Designing an Effective Organisational Infrastructure Jim Petch – Co Director eLRC Institute of Education Learning Technologies Unit 18 th January 2006 London

eLRC Manchester Position E-Learning is a driver……for… Organisational change driven by need to industrialise Redesign of teaching and learning provision

Organisational Change The commercial sector is experiencing radical and far reaching changes in thinking about how enterprises are run and how the challenges of technology-led business operations can be met The emerging requirements point to an end-to-end view of business processes and to a service view of what an organisation offers.

Organisational Change To achieve these qualities the enterprise needs a certain approach, and informed thinking indicates a service-oriented, component-based architecture

Organisational Change The IT strategy should be aligned with the business strategy neither bolted on to it nor driving it. A service-oriented, business requirements driven approach ensures greater alliance between IT and the business.

Object Management Group Main Ideas –MDA Model driven approach –SOA Service Oriented Architectures To which we add the idea of –QoS Quality of Service Framework To which we add the idea of – maturity (CMM model) and benchmarking (eMM)

Model Driven Architecture

The eLearning Lifecycle Practices (activities) Phases (time) InceptionElaborationConstructionTransition time

Practices 1.Business Modelling 2.Business Analysis and Planning 3.Requirements Analysis 4.Activity Planning 5.Project Management 6.Change Management 7.Design 8.Development 9.Deployment 10.Evaluation 11.Testing 12.Teaching 13.Learning 14.Environmental Refinement 15.Staff Development 16.Research Phases Organisation along Time InceptionElaborationConstructionTransition initial elab #1 elab #2 cons #1 cons #2 cons #n trans #1 trans #2 Organisation along Content

The Lifecycle and Linked Processes In order to control the lifecycle one has to build into the model the things that influence and change it. This kind of domain model (or enterprise metamodel) acts as a blueprint for modelling a specific enterprise. Modelling the response to changes arising from the influence of the linked processes

End-to-End Process Model

Reminder!! NB the models are of technologies, artefacts, people, …. NOT technology alone!!

Layered Architecture for SOA in e-Learning

COVARM: The Manchester Validation Process

High level alignment of processes

Canonical Models Moving from use cases to models of use to synthesised models to canonical models 2 approaches –Empirical modelling –Cross domain mapping

Checklists and Cross Domain Mapping Checklists provide fullest available articulation of processes Extensive checklists are readily available Examples later

Growing the World of Web ‘Service’ Components JISC Reference Model Projects –LADIE – activity design –FREMA – assessment –COVARM – Course validation –eP4LL – e portfolio –XCRI – exchanging course information

Course validation Activity design production design Course info. planning Assessment Student record E-portfolios recruitment marketing registration Delivery

Key Issues about the map They map is defined by the reference model components not by a higher principle The reference models are not joined up What is this a map of? An enterprise?

Some Uncomfortable assumptions Reference models are developed using a common method and with common tools There is an agreed level of granularity There is a map that is known It is a map of the enterprise

Service Oriented Architectures

QoS Framework Application Architecture eLearning Services QoS Framework Services General Purpose Services Mechanisms and Utilities Execution Environment and Data Management Profile ePortfolio Registration Unstructured Data Course Information Learning Activity Personal Folder WorkflowSchedule Event Structured Data IDEVLE Student AssessmentValidation Authentication Contract Directory Services Repository Data Warehouse Legacy Adapter Archive WizardMentorChecklist Pattern Process DirectorAgent Operating System XML manager

Service B Service A QF GP EE QF DL MU DL QF GP MU EE Services composed of components from the framework DL GP MU Reuse GP Deployment to different platforms

Service Autonomous Business Components and Services Unit Student Course Record VLE Business components

But how? Moving to a new enterprise architecture is a process affecting organisational as well as technical aspects. The new roles, concepts and techniques may form a barrier to successful transition and it is necessary to help people adopt and use the architecture by providing a framework of guidelines, best practices, templates and tools. These are actively integrated into the work processes rather than being merely reference documents. The Framework is essentially a quality assurance tool that addresses the end-to-end business processes, their context, requirements and implementation.

The Framework must provide a coherent set of mechanisms by which business requirements are modelled, their logic is turned into a flow of activities, which is then executed by a set of components, and their performance is monitored and evaluated.

The QoS Framework Elements QA mechanisms Metadata builders Models and Patterns Standards Guidelines and Best Practice

Process Driven Knowledgebase

PDK: Planning Student Support

Adding Idea of Bridging Principles

Maturity and Bechmarking

Capability Maturity Model- eMM Level 1: Initial Level 2: Repeatable Software configuration management Software quality assurance Software subcontract management Software project tracking and oversight Software project planning Requirements management Level 3: Defined Peer reviews Integration co-ordination Software product engineering Integrated software management Training program Organisation process definition Organisation process focus Level 5: Optimising Process change management Technology change management Defect prevention Level 4: Managed Software quality management Quantitative process management Disciplined processes Standard, consistent processes Predictable processes Continuously improving processes

Capability Maturity Model- eMM

Benchmarking - Strategic Objective A driver for joined-up design of organisations Focus on metrics Focus on ‘evaluation systems’ – that is systems that are designed for change- that is learning organisations

So what?

The Concept Gap Getting people to understand Communicating Aligning Sharing process and therefore knowledge and power

The Strategy Gap Where to go? From which place? How to get there?

The Implementation Gap