Abstract
The aim of Business-IT alignment in today’s fast-changing digital world is not to arrive at an endpoint where IT and business are aligned, but to continuously adjust them to maintain alignment. In spite of decades of alignment research, concrete operational methods for continuous alignment between business and IT remain lacking. Therefore, we set out to design an easy-to-use and lightweight method for planning the co-evolution of business and IT that would help to address modern alignment challenges. We designed our planning method using the Design Science Research approach. This involved conducting exploratory interviews to surface common alignment challenges, reviewing existing strategy and planning instruments, expanding upon them, and integrating them into one single planning process. We then evaluated the designed method through pilots in an educational setting and through semi-structured confirmatory expert interviews where we employed the technology acceptance model. Through interviews with 16 practitioners in six different organisations, we surfaced nine major categories of alignment challenges. Method design resulted in a 5-step process for collaboratively creating, sharing, and monitoring so-called evolution plans, complete with templates, a manual, and an instructive example. The educational pilots and expert interviews confirmed the usability and acceptability of the method. Our co-evolution planning method complements existing, theoretical alignment research results with a concrete operational instrument that addresses alignment challenges commonly encountered across organisations.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Enterprise Information Systems - 25th International Conference, ICEIS 2023, Revised Selected Papers |
Editors | Joaquim Filipe, Joaquim Filipe, Michał Śmiałek, Alexander Brodsky, Slimane Hammoudi |
Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH |
Pages | 220-236 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Print) | 9783031647543 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Event | 25th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Prague, Czech Republic Duration: 24 Apr 2023 → 26 Apr 2023 Conference number: 25 https://iceis.scitevents.org/?y=2023 |
Publication series
Series | Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing |
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Volume | 519 LNBIP |
ISSN | 1865-1348 |
Conference
Conference | 25th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems |
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Abbreviated title | ICEIS 2023 |
Country/Territory | Czech Republic |
City | Prague |
Period | 24/04/23 → 26/04/23 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- Business-IT alignment
- Design science
- Digital business strategy
- IT strategy
- Software evolution