Software ecosystems and IT ecosystems are modern terms used to describe complex networks of IT applications. The idea comes from the perspective that IT systems are made by people, serve people in the context of socio-technical systems and, finally, affect the lives of more people. All that stuff live and evolve together, each having its own properties and dynamics. All together form a kind of ecosystem that exposes its own emergent behaviour. It is a perfect field to apply systemic approaches in order to create a holistic approach, to reveal the underlying dynamic structure, to cope with complexity and to extract order out of the mess. The final objective is to bridge the gap between business and IT helping the organization to serve its purpose.

1. Systemic approach to the Business-IT alignment issue
Panagiotis Papaioannou
University of Piraeus, CSAP, HSSS
p.papaioannou@gmail.com
HSSS 12th
National & International Conference, 15-16 July 2016, Athens, Greece
Business-IT alignment is a timeless issue that affects both the efficiency and the effectiveness
of any small or large organization. Many methodologies from the software engineering field
have been employed to deal with that issue, including organizational approaches like COBIT
and "Capability Maturity Model". Nevertheless, the problem remains, and it will always be a
challenge.
In this work, we assume that complexity is a determinant factor for the Business-IT gap that,
nowadays, most organizations experience. The complexity starts from the fact that software
does not exist in isolation as a self-existent entity. Instead, it is made by people as a product of
a collaboration effort, it is used in the context of the organization and may affect people
outside the organization. The complexity arises from the number of factors that affect the
software quality itself, the integration with the organization processes, and the users' adoption
and interaction. All these factors compose a not well-defined situation or a wicked problem.
Systemic methodologies can be used to bring order out of the mess and to compromise
different stakeholder expectations.
Systemic metaphors help in a wicked situation by offering more than one point of view. Having
multiple different points of view gives an advantage over a single position and helps create a
holistic approach. It also helps discover limitations and possibilities during the design of the
intervention and allows the emergence of new kinds of solutions.
The most useful metaphor is the term "IT ecosystem", which refers to software systems'
coexistence within an organization's boundaries. These systems evolve in parallel and co-exist
in the same environment along with the processes they serve and the people who are
affected. This "IT ecosystem" is a subsystem within the organization, aiming to serve the whole
system's purpose.
A lot of other systemic methodologies can be applied to improve the understanding of the
relations and alignment between business processes and the supporting information systems.
System dynamics and systemic archetypes reveal the structure that underlies the observed
behaviour, which, in turn, creates complex situations. They apply both in the long-term
strategic planning as well as in managing short-term projects.
The Viable System Model (VSM) helps to understand the role of IT systems in the
organizational structure and complexity, as well as issues like co-ordination, centralization,
decentralization, stability, viability etc.
Design and Control Systemic Methodology (DCSYM) can model a wide range of systems, from
software and business up to stakeholders and social groups. It introduces a high-level design
language, which enables effective synchronous and asynchronous multi-agent conversations.
Systems thinking and complexity theory can influence managers to change how they perceive
the problems, abandon mechanism and determinism, and appreciate and cope with
relationships, dynamism, and unpredictability.
Keywords: SYSTEMICS, BUSINESS-IT ALIGNMENT