Books

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The People Problem: A Primer on Architecting the Enterprise as an Enterprise Architect

Your business is solving the wrong problems. The nuclear triad of People, Process and Technology has been foundational to solving business problems for decades. Entire frameworks and methodologies have grown up around the simple concept that getting each of these three areas correct and functioning in concert will ensure smooth business operations and cross-enterprise alignment. Billions of dollars have been spent on people in the management consulting industry who have ‘mastered’ the art of alignment and offered definitive solutions to the biggest, wickedest business challenges out there. And yet… our businesses continue to encounter the same well-known and seemingly well-solved problems, spending massive sums to fix them. How can this be? It is said that modern business is one part innovation and one part marketing. Innovation is often mistakenly equated with technology and marketing with ‘digital’. Success in business therefore becomes a chase for digital capabilities and the latest technology to enable them. And yet… the latest technology continues to give us problems, create headaches and doesn’t always give our businesses the edge they need to compete, despite costing us huge amounts of money. How can this be? The reality, of course, is that businesses are chasing the wrong buzzwords, buying the wrong solutions, solving the wrong problems. The People Problem tackles this topic from the perspective of Enterprise Architecture. For newcomers and open-minded old-timers who practice EA, architecting the enterprise is all about asking the fundamental question ‘what business problem are we trying to solve?’ When practitioners pay close attention, they’ll recognize that business problems are infrequently solved by a new tool. That is, Technology isn’t the answer to the problem. They’ll also notice that the most efficient process in the world, made popular by the flashiest buzzwords in the industry, is insufficient to answer the fundamental question. In other words, Process is not the answer to the problem. Human beings are at the root and core of our businesses. They define the processes and operate the technology. Only by recognizing that solving business problems requires solving problems with (and caused by) people will we get close to the right solutions. The People Problem aims to help new entrants to the field of enterprise architecture (and anyone interested in solving difficult business problems) navigate in an era of particularly rapid business and technological change. Based on over 17 years of experience consulting with companies large and small, Fortune 500 to local startups, The People Problem is a collection of accumulated knowledge presented in easily digestible vignettes.

Handbook on Business Process Management 2 – Strategic Alignment, Governance, People and Culture

Business Process Management (BPM) has become one of the most widely used approaches for the design of modern organizational and information systems. The conscious treatment of business processes as significant corporate assets has facilitated substantial improvements in organizational performance but is also used to ensure the conformance of corporate activities. This Handbook presents in two volumes the contemporary body of knowledge as articulated by the world’s leading BPM thought leaders. This second volume focuses on the managerial and organizational challenges of BPM such as strategic and cultural alignment, governance and the education of BPM stakeholders. As such, this book provides concepts and methodologies for the integration of BPM. Each chapter has been contributed by leading international experts. Selected case studies complement their views and lead to a summary of BPM expertise that is unique in its coverage of the most critical success factors of BPM. The second edition of this handbook has been significantly revised and extended. Each chapter has been updated to reflect the most current developments. This includes in particular new technologies such as in-memory data and process management, social media and networks. A further focus of this revised and extended edition is on the actual deployment of the proposed theoretical concepts. This volume includes a number of entire new chapters from some of the world’s leading experts in the domain of BPM.

Digital Transformation with Business Process Management: BPM Transformation and Real-World Execution

BPM is essential to a company’s survival in today’s hyper-speed business environment. The goal of Digital Transformation is to help empower enterprises to compete at the highest level in any marketplace. This book provides compelling award-winning case studies contributed by those who have been through the full BPM experience. The case studies describe the processes involved to generate successful ROIs and competitive advantages. Digital transformation describes the changes associated with the application of digital technology in all aspects of human society. These world-renowned authors and leading edge case studies will help you understand the meaning and impact of Digital Transformation and how you can leverage that transformation using BPM you already have. Learn how to extend that into core processes that run the business and thus engage more meaningfully with your customers. The authors discuss the impact of emerging technologies, the mandate for greater transparency and how the ongoing aftershocks of globalization have collectively impacted predictability within the business enterprise.

Understand Your Organisation – Improve Your Business: An Introduction to Enterprise Architecture Modelling

Written by an industry expert with over 20 years of experience, this bite-sized book will quickly introduce you to the concepts, terminology and management of Enterprise Architecture Modelling projects. It describes how to go about documenting processes, systems, people, locations, equipment, controls, risks and opportunities so that you have a reference of what makes the organization tick. There is also a chapter on how not to do it.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum on how the impending technological revolution will change our lives. We are on the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And this one will be unlike any other in human history. Characterized by new technologies fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will impact all disciplines, economies and industries – and it will do so at an unprecedented rate. World Economic Forum data predicts that by 2025 we will see: commercial use of nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than human hair; the first transplant of a 3D-printed liver; 10% of all cars on US roads being driverless; and much more besides. In The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Schwab outlines the key technologies driving this revolution, discusses the major impacts on governments, businesses, civil society and individuals, and offers bold ideas for what can be done to shape a better future for all.

Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact

Originally published in German in 1935, this monograph anticipated solutions to problems of scientific progress, the truth of scientific fact and the role of error in science now associated with the work of Thomas Kuhn and others. Arguing that every scientific concept and theory, including his own, is culturally conditioned, Fleck was appreciably ahead of his time. And as Kuhn observes in his foreword: Though much has occurred since its publication, it remains a brilliant and largely unexploited resource.