Dipl.-Wirt. Inform. Andrea Malsbender

Location: Brisbane

Arrival: Jul 4th 2011

Departure: Sep 23rd 2011

Andrea Malsbender

Mission statement

  • Present the Conference Paper: Malsbender, A.; Pöppelbuß, J.; Plattfaut, R.; Niehaves, B.; Becker, J.: How to Increase Service Productivity: A BPM Perspective. at PACIS2011 in Brisbane.
  • Continue the research on service bundling founded by Daniel Beverungen.
  • Identify potential research fields for the further cooperation with the QUT BPM Group
  • Take an active part in lecturing at QUT
  • Design the project flyer
  • Prepare the handover for the following research visitor: Matthias Voigt

Research results

Research on service bundling

The creation of service bundles has been recognized as an opportunity for companies to increase their competitive advantages over rival contenders in the market. Based on previous work within the NSS project where a morphological box that contains a set of contextual factors relevant for describing any given service bundling scenario was presented methods supporting this service bundling task where identified. Thereby, we concentrate on methods which are applicable contingent on the properties encountered in different scenarios. On the one hand, these scenarios where identified in the B2B and in the B2C context to generalize our view. As a result, the use of different methods resulting from the recommender system and decision support system research fields which were identified as  useful applicable methods for the bundling purpose need to be analyzed. Resulting in a catalogue of usable recommendations each scenario can be supported by varying methods for different bundling purposes.

Potential research fields for further cooperation with the QUT BPM Group

The fast growth of available information in the digital network society leads to an increased customer orientation. This individualization of services coupled with trends like digital social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc.) enable make new forms of customer oriented services possible. Hence, caused by the shift from a provider-centric to a more and more consumer-centric distribution channel, new forms of service offerings need to be deployed. Based on previous work of Michael Roesemann (QUT BPM Group) the use of so called digital public goods for organizations need to be analyzed. Reacting on live events communicated by the customer in a social network (e.g. marriage, holiday), organizations need to react immediately to fulfill specific customers’ needs. As this research field can be defined as a new research field within the IS discipline, there is a high potential for further research.

Lecturing at QUT

During my stay at the QUT I had the great opportunity to get more or less involved in different types of lecturing and tutoring. First of all, I was invited to assist in supervising a student master seminar project. The focus of the project was to visualize potential changes in a scenario of the future (e.g. in the year 2020) for air traveling named “The Future Air Travel Experience” by the use of actual impulses in social media and web 2.0. As this project started in the mid of my stay at the QUT and was planned for a period of 8 weeks, I was only involved in the first part where the project plan and possible ideas were discussed. As Matthias Voigt took over my main tasks within the project the position as assistant supervisor was included and thereby, he was responsible for the fulfilling of the further supervision. Secondly, I was asked to give a tutorial for BPMN. Based on my existing knowledge about modeling languages and different notations I obliged as it was an opportunity to identify similarities and differences within the lecturing/tutoring in Australia and Germany. Finally, I was invited to join a PHD seminar (located as a main part within QUT PHD Program) on Theorizing which was given by Jan Recker. Hence, joining this seminar as a PHD student I learned different methods and theory perspectives which can be useful for my future research. Furthermore, I identified a lot of potential for such seminars at our university.

Project flyer

As a further task for my stay at the QUT I was asked to design the flyer for the NSS project. As it is a really important part for dissemination of the project and the project research results the main research fields of NSS will be explained and the partners and the founders will be presented. The content of the project flyer isn’t finalized yet but will be at the end of 2011.

Blog

01st of September -> Erwin Fielts’ presentation on “Why business models matter and how to use them for innovation”
published on 09/07/2011 - 05:30

Dr. Erwin Fielt is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Business Service Management project of the Smart Services CRC and a member of the Information Systems Discipline of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. His main research and teaching interests are in the intersection between business and IT, where information systems have to create value for individuals and organizations, in particular in relation to strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship. He has published his research in, amongst others, Electronic Markets, International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, and Info. Before joining the Queensland University of Technology in 2009, he worked at Novay (formerly Telematica Instituut), the Netherlands, an international, cooperative IT research venture involving businesses, scientific institutions and the Dutch government. Erwin Fielt has a PhD from the Delft University of Technology and a MSc from the University of Twente, both in the Netherlands.

Abstract: A business model describes the value logic of an organization in terms of how it creates and captures customer value. Every company has a business model, whether that model is explicitly articulated or not. Examples of business models often encountered are Apple’s seamless music experience with iPod and iTunes and SouthWest Airlines’ low-cost carrier model. However, the concept itself is often still ill understood and knowledge is fragmented. Moreover, mostly there is also a lack of theoretical underpinning. Business models are in particular relevant in relation to (technological) innovation: as innovations become more radical, and the revenues become more challenging, the greater the changes likely to be required to traditional business models.’ Moreover, the innovation of the business model itself offers unprecedented opportunities for today’s organizations as more new business models are both feasible and actionable than ever before. In this presentation we will focus on three topics: (1) the conceptualization of business models and there theoretical underpinning, (2) business models for service innovation, and (3) business model innovation itself

24th of August -> Smart Service CRC – Conference
published on 09/07/2011 - 05:25

I visited the one day workshop of the Smart Service CRC where 9 Smart Services Researchers have been invited to present and demonstrate the commercial opportunities of their work. Furthermore, they prepared so called discussion roundtables where different topics concerning the work of the CRC community (CRC Participants from industry, governments and academia) were discussed. The goal of this workshop was to explore ideas and opportunities for CRC research to be applied and utilised across various service based markets. Concentrating on the personalized customer processes I joined the roundtable ‘Personalised Processes’ which tried to discuss the technical requirements to fulfil the customers’ needs. It was an interesting discussion leading to further influences on the definition of the research agenda. (Attached you can find the agenda of the workshop)Agenda:9.00 am Registration – refreshments served9.20 am Welcome Address – Mark Wainwright, Chairman9.25 am Opening Comments - Warren Bradey, CEO9.30 am Update on H3/H4 Research Program – Daniel Austin, Head-Research & Development9.50 am Guest Speaker: Lindley Edwards, CEO, AFG Venture Group “Commercialisation – Diffusion Theory” a practical look at how commercialisation is best achieved from international experienceSession 1:10.05 am 4 x 15 minute presentations/demonstrations (inc. 5 mins Q&A)

  1. Training in Virtual Worlds – Dr Ross Brown, QUT
  2. Repository as a Service (RaaS) - Keith Duddy, QUT
  3. Personalised Services – A/Prof. Wayne Wobcke, UNSW
  4. Formsys – Prof. Boualem Benatallah,  UNSW

11.05 am 4 x round table workshops – morning tea will be available12.20pm 4 x summaries (10 mins per table)1.00 pm Lunch served with option to continue round table discussions Session 2:2.00 pm 5 x 15 minute presentations/demonstrations (inc. 5 mins Q&A)

  1. Video Optimisation & Summarisation – Dr Ivan Himawan, QUT
  2. Nav!t – Dr Christian Ritz, UoW
  3. Mobile Services – Prof. Michael Fry, USYD
  4. Customisation of Internet-Based Services – Prof Jun Han, SUT
  5. Unraveling Histories – A/Prof Fethi Rabhi, UNSW

3.15 pm  5 x round table workshops – afternoon tea will be available4.15 pm 5 x summaries (10 mins per table)5.05 pm CEO Wrap up5.15 pm  Conference closes

18th of August -> The guest visitor Daniel Moody presented his research on: “Why a Diagram is Only Sometimes Worth a Thousand Words: An Analysis of the BPMN Visual Notation” at the weekly seminar of the BPM Group
published on 09/07/2011 - 05:23

Daniel Moody is Director of Ozemantics, a Sydney-based information management consultancy firm, and Adjunct Professor in the Business Faculty at the University of Twente (The Netherlands). He is recognised as one of Australia's leading experts in data modelling and information management and has an international reputation in these fields. He holds a doctorate in Information Systems from the University of Melbourne and has held senior positions in some of Australia's leading corporations and consultancy firms.

He has conducted consulting assignments in 12 different countries, covering a broad range of industries. He has also published over 100 scientific papers, been a keynote speaker 9 times and chaired several international conferences. He was the inaugural President of the Australian Data Management Association (DAMA), former Vice-President on the DAMA International Board and is listed in Who's Who in Science and Engineering.

Abstract

The Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) has recently emerged as an international standard for modelling business processes. This is one of the most important developments in the history of the business process management (BPM) field, which has the potential to unify it in the same way UML has unified software engineering. Like most business process modelling notations, BPMN is a visual language: it uses diagrams as the primary means for documenting, analysing, communicating and designing business processes. This paper conducts a systematic analysis of the BPMN

2.0 visual notation using a theory for visual notation design (the Physics of Notations). The analysis reveals some serious flaws in the BPMN visual notation, which represent potential barriers to its usability and effectiveness in practice, particularly for communicating with end users.

The conclusion from our analysis is that radical surgery is required for BPMN 2.0 to achieve its aim of providing a common language between business and technical specialists. A broader goal of this paper is to raise awareness about the importance of visual representation in IS modelling, which has received little scientific attention. Finally, the paper demonstrates how a design theory can be used to evaluate and improve an IS modelling notation and improve notation design practices generally.

4th of August -> Associate Professor Jan Recker presented his quantitative analysis on the difference within the graphical design of process models and on cognitive behaviour of model experts within the weekly BPM seminar of the BPM Group
published on 09/07/2011 - 05:22

This week Associate Professor Jan Recker explained his work in progress in the course of the BPM Seminar Series. His presentation was about: Cognitive Perspectives on Processes and Outcomes of Process Modelling. Jan is an Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellow and Associate Professor for Information Systems at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. His main areas of research include methods for organizational and technological process design and the usage of process design in organizational practice. His research is published in the MIS Quarterly, the Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Information Systems, the European Journal of Information Systems, Information & Management, the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, the Business Process Management Journal and others. He is an Associate Editor for the Communications of the AIS, a member of the editorial board of several international journals and serves on the program committee of various conferences.

 Abstract: Process models are used by information professionals to convey semantics about the business operations in a real-world domain that are intended to be supported by an information system. Understanding and applying these models in efforts to analyse or design organizational or IT-based processes is, in its essence, a cognitive task that requires individuals to comprehend the domain, form a mental model of the domain, externalize this model in the form of a process model and decide on relevant actions. This talk presents recent and current outcomes of a research program that examines cognitive principles and how they are relevant to understanding process modelling practice. Several theoretical and empirical studies are presented and an outlook is given about current and future studies.

28th of July -> Thomas Kohlborn presented his research on: “Service Bundling for Governmental One-Stop Portal”
published on 09/07/2011 - 05:20

I joined a presentation of Thomas Kohlborn in the course of the BPM Seminar Series who presented his research on the identification and the resulting quality of Service Bundles. Thomas Kohlborn is a PhD Candidate within the Information Systems Discipline at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. He currently works within the Smart Services CRC in the project “Business Service Management” focusing on Service Portfolio Management. As part of his PhD studies, he collaborates with Queensland Government to develop an improved approach to identify citizen-centric service bundles for the State Government Portal.

Abstract: E-government is seen as a promising approach for governments to improve their service towards citizens and become more cost-efficient in service delivery. This is often combined with one-stop government, which is a citizen-oriented approach stressing integrated provision of services from multiple departments via a single access point, often implemented as a one-stop government portal. The portal on the front-end presents government services together in bundles that are not necessarily aligned with the government structure. The main benefit of such service bundles is that they group services together, which are related to specific needs or customer segments and typically would be consumed together or at least, by being presented together as a group, fulfill an important information function with regard to the offered portfolio of services that are related to that specific need. The presentation will describe our current work with Queensland Government and discuss current challenges and ideas for future advancement. In particular, based on the utilization of attributes to identify services, the presentation will primarily focus on our current approach to evaluate the goodness of the identified bundles.

27th of July -> Assumption of control of the maintenance of the NSS project
published on 09/07/2011 - 05:19

With the goal of concreting the main research goals of the project during my stay the following tasks are on my to-do-list:

  • Configure a research agenda
  • Define the main research questions for the next visitors
  • Concentrate on the first step of the defined research questions by writing a paper about methods for service bundling
  • Discuss the main objectives of the future to identify potential further shared research projects
  • Design the project flyer
  • Creating a Wiki for the next visitors with “lessons learned” and organizational advises for the life in Brisbane
  • ...

Well, a lot of work to do… Let’s get it started! ;-)

21th of July -> Dr. Daniel Beverungen presented his research results of the project “ServPay” during the weekly workshop of the BPM Group
published on 09/07/2011 - 05:18

I joined a presentation in the course of the BPM Seminar Series which is a series of presentations that are related to current issues investigated in the area of Business Process Management. This time Daniel Beverungen presented his research about some results of the research project "ServPay" that was carried out at WWU Münster from 2007-2009. Thereby he talked about some aspects of Service Bundling, since this is a major topic to be addressed in the current CRC projects in Brisbane as well.

Abstract: Value bundles are compositions of physical goods and services that are put together to better fit the needs of customers. Configuring (bundling) and pricing value bundles constitutes a complex decision problem that needs to be supported by IT. In a mass customization strategy, the task of bundling is performed by putting together pre-defined service and physical goods modules based on functional criteria. Non-functional criteria to be considered comprise comparing the bundles’ total costs of ownership, which is a crucial factor in the high tech investment goods industries. Pricing value bundles requires considering three perspectives: From the point of view of the provider, the available price corridor is limited downward by the costs of engineering, selling, and delivering a value bundle. From the customer’s point of view, the upper limit of the price corridor is constrained by the value to be realized from the bundle. From a competitive perspective, the upper limit of the price corridor is marked by the price of a comparable competitor’s offer. To provide companies with sound decision support for dealing with these challenges, an integrated multi-perspective modelling language and tool support has been developed.

18th of July -> Time to take an active role within the NSS project
published on 09/07/2011 - 05:17

After a gorgeous second trip along the East Coast (e.g. sailing at the Whitsundays, Bungee Jumping in Cairns) I finally arrived in Brisbane in our new apartment in Brisbane. After the introduction of me and my research field to the BPM group members and the whole staff members of the IS Group of the QUT Daniel presented me his previous results and research fields for the NSS project.

09th and 10th of July -> Joining different workshops and presentations at the PACIS2011
published on 09/07/2011 - 05:15

During the PACIS conference I had the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting and famous IS researcher and to discuss about different research topics and findings. For example, it was the first time, I heard about the research field “Neuro IS”. Listening to a panel, where among others Associate Professor Jan Recker (QUT), Professor Jan vom Brocke (University of Liechtenstein), and senior lecturer Dr. Kai Riemer (University of Sydney) discussed about the potential research fields within the Neuro IS discipline, was a really interesting part of the conference.

Furthermore I had the opportunity to get informed about the differences between the PhD programs within different countries. Surprisingly, there are a lot of different cultural based types of PhD programs, all aiming on different results. The panel represented 4 countries (Australia, Taiwan, China, USA) and exposed the main ideas behind such programs. For me, as a german PhD student, without taking part in such a program, it was really exciting to get informed about the requirements and the challenges within such a program.

09th of July -> Presentation of the paper How to Increase Service Productivity: A BPM Perspective (Authors: Malsbender, A.; Pöppelbuß, J.; Plattfaut, R.; Niehaves, B.; Becker, J.)
published on 08/22/2011 - 06:25

On the 09th of July I had the opportunity to present our paper to an IS-service oriented audience. Within this session a group of about 15 people listened to my speech and commented on our work and future research potential. It was an interesting experience to receive this type of feedback by an international audience.

08th of July 2011 -> Arrival in Brisbane
published on 08/22/2011 - 06:24

Just in time with the start of the 15th PACIS conference, I arrived in Brisbane after a perfect travelling experience at Byron Bay. The PACIS was held in Brisbane from July 8th until July 11th and is the foremost regional IS conference in Region 3 of the Association for Information Systems (AIS). Listening to the keynote of Prof. Dr. Kwok-Kee Wei, who outlined that the role of the Asian Pacific region as part of the overall IS discipline has greatly improved in the recent years, was an interesting experience.