Stevens Institute of Technology
Howe School of Technology Management
MIS 722: Business Process Management & Innovation
Spring 2014 – Final Syllabus with Readings
Semester:
Spring 2014
Class Week/Time & Location:
Wed 6:15-8:45 pm, Babbio #641
Primary Instructor:
Carol V. Brown
Practica Instructors:
Ted Stohr
Michael zur Muehlen
Office Hours & Location – Carol Brown:
Tues & Wed pm & by app’t, Babbio #409
Overview
The course introduces Ph.D. students to research areas surrounding the design,
implementation, and improvement of organizational processes. The process-oriented
analysis of organizations serves as a focal point for the integration of business
requirements (in the form of business processes) with technology capabilities (in the form
of software applications. Students will assess and discuss selected research papers in each
seminar meeting, and develop a research paper that includes a literature review on a topic
related to business process management of their own choosing.
Introduction to Course
Business Process Management (BPM) is the set of concepts, methods and tools
surrounding the definition, implementation, measurement and improvement of
organizational processes. Research in this area stems from disciplines such as computer
science, management, and information systems. Structuration theory and coordination
theory are examples of theories that have been utilized in BPM research. The selected
readings will include conceptual papers as well as empirical papers utilizing action
research design science, field surveys, and case study research methods.
The major topics to be covered in this course are as follows:
1. Process Thinking: Business Process Redesign Enabled by IT
2. IT-Enabled Business Process Innovation: Case Examples of Software
Development Processes, Coordination and Group Decision-Making, and
Enterprise System Implementations
3. Business Process Change Management Frameworks for Radical and Incremental
Change
4. Process Design: An Introduction to Modeling Tools
5. Business Process Analytics & Process Mining
6. Business Process Management Governance
7. Business Process Management MaturityModels
Learning Goals
Students completing this course will be able to
1. Describe and assess recent research on business process management topics
2. Comprehend different research methods that are being used in the BPM domain
3. Apply relevant theoretical frameworks to business process management research
4. Develop a research paper that includes a literature review
Additional learning objectives include the development of:
1. Written communication skills: written summaries and critiques of readings, a
midterm exam, and a term paper will help each student develop these skills.
2. Oral communication skills: participation in weekly seminar meetings, including
taking lead roles in the discussion of specific readings, and opportunities to
present using presentation software support will help each student improve their
oral communication skills
3. Core knowledge and research tools in their major field of study: conceptual and
empirical readings for this course will increase each student’s knowledge of this
topical area, and relevant theories and methodological approaches for contributing
knowledge to this research stream.
Pedagogy
A combination of faculty- led and student-led discussions of assigned research papers,
faculty-led introductions to process modeling and discovery tools, and summary
presentations by students of research article critiques and term paper findings.
Students will also complete an essay exam mid-way through the course to ensure their
understanding of basic BPM concepts and their ability to apply the findings from related
research studies.
Course Requirements and Grading
Written assignments (6) and weekly in-class participation
Mid-term Exam (take-home essay exam)
Term Paper (including a literature review)
40%
20%
40%
100 %
Required Readings
The required weekly readings for this course include articles from peer-reviewed
journals, book chapters, recent academic conference papers, practitioner white papers,
and case studies. The citations for the required readings selected by the instructor for this
semester are provided below by topic. One class session will also be devoted to
additional articles selected by students on topics related to their term papers. For those
readings not accessible via the Stevens electronic databases, copies will be provided via
the Stevens online environment for this course (Moodle).
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PROCESS THINKING
Brynjolfsson, E. and L.M. Hitt. (1998) ”Beyond the Productivity Paradox.”
Communications of the ACM, 41:8 (August), pp. 49-55.
Davenport, T.H. and J.E. Short. (1990). ”The New Industrial Engineering: Information
Technology and Business Process Redesign.” Sloan Managment Review, 31:4 (Summer),
pp. 11-27.
Garvin, D.A. (1998). ”The Processes of Organization and Management.” Sloan
Management Review, 39:4 (Summer), pp. 33-50.
Hammer, M. And S. Stanton. (1999). ”How Process Enterprises Really Work.” Harvard
Business Review, 77 (November-December), pp. 108-118.
BP CHANGE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS
Guha, S., Grover, V., Kettinger, W. J., and Teng, J. T. C. (1997). “Business process
change and organizational performance: Exploring an antecedent model.” Journal of
Management Information Systems, 14(1), 119-154.
Hammer, M. (1990). “Reengineering work: Don’t automate, obliterate.” Harvard
Business Review, 68 (July-August), 104-112.
Markus, M.L. (2004). “Technochange management: using IT to drive organizational
change.” Journal of Information Technology, 19(4). 4-20.
Orlikowski, W.J. (1993). “CASE tools as organizational change: Investigating
incremental and radical changes in systems development.” MIS Quarterly, 17(3), 309340.
Stoddard, D.B., and Jarvenpaa, S.L. (1995). “Business Process Redesign: Tactics for
Managing Radical Change.” Journal of Management Information Systems, 12(1), 81-107.
CASE STUDY EXAMPLES OF IT IMPLEMENTATIONS FOR NEW PROCESSES
Advantage 2000 at Owens Corning: Business and IT Transformation. By C.V. Brown.
Case Study IV-3 in Managing Information Technology, 7th edition, by C.V. Brown, D.W.
DeHayes J.S. Hoffer, E.Wainright Martin, and W.C. Perkins. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 2012.
Baria Planning Solutions, Inc.: Fixing the Sales Process. Harvard Business School. Case
#4568.
NIBCO’s ‘Big Bang’: An SAP Implementation. By C.V. Brown and I.Vessey. Case
Study III-5 in Managing Information Technology, 7th edition, by C.V. Brown, D.W.
DeHayes J.S. Hoffer, E.Wainright Martin, and W.C. Perkins. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 2012.
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Pharmacy Improvement at CVS. By A.P. McAfee. Harvard Business School. Case A: #9-606015., Case B: #9-606-029.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS FOR BUSINESS PROCESS INNOVATIONS
Crowston, K. (1997) A Coordination Theory Approach to Organizational Process Design.
Organization Science, 8:2 (March-April), pp. 157-175.
DeSanctis, G. and M.S. Poole. (1994) Capturing the Complexity in Advanced
Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory. Organization Science, 5:2 (May), pp.
121-147.
Majchrzak, A., R.E. Rice, N. King, A. Malhotra, and S. Ba. (2000). Technology Adaptation: The
Case of a Computer-Supported Inter-Organizational Virtual Team. MIS Quarterly 24:4 (Dec.),
pp. 569-600.
Orlikowski, W.J. “Using technology and constituting structures: A practice lens for
studying technology in organizations. Organization Science 11:4 (2000), pp. 404-428.
APPLICATION SOFTWARE PROCESS INNOVATIONS
Fichman, R.G. and C.F. Kemerer. “The Assimilation of Software Process Innovations: An
Organizational Learning Perspective,” Management Science, 43:10 (October 1997), pp. 13451363.
Holmstrom, H., B. Fitzgerald, P.J. Agerfalk and E.O. Conchuir. “Agile Practices Reduce Distance
in Global Software Development,” Information Systems Management, 23:3 (Summer 2006), pp.
7-18.
Nelson, R.R. and K.J. Jansen. “Mapping and Managing Momentum in IT Projects,” MIS
Quarterly Executive, 8:3 (September 2009), pp. 141-148.
Wu, W.W., G.M. Rose, and K. Lyytinen. “Recognizing and Managing Innovation Points
in Large IT Projects,” MIS Quarterly Executive, 10:3 (September 2011), pp. 121-132.
BUSINESS PROCESS/BPM GOVERNANCE
Braganza, A. and R. Lambert (2000). Strategic Integration: Developing a ProcessGovernance Framework. Knowledge and Process Management, 7:3 (Jul/Sep), pp. 177186.
Booz Allen Hamilton (2003) Process Ownership: The Overlooked Driver of Sustained
BPR Success. Industry white paper, 5pp.
Markus, M.L. and D.D. Jacobson. (2010). Business Process Governance. In Handbook on
Business Process Management 2, edited by J. vom Brocke and M. Rosemann. Berlin:
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Springer-Verlag. pp. 201-222.
Rosemann, M. (2010). The Service Portfolio of a BPM Center of Excellence. In
Handbook on Business Process Management 2, edited by J. vom Brocke and M.
Rosemann. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. pp. 267-284.
Scheer, A-W. and E. Brabaender. (2010). The Process of Business Process Management.
In Handbook on Business Process Management 2, edited by J. vom Brocke and M.
Rosemann. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. pp. 239-265.
Spanyi, A. (2010). Business Process Management Governance. In Handbook on Business
Process Management 2, edited by J. vom Brocke and M. Rosemann. Berlin: SpringerVerlag. pp. 223-238.
BUSINESS PROCESS MATURITY
Adler, P.S. , F.E. McGarry, W.B. Irion-Talbot and D.J. Binney (2005). Enabling Process
Discipline: Lessons from the Journey to CMM Level 5. MIS Quarterly Executive, 4:1
(March), pp. 215-227.
Harter, D.E., M.S. Krishnan and S.A. Slaughte (2000). Effects of Process Maturity on
Quality, Cycle Time, and Effort in Software Product Development. Management Science,
46:4 (April), pp. 451-466.
Rosemann, M. and T. de Bruin (2006). Towards a Business Process Management
Maturity Model. Unpublished working paper, Queensland University of Technology,
Australia, unp.
Schmiedel, T., J. vom Brocke and J. Recker (2014). Development and Validation of an
Instrument to Measure Organizational Cultures’ Support of Business Process
Management. Information & Management, 51, pp. 43-56.
BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYTICS & PROCESS MINING
IEEE Task Force on Process Mining. Process Mining Manifesto, unp.
Zur Muehlen, M. and R. Shapiro. (2010) Business Process Analytics. In Handbook on
Business Process Management 2, edited by J. vom Brocke and M. Rosemann. Berlin:
Springer-Verlag. pp. 137-157.
May 2014 –cvbrown
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Ethical Conduct
The following statement is printed in the Stevens Graduate Catalog and applies to all
students taking Stevens courses, on and off campus.
“Cheating during in-class tests or take-home examinations or homework is, of course,
illegal and immoral. A Graduate Academic Evaluation Board exists to investigate
academic improprieties, conduct hearings, and determine any necessary actions. The
term ‘academic impropriety’ is meant to include, but is not limited to, cheating on
homework, during in-class or take home examinations and plagiarism.“
Consequences of academic impropriety are severe, ranging from receiving an “F” in a
course, to a warning from the Dean of the Graduate School, which becomes a part of the
permanent student record, to expulsion.
Reference:
The Graduate Student Handbook, Academic Year 2003-2004 Stevens
Institute of Technology, page 10.
Consistent with the above statements, all homework exercises, tests and exams that are
designated as individual assignments MUST contain the following signed statement
before they can be accepted for grading.
____________________________________________________________________
I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on
this assignment/examination. I further pledge that I have not copied any material from a
book, article, the Internet or any other source except where I have expressly cited the
source.
Signature _________________________
Date: _____________
Please note that assignments in this class may be submitted to www.turnitin.com, a webbased anti-plagiarism system, for an evaluation of their originality.
Course/Teacher Evaluation
Continuous improvement can only occur with feedback based on comprehensive and appropriate
surveys. Your feedback is an important contributor to decisions to modify course
content/pedagogy which is why we strive for 100% class participation in the survey.
All course teacher evaluations are conducted on-line. You will receive an e-mail one week prior
to the end of the course informing you that the survey site (https://www.stevens.edu/assess) is
open along with instructions for accessing the site. Login using your Campus (email) username
and password. This is the same username and password you use for access to Moodle. Simply
click on the course that you wish to evaluate and enter the information. All responses are strictly
anonymous. We especially encourage you to clarify your position on any of the questions and
give explicit feedbacks on your overall evaluations in the section at the end of the formal survey
which allows for written comments. We ask that you submit your survey prior to end of the
examination period.
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