The 'REFINTO' Framework and Tool: Supporting Business-IT Alignment in Enterprise Financial Application Development

One of the main weaknesses of the concept of alignment between business and information technology (IT) process and functions in enterprises is that it is abstract, difficult to actualize and harder to sustain. The misalignment between business and IT can be attributed to many factors. Two key factors that stand out are the knowledge and cultural gaps between these functions and the perception that business-IT alignment can only be achieved through a top-down process. Practical and tangible means to achieve the elusive alignment by addressing these key factors are therefore desirable towards enabling the effective development of enterprise software applications. This objective can be achieved by identifying a way to actualize and sustain BIA at a level stakeholders from both business and technology domains collaborate to achieve mutually shared goals. Collaboration between business and IT stakeholders is closest during software development project implementation. Effective communication during the requirements engineering stage of these projects offers an opportunity for business and IT to achieve and sustain alignment. However, if the implementation stage of the project is impeded by knowledge gaps and performed in an ad-hoc fashion it can lead to or aggravate misalignment. REFINTO is a requirements engineering framework and tool aimed at facilitating business-IT alignment (BIA) through a knowledge-driven, collaborative and iterative process. It empowers business and IT stakeholders with a knowledge repository that addresses terminology gaps, quickly manage the requirements engineering process in response to rapidly changing business demands, and reuse requirements and artifacts. REFINTO has been applied to support large-scale enterprise application development such as distributed and service oriented applications involving discovery and reusing of services at a top global investment bank.