As noted in earlier postings about management modelling methods, a combination of approaches can produce added value. Enterprise Architecture is excellent for visually presenting business processes, applications and technical infrastructures. However, Viable Systems Modelling brings in the additional dimensions of Requisite Variety and Recursion.
The paper below summarises how VSM recognises the need for independently viable management sub-systems that provide local communications and control capacity that balances the variable complexity across the organisation. The manager needs to be able to effectively communicate with the managed and the managed need to be confident that the manager knows how things work in practice.
Friday, 21 December 2012
Monday, 10 December 2012
Smudie Project Case Study
As noted in previous postings, the main deliverables planned for the Smudie project are this project blog and a detailed case study describing the project outcomes. The project blog is intended to provide a narrative account of the project activities, as well as provide access to all the project documents and outputs. The case study is a structured synthesis of the project achievements, outcomes and lessons learned. Both will be completed as the end of the project period approaches in 2013. However, a first draft of the case study has been created and is a useful reminder of the actions to be taken in the final phase of the project. The draft is shown below:
Smudie case study from Tony Toole
The case study is in the format set out on the programme website and this will be the formal project deliverable. However, a second version of the case study/report will be created for institutional management that summarises the 'nuggets' of effective practice identified by the project.
The case study is in the format set out on the programme website and this will be the formal project deliverable. However, a second version of the case study/report will be created for institutional management that summarises the 'nuggets' of effective practice identified by the project.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
The 'to be' Modelling Plan
The document below outlines the 'to be' modelling plan for the Smudie project. As indicated in previous blog posts, it will be more generic than initially planned to account for the uncertainties surrounding the systems likely to be adopted by the newly merged institution. In that regard it is hoped it will be more transferrable to other institutions addressing similar issues.
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Project Deliverables: Planning the Case Study
The deliverables for the Smudie project were planned to be a detailed case study describing the project outcomes, together with this project blog which comments on the issues and actions leading to the delivery of those outcomes.
Tony Toole met with Dave White, the JISC project Critical Friend, in Oxford yesterday and part of the (wide-ranging and very helpful) discussion covered the potential content and structure of the case study.
The discussion to some extent was a mini brainstorming session and really represented the start of the case study planning process. It took into account the institutional changes taking place through the merger between Swansea Met and Trinity St David and the uncertainties about the future information systems plans resulting from this. As noted in previous posts in this blog, it has already been decided that the original plan for specific systems recommendations would now be inappropriate and that more generic proposals would be more useful. In fact, the outcomes of the Smudie project may actually have greater impact now as they will directly inform an ongoing change process.
The issue that was discussed at the meeting was the possible structure and content of the case study. The general conclusion was that key operational areas/functional components of the information management system could be targetted. The idea of identifying micro case study 'nuggets' was explored where key areas for improvement, identified by the 'as is' evaluation, would be developed. The key areas would be identified as being typical (and thus generic) for any institution and the solution adaptable as a result.
The additional benefit to the generic approach would be that the outcome would not only be of use to the newly emerging instiution as it develops its merged system solutions, it would also be of greater benefit to the wider JISC community as a transferrable project deliverable.
The discussion also concluded that a 'nugget' based case study would be more effective for consideration by senior management than any detailed inclusion of the modelling methods used to arrive at the proposed solutions. It was felt, however, that the modelling process, particularly the multi-model approach that combines the benefits of EA, VSM and SSM, would be of interest to that specialist area of action research. It was agreed that the dissemination of that outcome would be a useful additional project deliverable.
Tony Toole met with Dave White, the JISC project Critical Friend, in Oxford yesterday and part of the (wide-ranging and very helpful) discussion covered the potential content and structure of the case study.
The discussion to some extent was a mini brainstorming session and really represented the start of the case study planning process. It took into account the institutional changes taking place through the merger between Swansea Met and Trinity St David and the uncertainties about the future information systems plans resulting from this. As noted in previous posts in this blog, it has already been decided that the original plan for specific systems recommendations would now be inappropriate and that more generic proposals would be more useful. In fact, the outcomes of the Smudie project may actually have greater impact now as they will directly inform an ongoing change process.
The issue that was discussed at the meeting was the possible structure and content of the case study. The general conclusion was that key operational areas/functional components of the information management system could be targetted. The idea of identifying micro case study 'nuggets' was explored where key areas for improvement, identified by the 'as is' evaluation, would be developed. The key areas would be identified as being typical (and thus generic) for any institution and the solution adaptable as a result.
The additional benefit to the generic approach would be that the outcome would not only be of use to the newly emerging instiution as it develops its merged system solutions, it would also be of greater benefit to the wider JISC community as a transferrable project deliverable.
The discussion also concluded that a 'nugget' based case study would be more effective for consideration by senior management than any detailed inclusion of the modelling methods used to arrive at the proposed solutions. It was felt, however, that the modelling process, particularly the multi-model approach that combines the benefits of EA, VSM and SSM, would be of interest to that specialist area of action research. It was agreed that the dissemination of that outcome would be a useful additional project deliverable.
Monday, 5 November 2012
The Practicalities of Management Modelling
EA modelling of management processes[1] has a similar overall purpose to other
modelling systems such as Checkland's Soft Systems Modelling[2]
and Beer's Viable Systems Model[3],[4].
They use their own (typically) visual languages to map and describe management
systems and processes with the common purpose of aiding conversations about
improvement and optimisation.
A brief comparison of the similarities and differences between these three Human Activity modelling systems is worthwhile as it sets the context for the use of Enterprise Architecture in this particular exercise and indicates how EA modelling can be enriched by drawing in features from the SSM and VSM approaches.
The fundamental commonality is the recognition that they are all attempting to model human activity systems and that they will be fuzzy descriptors as a result. There is no attempt by any to eliminate the human variability factor, only to accommodate it and to exploit its strengths.
What SSM and VSM both bring to EA is what Checkland calls the world view and Beer calls the environment. It is easy with EA to concentrate just on the enterprise and its systems and miss the impact of the outside world when planning.
A further feature that VSM brings to the consideration of management systems is their recursive nature: smaller systems exist within larger systems, but each has the same control and communications profile. All institutions are agglomerations of self managing units within units.
It is also important to recognise that the fact that de-facto self managing systems will emerge to fill gaps in the management infrastructure that institutional senior management are likely to have no knowledge of. The current student attendance monitoring processes at the University provide several examples of such invisible localised management arrangements.
A brief comparison of the similarities and differences between these three Human Activity modelling systems is worthwhile as it sets the context for the use of Enterprise Architecture in this particular exercise and indicates how EA modelling can be enriched by drawing in features from the SSM and VSM approaches.
The fundamental commonality is the recognition that they are all attempting to model human activity systems and that they will be fuzzy descriptors as a result. There is no attempt by any to eliminate the human variability factor, only to accommodate it and to exploit its strengths.
What SSM and VSM both bring to EA is what Checkland calls the world view and Beer calls the environment. It is easy with EA to concentrate just on the enterprise and its systems and miss the impact of the outside world when planning.
A further feature that VSM brings to the consideration of management systems is their recursive nature: smaller systems exist within larger systems, but each has the same control and communications profile. All institutions are agglomerations of self managing units within units.
It is also important to recognise that the fact that de-facto self managing systems will emerge to fill gaps in the management infrastructure that institutional senior management are likely to have no knowledge of. The current student attendance monitoring processes at the University provide several examples of such invisible localised management arrangements.
[1] http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/ea/index_html
[2] Checkland,
Peter B. & Poulter, J. (2006) Learning for Action: A short definitive
account of Soft Systems Methodology and its use for Practitioners, teachers and
Students, Wiley, Chichester.
[3] 1972, Stafford Beer, Brain of the Firm;
Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, London, Herder and Herder, USA.
[4] 1989, Ed. Espejo and Harnden The Viable System
Model; John Wiley, London and New York.
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Revised Project Schedule
With the changed status of Swansea Metropolitan University, the final stages of the JISC Smudie project have been re-scheduled to reflect the new institutional management arrangements and focus. The new merged university will be undertaking major structural changes that will not be complete by the time the Smudie project ends in July 2013. For this reason, the original plan to implement changes in the information management system based on the evaluation findings are no longer realistic. It is therefore proposed that the project outcomes, particularly the planned 'To Be' model, be structured as an advisory input to the discussions about the new institutional information management system. The expectation is that the final report and recommendations be of significant value in that process, and that the outcomes will be of equal value to other institutions in the JISC community planning similar developments. The revised schedule is shown below.
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Development of the 'To Be' Model
This week has seen the beginning of a new era for Swansea Metropolitan University as it formally merged with University of Wales Trinity St David. To some extent the JISC Smudie project has been in preparation for this event and will contribute to management information systems planning for the new institution. The next phase of the project will use the conclusions drawn from the 'As Is' phase to develop a 'To Be' model that will seek to implement potential improvements in the new operating environment.
The model will be based on information management components and on information management scheduling:
This will lead to the revision of information management workflows designed to deliver efficiencies and improved stakeholder support. In particular it is expected to make recommendations with regard to a single student record system and an institutionally managed student attendance monitoring and reporting system.
This will lead to the revision of information management workflows designed to deliver efficiencies and improved stakeholder support. In particular it is expected to make recommendations with regard to a single student record system and an institutionally managed student attendance monitoring and reporting system.
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