Visual support for work assignment in process-aware information systems : framework formalisation and implementation

Process-aware information systems, ranging from generic workflow systems to dedicated enterprise information systems, use work-lists to offer so-called work items to users. In real scenarios, users can be confronted with a very large number of work items that stem from multiple cases of different processes. In this jungle of work items, users may find it hard to choose the right item to work on next. The system cannot autonomously decide which is the right work item, since the decision is also dependent on conditions that are somehow outside the system. For instance, what is “best” for an organisation should be mediated with what is “best” for its employees. Current work-list handlers show work items as a simple sorted list and therefore do not provide much decision support for choosing the right work item. Since the work-list handler is the dominant interface between the system and its users, it is worthwhile to provide an intuitive graphical interface that uses contextual information about work items and users to provide suggestions about prioritisation of work items. This paper uses the so-called map metaphor to visualise work items and resources (e.g., users) in a sophisticated manner. Moreover, based on distance notions, the work-list handler can suggest the next work item by considering different perspectives. For example, urgent work items of a type that suits the user may be highlighted. The underlying map and distance notions may be of a geographical nature (e.g., a map of a city or office building), but may also be based on process designs, organisational structures, social networks, due dates, calendars, etc. The framework proposed in this paper is generic and can be applied to any process-aware information system. Moreover, in order to show its practical feasibility, the paper discusses a full-fledged implementation developed in the context of the open-source workflow environment YAWL, together with two real examples stemming from two very different scenarios. The results of an initial usability evaluation of the implementation are also presented, which provide a first indication of the validity of the approach.

A framework for the education of the information professions in Australia.

In recent years there has been considerable discussion afforded to the challenges facing the future of library and information science (LIS) education in Australia. This paper outlines a twelve-month project funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council that was undertaken by eleven institutions representing university and vocational LIS education in Australia. The project established a Framework for the Education of the Information Professions in Australia that provides a set of strategic recommendations that will inform future directions of Australian LIS education. This national project represented a bold move within Australian LIS education, and provided a unique opportunity for LIS educators across Australia to collectively unite in order to ‘future-proof’ education for future generations of LIS professionals.

A risk simulation framework for information infrastructure protection

Information communication and technology (ICT) systems are almost ubiquitous in the modern world. It is hard to identify any industry, or for that matter any part of society, that is not in some way dependent on these systems and their continued secure operation. Therefore the security of information infrastructures, both on an organisational and societal level, is of critical importance. Information security risk assessment is an essential part of ensuring that these systems are appropriately protected and positioned to deal with a rapidly changing threat environment. The complexity of these systems and their inter-dependencies however, introduces a similar complexity to the information security risk assessment task. This complexity suggests that information security risk assessment cannot, optimally, be undertaken manually. Information security risk assessment for individual components of the information infrastructure can be aided by the use of a software tool, a type of simulation, which concentrates on modelling failure rather than normal operational simulation. Avoiding the modelling of the operational system will once again reduce the level of complexity of the assessment task. The use of such a tool provides the opportunity to reuse information in many different ways by developing a repository of relevant information to aid in both risk assessment and management and governance and compliance activities. Widespread use of such a tool allows the opportunity for the risk models developed for individual information infrastructure components to be connected in order to develop a model of information security exposures across the entire information infrastructure. In this thesis conceptual and practical aspects of risk and its underlying epistemology are analysed to produce a model suitable for application to information security risk assessment. Based on this work prototype software has been developed to explore these concepts for information security risk assessment. Initial work has been carried out to investigate the use of this software for information security compliance and governance activities. Finally, an initial concept for extending the use of this approach across an information infrastructure is presented.