To propose a strategy-oriented and quality-aware business and IT alignment method through goal and scenario points analysis

Business and Information Technology Alignment (BITA) is a preferred condition in which the relationship between business and IT is optimized to maximize the business value of IT. BITA is a critical discipline allowing businesses to propose appropriate IT-enabled business solutions. A BITA method needs a well-designed process for identifying business problems, needs, and opportunities. Strategic BITA methods that are based on requirements engineering (RE) techniques can enable consideration of all business aspects and therefore fulfill expectations for the design of a suitable IT-enabled business solution. This study introduces a Strategy-oriented and Quality-aware BITA ethod (SQBITAM) to facilitate alignment between business requirements for business systems and the business strategies. SQBITAM consists of a business requirements engineering method, using a combination of goal-oriented and scenario-based requirements engineering approaches and includes an early quality evaluation phase to assess the quality and performance of the designed IT-enabled business solution. Analytical evaluation of the qualities and performance factors enables assessment of the business strategy and TO-BE business process models. An ICT unit in a sample Power Distribution Company is used as a case study to demonstrate, exemplify and validate SQBITAM’s steps. The results show a higher capability of SQBITAM than the currently existing BITA techniques.

Keywords:

Alignment , Requirements Engineering , Business goals , Business solution , Business strategy , Business requirements