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Local Government Authorities (LGAs)

Web service-based development represents an emerging approach for the development of distributed information systems. Web services have been mainly applied by software practitioners as a means to modularize system functionality that can be offered across a network (e.g., intranet and/or the Internet). Although web services have been \ud predominantly developed as a technical solution for integrating software systems, there is a more business-oriented aspect that developers and enterprises need to deal with in order to benefit from the full potential of web services in an electronic market. This ‘ignored’ aspect is the representation of the semantics underlying the services themselves as well as the ‘things’ that the services manage. Currently languages like the Web Services Description Language (WSDL) provide the syntactic means to describe web services, but \ud lack in providing a semantic underpinning. In order to harvest all the benefits of web services technology, a framework has been developed for deriving business semantics from syntactic descriptions of web services. The benefits of such a framework are two-fold. Firstly, the framework provides a way to gradually construct domain ontologies from previously defined technical services. Secondly, the framework enables the \ud migration of syntactically defined web services toward semantic web services. The study follows a design research approach which (1) identifies the problem area and its relevance from an industrial case study and previous research, (2) develops the \ud framework as a design artifact and (3) evaluates the application of the framework through a relevant scenario

Abstract. Ontology-driven conceptual modeling (ODCM) is still a relatively new research domain in the field of information systems and there is still much discussion on how the research in ODCM should be performed and what the focus of this research should be. Therefore, this article aims to critically survey the existing literature in order to assess the kind of research that has been performed over the years, analyze the nature of the research contributions and establish its current state of the art by positioning, evaluating and interpreting relevant research to date that is related to ODCM. To understand and identify any gaps and research opportunities, our literature study is composed of both a systematic mapping study and a systematic review study. The mapping study aims at structuring and classifying the area that is being investigated in order to give a general overview of the research that has been performed in the field. A review study on the other hand is a more thorough and rigorous inquiry and provides recommendations based on the strength of the found evidence. Our results indicate that there are several research gaps that should be addressed and we further composed several research opportunities that are possible areas for future research. IntroductionConceptual models were introduced to increase understanding and communication of a system or domain among stakeholders. According to Stachowiak (1973), a conceptual model possesses three features: (1) a mapping feature, meaning that a model can be seen as a representation of the 'original' system, which is expressed through a modeling language; (2) a reduction feature, characterizing the model as only a subset of the original system and (3) the pragmatics of a model which describes its intended purpose or objective.Conceptual modeling is the activity of representing aspects of the physical and social world for the purpose of communication, learning and problem solving among human users (Mylopoulos, 1992). Conceptual modeling has gained much attention especially in the field of information systems, for design, analysis and development purposes. Their importance was understood in the 1960s, since they facilitate detection and correction of system development errors (Wand & Weber, 2002). The higher the quality of conceptual models, the earlier the 2 detection and correction of these errors occurs. This increase in attention and importance attributed to conceptual modeling led to the development and introduction of a wide range of various conceptual modeling approaches and techniques. Criticism however arose, stating that these approaches and techniques still lacked a comprehensive and generally acknowledged understanding (Moody, 2005). In addition, many conceptual models lacked an adequate specification of the semantics of the terminology of the underlying models, which led to inconsistent interpretations and uses of knowledge (Grüninger, Atefi, & Fox, 2000). In order to provide a foundation for conceptual modeling, ontologies were introduced. As mentio...

Agility is a facet of software development attracting increasing interest. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the value of agility in practice and its effects on traditional plan-based approaches. Data collected from senior development/project managers in 62 organizations is used to investigate perceptions related to agile development. Specifically, the perceptions tested relate to (a) belief in agile values and principles, (b) value of agile principles within current development/organization practice. These perceptions are then examined in the context of current practice in order to test perceptions against behavior and understand the valued aspects of agile practice that are implicit in development today. The broad outcome indicates an interesting marriage between agile and plan-based approaches. This marriage seeks to allow flexibility of method while retaining control.

Folksonomies represent a supporting technology to existing classification systems helping to describe library resources more flexibly, dynamically and openly. As a review of the current literature shows, the adoption of folksonomies in libraries is novel and limited research has been carried out in the area. This paper presents research into the adoption of folksonomies for a University library. A Web 2.0 system was developed, based on the requirements collected from library stakeholders, and integrated with the existing library computer system. An evaluation of the work was carried out in the form of a survey in order to understand the possible reactions of users to folksonomies as well as the effects on their behavior. The broad conclusion of this work is that folksonomies seem to have a beneficial effect on users' involvement as active library participants as well as encourage users to browse the catalogue in more depth.

Purpose: This paper focusses on developing further the recent conceptual frameworks of competitive dynamics and business-to-business value ecosystems considering the changing environment of Industry 4.0 and the particular perspective of servitization. Design/Methodology/Approach: This a conceptual paper that reviews and syntheses business model concepts in relation to competitive dynamics, collaborative business ecosystems and supply chain as evolving and reshaping manufacturing and services within Industry 4.0. Findings: The transformation of organizations in light of Industry 4.0 has led to a reframing of business models and practices, such as stakeholder value and supply chain relationships cooperating within a highly dynamic environment. In an attempt to consider the implications that Industry 4.0 has, particularly from the service perspective, this work attempts to distil directions for future research. Originality/Value: Previous studies on Industry 4.0 have articulated the reasoning about the benefits of Industry 4.0, with its paradigm shift to cyber-physical systems and revised business models. The intention of this paper, is to be able to further define collaboration and value ecosystems in order to show the interdependence and integration between organisations as applied to servitization within Industry 4.0. Moreover, this paper seeks to begin to articulate how research can be conducted to determine the degree to which the change and paradigm shift has become a reality.

Abstract-Legacy Information Systems (LIS) pose a challenge for many organizations. On one hand, LIS are viewed as aging systems needing replacement; on the other hand, years of accumulated business knowledge have made these systems mission-critical. Current approaches however are often criticized for being overtly dependent on technology and ignoring the business knowledge which resides within LIS. In this light, this paper proposes a means of capturing the business knowledge in a technology agnostic manner and transforming it in a way that reaps the benefits of clear semantic expression -this transformation is achieved via the careful use of ontology. The approach called Content Sophistication (CS) aims to provide a model of the business that more closely adheres to the semantics and relationships of objects existing in the real world. The approach is illustrated via an example taken from a case study concerning the renovation of a large financial system and the outcome of the approach results in technology agnostic models that show improvements along several dimensions.