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IJITSA SPECIAL ISSUE IN:
Engineering and Management of IT-based Service Systems:
A Systems Approach
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CONTEXT:
The economic relevance of service systems (or service sector in general)
in the modern worldwide economy is totally recognized. As Sheenan (2006)
reports “business organizations focused on delivering help, utility,
experience, information or other intellectual content … account for more
than 70% of total value added in the OECD”. Thus, service systems and
service concept - as opposed to the product concept or the single
post-sale business activity - have experienced fundamental changes, and
acquired a high-practical business and theoretical relevance. In this
special issue, we pursue to advance our scientific knowledge on the
processes, methodologies, techniques and tools for engineering and
managing IT-based service systems under a Systems Approach. The
service-oriented paradigm has permeated several disciplines (Chesbrough
and Spohrer, 2006). IT-based service systems can be defined as “… a value
coproduction configuration of people, IT, other internal and external
service systems, and shared information (such as language, processes,
metrics, prices, policies, and laws.” (adapted from Spohrer et al., 2007).
Accordingly, a service can be defined –in general- as “… the application
of resources (including competences, skills, and knowledge) to make
changes that have value for another (system)” (idem, 2007). Service
paradigm has been identified as one of the relevant themes for IT in the
last decade (Demirkan and Goul, 2006; Rai and Sambamurthy, 2006;
Beachboard et al. 2007; Zhao et al. 2008). While models of processes for
engineering and managing IT-based service systems (like ITILv2, ITIL v3,
CMMI-SVC, CobIT, ITUP, MOF 4, ISO 20000) have been posed, their specific
practices are still unclear and few used by most IT practitioners. We
consider such a topic to be mandatory to foster a cost-effective and
trustworthy engineering and management of IT-based service systems (Buede,
2000). Additionally, since IT-based service systems are also systems
(Tien, 2008; Alter, 2008; Mora et al., 2009) their essential and shared
attributes for general systems (Ackoff, 1971; Gelman and Garcia, 1989)
should be considered. Based on aforementioned issues for systems, service
systems, and IT-based systems, we believe that a Systems Approach (Ackoff
et al., 1962; Checkland, 2000) and a Systems Engineering view (Sage, 2000;
Buede, 2000) can be helpful for this aim. A Systems Approach can be
defined as an answering and problem-solving system comprised of: (i)
systemic philosophical paradigms (P’s: an ontological, epistemological and
axiological stance on the world): (ii) systemic theoretical frameworks
(F’s: ideas-constructs, theories, and models); (iii) systemic
methodologies (M’s: methods,techniques, and instruments), and (iv)
situational areas identified as systems (A’s: natural, artificial or
social objects, artifacts and subjects under study). Similarly, a Systems
Engineering discipline, can be briefly defined as “the interdisciplinary
approach and means to enable the realization of successful (cost-efficient
and trustworthy) systems”. References upon request.
OBJECTIVE OF THE SPECIAL ISSUE:
This special issue aims to increase our scientific theoretical and applied
knowledge on the engineering and management of IT-based service systems
from a Systems Approach view.
RECOMMENDED TOPICS:
Topics to be discussed in this special issue include (but are not limited
to) the following:
•Systems Foundations of IT-based Service Systems
•Determination of the Role of Service Systems in Super-systems such as
Economical, Environmental, Social and Political that is making it a
Service System
•Definition of Sub-systems that are forming a Service System in order to
assure the fulfillment of its Mission and Objectives
•The specificity of the organization and management of the service
systems, which assure their productivity as well as their development
•Conceptual comparative studies of ITSM standards and models (ISO 20000,
ITIL, CMMI-SVC, ITUP, MOF 4, CobIT)
•Empirical studies on implementations of ITSM standards and models (ISO
20000, ITIL, CMMI-SVC, ITUP, MOF 4, CobIT)
•Applied cases of implemented engineering practices for IT-based Service
Systems
•Applied cases of implemented management practices for IT-based Service
Systems
•Applied cases in real Data Centers
•Applied cases of adaptations of ITSM Processes for specific SMBs
•Application of IT-based Service Systems in Critical domains (health care,
international security, international financial stock markets, green
initiatives, gap e-education)
•Classification of IT-based Service Systems
•Value models for IT-based Service Systems (how can it be valued a priori
(designs) and a posteriori (evaluations of real systems))
•Innovative applications of IT-based Service Systems
SUBMISSION DUE DATE: June 30, 2013
PUBLISHING DATE: July, 2014
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit papers for this
special theme issue Engineering and Management of IT-based Service
Systems: a Systems Approach on or before June 30, 2013 to Dr. Manuel Mora
(ijitsa@gmail.com). All submissions must be original and may not be under
review by another publication. INTERESTED AUTHORS SHOULD CONSULT THE
JOURNAL’S GUIDELINES FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS at:
http://www.igi-global.com/development/author_info/guidelines%20submission.pdf.
All submitted papers will be reviewed on a double-blind, peer review
basis. Papers must follow APA style for reference citations.
Guest Editors:
Dr. Ovsei Gelman, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
Dr. Mahesh S. Raisinghani, Texas Woman’s University, USA
Dr. Miroljub Kljajic, University of Maribor, Slovenia
Dr. Manuel Mora, Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, Mexico
ABOUT International Journal of Information Technologies and the Systems
Approach (IJITSA): The Journal of Information Technologies and Systems
Approach (IJITSA) is an academic and practitioner journal created to
disseminate and discuss high quality research results on Information
Systems and related upper and lower level Systems as well as on its
interactions with Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Complex
Systems and Philosophy issues, through rigorous Theoretical, Modeling,
Engineering or Behavioral studies in order to explore, describe, explain,
predict, design, control, evaluate, interpret, intervene and/or develop
organizational systems where Information Systems are the main objects of
study and the Systems Approach –any variant- is the main research
methodology and philosophical stance used. This journal is an official
publication of the Information Resources Management Association
(http://www.igi-global.com/ijitsa), and it is semi annually published
(both in print and electronic form).
Editors-in-Chief:
Emeritus Professor Frank Stowell, University of Portsmouth, UK
Professor Manuel Mora, Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, Mexico
Published: semi-annually since 1998 (both in Print and Electronic form)
www.igi-global.com/ijitsa
PUBLISHER:
The International Journal of Information Technologies and the Systems
Approach (IJITSA) is published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.),
publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group
Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference”, “Business Science
Reference”, and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. For additional
information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com.
All submissions should be directed to the attention of:
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