Management of digital processes & architectures
Track description
Both business process management and enterprise architecture management became established in the 1990s. Since then, the interaction between IT and business has become fundamentally different, from automation and mutual alignment (co-evolution) to IT-dominated, novel business architectures. Starting from a more local or a more company-wide perspective, both business process management and architecture management therefore cover increasingly broader management perspectives. However, they are often criticized for not being able to cope with the current dynamics as a methodology and therefore may appear to be more of a hindrance than a support for digital innovations.
The aim of this track is to illuminate the many facets of managing digital processes and architectures, to better understand their current and future role, and to discuss lines of development.
This is particularly relevant in light of current digitization initiatives. In contrast to the traditional change effects of computerization, which primarily affected the business management processes of companies and public authorities, current digitization initiatives create considerable innovation potential. With agile product teams, new information systems (apps, APIs, etc.) are developed and used in short cycles. The classic differentiation between business and IT areas is increasingly disappearing. Instead, this dynamic creates tension in organizations between local, rather short-term (market, product, project, etc.) perspectives on the one hand and global, rather long-term perspectives on end-to-end processes on the other. While the former focus on flexibility, innovation speed and the customer experience, the latter often focus on efficiency, synergy and compliance goals. Both aspects are essential for the long-term success of organizations, so that modern information systems management approaches must address this area of conflict in addition to specific perspectives.
Possible topics
● concepts, models, methods and technologies for the description, analysis, design/innovation and communication of digital processes and architectures
● Governance, planning and control of digital processes and architectures
● Coordination of heterogeneous stakeholder groups and their requirements in organizations
● Process and architecture management in transformation projects and programs- Process and architecture management as innovation support
● Process and architecture management in agile environments or to increase agility
● Process and architecture management in IT dominated business models, in digital platforms
● Integration of new technologies (e.g. AI, Blockchain, RPA) into process and architecture management
● Behaviour-oriented aspects in the context of process and architecture management (e.g. culture, leadership, architectural thinking)
● Methods for research on the management of digital processes and architectures (e.g. simulations, experiments, design and action design research)
● Theoretical perspectives on the management of digital processes and architectures (e.g. Complexity Theory, Institutional Theory, Control Theory, Nudging Theory)
Track Chairs
Stephan Aier is Titular Professor of Information Management at the Institute for Information Systems at the University of St.Gallen (IWI-HSG). He is an industrial engineer and holds a doctorate in engineering from the TU Berlin. After his time as assistant professor, he habilitated at the University of St. Gallen, became a private lecturer and later a titular professor. In publicly funded basic research projects as well as in applied research projects with well-known large companies, he is researching architecture management, data management and analytics as well as the design of digital platforms. His work has been published in MIS Quarterly, BISE, Electronic Markets and at the leading conferences of our discipline (ICIS, ECIS, WI, DESRIST).
Kazem Haki is assistant professor at the University of St.Gallen (IWI-HSG). He received his doctorate in Business Informatics at the HEC Lausanne, Switzerland. His research interests include the dynamics and evolution of socio-technical phenomena such as digital platforms, platform ecosystems and enterprise architecture. His studies are published in journals such as MIS Quarterly and in several proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems and the European Conference on Information Systems.
Robert Winter is Director of the Institute for Information Systems at the University of St.Gallen IWI-HSG. He was founding director of the Executive Master of Business Engineering as well as academic director of the Ph.D. program of the School of Management. His research areas are methodology of design-oriented research, enterprise architecture management and governance of large transformations.
Associate Editors
- Prof. Dr. Jannis Beese, Universität St.Gallen
- Prof. Dr. Paul Drews, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
- Prof. Dr. Daniel Fürstenau, Freie Universität Berlin
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Grisold, Universität Liechtenstein
- Dr. Simon Hacks, KTH Stockholm, Schweden
- Prof. Dr. Christian Janiesch, Universität Würzburg
- Prof. Dr. Jürgen Moormann, Frankurt School of Finance and Management
- Prof. Dr. Erik Proper, LIST, Luxemburg
- Prof. Dr. Theresa Schmiedel, Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz
- Prof. Dr. Ulrike Steffens, HAW Hamburg
- Dr. Armin Stein, Universität Münster
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Widjaja, Universität Passau
- Prof. Dr. Axel Winkelmann, Universität Würzburg