Overview

This dissertation, Business Process Model for Process Improvement: an Investigation of the Tendering Process in a Construction Company by Qiying, Kiki, Cai, 蔡棋瑛, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled Business Process Model for Process Improvement -- An Investigation of the Tendering Process in a Construction Company Submitted by Kiki Qiying Cai for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong in September 2007 This research pioneers, at least in the academic community, the development of (1) an explicit and flexible business process model for a construction company, (2) a modelling approach for the model and (3) an appropriate business process framework using the model. It is motivated by the need for business process improvement in construction companies and the idea of Business Process Management about establishing an effective framework to integrate business and IT by separating the business processes from the underlying applications and then creating a business process model that enables top-down (that is, business drives IT development) and bottom-up (vice versa) redesigns to flexibly cope with the company's strategic development. A multi-round investigation into the tendering process of a construction company in Hong Kong is conducted in this research. To increase the generalizability in the findings, a large and representative company is selected. With no relevant model and approach, the author first uses a qualitative research method and case study method for data collection. Since both methods cannot provide sufficient guidance for further data collection and analysis, Grounded Theory is adopted in the second round of investigation. Its theoretical sampling and saturation rules are used to identify the relevant data, while its open, axial and selective coding methods are adopted to analyze the data systematically. Models, a modelling approach and framework are eventually developed in the third round by using Grounded Theory, narrative scenario, ontology, and Supplier-Input-Process-Output-Customer (SIPOC). Finally, model iivalidation and implementation evaluation are conducted. After the four rounds, the three research objectives are achieved. Firstly, an explicit and flexible reference model for a tendering process is developed. It explicitly captures the interdependencies of roles, key activities, activity sequence and information flow. Its process components ( P ), value-based modules containing chains of activities constrained by the information for supplier, input, output and customer ( S-I-O-C ), can be flexibly reused in different contexts like Traditional tendering/Design & Build tendering. Secondly, a SONG modelling approach is established. A reusable, readable and accurate business process model can be generated by using (i) Grounded theory to collect and analyze data systematically, (ii) Narrative scenario to describe the existing practice accurately, (iii) Ontology modelling to generate reusable process components with category grouping, and (iv) SIPOC to capture the aforementioned constraints. Finally, an effective Seven-step Framework is formulated. It allows the use of top-down analysis (i.e. goal-driven approach) and bottom-up analysis (i.e. problem-driven approach) to identify the potential process redesigns comprehensively. Then, the existing business practices can drive the development of new IT applications, and vice versa, to satisfy the different needs of the companies at different times. This research

Full Product Details

9781374670433

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Countries Available