Specifying business services: learning from software engineering

Speci ying business se ices: lea ning om so wa e enginee ing Joaquin Pen ˜a-Siles Depa men o Compu e Sys ems and Languages, Uni e si y o Se ille, Se ille, Spain, and Ma ia del Ma Gonza ´lez-Zamo a and Jose ´A.D. Machuca Depa men o Financial Economics and Ope a ions Managemen , Uni e si y o Se ille, Se ille, Spain Abs ac Pu pose – The speci ica ion o business se ices (BS) is one o he key ac o s o success in se ice p o ision. Resea che s and p ac i ione s ha e iden i ied a se o p oblems in BS speci ica ion, namely: communica ion p oblems be ween p o ide s and buye s, inaccu a e speci ica ions and changes in equi emen s. These p oblems we e iden i ied in he so wa e enginee ing (SE) ield many yea s ago, esul ing in he de elopmen o many echniques and ools o add ess hem. Gi en he simila i ies be ween he wo ields, he pu pose o his pape is o iden i y he main lessons lea ned in SE and o p opose how hey can be adap ed o he BS ield. Design/me hodology/app oach – The pape akes he o m o a li e a u e s udy and p esen s a concep ual solu ion. Findings – To add ess communica ions p oblems and inaccu acies in BS speci ica ion, a o mal equi emen s speci ica ion s age is equi ed. Requi emen s should be se ou in a well-s uc u ed w i en, de ini ion, documen which can be used a a subsequen s age o design o he se ice ( he de ini ion o he solu ion). A equi emen s documen o BS is p oposed based on BS li e a u e and SE me hods. This documen is based on he app oaches used in he SE ield o imp o ing communica ion and educing inaccu acies and co e s he in o ma ion needed in he BS ield o speci ying a business se ice. Second, a li e cycle app oach is p oposed based on SE p ac ice. I is shown ha di e en li ecycle sequences can be used depending on he deg ee o luidi y in he communica ion be ween buye and p o ide , he complexi y o he BS and he s abili y o hei equi emen s, wi h a epe i i e p ocess whe e speci ica ion and design a e e isi ed i e a i ely and/o inc emen ally o en being he mos app op ia e. This app oach helps o s abilise equi emen s and o a oid inaccu acies being made in he speci ica ion. Resea ch limi a ions/implica ions – This pape is li e a u e based. Al hough s ill un es ed empi ically in he BS ield, he ecommended app oach has been in ensi ely p o ed in he SE ield. O iginali y/ alue – Requi emen s speci ica ion is a necessa y (mone a y, ime and esou ce) cos o success ul BS p o ision. The BS indus y mus ealise ha equi emen s ha e o be se down in w i ing and ag eed upon wi h cus ome s be o e ini ia ing he design o he se ice. Keywo ds So wa e enginee ing, Cus ome equi emen s, Speci ica ions, Business planning, Business se ices Pape ype Concep ual pape 1. In oduc ion Speci ica ion and design o Business Se ices (BS) has been seen as one o he keys o success ully de eloping and selling BS (Smel ze and Ogden, 2002; Ande sson and No man, 2002, Jackson e al. (1995); an de Valk and Rozemeije , 2009). Despi e The cu en issue and ull ex a chi e o his jou nal is a ailable a www.eme aldinsigh .com/1757-5818.h m Speci ying business se ices 97 Recei ed May 2009 Re ised 30 June 2010, 24 Feb ua y 2011 Accep ed 24 Augus 2011 Jou nal o Se ice Managemen Vol. 23 No. 1, 2012 pp. 97-119 qEme ald G oup Publishing Limi ed 1757-5818 DOI 10.1108/09564231211208998 hei impo ance, de eloping w i en speci ica ions o he se ice desi ed emains a challenge (Fi zsimmons and Fi zsimmons, 2008) and a i ing a clea speci ica ions is no easy ask. Smel ze and Ogden (2002) a gue ha se ice speci ica ion is he second mos complex ask in he pu chasing p ocess; and many pu chasing companies may seem eluc an o add ess his pa o he pu chase p ocess ho oughly ( an de Valk and Rozemeije , 2009). I has been a gued ha he e a e h ee main p oblems ha cause his complexi y (A ˚hls o ¨m and No din, 2006; Ell am e al., 2008): (1) Communica ion p oblems be ween se ice p o ide and se ice buye . To p o ide a success ul se ice, p o ide s should ha e an in-dep h unde s anding o he buye s’ p oblems, and buye s should ha e an in-dep h unde s anding o he ange o solu ions ha p o ide s can o e . This is no easy, since he cul u e, a ea o expe ise, ocabula y, e c. o buye s and p o ide s a e o en e y di e en , making communica ion di icul . (2) Inaccu a e speci ica ions. A p ope desc ip ion o he se ice is in aluable. Gi en he communica ion p oblems, speci ica ions should be se down ca e ully in w i ing o ensu e ha buye and p o ide unde s and each o he and ag ee on all ele an de ails. (3) Changes in se ice equi emen s. The se ices o e ed mus be compe i i e and imp o ed con inuously. Buye s do no usually unde s and wha he p o ide can o e hem no explici ly know hei own needs leading o a p ocess whe e he buye and he p o ide come o unde s and each o he s ep-by-s ep. Thus, wi h each s ep o wa d buye s gain a be e unde s anding o wha hey need and wha can be ob ained om he p o ide , changing/adding/dele ing equi emen s om p e ious s eps. In he se ices managemen ield he e a e models, me hods and ools de o ed o BS design, o example quali y unc ion deploymen , s uc u ed analysis and design echnique, ailu e mode and e ec s analysis, se ice bluep in ing and e e ence models (Bullinge e al., 2003). Howe e , none o hese add esses he abo e p oblems as hey do no pay enough a en ion o he speci ica ion phase. They all end o assume ha all he buye ’s equi emen s a e s able and clea ly speci ied and p oceed di ec ly o he se ice de ini ion. The so wa e indus y has had o con end wi h he same h ee p oblems men ioned p e iously (S andish G oup, 1995). As a esul , in ecen decades many app oaches and solu ions ha e been p esen ed and adop ed by he indus y. The main conclusions in he so wa e indus y a e ha a g ea deal o a en ion should be paid o speci ying equi emen s and o se ing up a a ie y o well-s uc u ed s ages o educe he impac o hese p oblems (Jacobson e al., 1993; Cockbu n, 1997, 2000; Go esdiene , 2002; Robe son and Robe son, 2006). We can conside he de elopmen and p o ision o so wa e as a p o ision o a BS. Thus, he so wa e indus y can be seen as a speci ic case o he BS indus y whe e BS a e sold. This pape akes hese simila i ies as i s basis o iden i y he main lessons lea ned in so wa e enginee ing (SE) and adap hem o he BS ield. The emainde o his pape is o ganised as ollows: he nex sec ion explo es p oblems common o he SE and BS ields in g ea e de ail and shows how hese p oblems ha e been add essed by SE. Sec ion 3 p oposes a s uc u e o BS JOSM 23,1 98 speci ica ion analysis he in o ma ion o be co e ed. The de ail o his s uc u e is p esen ed in he Appendix, using he example o a Ho el Chain which ou sou ces a se ice o selling i s ooms online. Sec ion 4 p esen s a li ecycle app oach. Finally, Sec ion 5 shows he main conclusions and oppo uni ies o u u e esea ch. 2. Add essing p oblems common o BS and SE Building so wa e is a e y complex ask as i comp ises a la ge se o ins uc ions ha mus be execu ed by a machine. Fo example, he Windows XP ope a ing sys em con ained 40 million o hese ins uc ions all o which ha e been w i en by people who ha e o coo dina e in o de o c ea e a se ice ha exac ly mee s he needs o a wide a ie y o se ice consume s (use s). The e m “so wa e c isis” was coined a he i s NATO So wa e Enginee ing Con e ence in 1968. The e m e lec ed he main challenge ha he so wa e indus y aced om i s beginnings: how o o ganise, de ine and align such ahuge numbe o small s eps o mee cus ome ’s needs gi en ha hese needs e ol e o e ime. A s udy by he S andish G oup (1995), i led “The Chaos Repo ” led o an in lec ion poin in he indus y. I ound ha mos majo so wa e p ojec s ailed and ha he p ojec s ha we e comple ed ook wice he ime and cos wice as much as had been o iginally es ima ed. The epo also iden i ied a numbe o majo p oblems e y simila o hose in he BS indus y desc ibed ea lie . The h ee main p oblems we e: (1) Lack o use inpu due o communica ion p oblems (12.8 pe cen ). (2) Incomple e equi emen s and speci ica ions (12.3 pe cen ). (3) Changing equi emen s and speci ica ions (11.8 pe cen ). P io o his, li le a en ion had been paid o equi emen s speci ica ions in he SE ield. So wa e speci ica ions had no mally s a ed wi h echnical models no usually unde s ood by cus ome s. Models o his kind we e an obs acle o equi emen s de elopmen , and led o a la ge numbe o inaccu acies being made as a esul o misunde s andings be ween buye s and p o ide s. This led o he ecogni ion o he need o : .De ailed and o ganised ex ual desc ip ions o he equi emen s in o m unde s andable by he cus ome – he eason o he se ices – and de ailed desc ip ions o solu ions o he equi emen s. .Mechanisms o help cus ome s cla i y wha hei equi emen s a e exac ly and wha is he solu ion ha bes sui s hei needs. This in u n led o he de elopmen o he discipline o equi emen s enginee ing ocusing on p o iding he echniques, p o essionals and me hodologies needed o elici and documen cus ome s’ needs using ex ual desc ip ions. As in he ea ly days o he SE indus y, he e is e idence ha in he BS ield li le a en ion had been paid o se ice speci ica ion (Johns on, 2005; Pin o and Johns on, 2009). One eason being ha , despi e being c ucial o building a se ice ha mee s he buye ’s needs (Fi zsimmons and Fi zsimmons, 2004; Ma hyssens and Vandenbemp , 1998; Ojasalo, 2007), speci ica ion was seen as an unnecessa y cos due o he imp ession ha se ices a e simple han hey eally a e (Cong am and Epelman, 1995). Howe e , i has been a gued ha in he BS ield he e a e simila p oblems o hose ound in he Chaos Repo (A ˚hls o ¨m and No din, 2006; Ell am e al., 2008), as was s a ed in Sec ion 1, namely: Speci ying business se ices 99 .Communica ion p oblems be ween he se ice p o ide and he se ice buye . .Inaccu a e speci ica ions/ equi emen s. .Se ice equi emen changes. In he ollowing sec ions, we de ail each o hese p oblems and ou line he main solu ions adop ed in he SE ield. 2.1 Communica ion p oblems A majo p oblem iden i ied in he SE indus y has been communica ion be ween he so wa e buye and he so wa e builde . Be o e he Chaos Repo , i was assumed by mos o he indus y ha cus ome s knew wha hei needs we e, bu i was subsequen ly ealised ha : .Cus ome s do no usually know wha so wa e can o e hem and hey do no ha e he su icien ly de ailed desc ip ion o hei own p oblem in hei minds ha is equi ed o building so wa e. .The so wa e company is no necessa ily an expe in he domain o he cus ome ’s p oblem and does no usually unde s and i . We a gue ha he same p oblems occu in BS whe e a se ice is o en so complex ha i is e y di icul o buye s o s a e exac ly wha hey need (Fi zsimmons and Fi zsimmons, 2004; Ma hyssens and Vandenbemp , 1998; Ojasalo, 2007). This si ua ion is agg a a ed by buye s no usually knowing/unde s anding wha he p o ide can o e hem. Ano he p oblem iden i ied in he BS ield is ha when buye s desc ibe wha hey wan , i is no necessa ily he se ice ha hey eally need. As in he SE ield, se ice p o ide s appa en ly need o ha e excellen diagnos ic abili ies in o de o disco e wha he buye eally needs. The ollowing app oaches ha e been adop ed in he SE ield o add ess communica ion p oblems: .E e y p ojec should s a wi h a “Requi emen s elici a ion” s age, wi h he pu pose o c ea ing a ex -based documen in which he cus ome and he p o ide can ag ee on he desc ip ion o he se ice equi ed o he p oblem. .A glossa y o de ini ions o echnical e ms should be added o equi emen s documen s. This educes communica ion p oblems since he speci ic e ms used by buye and p o ide in he speci ica ion a e de ined (Go esdiene , 2002). .The documen mus model he cus ome ’s business p ocesses. This imp o es he supplie ’s unde s anding o he cus ome , educing communica ion p oblems. .This documen should be subsequen ly analysed. This analysis p ocess is based on ansla ing ex ual desc ip ions ( equi emen s documen ) in o unambiguous echnical diag ams and se ou in an analysis documen [1]. The pu pose o his documen is wo old: i s , o de ec e o s, inconsis encies, duplica e in o ma ion and ambigui ies in he ex ual equi emen s documen ; and second, o imp o e and de ail he desc ip ion o he p oblem. Bo h, equi emen s and analysis documen s can con inually p o ide each o he wi h eedback un il he equi emen s documen is ee o e o s and ambigui ies and is inally alida ed by he cus ome . JOSM 23,1 100 We p opose ha he abo e app oaches can eadily be adap ed o a BS con ex ; wi h bo h he buye and he p o ide be in ol ed in speci ying he se ice. 2.2 Inaccu acies in se ice speci ica ions This is a p oblem in bo h he SE and BS ields. In he BS ield, a ull and clea desc ip ion o he se ice is one o he key ac o s o p o iding he equi ed se ice (Ande sson and No man, 2002; Bullinge e al., 2003). Unde -speci ica ion is common and has been iden i ied as one o he mos impo an p oblems acing BS (A ˚hls o ¨m and No din, 2006; Ell am e al., 2008). This has been add essed in he SE ield; equi emen s need o be explici ly documen ed be o e s a ing he design o he se ice. So wa e enginee s use h ee main ools o achie e unambiguous equi emen s speci ica ions (Jacobson e al., 1993; Cockbu n, 2000; Du a ´n, 2000): .Lis o i ems o be co e ed. This p o ides well-s uc u ed documen s and ensu es ha he speci ica ion will be comple e since he e is a lis o in o ma ion ha mus be complied wi h. .Tabula empla es. This echnique is used o a oid incomple e in o ma ion being p o ided. They con ain a lis o a ibu es ha mus be co e ed o de ine each equi emen , ensu ing ha he speci ica ion is comp ehensi ely me . I also imp o es eadabili y and unde s anding since he in o ma ion is always p esen ed in he same o ma . .Sen ence pa e ns. This echnique consis s o using p ede ined pa s o he sen ences used in he abula empla es o imp o e eadabili y and unde s anding and a oid any ambigui y in he equi emen s desc ip ion ha migh esul om ee desc ip ions. In a w i en documen , i is also common o many pa s o be in e ela ed and o he e o be a la ge amoun o in o ma ion. The analysis phase checks he ex ual in o ma ion o inaccu acies and incomple eness. These app oaches a e impo an o BS as speci ica ion echniques in he BS a ea ocus on a echnical desc ip ion o he se ice, no he equi emen s documen a ion. 2.3 Changes in se ice equi emen s This again is a p oblem impac ing bo h SE and BS. In BS, i has been obse ed ha equi emen s change h oughou he se ice speci ica ion p ocess should also e ol e o e ime o adap o changes in he ma ke and o main ain any compe i i e ad an age (Ell am e al., 2008; Bullinge e al., 2003). In he SE ield, changes in use s’ e ol ing needs we e one o he ac o s ha con ibu ed o p ojec ailu e iden i ied in he Chaos Repo and a numbe o app oaches and ools ha e been de eloped o add ess managing changes: .Documen ing equi emen s s abili y, impo ance and u gency. A ibu es can be used o sco e he s abili y, impo ance and u gency o each equi emen . This in u n allows equi emen s o be anked and hose wi h he highes sco es o be designed/implemen ed i s . .Inc emen al and i e a i e p ocesses. These a e well-sui ed o coping wi h uns able equi emen s. Ideally he e should be sho i e a ions whe e all he phases Speci ying business se ices 101 o so wa e de elopmen a e co e ed and culmina e in a small pa o he so wa e being comple ed. In his way, cus ome s can see pa o he solu ion and, wi h a be e unde s anding o hei needs, ine une he es o equi emen s. Requi emen s a e, he e o e, e hough a e each i e a ion wi h implemen a ion o hose wi h highe sco es o s abili y, impo ance and u gency. This allows he solu ion o he cus ome ’s needs o be easily op imized by managing changes in a e y agile way. .T aceabili y. This consis s o documen ing dependencies be ween equi emen s. Fo example, he in e ac ions be ween buye and selle can be documen ed indica ing he dependencies each in e ac ion has wi h o he elemen s, such as i ems exchanged in he in e ac ion, oles in ol ed, o goals pu sued by se ice pu chase s, e c. Using his, in o ma ion ma ixes can be cons uc ed o illus a e hese ela ionships, which allow he impac o a change o be e alua ed. I also shows, o example, which i ems need o be e iewed when some o he i em is changed. In his pape , we a gue ha a simila app oach can be aluable o BS. Thus, as in he SE ield, o add ess he h ee p oblems desc ibed, a se o p ocesses and a s uc u e o speci ica ion can be used. In he ollowing sec ions, we explo e how o s uc u e and de elop a BS speci ica ion. The ollowing sec ion p esen s he speci ica ion s uc u e. 3. De eloping BS speci ica ions We ha e a gued in he p e ious sec ion ha o add ess hese p oblems i is i al ha equi emen s a e p ope ly iden i ied and documen ed. The in o ma ion co e ed in he speci ica ion mus be comple e and consis en . In his sec ion, we a gue ha he in o ma ion o be conside ed in BS is simila o ha in SE and ou line he key a eas o be co e ed. 3.1 In o ma ion equi ed In SE, he e is a well-known se o i ems ha should be co e ed in any equi emen s documen (Du a ´n, 2000; Cockbu n, 1997; Somme ille and Sawye , 1997; Robe son and Robe son, 2006). Howe e , he e is no such se o i ems o BS equi emen s. Bullinge e al. (2003), based on Donabedian (1980), has p oposed h ee pa classi ica ion o BS: (1) Resou ce model (s uc u e dimension): he esou ces equi ed o he se ice o be p o ided co ec ly, comp ising human esou ce capabili ies, such as he de ini ion o he skills equi ed by he s a in ol ed, in o ma ion sys ems equi ed, e c. (2) P ocess model (p ocess dimension): desc ibes how he ou comes o he se ice a e achie ed. (3) P oduc model (ou come dimension): desc ibes wha a se ice does and i s ou comes ( angible and in angible). We use his classi ica ion o explo e how he lessons om SE equi emen s can be adap ed o BS. 3.1.1 Requi emen s o he esou ce model. We p opose ha he in o ma ion needed o he BS esou ce model should include: JOSM 23,1 102 .Func ional equi emen s based on in e ac ions be ween o ganisa ions. Speci ica ions should ake in o accoun ha BS a e p oduced and consumed in in e ac i e p ocesses be ween he buye and he p o ide . This equi es speci ying he in e ac ions be ween he buye and p o ide du ing he se ice exchange. This speci ica ion should con ain a desc ip ion o he in e ac ions be ween employees om bo h sides o he ela ionship, he ela ionships a each le el o he hie a chy and he di e en unc ions in ol ed in e e y o ganisa ions (A ˚hls o ¨m and No din, 2006; Fi zsimmons and Fi zsimmons, 2004; Wyns a e al., 2006). In he SE ield, he unc ional equi emen s a e called he use case; his desc ibes he in e ac ions be ween use s and he so wa e. I uses a abula empla e which shows in e ac ion as a numbe o s eps desc ibed in plain ex . These s eps desc ibe he ac ions pe o med by a use playing a ole and how he so wa e eac s. Al hough use cases ocus on he in e ac ions, hey also desc ibe he pa icipan s in hese in e ac ions in he o m o oles (see below). F om he esou ces poin o iew, use cases p o ide in o ma ion on he unc ional o ganisa ion needed o pe o ming he se ice. Many BS companies seem o ha e neglec ed his aspec o ongoing in e ac ion. Buye s ha de ine and design hei daily dealings wi h he supplie (in e ms o people in ol ed, communica ion channels and opics o be discussed), expe ience ewe p oblems du ing he con ac pe iod. In addi ion, buye s ha de ail he ela ionship wi h supplie s a e ela i ely mo e sa is ied han hose who do no de ail he ela ionship, wi h bo h he p ocess o se ice deli e y and he se ice deli e ed ( an de Valk and Rozemeije , 2009). Designing he ongoing in e ac ions is some hing ha has o ake place in ad ance o signing he con ac , ha is, in he ini ial s ages o he buying p ocess ( an de Valk and Rozemeije , 2009). .O ganisa ional s uc u e. In he SE ield, oles pa icipa ing in use cases a e speci ied. These a e all he use s o he so wa e sys em and hei ela ionships. No e ha in SE he o ganisa ional s uc u e, human esou ces and esou ces needed o he so wa e o be used ha e no been ega ded as p oblems. In BS, he oles o bo h he p o ide and he buye a e impo an o speci ying hese in e ac ions (Ro h and Meno , 2003; Bullinge e al., 2003). Indeed, an unclea o incomple e desc ip ion o he esponsibili ies and oles in ol ed has been iden i ied as one o he p oblems in es ablishing se ice supply ela ionships (Kelly e al., 2002; A ˚hls o ¨m and No din, 2006). We hus p opose ha BS equi emen s should include speci ica ion o unc ional equi emen s o use cases, and oles. 3.1.2 Requi emen s o he p ocess model. We p opose ha he ollowing in o ma ion is needed o BS wi h ega d o he p ocess model: (1) Business p ocesses. The p o ide needs o ha e a de ailed unde s anding o he cus ome ’s business p ocesses, in o de o be able o o e he mos sui able se ice solu ion ha i s hei needs and way o ope a ing (Ojasalo, 2007; an de Valk and Rozemeije , 2009). The in o ma ion used in he SE ield is simila o ha p oposed by di e en au ho s in he BS ield. Thus, we p opose o adap he business p ocess models used in SE ield. These show he so wa e buye ’s ope a ions in o de o iden i y which o hese a e o be ou sou ced Speci ying business se ices 103 o a so wa e sys em and o be e de ine and unde s and he buye ’s equi emen s. In he SE ield, he mos common echniques used o model business p ocesses a e business p ocess modelling no a ion (BPMN) and ac i i y diag ams (Objec Managemen G oup, 2009). (2) In e ac ions be ween business p ocesses. Building on he esou ce model; o a se ice o be p o ided he buye and he p o ide should in e ac in a business p ocess. These in e ac ions should be desc ibed ca e ully in o de o synch onise and in eg a e bo h o ganisa ions’ business p ocesses ( an de Valk and Rozemeije , 2009). The SE ield add esses his h ough: .Use cases: as men ioned p e iously, hese desc ibe how he so wa e and use s in e ac . Thus, use cases ocus on in e ac ions while business p ocesses ocus on use ope a ions. In gene al, e ms, business p ocesses p o ide he gene al con ex o he ope a ions, while use cases de ine in e nally hose s eps o he business p ocess ha in ol e he use o so wa e. Thus, hey a e a a ine g ained speci ica ion le el han business p ocesses. .Use case diag ams: hese diag ams show g aphically which oles in e ac be ween each o he ia use cases. .Sys em goals: in he SE ield, hese speci y he unc ional goals ha he so wa e sys em mus achie e. They complemen he in o ma ion p o ided in he business p ocess by showing he pu pose ha is pu sued by hem. In BS, hese goals can be used o ep esen s a egic, ac ical and ope a ional goals ela ed o each pa icipan ’s BS and hei alignmen , since alignmen has been p esen ed as a p e equisi e o o ging success ul and s able comme cial ela ionships (Lee, 2004; A ˚hls o ¨m and No din, 2006). 3.1.3 Requi emen s o he p oduc model. We p opose he ollowing in o ma ion o be p o ided o he BS p oduc model: .I ems exchanged be ween pa icipan s. Since almos all se ices a e a mix u e o angible and in angible componen s, BS speci ica ions mus also co e he ea u es o he goods ( angible componen s) exchanged (Fi zsimmons and Fi zsimmons, 2008). In he SE ield, speci ically in in o ma ion sys ems, i is necessa y o speci y he i ems o be exchanged. Since in he SE ield he inpu s and ou pu s o he sys em a e da a, such i ems a e he in o ma ion o be exchanged be ween he so wa e sys em and i s use s. This is co e ed in he SE equi emen s documen h ough he in o ma ion equi emen s. We p opose ha his should be adap ed o use in he BS ield o ep esen ing he goods exchanged. As in SE, whe e he ea u es o he in o ma ion o be exchanged mus be de ailed, in he BS ield he cha ac e is ics o each kind o good exchanged in he se ice should be speci ied. .Non- unc ional equi emen s. As men ioned abo e, almos all se ices a e a mix u e o angible and in angible componen s. Thus, BS speci ica ions mus also co e i s in angible ea u es. These a e equi emen ha speci y c i e ia ha can be used o measu e/speci y he quali y ha mus be p o ided du ing he execu ion o he se ice ( ep esen ed p e iously as business p ocesses). This should be con as ed wi h unc ional equi emen s ha de ine he ope a ional s eps o be pe o med. Thus, an example o non- unc ional equi emen s o JOSM 23,1 104 a se ice can be he secu i y le el p o ided, he maximum ime o eplying o a eques , o a 90 pe cen cus ome sa is ac ion le el. These equi emen s a e o majo impo ance in SE, as indeed hey a e in BS (Ma hyssens and Vandenbemp , 1998). Thus, quali y o se ice, o en embodied in a se ice le el ag eemen , is an impo an componen o he in o ma ion needed in he BS equi emen o he p oduc model. The dynamics o he ela ionship be ween cus ome and supplie a e an in eg al pa o he quali y o he se ice (QoS). The p ocess o e alua ing quali y is di e s be ween se ices and goods. Some hing ha is angible can be inspec ed and examined o e ime, bu as se ices a e o he mos pa in angible, hey canno . In addi ion, he assessmen o quali y is made du ing he se ice deli e y p ocess. The e o e, collabo a ion be ween he supplie and he buye is a way o ensu ing he deli e y o a quali y se ice, and gi en he in angible na u e o indus ial se ices, he challenge is o explici ly communica e he quali y ha se ice p o ide s o e (Ma hyssens and Vandenbemp , 1998; Ell am e al., 2004). 3.2 A BS speci ica ion documen s uc u e Gi en ha se ice buye s do no ha e o be expe s in modelling echniques and me hodologies o speci ying se ices, and gi en ha communica ion be ween p o ide and buye needs o be unambiguous and p oblem- ee, we a gue ha as in SE, documen s w i en in na u al language should be used (Cockbu n, 1997). Thus, we p opose ha BS speci ica ions should ollow a simila app oach o hose used in he SE ield o w i ing and s uc u ing he equi emen s documen s, and con ain a simila se o in o ma ion. As in SE, we belie e ha BS documen s should be well s uc u ed. I would be use ul o ha e equi emen s specialis s o co e all he aspec s ha a e ele an o se ice speci ica ion. This imp o es he chances o a i ing a a mo e comp ehensi e speci ica ion and a oiding inaccu a e speci ica ions. Building on ou p e ious discussion and based mainly on Du a ´n (2000), we p opose an adap a ion o SE speci ica ion documen s uc u e in a documen s uc u e o BS speci ica ions. This s uc u e is ou lined in Table I. The i s wo columns ou line he documen s uc u e. The nex wo columns o his able show he in o ma ion equi ed in BS and i s equi alence wi h he equi ed in o ma ion in SE. A hypo he ical example o a equi emen s documen is shown in he Appendix. 3.2.1 De eloping he documen . Ea lie we highligh ed a numbe o po en ial p oblems in he de elopmen o BS speci ica ions. We p opose ha in de eloping a speci ica ion documen we can build on and adap some o he echniques used in SE. A oiding inaccu a e speci ica ions. The e a e h ee main echniques and ools ha can be used. Fi s , a clea and comple e index (lis o sec ions) should be used o a oid incomple eness. Second, a se o empla es o speci ying he i ems in each sec ion can be used o a oid inaccu acies and incomple eness (Du a ´n, 2000; Cockbu n, 1997; Somme ille and Sawye , 1997; Robe son and Robe son, 2006). A inal echnique is o use sen ence pa e ns o a oid ee w i ing and consequen ambigui y (Du a ´n, 2000). Examples, based on a ho el example, o he empla es used in he main sec ions (4-6) o he p oposed documen a e ou lined in he Appendix. Each empla e is p esen ed wi h an example (ho els and online ese a ions) and is anno a ed o explain he pu pose o each a ibu e. No e ha sen ence pa e ns a e used in all empla es; i alics indica e manually-added ex and no mal Roman on , ixed pa s o he sen ence. Speci ying business se ices 105 This pape also pu s o wa d he choices ha managemen ha e in sequencing BS de elopmen s ages. I e a i e/inc emen al p ocesses can be used o educe inaccu acies and o add ess changing equi emen s, and epea ed li ecycles, whe e equi emen s and analysis a e successi ely e isi ed, a e he mos sui able o complex and uns able equi emen s. The main limi a ion o his esea ch is ha , al hough concep ually and heo e ically sound, i has no been subjec o majo empi ical es ing. We, he e o e, see wo possible di ec ions o u u e esea ch. The i s is o build on he analysis in his pape and o de elop analysis models ha help: (1) To de ec inaccu acies, e o s and edundancies in equi emen s documen s. (2) To pe o m a deepe analysis o he buye ’s p oblem, o example de elopmen o an analysis documen o suppo he p oposed equi emen s documen (Bocaneg a e al., 2009). The second is empi ical es ing o he p oposed models, o example assessmen o he a ibu es included in equi emen s empla es by means o an empi ical s udy conduc ed in a numbe o companies in he se ice indus y. Acknowledgemen s The au ho s hank he Associa e Edi o and anonymous e e ees o hei aluable eedback, which clea ly helped o imp o e his pape . This s udy was conduc ed wi hin he amewo k o he Spanish Minis y o Educa ion and Science Na ional P og amme o Indus ial Design and P oduc ion (DPI-2006-05531 and DPI-2009-11148) and he Jun a de Andalucı ´a (Spain) PAIDI (Plan Andaluz de In es igacio ´n, Desa ollo e Inno acio ´n) Excellence P ojec s (P08-SEJ-03841). This wo k has been pa ially suppo ed by he Eu opean Commission (FEDER) and he Spanish Go e nmen unde he CICYT p ojec SETI (TIN2009-07366), and by he Andalusian Go e nmen unde he p ojec s ISABEL (P07-TIC-2533 and TIC-5906) and THEOS (TIC-5906). No e 1. These diag ams ep esen he ex ual desc ip ion in an unambiguous language which allows he de ec ion o inaccu acies in he ex and hei co ec ion. An example o hese diag ams is he “class diag am”, which a e used o ep esen in o ma ion exchanged. The class diag ams ha e an unde lying o mal heo y ha de ines which a e he ypes o ela ionships ha can be ound be ween in o ma ion in an unambiguous way. Fo example, wo in o ma ion uni s (called “classes”) can ela e by “agg ega ion”. Tha means ha one o he in o ma ion uni s is he con aine o he o he one (e.g. a book is an “agg ega ion” o pages). Re e ences A ˚hls o ¨m, P. and No din, F. 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Examples om he p oposed equi emen s documen In his appendix, a numbe o examples, e e ed o in he ex ea lie , a e gi en o elemen s o a hypo he ical equi emen s documen based on a ho el chain seeking o ou sou ce i s sales online sales se ice. 1. S a egy, goals and alignmen empla es The cus ome ’s goals and he s a egy linking hem wi h he (se ice- ela ed) ope a ional p ocesses ha mus be execu ed o hem o be achie ed (Sec ion 4.1 o he equi emen s documen ) mus be speci ied. The ollowing s a egy and goals empla es can be used o his: JOSM 23,1 114 ST-01 Inc ease ho el occupancy a es Desc ip ion The se ice should help o inc ease he numbe o ooms occupied du ing all seasons Ope a ional subgoals • [GOAL-01] O e ooms on In e ne : The se ice p o ide should o e ee ooms wi h some discoun o e he in e ne showing eal- ime a ailabili y • [GOAL-02] Allow online ese a ion: The se ice p o ide should allow cus ome s o book ooms o e he in e ne S a egy ID Name o he s a egy GoalID Goal name Goal desc ip ion The ollowing empla e is p oposed o documen ing alignmen equi emen s (Sec ion 4.2 o he equi emen s documen ): ALIG_ST-01 Sha e p o i s om occupied ooms Desc ip ion Pa icipan s should all ollow he same s a egy: maximise he numbe o ooms occupied • [ALIG_GOAL-01] Reduce p ice o ooms: Pa icipan Ho el Owne should educe he p ice o ooms p opo ionally depending on he occupa ion da e • [ALIG_GOAL-02] Add ooms o a el packages: Pa icipan Se ice P o ide should y o maximise he numbe o ooms occupied by adding hem o a el packages Sha e he losses de i ed om unoccupied ooms Incen i es and penal ies Alignmen s a egy ID Name o he alignmen s a egy Alignmen goal name O ganiza ion Alig. goal desc ip ion 2. Exchanged i ems equi emen s empla es This sec ion add esses Sec ion 5.1 o he equi emen s documen . The empla e o i ems exchanged be ween oles in he se ices mus desc ibe all he i ems exchanged. These i ems migh be in o ma ion o goods. No e ha exchanged in angible i ems mus be ep esen ed by means o quali y o he se ice (QoS) equi emen s, e.g. high-cus ome sa is ac ion le el in 90 pe cen o he cases, o by means o in e ac ion cases, e.g. abili y o ans e money om one accoun o ano he . EXC-R-01 Rese a ion Desc ip ion Booking Cen e should p o ide he Ho el wi h he ese a ions made.This should con ain he ollowing ea u es: • Check in and check ou da es • Pe sons who made he ese a ion • Taxes applied • In o ma ion abou he a el packages applied • Mode o paymen Speci ic ea u es Exchanged i em ID Name o i em exchanged O ganisa ion p o iding i em Speci ic ea u es o exchanged i em O ganisa ion ecei ing i em 3. Pa icipa ing ole empla es This sec ion shows he p oposed empla e o he oles in ol ed in he BS ansac ion (Sec ion 5.2.1 o he equi emen s documen ): Speci ying business se ices 115 ROL-01 Rese a ion manage O ganisa ion Ho el Depa men Rese a ion and managemen depa men Goals - Sol e booking p oblems - Cancel and change ese a ions - … Skills - Nego ia ion - Kindness - … Ca dinali y [1..3]pe Ho el Desc ip ion The ecep ionis is in cha ge o managing all ese a ions- ela ed aspec s Role ID Role name Role goals Role o O ganisa ion Role o Depa men Skills ha a pe son mus ha e o execu e his ole Desc ip ion o ole [Minimum ..Maximum] numbe o pe sons execu ing his ole 4. In e ac ion diag ams This sec ion explains how o co e Sec ion 5.2.2.1 o he equi emen s documen . In e ac ions diag ams a e used o illus a e which ac o s mus in e ac and which use cases d i e hei in e ac ions. These diag ams a e used as a g aphical summa y o index ha show all he ac o s and in e ac ions be ween hem in jus one place. This is needed because he numbe o in e ac ions cases ( ex ual empla es sp ead in se e al pages) is usually high and is di icul o ge an o e all idea o he whole sys em. An example o his diag am is shown in Figu e A1; as can be seen, ac o icons a e used o ep esen oles and ellipses a e used o ep esen he in e ac ion cases. In he SE ield, hese diag ams a e called use case diag ams[1] and a e pa o UML (so wa e modelling language) (Objec Managemen G oup, 2009). 5. In e ac ion case empla es These empla es show he in e ac ions be ween buye s and p o ide s (Sec ion 5.2.2.2 o he equi emen s documen ), basing on so wa e use case empla es (Cockbu n, 1997, 2000). (Use cases ep esen he in e ac ions be ween use s and so wa e, in e ac ion cases ep esen he in e ac ion be ween wo business ac o s.) A sequence o ac ions (s eps) ep esen ing he s anda d p ocedu e o he in e ac ion mus be p o ided o speci y a use case. Only he s anda d p ocedu e should beshown because he so wa e ield has shown ha complex sequences o s eps whe e se e al di e en pa hs can be aken o comple e he in e ac ion can esul in unclea speci ica ions. This i em has been enamed as in e ac ion cases, since hey ep esen he in e ac ions be ween di e en oles in BS. Figu e A1. In e ac ion diag am using UML use case diag ams Rese a ion Manage Online Rese a ion Manage Rese a ion cancella ion Rese a ion change JOSM 23,1 116 IC-001 Rese a ion cancella ion Desc ip ion The in e ac ion mus ake place as shown in hisi n e ac ion case when: a cus ome ies o cancel a ese a ion P e equisi es The ese a ion o cancel exis s Common Sequence S ep Ac ion 1The Online Rese a ion Manage p o ides he in o ma ion on he ese a ion o be cancelled 2The Rese a ion Manage de e mines he cancella ion ees and communica es hem o he Online Rese a ion Manage 3The Online Rese a ion Manage communica es he in o ma ion needed o nego ia ing he cancella ion ees 4The Rese a ion Manage ag ees a cancela ion ee wi h he Online Rese a ion Manage aking in o accoun he in o ma ion p o ided 5 6 The Rese a ion Manage pe o ms he cancella ion and axes i o he Online Rese a ionManage The Online Rese a ion Manage s o es he cancella ion Pos equisi es The cancella ion has been pe o med Excep ions S ep(s) Ac ion 2, 3, 4 I cancella ion is made 24 hou s be o e a i al da e hen no cancella ion ees a e applied QoS S ep QoS cons ain s 5The cancella ion ax mus be ecei ed in unde 2 hou s A e age Fequency 4 imes pe week In e ac ion Case ID Name o he IC Si ua ion ha igge s he IC Condi ion ha mus apply o pe o ming he IC I em exchanged (p io desc ip ion equi ed) Role (p io desc ip ion equi ed) Condi ion ha mus apply a e pe o ming he IC Numbe o imes ha he IC is pe o med Condi ion o he excep ion Ac ions o pe o m when he condi ion applies QoS cons ain s o a s ep 6. Quali y o se ice equi emen s empla es This sec ion explains how o co e sec ion. The ollowing empla e can be used o speci y he QoS (Sec ion 5.3.1 o he equi emen s documen ) (no ice ha legal, cul u al, mo al and e hical aspec s mus be documen ed in a simila way): QR-001 Desc ip ion E icien call cen e Online Booking Se ice mus p o ide an e icien call cen e wi h 90% gua an eed a ailabili y o lines du ing any season Ho el mus ensu e unde 200 calls pe day Me ics/Indica o s Numbe o ejec ed calls QoS eq. ID Name o QoS equi emen Indica o s/me ics ha allow checks o be made on whe he QoS is main ained o no QoS cons ain Se ice p o ide Se ice buye No e ha he in e ac ion- ela ed pa o he QoS will ha e been documen ed using in e ac ion cases. 7. T aceabili y ma ixes T aceabili y ma ixes show dependencies be ween i ems in he speci ica ion. Con en ional ma ixes show which exchanged i em equi emen s and unc ional and non- unc ional equi emen s a e needed o each o he se ice’s goals o be achie ed (Sec ion 4 o he equi emen documen ). The goals, iden i ied by hei IDs, a e se ou in ows in a able and he IDs o he equi emen s in he equi emen s ca alogue (Sec ion 5 o he equi emen s documen ) Speci ying business se ices 117 in columns. When he goal ela es o a equi emen , a c oss is placed in he co esponding cell. The empla e is as ollows: Req-01 Req-02 … Goal-01 X … Goal-02 X… …… … … No e ha goals a e achie ed h ough in e ac ions be ween pa icipan s in he se ice. The e o e, checks mus be made o e i y whe he all goals a e de ailed by means o in e ac ion cases and all ela ing i ems, namely exchanged i ems equi emen s, oles, QoS cons ain s, e c. 8. In o ma ion equi ed in all empla es o managemen speci ica ion changes Each i em mus ha e an ID so ha dependencies wi h o he i ems can be es ablished: ID e.g. IC-001 Dependencies Lis o IDs o o he empla es In o de o manage changes in equi emen s and o decide which should be used o he nex e sion o he se ice he ollowing in o ma ion is needed: Impo ance [c i ical, majo , no mal, mino , insigni ican ] U gency [ e y u gen , u gen , needed, would be good] S abili y [ e y s able, s able, uns able, e y uns able] To iden i y hose in ol ed in he speci ica ion o each i em and whe he he equi emen has been alida ed by he buye s, con ains e o s, is a d a , has been implemen ed, e c. all he empla es mus con ain he ollowing in o ma ion: Ve sion Ve sion numbe (da e) Au ho s Au ho s’ names Sou ces Names o people p o iding he in o ma ion Sou ce documen a ion Documen s used o speci ying he equi emen S a e [Valida ed by use , pending, d a , implemen ed, e c.] Finally, all i ems can also ha e a commen s ield: Commen s … No e 1. Use case diag ams” in he SE ield ela es a so wa e sys ems wi h hei use s (ac o s). Howe e , in he BS, as wo o mo e ac o s a e ela ed by means o an in e ac ion, we p opose o call hem “in e ac ion diag ams”. Abou he au ho s D Joaquin Pen ˜a-Siles has been a Lec u e o So wa e Enginee ing a he Uni e si y o Se ille since 2000. He ecei ed his Doc o a e in So wa e Enginee ing om he Uni e si y o Se ille in 2005 and also holds an Execu i e Mas e s in Business Adminis a ion (2010) and is he CEO and Founde o a spin-o i m a he Uni e si y o Se ille. This i m is de o ed o he applica ion o esea ch indings. He is he au ho /coau ho o mo e han 60 a icles in p es igious jou nals and JOSM 23,1 118 con e ence p oceedings in he ield o ope a ions managemen , business p ocess managemen , se ice science, En e p ise 2.0 and so wa e enginee ing. He collabo a es wi h ese che s in US and o he Eu opean uni e si ies and esea ch cen es, such as NASA So wa e Enginee ing Labo a o y, whe e he holds se e al pa en s. He has pa icipa ed in many esea ch p ojec s and holds se e al awa ds o his eaching and esea ch. O he ecogni ions include: PhD wi h Hono s, bes p ojec o he En ep eneu ial P ojec Awa ds o 2007 (Uni e si y o Se ille), men o o se e al s uden eams a na ional compe i ions (Deloi e Business Game, Mic oso Imagine Cup, e c.), and NASA Awa ds o Technology T ans e 2006. D Joaquin Pen ˜a-Siles is he co esponding au ho and can be con ac ed a : [email p o ec ed] Ma ia del Ma Gonza ´lez Zamo a, D o Business Managemen , g adua ed in Economics and Business Science a he Uni e si y o Se ille in 1993. P esen ly she is an Associa e P o esso a he Uni e si y o Se ille, whe e she has been eaching o he las 17 yea s in he a eas o Ope a ions Managemen and Business Simula ion wi h Sys em Dynamics. He esea ch has a ac ed unding om bo h wi hin he Eu opean Union amewo k and a he na ional le el. She has coau ho ed a icles published in jou nals, such as Jou nal o Ope a ions Managemen ,Jou nal o Se ice Managemen , as well as in na ional and in e na ional con e ences (Eu opean Managemen Associa ion, P oduc ion and Ope a ions Managemen , Sys em Dynamics, e c.). He cu en esea ch ocuses on se ice ope a ions managemen and he design and c ea ion o business games o anspa en lea ning en i onmen s based on sys em dynamics. She is a membe o a ious scien i ic associa ions: Eu OMA (Eu opean Ope a ions Managemen Associa ion) and ACEDE (Economics and Business Managemen Scien i ic Associa ion). She is he ecipien o he ollowing awa ds: he 2001 Wickham Skinne Awa d on Teaching Inno a ion Achie emen s, awa ded by he P oduc ion and Ope a ions Managemen Socie y; nomina ed o he p es igious Eu opean Is P ize (2001); 2002 AEDEM-MED Academy o Managemen Awa d on Managemen Educa ion; Honou able Men ion a he 2002 Ins uc ional Awa d Compe i ion (Decision Science Ins i u e). D Jose ´A.D. Machuca, D o Indus ial Enginee ing, Mas e in Business Adminis a ion and Mas e in Indus ial Enginee ing, is P o esso o Ope a ions Managemen a he Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain. He is Di ec o o GIDEAO Resea ch G oup, Fo me Head o Depa men (1982-1992) and Fo me Vice Dean (1983-1989), Vicep esiden Eu A ica o POMS (P oduc ions and Ope a ions Managemen Socie y) and membe o he Eu OMA Boa d (Eu opean Ope a ions Managemen Associa ion). Coo dina o o he Eu opean Thema ic Ne wo k o Excellence in Ope a ions and Supply Chain Managemen Educa ion, Resea ch and P ac ice (Thenexom). D Machuca is he Di ec o o h ee Eu opean p ojec s, se en na ional p ojec s and wo P ojec s o Excellence (Andalusian Resea ch Plan). He is on he Edi o ial Ad iso y Boa d o Jou nal o Ope a ions Managemen , and In e na ional Jou nal o Ope a ions & P oduc ion Managemen . He is also Regional Edi o o Ope a ions Managemen Resea ch and on he Edi o ial Re iew Boa d o P oduc ion and Ope a ions Managemen and In e na ional Jou nal Manu ac u ing Technology Managemen . D Machuca is au ho /coau ho o eigh books and edi o /coedi o o eigh jou nal special issues, mo e han 50 a icles and 60 book chap e s. He has published in jou nals such as: JOM,POM,IJOPM,IJPE,JPR,HBR,T anspo a ion Resea ch and SDR. His awa ds include: 2001 Wikham Skinne Awa d honou ing Teaching inno a ion achie emen s (POMS), Nomina ed o he 2001 Eu opean Is P ize, 2002 MED-Academy o Managemen -AEDEM Awa d in Managemen Educa ion, Honou able Men ion 2002 Ins uc ional Inno a ion Awa d (DSI), 2003 POMS and Indiana CIBER Bes Case In e na ional Awa d, 2005 Business Week/ECCH Eu opean Bes Case in Ope a ions Managemen Awa d, Honou a y Doc o a e by he Uni e sidad P i ada del No e (Pe u ´); 2009 Andalucia Resea ch Awa d-Ibn Al Ja ib, 2009 Uni e si y o Se illa FAMA Resea ch Awa d; Ou s anding P o esso , Uni e si y o Se ille (2003-2004, 2004-2005). To pu chase ep in s o his a icle please e-mail: [email p o ec ed] O isi ou web si e o u he de ails: www.eme aldinsigh .com/ ep in s Speci ying business se ices 119