Accountability and Empowerment

The dashboard provides every manager with knowledgeabout the current state of the business, the performanceof subordinates, and the consequences of variances.Based on the VDML model, top management can traceproblems with customer values back to sources of thoseproblems and the responsible organization units. Assuch, accountability for problems as well as improve-ments will be more apparent. This accountability alsoclarifies the scope of authority of individual managersand their impact on the end products and services.

Consequently, a shared service manager has a well-defined domain in which to innovate along with a well-defined group of consumers for collaboration onchanges that might affect the value propositions of hisor her service. Based on VDML and his or her dash-board, the capability manager also has insight on theaffect of the capability on end customers and thus canidentify justification for investment in improvements.This should enable managers at all levels to exploreinnovative ideas.

The same principles apply to outsourced capabilities.The outsource provider must have well-defined inter-faces and value propositions. However, the outsourceconsumer does not have control over the implementa-tion of the service or investments in improvements. Theconsumer must monitor and enforce the interface andvalue proposition requirements and negotiate anychanges to requirements.

In either case, the consumers of shared services have pri-mary responsibility for enforcing the service agreementsand thus must devote some resource to that effort.

Finally, the clarity of responsibilities and the impact onthe enterprise motivate and empower individual man-agers to improve their own operations, and they helpclarify where work with other managers is needed toresolve broader issues.

Risk Management

Consolidation creates single points of failure. Servicedisruption or failure of a consolidated capability affectseach LOB that relies on that service. On the other hand,



those factors that may affect a capability are no longerscattered across multiple LOBs, but instead can be miti-gated in one place. This is particularly true for regu-latory compliance as well as management of criticalresources.

The primary method of mitigation is to provide redun-dancy. Enterprises can achieve redundancy throughmultiple capabilities, or within a consolidated capabilitywith redundant facilities, cross-training, operations inmultiple locations, reserves of critical materials, andother such means. Yet these measures will increasecosts. If the cost exceeds the benefit of economies ofscale, there must be other factors managers can con-sider. For instance, a former, fragmented capability mayhave carried unrecognized risks, or there may be over-looked diseconomies of scale, such as consolidationresulting in increased transportation costs.

VDML can assist in risk analysis through considerationof the impact of each capability on the value streams.Managers can use deliverable flows and value contribu-tions to understand the propagation of effect of a capa-bility disruption. Some capabilities may only affectcertain products or services, while others may havemitigated risks. Similarly, the manager dashboard canreflect the impact of a disruption or failure when itoccurs.

The development of shared services and value proposi-tions for services and LOBs clarifies responsibilities forrisk awareness and mitigation. Managers should con-sider the risks to their operations and assess the impactthey could have on each LOB their capability supports.They should also, in many cases, be the first to know ofan adverse event or impending problem and take actionto alert their management and mitigate the effects. Adisruption-alert value measurement could be propa-gated down all affected value streams.

Furthermore, the VDML model can predict when a vari-ance of an early activity will impact the end product ora critical later activity. Assuming that activities havea duration measurement, the durations of activitiesbetween the early variance and end product deliveryprovide an estimate of when the effect will be realized.Furthermore, if the activity is a shared service, then theconsequences can be identified for the multiple valuestreams.

Enterprises can use their understanding of delayedimpact on subsequent activities for risk mitigation. If anactivity fails or a key resource is unavailable, then thatactivity and subsequent activities will stop unless thereare inventories (VDML stores) in the value stream thatenable subsequent activities to continue. Activities, such

as transportation of materials, may be interruptedfrequently, so enterprises can maintain stores ofshipped resources to allow for late or failed deliveries.Enterprises may maintain redundant capabilities toabsorb the lost production capacity of a failed capabil-ity, but then the redundant capability must have ade-quate capacity. A loss of capacity of a shared capabilitymay call for consideration of priorities among LOBsconsidering differences in profitability and customerdissatisfaction.

Capacity Management

While economies of scale can save money by reducingexcess capacity, consolidation can also create a riskwhere increased demand from multiple LOBs willexceed the capacities of shared services. Such competi-tion for shared resources may not be obvious when theLOBs are organizationally quite separate from the man-agement of shared services. When these capabilities arewithin the individual LOB organizations, managementmay be more aware of the limitations and may be in abetter position to reallocate resources or fund expansionthan the manager of a shared service that has a smallerand more restricted budget.

VDML can assist in tracking capacity and demand.Changes in demand can be reflected in VDML scenariosfor future time periods, and the effects from multipleLOBs can be identified for shared services. Managerscan trace the implications of changes in demandthrough the value streams to identify capabilitiesthat may be challenged to meet the needs of demandaggregated from multiple LOBs.

VDML can also help identify opportunities for sharingresources across organization units. Where managerscan identify similar resources (e.g., skilled personnelor specialized equipment) in different organizations,pooling of resources may reduce the risk that the aggre-gated need for resources will exceed the total availableresources for the participating organization units. Tofacilitate such sharing, enterprises may bring togetherorganization units with similar resources under a parentorganization unit that can optimize workload balance.

Cost Recovery

Enterprises must allocate the cost of shared services tothe LOBs supported by those services to ensure that thelines of business are accountable for their full cost andto provide appropriate incentives and accountability tocontrol the costs incurred by the shared services. Thecost of shared services should not simply be allocated asenterprise overhead. Some LOBs will make greater use



of a shared capability than others. Not charging an LOBfor the cost of services invites “cost shifting,” and topmanagement will be unable to accurately evaluate theperformance of each LOB, or the shared services.

This does not necessarily mean that each rendering ofa service should be precisely billed for resources con-sumed. In some cases, the cost of each service renderedshould be billed because the costs vary significantly.For example, warehousing may be a shared service, butsome LOB may make considerable use of the warehous-ing of parts or finished product, while others that buildto order may have minimal warehousing requirements.VDML and the manager dashboard should reflect thesecost differences as part of the value stream monitoringand analysis for each line of business. The VDML modelshould help define appropriate cost allocations.

Costing is an art. Multiple value streams may realize thebenefits of some costs but reasonable allocations maydepend on the nature of the activities and/or the workproducts. For example, a premium product feature hasan installation cost but the addition of that featurereduces the cost of a related premium feature, so the costof both premium features is less than the sum of the indi-vidual premium features. Or the cost of producing a baseproduct may depend on how many premium products(possibly a different value stream) are being produced atthe same time. Nevertheless, objective cost analysis willbe increasingly important for management of an enter-prise with shared capabilities and outsourcing.

Extended Applications of VDML

The dashboard focus and the VDML discussion in thisreport have focused on the value streams that produceproducts and services for end customers. As the enter-prise realizes the benefits from models developed forLOB value streams, they will soon recognize the potentialbenefits of application to other areas of the enterprise.

Close to mainstream business are support services thatsustain operational capabilities. For example, produc-tion engineering, machine maintenance, and materialsmanagement are essential to a manufacturing operation,but they do not contribute directly to the value stream.Enterprises can model these activities and thus monitorand evaluate their value contributions.

Traditional business support services, such as account-ing, purchasing, HR, and IT, can have value streams andvalue propositions as well, reflecting the value of theirservices to internal consumers. Modeling can clarify theimpact these services have on mainstream business andcan help identify opportunities for improvement. This

can help in the consideration of outsourcing such ser-vices, providing the basis for interface specifications andSLAs even though the implementation of the serviceprovider may not be visible to the client.

Enterprises can also define value streams for internalactivities to manage or transform itself. A project is acollaboration — more specifically, a capability method.Managers can plan projects, incorporating existing capa-bilities and services, and then monitor them in dash-boards in the same manner as high-volume productionprocesses. Such projects may involve changes to pro-duction facilities, strategic change initiatives to businessmethods, introduction of new products, or IT applicationdevelopment projects. VDML can tie these undertakingsinto related aspects of the business and clarify the needsand accomplishments for additional collaborations.

CONCLUSION

A model-driven dashboard can provide a current andconsistent view of the state of the enterprise for man-agers across the enterprise. This will improve under-standing and the ability to reach consensus on businessdecisions. It will also empower individual managers toimprove their operations with a greater understandingof the impact on the LOB they serve or are responsiblefor. Clarity in the way the business operates will exposeopportunities for improvement and foster innovation,ultimately making ongoing business change a competi-tive necessity.

This operational visibility, along with visibility ofbusiness design, will improve accountability, capacitymanagement. and risk management, and will enablerestructuring of the business, particularly in consoli-dations of capabilities and possibly in outsourcing toimprove efficiency and agility. Clarity of value streamsand associated values may reveal opportunities fromrestructuring, such as concurrent or batch operations.

Enterprises should undertake the implementation ofa model-based dashboard in stages, but with an under-standing of the end solution. The first stage shouldfocus on one value stream and top-management dash-boards based on query access to priority data. As thisbecomes stable, the scope should be increased toinclude more value streams and more data access.Managers should first be exposed to VDML modelingand then implementation of their dashboards. As moremanagers become involved, particularly those closestto day-to-day operations, an event service should beimplemented to provide more timely updates to themore volatile and time-critical data.



In the long term, a model-based dashboard helps man-agers throughout the enterprise become more engagedin innovation and collaboration in order to improveoperations for the benefit of the enterprise. Thus, theenterprise will operate more efficiently and be able tomore quickly adapt to challenges and opportunities.

ENDNOTES1For the most current specification, see http://files.modelbased.net/vdml/12-11-06.pdf.

2Porter, Michael E. Competitive Advantage: Creating and SustainingSuperior Performance. The Free Press, 1998.

3Martin, James. The Great Transition: Using the Seven Disciplines ofEnterprise Engineering to Align People, Technology, and Strategy.AMACOM, 1995.

4Ulrich, William, and Michael Rosen. “The Business CapabilityMap: The ‘Rosetta Stone’ of Business/IT Alignment.” CutterConsortium Business & Enterprise Architecture ExecutiveReport, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2011.

5Allee, Verna. “Value Network Analysis and Value Conversionof Tangible and Intangible Assets.” Journal of Intellectual Capital,Vol. 9, No. 1, January 2008.

6McCarthy, William E. “The REA Accounting Model: AGeneralized Framework for Accounting Systems in a SharedData Environment.” Accounting Review, Vol. 57, No. 3, 1982.

7Gordijn, Jaap, and Hans Akkermans. “Value-BasedRequirements Engineering: Exploring Innovative E-CommerceIdeas.” Requirements Engineering Journal, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2003.

8Scheller, C.V., and P. Hruby. “Modeling Services andIntellectual Property Rights Using POA (Possession,Ownership, Availability).” Proceedings of the 5th InternationalWorkshop on Value Modeling and Business Ontologies, Gent,Belgium, 7-8 February 2011.

9Lindgren, P., R. Jørgensen, M.-S. Li, Y. Taran, and K.F. Saghaug.“Towards a New Generation of Business Model InnovationModel.” Proceedings of the 12th International Cinet Conference:Practicing Innovation in Times of Discontinuity, Aarhus,Denmark, 10-13 September 2011.

10Osterwalder, Alexander. “The Business Model Ontology:A Proposition in a Design Science Approach.” Thesis,University of Lausanne, 2004 (www.hec.unil.ch/aosterwa/PhD/Osterwalder_PhD_BM_Ontology.pdf).

11“Enterprise Information Integration.” White paper,MetaMatrix, 2002 (http://enos.itcollege.ee/~gseier/eiiwhitepaper.pdf).

12Cummins, Fred A. “Rethinking Business for a ChangingWorld.” Building the Agile Enterprise, 8 July 2011(http://fredacummins.blogspot.com/2011/07/rethinking-business-for-changing-world.html).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fred Cummins is a former EDS and HP Fellow with a longcareer in IS development and consulting. Throughout his career,he has worked with leading-edge technologies and their impacton business, including distributed systems architecture andintegration, object-oriented systems, knowledge-based sys-tems, computer-based modeling, and technology strategy. Mr.Cummins has developed systems and functioned as a technicaladvisor across multiple industries, including manufacturing anddistribution, financial services, transportation, insurance, health-care, and government. He has been an active participant in theOMG for 18 years and cochair of the OMG Business Modelingand Integration Task Force for the last 13. Mr. Cummins is cur-rently a leader in the development of specifications for ValueDelivery Modeling Language and Case Management Model andNotation. He has authored numerous papers and three books,most recently Building the Agile Enterprise with SOA, BPM, andMBM. He can be reached at [email protected].


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