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Defining Antifragility and the application on Organisation Design
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The .com crisis of 2000, the financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 crisis of 2020 show us the importance for organisations to become resilient or even antifragile to survive (unexpected) external stressors. Research states that the current VUCA world will expose enterprises to more and more stressors. Resilience is the way how a system bounces
back from impact by a stressor. Antifragile is the way a system improves by impact by a stressor. This thesis combines (1) literature research on resilience with (2) the antifragile attributes found in the literature and (3) variety engineering into one model. This model is an Extended Antifragile Attribute List (EAAL). The research provided in this thesis enables the leadership of an organisation to determine if the organisation should aim to be antifragile or to be a specific type of resilience. After this determination, the EAAL model enables leadership to determine which attributes to include into their enterprise design. The EAAL is validated with various experts and with the leadership of various organisations. The EAAL model might also be applied to generic system design including technology infrastructure, software systems etc. The validation of the application in these domains is outside the scope of this research.
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... The literature review uses an iterative divergent and convergent process (see Figure 39 Divergent and Convergent ). This process is described in more detail by Edzo Botjes (Botjes, 2020). The process of analyzing and synthesizing the literature is repeated several times until a comprehensive understanding of the different topics is achieved. ...
Digital-centric businesses use IT infrastructure to create business value. Today, an IT infrastructure is made up of different parts. These parts are on-premises, cloud, and legacy IT infrastructure. As a result, the IT complexity is tremendously increased. By automating IT infrastructure management, organizations can reduce overall complexity. An automation maturity model helps define a clear roadmap and steps to implement and bring an IT infrastructure to a certain desired maturity level. This research aims to explore whether it is feasible to develop a maturity model for IT infrastructure automation. Design science research is used together with the Delphi method, with seventeen subject matter experts, for the iterative development of the maturity model. A new definition and model of the IT infrastructure and IT infrastructure automation are created to understand the environment in which the maturity model operates. The developed maturity model has five levels, allowing automation of the IT infrastructure management to grow from a stand-alone technology to a fully integrated cross-technological domain environment. Intending to enhance quality and productivity, strengthen a business's competitive advantage, and reduces IT complexity. The maturity model defines three dimensions: People, Processes, and Technology. The dimension of people addresses the knowledge and skills needed to understand and implement different levels of automation per maturity level. The dimension technology covers the technical aspects required to operate and maintain an automated IT infrastructure platform. The dimension process concerns the structured and documented workflows guiding IT infrastructure management. Conclusively we can state that this research provides a maturity model for organizations to assess their current IT infrastructure automation level and identify areas for improvement, ultimately enhancing their digital transformation efforts and being better prepared to adopt industry trends. Future research aims to develop and validate the IT infrastructure model and should focus on exploring the "how" aspect of automation and conducting practical validation. Another research topic would be to explore whether reaching level five of the maturity is possible. With the IT infrastructure automation maturity model, this thesis contributed to both the Body of Knowledge and the practitioners that can immediately apply the developed maturity model.
... Antifragility is the capacity to remodel an organization's business model in response to a crisis (Botjes, Mulder, & Nouwens, 2020;Taleb, 2013). There are several main factors that can help developing this capacity: the ability to imagine new solutions and creativity (Pettit, Croxton, & Fiksel, 2013), the ability to change in response to the disruptions in the environment (Fiksel, 2015), the ability to transform processes, structure, and behavior to cope with a crisis (Gotham & Campanella, 2010). ...
Antifragility is the ability of organizations to face difficulties and improve their strategic position. Manufacturers, as opposed to service companies, are burdened by high fixed costs, impeding in developing antifragility. The purpose of the article is to analyze the factors that enhance antifragility in a cosmetics company. The article is exploratory in nature. The case of a cosmetics company that improved its business model and strengthened its competitive position during COVID-19 pandemic was analyzed. The author found that antifragility is a mix of operational agility, context intelligence and entrepreneurial attitude. The main resources and capabilities supporting the development of antifragility in the cosmetics company are slack financial resources and a large and varied network of partners for innovation and research. The creativity, velocity and operational agility were the main capabilities found. This article offers directions for entrepreneurs in the cosmetics industry to be prepared for adversity and turn it, as much as possible, into opportunities. The concepts of resilience and agility have been broadly studied, however there is a lack of research on antifragility. This is the first case study to explore factors enhancing antifragility in the cosmetics industry in Eastern Europe.
En el panorama actual, los cambios económicos, las innovaciones tecnológicas y las rivalidades competitivas redefinen constantemente el ambiente de las organizaciones que se desarrollan en niveles cada vez más altos de complejidad e incertidumbre. En este contexto, la resiliencia ha pasado de ser un factor deseable a uno indispensable en las organizaciones; sin embargo, la antifragilidad se posiciona como un paradigma superior en términos de beneficios a largo plazo, ya que prepara a las organizaciones para aprovechar los cambios. En este estudio se aborda el problema de identificar las variables de gestión cruciales para desarrollar respuestas antifrágiles en organizaciones frente a la variabilidad del entorno. La hipótesis planteada sugiere que, para fomentar la antifragilidad, las organizaciones deben centrarse en tres áreas clave: estructuras y procesos, cultura organizacional, y comportamiento gerencial. Además, deben aplicar estrategias de regulación de la variabilidad basadas en retroalimentación negativa y positiva, conceptos centrales del enfoque cibernético en la teoría de sistemas. Como resultado principal, se encontró que el modelo de gestión propuesto ofrece directrices útiles para la aplicación de múltiples metodologías sistematizando sus elementos en dos fases: primero, atenuando la variabilidad mediante estrategias de vía negativa que hacen robusto al sistema y reducen su exposición al riesgo, y luego, ampliando la variabilidad mediante estrategias de vía positiva que posibilitan explorar oportunidades con beneficios potencialmente mayores a las perdidas, lo que caracteriza una respuesta antifrágil.
The purpose of this paper to evaluate the level of antifragility in the supply chain of a Daroopakhsh company. To improve the company's competitive position and Confrontation to disruptions and breakdowns, the supply chain must move towards antifragility. Accordingly, the supply chain, in addition to being prepared to deal with and respond to disruptions, has the ability to recover pre-disruption conditions and create even better conditions. To move in this direction, it is necessary for decision makers to properly recognize the current position of their supply chain and make the right decisions to improve its dominance.
To achieve this goal, the present study intends to determine the declining performance of this supply chain system in optimal, current and minimum conditions using Demetel technique, graph theory method and matrix approach. Finally, using the Importance-Performance analysis method, the components of supply chain are analyzed and prioritize the improvement of each factor.
Based on the results, respectively, supply chain structure, improvement and recovery, learning, flexibility and innovation are in the first to fifth priority to improve the dominance structure of the company's supply chain.
This research supports organizations in assessing the level of sufficiency of their supply chain and facilitates decision making. The following approach can simplify the dynamic nature of the environment for managing supply chain disruptions and even allow managers to compare different supply chains. Continuous assessment and monitoring of the level of chain volatility enables the creation of a competitive advantage to achieve greater market share even during a disruption or ongoing disruptions.
Residuality theory provides a basis for designing software systems with resilient and antifragile behaviour through understanding sensitivity to stress and the concept of residual behaviours. By considering systems as a set of residues that exist in connection to stressors, we can more easily understand the role of design decisions in the life cycle of software systems and the unpredictable complex contexts they exist in. Residuality theory provides an alternative to the vague methods by which OOP, SOA, and microservice approaches arrive at system designs and most importantly places non-functional properties as first class citizens of design efforts. Residuality theory allows us to consider business, software, and infrastructure architecture across many different platforms and paradigms and allows us to describe architecture in the same way regardless of perspective. It allows us to describe approaches both for functional and non-functional requirements and for design, delivery and operation of applications. Residuality Theory paves the way for expressing architectures as mathematical structures which makes approaches like Model Based Systems Engineering [1] possible.
Antifragility is a property from which systems are able to resist stress and furthermore benefit from it. Even though antifragile dynamics is found in various real-world complex systems where multiple subsystems interact with each other, the attribute has not been quantitatively explored yet in those complex systems which can be regarded as multilayer networks. Here we study how the multilayer structure affects the antifragility of the whole system. By comparing single-layer and multilayer Boolean networks based on our recently proposed antifragility measure, we found that the multilayer structure facilitated the production of antifragile systems. Our measure and findings will be useful for various applications such as exploring properties of biological systems with multilayer structures and creating more antifragile engineered systems.
The confusion surrounding the role of architecture when aiming for Agility isn’t simply a labored talking point – it’s part of the reason Agile initiatives fail, and architecture teams are losing influence. In a recent survey conducted by IASA Global of 260 organizations, greater than 75% were implementing some form of Agile practice, 50% of the 260 were implementing agile at scale. Of those who responded, less than 50% have integrated architecture into their agile process. As it stands, it appears agile & architecture are struggling to find a fit. This paper considers the possible impacts of a third way – Agility through Antifragility. Rather than aiming to control, or to remove control, we seek to build systems, both technical and business, that aim to be Antifragile to change. This allows the production of business and technical architectures that actually enable Agility through design rather than process or ‘mindset’. Taking ideas from Systems Engineering, and Complexity Science, and data from IASA’s 2018 Architecture Survey, we explore how the inherent interconnectedness of architecture and Agility can be leveraged to make the management of complexity something all organizations can do.
The book was inadvertently published with incorrect authors for the below listed chapters:
Systems theory has been challenged in the recent literature due to its perceived
disconnection from today’s research and practice demands. Moving away from the reductionist
frameworks and the complicated domain predominated by known unknowns and order, a call is
being made to the social sciences to begin adopting complexity theory and newer connectionist
methods that better address complexity and open social systems. Scholars and scholar-practitioners
will continue to find the need to apply complexity theory as wicked problems become more
prevalent in the social sciences. This paper differentiates between general systems theory (GST) and
complexity theory, as well as identifies advantages for the social sciences in incorporating
complexity theory as a formal theory. Complexity theory is expanded upon and identified as
providing a new perspective and a new method of theorizing that can be practiced by disciplines
within the social sciences. These additions could better position the social sciences to address the
complexity associated with advancing technology, globalization, intricate markets, cultural change,
and the myriad of challenges and opportunities to come.
Triangulation is a method used by qualitative researchers to check and establish validity in their studies by analyzing a research question from multiple perspectives. This 3-page fact sheet presents five types of triangulation. Written by Lisa A. Guion, David C. Diehl, and Debra McDonald , and published by the UF Department of Family Youth and Community Sciences, August 2011. This is a major revision of : Guion, Lisa. 2002. “Triangulation: Establishing the Validity of Qualitative Studies”. EDIS 2002 (6). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-fy394-2002.
Enterprise ontology is one of the conceptual pillars of enterprise engineering, next to enterprise design and enterprise governance, together accomplishing the goals of intellectual manageability, organisational concinnity and social devotion. By revealing the essence of an enterprise’s organisation, enterprise ontology addresses business processes, data and rules in a fundamental and truly integrated way. In addition, it provides deep insight into and broad overview over complex organisational transformations.
The book is divided into three parts. Part A is an introduction in enterprise engineering and enterprise ontology. Part B explores the theories underlying enterprise ontology, explaining the foundations of each theory, the elaborations in practical methods and techniques, and the relationships with other comparable approaches. Part C presents the practical application of the theories. It includes a comprehensive summary of the DEMO methodology and the DEMO specification language, as well as exercises and applications of DEMO in various business areas. It also features a chapter on combining DEMO with comparable approaches to modelling business processes, data and rules, to the benefit of the latter.
Discussing the theoretical foundations of enterprise ontology and its practical applications in equal measure, this book is the principal textbook in courses on enterprise engineering. Since it unites elements from management science and information systems engineering, it is also relevant to students and professionals in either field.
This book integrates theoretical advances and empirical data on Enterprise Governance in Information Technology (EGIT) with practical applications based on numerous case examples. The third revised edition of Enterprise Governance of Information Technology provides professionals and students with the most recent research advancements as well as an in-depth discussion of the recently-introduced Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) 2019 framework which can be used to facilitate a tailored implementation of effective EGIT. Furthermore, the book features a new chapter which provides readers with hands-on examples from practice and clear insights on how these relate to theory. At the forefront of the field, the authors of this volume draw from years of research and advising corporate clients to present a comprehensive resource on EGIT.
Featuring a variety of elements, including executive summaries and sidebars, extensive references, questions and activities and additional online materials, this book is a valuable updated resource for professionals, students and researchers alike.