Acción L: Calidad de servicio, bodegas y carretillas

Developing a method that assists software vendors in adapting their capabilities to cloud computing in a way that makes their company more resilient requires the definition of an underlying model and its assumptions. The model and assumptions

147 encapsulate a simplified version of the way software vendors deal with cloud computing. It is important for users of the method to understand the model and its assumptions as they describe what the method can do and what its limitations are (Hollnagel 2012b).

The ability to adapt capabilities to cloud computing is not built into FRAM. In order to extend FRAM to inform the adaptation capabilities, the steps of a FRAM analysis will be changed while retaining the original elements of a FRAM model, i.e. functions and aspects. Only changing the steps of a FRAM analysis lets users of the method build on the extensive documentation of the original FRAM.

Although functions and capabilities are abstractions to capture organisational routines, functions are abstractions on a lower level than capabilities. Because there is a difference in the layer of abstraction functions and capabilities have an n-to-n relationship, i.e. one capability can reside in many functions and one function can contain many capabilities. When planning the migration into the cloud, software vendors will want to aim to adapt those capabilities that are going to be affected by a migration into the cloud (positively or negatively) and that reside in more than one function, i.e. core capabilities.

Using cFRAM to adapt capabilities to cloud computing makes it necessary to add steps to a FRAM analysis after the functions and performance variabilities for the current way of doing business have been identified (i.e. after the creation of the before

cloud migration FRAM model). The steps that are added assist software vendors in abstracting from individual functions and their resources to tasks that several functions, together, aim to achieve. cFRAM abstracts from functions and their resources through the framework with the four viewpoints (cultural, management, application, and governance).

The four viewpoints are the result of the multi-stage study that investigated software vendors during the migration of their software products into the cloud from a systemic perspective (see chapters 4 & 5). They capture the underlying processes of adapting capabilities to cloud computing. Thus, by being aware of the viewpoints, software

148 vendors are better able to accommodate the different factors that influence the adaptation of their capabilities to cloud computing.

By incorporating the four viewpoints into cFRAM they are adapted so that they can be used to inform the adaptation of capabilities to cloud computing. Informing the adaptation of capabilities is done in two steps. First, the viewpoints are used to identify existing capabilities within a software vendor. Second, the viewpoints are used to inform the adaptation of existing capabilities to cloud computing by allowing software vendors to react to and anticipate the critical success factors of cloud computing that the four viewpoints capture.

To identify the existing capabilities of a software vendor, i.e. step 3 of cFRAM, the resources of functions that show the current way of going business (before cloud migration FRAM model) need to be listed. The focus is on resources of functions as, according to the definition of capabilities, capabilities combine different resources in a structured way to achieve a specific task (see section 2.1). The resources can either come from other functions that are connected through the Resource aspect of a function, or they can be internal resources such as people, documents, machines, etc. After listing the resources of a function, they are assigned to one of the four viewpoints depending on the factors that influence or constrain the use of the resource. The use of a resource called ‘customer history of support issues’ is, for example, influenced by the management viewpoint, as the resource needs to be managed in order to inform the development of features (support issues between customers need to be compared, the feasibility of new product features needs to be discussed, etc.). In order words, just having the resource is not sufficient. Identifying the influences and constraints across resources of functions will reveal the capabilities that are going to be affected by cloud computing (section 7.4.3 below will go into more detail with additional examples).

To inform the adaptation of existing capabilities when planning the migration into the cloud, i.e. step 4 of cFRAM, it is necessary to repeat step 3 of cFRAM. Instead of using the functions and resources of the before cloud migration FRAM model, software vendors use the after cloud migration FRAM model that shows how they

149 plan to adapt functions and resources to accommodate cloud computing. After having listed the resources available in the cloud and having assigned them to one of the four viewpoints, software vendors can compare the resources and viewpoints with those of the before cloud migration FRAM model. The differences between both lists inform the adaptation of capabilities. In very general terms, the higher the number of differences between both lists, the more likely it is that existing capabilities are inappropriate for cloud computing. Thus, they require adaptation or entirely new capabilities need to be developed.

The following list suggests what kind of resources are often related to what viewpoint

• Cultural: Often plays a role for resources where people are involved. People can be the resource (or part of the resource) or people can be affected by the use of a resource.

• Management: Often plays a role when the use of software needs to be coordinated with other resources, e.g. people or business processes.

• Application: Is likely to play a role for resources that are part of product development or distribution.

• Governance: Often plays a role where documents are involved, which describe how a task needs to be carried out.