ClicktovieworaddcommentsBusinessProcessReengineering-DoSoftwareToolsMatter?AbstractAsthenumberofbusinessprocessreengineering(BPR)projectsincreaseinindustry,thereseemstobealargepotentialtoreducecostandincreasequalitythroughtheuseofsoftwaretools.Currently,morethan50BPRtoolsareavailable,buttherehasbeenlittleresearchtodeterminewhichfeaturesofBPRtoolsareimportantforBPRsuccessandhowimportantBPRtoolsareinBPRprojects.Researchintherelatedareaoftoolsforcomputer-aidedsoftwareengineering(CASE)showsthatsoftwaretoolsarenotalwayslikelytoimproveproductivity.Toanswerthequestionsraisedabove,wedevelopedamodelandtesteditwithasurvey.Asafirststep,literaturedealingwithBPRproceduresandBPRfeatureswasreviewedtoelicitimportantfeaturesofBPRtools.SimultaneouslyliteratureregardingCASEtoolsfailurewasinvestigatedtoidentifypotentialcausesoffailureofBPRtools.Asaresult,aframeworkofBPRtoolfeatureswhichcanguideselectionofBPRtoolswasdeveloped.WealsodevelopedaBPRsuccessmodelandaquestionnairetotestthemodel.ThequestionnairewasdistributedtoBPRpractitionersthroughelectronicmedia.TheanalysisofdatashowsthatprocessvisualizationandprocessanalysisfeaturesarekeyfeaturesforthesuccessofBPRtoolswhichistermedas"BPRtoolscompetence"inthisresearch.OrganizationalfactorssuchasusersupportandchangeofworkarealsoimportantforasuccessfuluseofBPRtools.OneinterestingresultisthatchangeofworkcausedbyBPRtoolshasapositiveeffectonBPRtoolscompetencewhichisoppositetoCASEtools.AsignificantrelationshipbetweenBPRtoolscompetenceandeffectivenessofBPRprojectswasobserved,whilenosignificantrelationshipwasobservedbetweenBPRtoolscompetenceandefficiencyoftheprojects.TheresultimpliesthatBPRtoolsaredifferentfromCASEtoolsinmanyaspects,andwhatmanagersshouldexpectfromBPRtoolsisimprovedqualityofprojectratherthanproductivity.1.IntroductionAlthoughalargenumberofsoftwaretoolstohelpBPReffortshaveemergedinthemarket,thesurveybyElzingaetal[1995]revealedindustrypractitionersnotethatthelackofuser-friendly,yetflexible,softwaretosupportBPRisamajorproblem.Itissurprisingthatdespitethediscrepancybetweenuserneedsandavailabletools,therehavebeenonlyafewstudiesaboutBPRtools.Therefore,inordertoprovideabasisforevaluationandproperselectionofBPRtools,researchisneededtoexamineBPRtoolfeaturesandtheircontributiontoBPRsuccess.Manyfailuresobservedincomputer-aidedsoftwareengineering(CASE)tools[Normanetal.,1989;SumnerandRyan,1994;KwokandArnett,1993]havebroughtconcernsaboutsimilarpatternsofBPRtools.TherearelikelytobesimilardifficultiesinBPRprojects,becausebothtoolsarecommoninthattheysupportwhatareconsideredtobeprofessionalefforts,andtheyrequirelearningtobefullyutilized.Ontheotherhand,therearemanydifferencesbetweenthetwotools.Forinstance,CASEtoolscansupportvirtuallyallaspectsofsoftwaredevelopment,whilemanystepsofBPRsuchasprocessimplementationcannotbesupportedbyBPRtools.Hence,weneedtoexaminewhetherBPRtoolshaveproblemssimilartoCASEtools.2.BPRtoolssuccessmodelTotestBPRsuccess,wedevelopedamodelofBPRsuccessshowninFigure1.ThesuccessofaBPRprojectcanbemeasuredbytwoconstructs,oneis"effectiveness"andtheotheris"efficiency"oftheproject.Inthisresearch,effectivenessofBPRsuccessismeasuredby"effectivenessofnewprocess"and"increasedcompetitivepower",andefficiencyismeasuredby"time"and"budget"ofBPRproject.AmongBPRsuccessfactors,onlysomefactorsaredirectlyrelatedtoBPRtools.Tokeepthescopeofourstudymanageable,we...
