Case study in improving operations of a data-oriented company using Fractal Enterprise Model

Abstract

There are multiple ways of improving a company’s operations, but the baseline for any improvement is a fundamental understanding of the company’s structure. Modeling a company can provide the basis for change and improvement. This thesis aims to apply the Fractal Enterprise Modelling (FEM) technique and related software to support the improvement process of an IT company. As FEM is a relatively new enterprise modeling technique, there exists a need to test this toolset in a practical setting. The research was conducted in an actual company that aimed to find the most beneficial solution using limited resources. In this thesis, we supported the business analysis process by using the FEM modeling technique. As a result, we designed a solution that improved the company’s workforce efficiency and the effectiveness of the service provided. Using FEM allowed us to gain many additional benefits throughout the business analysis process, mainly improving the business process awareness by providing a holistic picture of the company. This clarity and awareness of organization structure and processes allowed us to find the business need that benefited the company most. Secondly, through practical experience, we gained insight into the FEM modeling technique and gave guidelines to other companies that want to solve similar problems. We separated these guidelines into two groups: general guidelines that all can follow when implementing a business change in a similar context and guidelines that are more specific but still applicable in certain scenarios.