Enterprise information systems: technology first or process first?

Arif, M; Kulonda, D; Jones, J; Proctor, M

Abstract

Purpose – Enterprise resource planning (ERP), a technological approach for enterprise information
systems, has many recorded case examples of lengthy and expensive implementations reported in
literature. This research has uncovered an alternative process-driven and document-based approach
that may offer a simpler and more flexible solution compared with technology-driven ERP. This paper
investigates the differences and similarities of the two approaches, and also answers a related
question: Is the enterprise system implementation an information systems effort performed to support
the business processes, or is it a process re-engineering effort required to implement the pre-packaged
software system?
Design/methodology/approach – To investigate the advantages and disadvantages of the two
approaches to an enterprise information system, this research developed a unified modeling language
(UML) process model of a manufactured housing company and used it as a basis for a conceptual level
UML model for both an ERP- and a document-based system.
Findings – In a designed experiment with UML-fluent analysts, the process-driven document
solution to an enterprise information system was shown to be smaller, less complex and more flexible
than an ERP solution at the conceptual design level.
Practical implications – Software specifications for the resulting document-based system included
only standard COTS software packages easily usable in companies of any size. Further, the potential
for prototype as-you-go development offers opportunities for continuous refinement of the system in
contrast with the episodic implementation of packaged ERP systems.
Originality/value – This alternative system highlights the desirability, for both academicians and
practitioners, of concentrating on processes and then implementing the most suitable technology,
rather than allowing the technology to impose constraints on processes.

Citation

Arif, M., Kulonda, D., Jones, J., & Proctor, M. (2005). Enterprise information systems: technology first or process first?. Business Process Management Journal, 11(1), 5-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/14637150510578692

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2005
• Deposit Date: Aug 15, 2015
• Journal: Business Process Management Journal
• Print ISSN: 1463-7154
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 5-21
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/14637150510578692
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14637150510578692