Technical Reports
HPL-2008-140
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Service Comprehension
Taylor, Richard; Tofts, Chris
HP Laboratories
HPL-2008-140
Keyword(s): services, Systems modelling, concurrency, comprehension
Abstract: Confronted with the complexity of services systems, providers capitulate to the *build and hope* approach, so dominant in software engineering - rather than the design, analyze, build and improve methods of mature, science backed, engineering disciplines. Providers simply assume that such systems cannot be predicted, understood or forecasted! Given the increasing dependence on advanced economies on such complex services we need methods of analysis and comprehension so that all of the stakeholders can understand them. Accepting that this cannot take place in a context of a 'professional modeler' approach, which leads to only the modeler owning the understanding. Equally, customers as stakeholders of complex services must move from a position of demand without comprehension of consequences if they are to receive genuinely beneficial services. We must be clear how we exploit the location of boundaries in order that we can comprehend the services we desire whilst understanding the impact that in many service encounters the customer, often the citizen, does not provide direct economic feedback. Finally perhaps, we should acknowledge that many of the tools required could already exist - it is simply that the various stakeholders in a service provision encounter are unaware or intimidated by them.
9 Pages
External Posting Date: October 21, 2008 [Fulltext]. Approved for External Publication
Internal Posting Date: October 21, 2008 [Fulltext]