Identifying and Improving Problems and Risks of Management Strategies Based on GQM+Strategies Metamodel and Design Principles

Abstract

Due to the criticality of software and IT in today’s business environment, organisations often align business goals and IT strategies. One alignment method is GQM+Strategies® (GQM+Strategies® is a registered trademark (No. 302008021763 at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office and international registration number IR992843). Although GQM+Strategies employs a vertical refinement tree grid based on rationales to align business goals and IT strategies in each department and throughout the organisation, it allows multiple perspectives. This can lead to strategic problems and risks because the GQM+Strategies grid may be unclear. To address this deficiency, this study defines modelling rules with a metamodel specified using a Unified Modelling Language (UML) class diagram and employs design principles described by Object Constraint Language (OCL) to automatically configure GQM+Strategies grids. These design principles are used in an experiment as the evaluation criteria to assess potential strategic problems and risks. The results confirm that our method has the potential to support the construction of GQM+Strategies grids with a consistent perspective, aiding in the alignment of business goals and IT strategies throughout an organisation.