Table Of ContentOn Enterprise Systems Artifacts:
Changes in Information Systems
Development and Evaluation
Jonas Hedman
Department of Informatics, School of Economics and Management
Lund University
AKADEMISK AVHANDLING
som för avläggande av filosofie doktorsexamen i Informatik vid Samhällsvetenskapliga
fakulteten, Ekonomihögskolan, Lunds universitet, kommer att offentligen försvaras i hörsal 101
Ekonomicentrum II, Ole Römers väg 6, Lund
tisdagen den 4 november 2003, kl. 13.00
Department of Informatics
Ole Römers väg 6
S-223 63 LUND
Sweden
ISSN 1651-1816 Lund Studies in Informatics No. 2
ISBN 91-628-5845-9
© Jonas Hedman
Printed in Sweden
KFS AB Lund 2003
Organization Document name
LUND UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
School of Economics and Management Date of issue
Department of Informatics
2003-11-04
Ole Römers väg 6
CODEN:
S-223 63 Lund, Sweden
Author(s)
Jonas Hedman
Title and subtitle
On Enterprise Systems Artifacts: Changes in Information Systems Development and Evaluation
Abstract: Enterprise Systems are one of the most important developments in corporate information systems during the last decade.
These integrated information systems are characterized by a number of features which include a very broad scope and
functionality, as well as being generic, master data, and business-process orientated. Together, these features make Enterprise
Systems unique vis-à-vis other information systems and have a profound impact on information systems development and
evaluation. For instance, analysis, design, and realization during traditional information system development is replaced by the
selection of a system and the evaluation of an underlying reference model, as well as the setting of configuration parameters.
The focus of the study is the Enterprise Systems artifact and its impact on information systems development and evaluation. The
aims are 1) to improve our understanding of the key characteristics of Enterprise System artifacts, leading to changes in
information systems development and the increased importance of evaluation and 2) to develop methods and evaluation
approaches for Enterprise Systems. The main research approach applied in gaining an increased understanding has been artifact
evaluation, belonging to constructive research. The research reported upon in the thesis is presented in two parts. The first part
synthesizes the text of part one with the seven included papers. The included papers address Enterprise Systems, information
system development and evaluation in complementary ways leading up to the conclusion of part one.
The concluding output of the thesis is an integrated framework addressing the implications of Enterprise System artifacts for
information systems development and evaluation. The framework includes several causally-related components, including the
Enterprise System artifact and its key characteristics, an Enterprise System life cycle (including the four interrelated tasks of
selection, configuration, implementation and use & operation), COTS implementation methods, and the changing purpose of
evaluation. In a sense, the conclusion is a theorizing of the nature of Enterprise System artifacts. Despite the fact that this thesis
provides insights into the nature of Enterprise Systems, it is evident that more research is needed.
Key words
Enterprise Systems, ERP Systems, information systems development, evaluation, artifact
evaluation, artifacts
Classification system and/or index terms (if any)
Supplementary bibliographical information Language
English
ISSN 1651-1816 Lund Studies in Informatics No. 2 ISBN
91-628-5845-9
Number of pages Price
258
Security classification
Distribution by (name and address) Department of Informatics, Ole Römers väg 6, S-223 63 LUND
I, the undersigned, being the copyright owner of the abstract of the above-mentioned dissertation, hereby grant to all reference
sources permission to publish and disseminate the abstract of the above-mentioned dissertation.
Signature______________________________________ Date 2003-09-23
Acknowledgements
Finally, after spending minutes, hours, days, nights, weeks, months, and years,
I have reached the end of the beginning. This effort could not have been
accomplished without the help of many people, whom I would like to say
thanks to.
Firstly, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Dipak
Khakhar for his advice, encouragement and support during the last six
months. I would also like to thank my former supervisor Agneta Olerup, who
has put up with me for a long period of time. The next person is my former
colleague, good friend and co-author Andreas Borell. Thomas Kalling also
deserves special appreciation as a co-author, and friend, and for being very
clear and frank during my internal seminar. Then I would like to take the
opportunity to say thank you to the second opponent during my final internal
seminar, Odd Steen. I would also like to offer my thanks to Sven Carlsson for
providing inputs and ideas to the thesis. Next my thoughts turn to the
Department of Informatics which has provided me with a working space and
my friends there. A special thank you goes to Petter who commented on one
of my very first papers and sold his skis to me.
This work is one result of a partnership between the School of Economics
and Management and SAP Svenska AB and I offer my thanks to Jim
Hagemann-Snabe, Rickard Frenkel, Peter Krell, Thomas Thernborn and, in
particular, Tove Saeland (KPMG). The collaboration with SAP is also leading
to an increased number of contacts and collaboration within the School of
Economics and Management, who also financed the partnership – thank you
Dean Olof Arwidi. Furthermore, this is leading to contact with people at the
Department of Business Administration, including Per Magnus Andersson,
Ingmar Tuvfesson, Helge Helmersson, John Gibe and Lars Bengtsson, as well
as Robert Lindroth, and Sten Wandel at the Lund Institute of Technology.
To Peter Corrigan who proofread the thesis and to IDEA Group Publishing
Inc. and Emerald (MCB UP Ltd) who allowed me to reprint material from
their publications, I owe my thanks. And Lasse for the technology.
To my father in law – Ingmar – thanks for your perceptive thoughts. I would
also like to thank my mother who has provided me with a free and loving
environment from which I have benefited. Finally, my thoughts go to my
family – Anna, Julia and Carl. A special mention goes to Julia for informing
me that there is no such thing as a theory - there is only horsemanship. There
is not enough space to write all the things that should be said to my dear wife
and life partner, but I am immensely grateful for her encouraging kicks in the
behind and her motivating question – WHEN?
Höör, September, 2003
Jonas Hedman
Dedicated to the memory of my father and brother
Contents
PART ONE
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Clarification of some Terms 4
1.3 Purpose 6
1.4 Structure of Thesis 12
Chapter 2 PAPERS 15
2.1 Papers Related to Information Systems Development 15
2.1.1 Paper 1: Requirements Specification 15
2.1.2 Paper 2: COTS Methods 16
2.1.3 Paper 3: Business Model 16
2.1.4 Paper 4: ERPM Framework 18
2.2 Papers related to information systems evaluation 18
2.2.1 Paper 5: Enterprise Systems Artifact Evaluation 18
2.2.2 Paper 6: mySAP Workplace Artifact Evaluation 19
2.2.3 Paper 7: Narratives 20
2.3 Summary of Papers 21
Chapter 3 RESEARCH APPROACH 23
3.1 Methodology 23
3.1.1 Relationships and Limitations 27
3.2 Competing Values Framework 30
3.2.1 Development of CVF 31
3.2.2 Organizational 34
3.2.3 Managerial 35
3.2.4 Culture 35
3.2.5 Information Systems 36
3.2.6 Concluding Words on CVF 37
Chapter 4 ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS - THE ARTIFACT 39
4.1 Enterprise System versus ERP System 39
4.2 From Information Systems to Enterprise Systems 40
4.2.1 The Evolution of COTS Systems 42
Manufacturing Legacy 42
Accounting Legacy 43
Human Resource Management Legacy 44
4.3 Key Characteristics of Enterprise Systems 45
4.3.1 Industry Coverage 46
4.3.2 Scope of Enterprise Systems 47
4.3.3 Generic with a Touch 48
4.3.4 Master Data 53
4.3.5 Summary 54
4.4 Conclusion on Enterprise Systems Artifact 55
Chapter 5 ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS LIFE CYCLE 57
5.1 Enterprise System Life Cycles 57
5.1.1 Discussion 59
5.1.2 Proposed Enterprise Systems Life Cycle 61
5.2 Selection 64
5.2.1 Discussion 66
5.3 Configuration 67
5.3.1 Discussion 69
5.4 Implementation 69
5.4.1 Discussion 72
5.5 Use & Operation 73
5.5.1 Discussion 77
5.6 Evaluation 78
5.6.1 Enterprise Systems Evaluation Framework 79
5.7 Summary of Literature Review 83
5.8 Conclusion of the Literature Review 86
Chapter 6 CONCLUSIONS 91
6.1 Integrated Framework 91
6.1.1 Contribution and Validity 98
6.2 Concluding Words 100
References 103
PART TWO
Paper 1 CVA Based Framework for ERP Requirements Specification
Paper 2 Understanding COTS System Implementation Approaches
and Methodologies: The Case of ASAP
Paper 3 The Business Model: A Means to Comprehend the
Management and Business Context of Information and
Communication Technology
Paper 4 Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: Critical Factors in
Theory and Practice
Paper 5 The Impact of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems on
Organizational Effectiveness: An Artifact Evaluation
Paper 6 An Assessment of a Role-Based Information Portal
Paper 7 Narratives in ERP Systems Evaluation
Description:me that there is no such thing as a theory - there is only horsemanship. There model, organizational model, data model and data repository, which (1998) integrates BPR and R/3 implementation with a socio-technical system.
