Keywords

business alignment, quality function deployment, house of quality, multivariate data analysis, factor analysis, enterprise business architecture, business architecture, unified modeling language, ABET, accreditation board of engineering and technology, QFD, HOQ, UML, EBA, business modeling, strategic alignment

Abstract

This dissertation proposes two novel ideas to enhance the business strategy alignment to customer needs. The proposed business alignment clock is a new illustration to the relationships between customer requirements, business strategies, capabilities and processes. To line up the clock and reach the needed alignment for the enterprise, a proposed clock mechanism is introduced. The mechanism integrates the Enterprise Business Architecture (EBA) with the House of Quality (HoQ). The relationship matrix inside the body of the house is defined using multivariate data analysis techniques to accurately measure the strength of the relationships rather than defining them subjectively. A statistical tool, multivariate data analysis, can be used to overcome the ambiguity in quantifying the relationships in the house of quality matrix. The framework is proposed in the basic conceptual model context of the EBA showing different levels of the enterprise architecture; the goals, the capabilities and the value stream architecture components. In the proposed framework, the goals and the capabilities are inputs to two houses of quality, in which the alignment between customer needs and business goals, and the alignment between business goals and capabilities are checked in the first house and the second house, respectively. The alignment between the business capabilities and the architecture components (workflows, events and environment) is checked in a third HoQ using the performance indicators of the value stream architecture components, which may result in infrastructure expansion, software development or process improvement to reach the needed alignment by the enterprise. The value of the model was demonstrated using the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) process at the Industrial Engineering and Management Systems department at the University of Central Florida. The assessment of ABET criteria involves an evaluation of the extent to which the program outcomes are being achieved and results in decisions and actions to improve the Industrial Engineering program at the University of Central Florida. The proposed framework increases the accuracy of measuring the extent to which the program learning outcomes have been achieved at the department. The process of continuous alignment between the educational objectives and customer needs becomes more vital by the rapid change of customer requirements that are obtained from both internal and external constituents (students, faculty, alumni, and employers in the first place).

Notes

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Graduation Date

2010

Advisor

Elshennawy, Ahmad

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Industrial Engineering and Management Systems

Degree Program

Industrial Engineering

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0003298

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0003298

Language

English

Release Date

August 2010

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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