-
8/12/2019 VPEC-T
1/7
VPEC-TFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
VPEC-T analysis is a thinking framework comprising a collection
of mental filters or guides. It provides a
"simplified language for preventing loss in translation from
business needs to IT solutions" [1] and is used whenanalyzing the
expectations of multiple parties having different views of a system
in which they all have an interest
in common, but have different priorities and different
responsibilities. System, here is used in the broad sense of a set
of interacting or interdependent entities, real or abstract,
forming an integrated whole. It is applied to
'systems' that range from those as small as a performance
appraisal, [2] to ones as large as a criminal justicesystem.
VPEC-T ("vee-pec-tee") is used where interaction between agents
and communication between parties caneasily result in ambiguity.
This form of analysis is particularly applicable where it is likely
that the interaction andcommunication context is unordered, complex
or chaotic, and liable to result in misunderstanding. It is
identified
as a new way of carrying out Enterprise Architecture, [3] and
also identified as a way to design services. [4]
VPEC-T was first conceived as a framework to aid those studying
information systems, where the conflictingviewpoints of the parties
involved could be a barrier to proper understanding. Examples of
such situations are
frequently found at the business/information technology (I.T.)
divide. [5] Since the 1990s, I.T. has stolen the place of
Information Systems but I.S. and I.T. are not the same. I.T. is
about computers and programs. I.S.encompasses everything that will
surround I.T. for the tasks to be properly completed - people,
processes and
information. [6]
Contents1 The principles on which VPEC-T is founded
2 VPEC-T components
2.1 Values
2.2 Policies
2.3 Events
2.4 Content
2.5 Trust3 Use
4 History
5 See also
5.1 See also
6 Footnotes
7 External links
The principles on which VPEC-T is founded
-
8/12/2019 VPEC-T
2/7
VPEC-T is named after the initial letters of the five elements
on which it focuses: V alue, P olicies, E vents,C ontent and T
rust. These elements are present in all information systems and
most will be present in someform even in simpler
communications.
Each of the parties involved in describing, discussing or
seeking to understand a system, actual or planned, willview it in
the conceptual framework with which they are familiar. Each party
will usually have a different view of the values of the system;
their knowledge of the policies embodied in it will vary according
to their
responsibilities; they may know of only a subset of the events
handled by the system; and they are unlikely toknow of all content
required, as content will not always be formal and recognized.
Finally, there is the importantquestion of trust that the parties
have for one another, and trust that the system will meet its
expectedoutcomes. A lack of trust between the parties can affect
the success of the system in cases where information is
not revealed, commitment to using the system is not
whole-hearted or maintaining 'shadow systems'. [5]
For example, where the analysis in question is a preliminary
step in understanding an information system, the parties involved
will include both the business and the Information Technology (IT)
functions of an organization.
Of necessity the language of business users of an information
system embraces ambiguity, tacit knowledge and
willingness to change: Business must operate in the environment
of a constantly changing market. Of necessitythe language of the IT
function embraces high specification, certainty and avoidance of
change: The IT function
must minimize change to systems that require cost, time and risk
to implement. [5]
The different conceptual frameworks and associated language of
these two groups can cause difficulties inunambiguous
communication. This will likely surface as conflict at some time
during an information system's lifecycle.
VPEC-T components
The terms values, policy, events, content and trust are the
principle means through which communicationconcerning a topic is
viewed. Ensuring that these dimensions are all considered, while
avoiding technological
issues at an early stage helps to create a balanced and complete
view of the system. [5]
Values
The Value filter helps in understanding the value of the desired
outcomes to both the individual and the business.While the value of
a system to a business is commonly thought of in terms of profit
and income, market shareand cash flow, Values in VPEC-T extends
this to include meeting ethical constraints and other types of
goalssuch as environmental concerns, as well as considering
personal values of parties involved as well as employee
satisfaction and retention. [5]
Values constitute the objectives, beliefs and concerns of all
parties participating. They may be financial, social,tangible and
intangible.
Examples of values include faster turnaround of orders, more
reliable handling of complaints, reduced costs,and the full range
of benefits normally claimed for information systems. VPEC-T seeks
further and deepermeanings of value. For example, a VPEC-T study
might conclude that one value of a system is to move control
of a business area from one part of the organization to another,
or to gain experience in a new and growing fieldof enterprise that
might affect the business concerned at a later date.
Policies
-
8/12/2019 VPEC-T
3/7
-
8/12/2019 VPEC-T
4/7
Examples might be the discovery that a Purchasing Officer
maintained parallel records in a spreadsheet, or therealization
that a member of the project team had an agenda relating more to
the authority of a particularbusiness unit than to the improvement
of information available to the business.
Use
These five filters are applied continuously during the early
stages of considering an information system. As theanalyst
increasingly comprehends the actual situation, the new findings
will again be viewed through the fivefilters.
VPEC-T has also been recommended as a technique for
business-architecture assessment in development of enterprise
architectures. T. Graves in The Service-Oriented Enterprise p. 96
proposes: "Use values-mappingand requirements-modelling techniques
to identify enterprise values and their commonalities and
conflicts.Document the results in the universals part of the
framework. Techniques such as VPEC-T, SCORE and even
classic SWOT analysis will be helpful in identifying the impacts
of any values-conflicts." [7]
Graves also cites his use of VPEC-T in Doing Enterprise
Architecture p.152 where he says "For this work,
the practice will always be iterative ..." [8]
VPEC-T is used not only for information systems, but also in
mediation, communication and group interaction.
History
According to Claudio Ciborra [9] among others, Information
Systems failures are mostly caused by the inabilityof our current
methods to identify and analyse the complex Social-Technical issues
that have to be addressed inorder to be successful.
In a session at Enterprise Architecture Conference Europe 2009,
David Hunt, Senior Lecturer, & Liz Bacon,Head of Computing and
Mathematical Sciences, University of Greenwich looked at how VPEC-T
has beensuccessfully used on a number of substantial real life
projects to overcome some of the issues identified
above. [10] In particular they addressed:
How VPEC-T promotes a behaviourcentric view of EA and the
benefits this can bring to both the
technology delivery and governance of an Enterprise
Architecture;
how this can be used to deliver a pragmatic approach to EA,
delivering early business benefit;
the current limits of the approach and pointed to future
directions of work that will further enhance the
delivery of Information Systems and Information Systems
Strategy.
VPEC-T was created by Nigel Green and Carl Bate, who developed
it and used it in its first major projectswhile working at
Capgemini. Originally developed for use in enterprise and solution
architecture engagementsconcerning information systems VPEC-T is
now also used in other domains and contexts not associated
withcomputing.
Some examples of use are:
The pre-design stage preparations for a new Criminal Justice
Information System in the United Kingdom;
preparation for staff-appraisal interviews;
establishing the business requirements of an affiliate selling
system from the separate points of view of all
-
8/12/2019 VPEC-T
5/7
parties involved;
resolution of structural problems in a company with several
groups performing similar business functions
but with different policies on charging for their services;
development of business goal and adoption oriented Enterprise
Architecture principles (applied in
Financial Services, Transportation and Government sectors);
development of event-based, Information Systems architectures
centered around business behaviour
(rather than technology);
testing the likely success of options to change a business and
overturning bad decisions as a result;
assessing the current state of consulting engagements and
planning next steps.
See also
See also
Sensemaking
Systems thinking
Complexity Complex systems; Complex adaptive systems; Complex
event processing; Cynefin
Value Value (ethics); Value (personal and cultural); Value
(economics)
Footnotes
1. ^ Gtze, John. "Review of Lost in Translation"
(http://gotze.eu/2009/04/03/more-ea-books/). Retrieved 2009-
09-13.
2. ^ Jangbrand, Anders (23 April 2009). "VPEC-T when preparing
Feedback"
(http://jangandabla.blogspot.com/2009/04/vpec-t-when-preparing-feedback.html).
Retrieved 2009-09-19.
3. ^ Green, Nigel. "Two Phrases You Wouldnt Expect to See
Together: Reduced Complexity & Enterprise 2.0"
(http://www.capgemini.com/ctoblog/2008/09/two_phrases_you_wouldnt_expect.php).
Retrieved 2009-09-14.
4. ^ Mulholland, Andy. "Building Services etc to Enterprise
Quality"
(http://www.capgemini.com/ctoblog/2008/06/building_services_etc_to_enter.php).
Retrieved 2009-09-14.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nigel Green, Carl Bate, (2007) Lost in
Translation: A handbook for information systems in the
21st century. (Evolved Technologist Press) ISBN
0-9789218-4-4
6. ^ Hidas, Peter (2009-04-14). "Review of Lost in Translation"
(http://translate.google.com/translate?
js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-
8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idg.no%2Fcomputerworld%2Farticle128652.ece&sl=no&tl=en&history_state0=
) ( English translation ).
http://www.idg.no/computerworld/article128652.ece . Computerworld
(Norway).
Retrieved 2009-09-14.
7. ^ Graves, Tom (2008-12). "The Service-Oriented Enterprise:
enterprise architecture and viable services"
(http://tetradianbooks.com/2008/12/services/). ISBN
9781906681166 . Tetradian Books. Retrieved 2009-09-18.8. ^ Graves,
Tom (March 2009). "Doing Enterprise Architecture: process and
practice in the real enterprise"
(http://tetradianbooks.com/2009/03/doing-ea/). ISBN
9781906681180 . Tetradian Books. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
9. ^ Ciborra, Claudio; Rob Kling, Leigh Star, et al. (May 1997).
"Human Centered Systems in the Perspective of
-
8/12/2019 VPEC-T
6/7
Organizational and Social Informatics"
(https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/1798/wp97-
04b.html). Human centered systems, f or the National Science
Foundation . Rob Kling Center for Social
Informatics Indiana University). Retrieved 2010-05-26.
10. ^ Hunt, David; Bacon, Liz (University of Greenwich)
(2009-06-08). "VPEC-T: A Way to Bridge the Gap
Between Business and IT" (http://www
.irmuk.co.uk/eac2009/pdfs/EAC2009.pdf) ( PDF ). Enterprise
Architecture Conference Europe 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
External links
Lost in Translation book at Capgemini.com
(http://www.capgemini.com/insights-and-
resources/books/lost_in_translation/)
ABC's Of BPM - JargonSpy and VPEC-T
(http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/29/cio-bpm-soa-tech-cio-
cx_dw_0930bpm.html) Forbes.com
"Lost in Translation Multiple Lenses in Business Analysis"
(http://www.opengroup.org/public/member/proceedings/q209/day2.htm)
Green, N., Presentation to the22nd Enterprise Architecture
Practitioners Conference (April 2009), The Open Group
Conference,
London
Overview of VPEC-T
(http://www.informationtamers.com/VPECT/VPECT-and-business-information-
systems.html) Information Tamers
Sense-Making Methodology
(http://communication.sbs.ohio-state.edu/sense-making/) Ohio
State
University
The Cynefin framework (http://www.cognitive-edge.com/) Cognitive
Edge
Simple Iterative Partitions (SIP)
(http://www.objectwatch.com/white_papers.htm) Object Watch
Retrieved from "
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VPEC-T&oldid=602221930"Categories:
Business analysis
This page was last modified on 1 April 2014 at 05:02.Text is
available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License; additional terms mayapply. By using this site, you agree
to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a
registeredtrademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.
-
8/12/2019 VPEC-T
7/7
