Preconditions for the use of a checklist by enterprise architects to improve the quality of a business case

Martin Van Den Berg, Lars Cordewener, Raymond Slot, Patricia Lago, Hans Van Vliet

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Abstract

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a mechanism to support IT investment decisions. What is lacking, is a practical tool like a checklist that can be used by enterprise architects to support IT investment decisions, and more specifically, the business case. The business case is a common practice to justify IT investment decisions. The objective of this research is to investigate how the use of a checklist can support enterprise architects to improve the quality of a business case. To answer this question, we conducted design science and developed and evaluated a checklist that can be used by enterprise architects in the assessment of a business case. The evaluation of the checklist was conducted by means of an experiment. The results of the experiment with 32 architects demonstrate that using a checklist as such does not lead to higher quality improvement suggestions in the assessment of a business case as compared to not using a checklist. In other words, a checklist alone does not make the difference. Discussion of the results of the experiment with focus groups reveals several preconditions for the use of a checklist. In any case, the use of the checklist reduces the risk of overlooking valuable insights to improve the quality of the business case.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2019 IEEE 21st Conference on Business Informatics (CBI) 15-17 July 2019
Subtitle of host publication[Proceedings] Volume 01
EditorsJorg Becker, Dmitriy Novikov
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages114-123
Number of pages10
Volume1
ISBN (Electronic)9781728106502
ISBN (Print)9781728106519
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Event21st IEEE Conference on Business Informatics, CBI 2019 - Moscow, Russian Federation
Duration: 15 Jul 201917 Jul 2019

Conference

Conference21st IEEE Conference on Business Informatics, CBI 2019
Country/TerritoryRussian Federation
CityMoscow
Period15/07/1917/07/19

Keywords

  • Business case
  • Checklist
  • Design science
  • Enterprise architecture
  • IT investment decision

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