This grant provides funding for exploratory research on the development of scalable enterprise systems, with particular emphasis on web-based electronic commerce applications. While transaction volume is one aspect of the problem, scalability also includes the ability of a system to adapt to a changing environment, including new products, processes, technology, markets, and business partners. To address the problem of scalability, a set of interrelated topics will be explored: (1) grammatical models of enterprise workflow; (2) tools for supporting the design of scalable systems; and (3) strategies for actually measuring or predicting scalability. This research will build on an existing prototype system, called MIDAS (Manufacturing Integration and Design Automation System), which provides a grammar-based framework for visualizing and managing work processes. Grammatical models provide the conceptual foundation on which the design tools and measurement strategies will be based.
If successful, the results of this research will provide a theory that characterizes system structure and scalability and measures interdependencies among processes. The research will also lead to a prototype of a framework within which such metrics could be validated (through empirical research) and applied (through design methodologies and tools). The theory and the prototype tool will form a foundation for developing a web-based enterprise system that can handle various different yet interdependent, processes. Such an enterprise system will be scalable in terms of not only volume but also variations, and will evolve into a powerful tool to model, configure, and reconfigure a wide variety of processes in relation to e-commerce activities in a virtual community.
