A Methodology for Designing Information Systems based on Situational Theories of Agency. Information systems (IS) are part of work systems that are goal-directed. Existing methodologies for designing IS implicitly assume that goal-directed behaviour is enabled by deliberation upon abstract models (the 'thinker' metaphor). Recent work in robotics and artificial intelligence has tested an alternative theory of goal-directed behaviour that emphasises reactive responses to situations (the 'routine' ....A Methodology for Designing Information Systems based on Situational Theories of Agency. Information systems (IS) are part of work systems that are goal-directed. Existing methodologies for designing IS implicitly assume that goal-directed behaviour is enabled by deliberation upon abstract models (the 'thinker' metaphor). Recent work in robotics and artificial intelligence has tested an alternative theory of goal-directed behaviour that emphasises reactive responses to situations (the 'routine' metaphor). We will refine and test a new IS design methodology based on this situational theory and show that it can produce effective IS designs, applicable to time-constrained routine operational domains, which are radically different from those produced using existing methodologies.Read moreRead less
Expressiveness Comparison and Interchange Facilitation between Business Process Execution Languages. Developments in the area of business process management are currently hindered by the plethora of diverse business process execution languages. This project will develop techniques for dealing with interoperability issues induced by this language heterogeneity. The project combines theoretical research, grounded in concurrency theory and workflow patterns, with pragmatic research focusing on lang ....Expressiveness Comparison and Interchange Facilitation between Business Process Execution Languages. Developments in the area of business process management are currently hindered by the plethora of diverse business process execution languages. This project will develop techniques for dealing with interoperability issues induced by this language heterogeneity. The project combines theoretical research, grounded in concurrency theory and workflow patterns, with pragmatic research focusing on languages supported by commercial tools. The outcome will be a framework for comparing the expressiveness of process execution languages and defining mappings between them. This will place Australia at the forefront of developments in business process management systems: a crucial technology in today's global, dynamic, and heterogeneous environments.
Read moreRead less
Agent-based methods for communication system design in complex organisations. There is a direct opportunity to directly improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of health work as a result of improved communication tools arising from this project. The current evidence that poor communication systems and practices significantly impair clinical work, and are related to avoidable clinical error and patient death, suggest compelling national benefits. Health represents 10% of GDP, and comm ....Agent-based methods for communication system design in complex organisations. There is a direct opportunity to directly improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of health work as a result of improved communication tools arising from this project. The current evidence that poor communication systems and practices significantly impair clinical work, and are related to avoidable clinical error and patient death, suggest compelling national benefits. Health represents 10% of GDP, and communication technologies have yet to be significantly exploited here. There are substantial commercial opportunities nationally, for successful new communication services that service health care. Internationally the markets may be even larger, as healthcare is a larger proportion of GDP in nations such as the US. Read moreRead less