Samuil Angelov

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Papers by Samuil Angelov

On Deep e-Contracting

CTIT technical reports series, 2002

The use of electronic contracts is emerging as a way to improve the effi-ciency of contracting pr... more The use of electronic contracts is emerging as a way to improve the effi-ciency of contracting processes. Electronic contracts are, however, often used as a direct replacement for traditional paper contracts¿ which we call shallow e-contracting. Consequently, business processes in general and contracting processes in particular do not change much through the use of electronic contracts. New business scenarios caused by e-business developments, however, do require new contracting paradigms in which the use of ...

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On t-, m-, p- and e-contracting

J Catal, 2002

The use of electronic contracts is emerging as a way to improve the efficiency of contracting pro... more The use of electronic contracts is emerging as a way to improve the efficiency of contracting processes. Electronic contracts are, however, often used as a direct replacement for traditional paper contracts ? which we call shallow e-contracting. Consequently, business processes in general and con-tracting processes in particular do not change much through the use of elec-tronic contracts. New business scenarios caused by e-business developments, however, do require new contracting paradigms in which the use of electronic contracts becomes an essential element to obtain a radical paradigm shift in contractual business relations ? which we call deep e-contracting. In this posi-tion paper, we explore these new paradigms. We link the paradigms to ex-changed values described in e-contracts to obtain a mapping from business requirements. We next map the paradigms to contracting activities. Finally, we map the activities to information technology required for their automated sup-port. Based on the paradigms and mappings, this paper provides a concise framework for the exploration of deep e-contracting.

What makes teaching software architecture difficult?

Proceedings of the 38th International Conference on Software Engineering Companion, 2016

The software architecture is usually the first design artifact that addresses quality issues (e.g... more The software architecture is usually the first design artifact that addresses quality issues (e.g., performance, security). Also, the architecture is reference point for other development activities, e.g., coding and maintenance. Based on our experience teaching software engineering and architecture at different institutions and levels, we discuss what makes teaching software architecture difficult, and how teaching architecture differs from teaching other software engineering topics. Our discussions can help educators design and improve software architecture curricula, and support education researchers in investigating pedagogical approaches and tools for better software architecture training.

On τ-, µ-, π-, and ε-Contracting

The use of electronic contracts is emerging as a way to improve the efficiency of contracting pro... more The use of electronic contracts is emerging as a way to improve the efficiency of contracting processes. Electronic contracts are, however, often used as a direct replacement for traditional paper contracts – which we call shallow e-contracting. Consequently, business processes in general and con-tracting processes in particular do not change much through the use of elec-tronic contracts. New business scenarios caused by e-business developments, however, do require new contracting paradigms in which the use of electronic contracts becomes an essential element to obtain a radical paradigm shift in contractual business relations – which we call deep e-contracting. In this posi-tion paper, we explore these new paradigms. We link the paradigms to ex-changed values described in e-contracts to obtain a mapping from business re-quirements. We next map the paradigms to contracting activities. Finally, we map the activities to information technology required for their automated sup-port. Bas...

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A three-level framework for process and data management of complex e-services

Service outsourcing is the business paradigm in which an organization has part of its business pr... more Service outsourcing is the business paradigm in which an organization has part of its business process performed by a service provider. In dynamic markets, service providers can be selected on the fly during process enactment. The cooperation between the parties is specified in a dynamically made electronic contract. This contract includes a process specification that is tailored towards service brokering and cross-organizational process enactment and, hence, has to conform to market and specification standards. Process enactment, however, relies on intra-organizational process specifications that have to comply with the infrastructure available in an organization for process and data management. In this paper, we present a three-level process and data specification framework for dynamic contract-based outsourcing of complex services. We focus on services with an externally visible control flow, as opposed to simple, black-box web services. The framework relates the two process spec...

A Conceptual Framework for B2B Electronic Contracting

Electronic contracting aims at improving existing business relationship para-digms and at enablin... more Electronic contracting aims at improving existing business relationship para-digms and at enabling new forms of contractual relationships. To successfully realize these objectives, an integral understanding of the contracting field must be established. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for business-to-business contracting support. The framework provides a complete view over the contracting field. It allows positioning research efforts in the domain, analysing them, placing their goals into perspective, and overseeing future research topics and issues. It is the basis for drawing conclusions about basic requirements to contracting systems.

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An Analysis of the B2B E-Contracting Domain -Paradigms and Required Technology. Telematica Institute Technical Report

Abstract: Business-to-business e-contracting gained attention in recent years as a way to improve... more Abstract: Business-to-business e-contracting gained attention in recent years as a way to improve traditional paper contracting. However, a complete framework specifying the aspects of improvement of traditional paper contracting and the new opportunities introduced by e-contracting is still missing. In this paper, we identify the improvements and the new opportunities introduced by e-contracting. The information technology required for the implementation of an e-contracting system is investigated. The paper allows companies to clearly identify the improvements pursued by them when employing e-contracting and the requirements (business and technological) that have to be satisfied for the achieving of the aimed improvements.

An analysis of the B2B e-contracting domain : paradigms and required technology

Business-to-business e-contracting gained attention in recent years as a way to improve tradition... more Business-to-business e-contracting gained attention in recent years as a way to improve traditional paper contracting. However, a complete framework specifying the aspects of improvement of traditional paper contracting and the new opportunities introduced by e-contracting is still missing. In this paper, we identify the improvements and the new opportunities introduced by e-contracting. The information technology required for the implementation of an e-contracting system is investigated. The paper allows companies to clearly identify the improvements pursued by them when employing e-contracting and the requirements (business and technological) that have to be satisfied for the achieving of the aimed improvements.

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An approach to the construction of flexible B2B E-contracting processes

CTIT technical report series, 2002

In business-to-business relations, contracts serve both as a protection mechanism of trading part... more In business-to-business relations, contracts serve both as a protection mechanism of trading parties, as well as a prescription document for activities to be executed by them. The processes of contract establishment and its enactment are often expensive and time-consuming. E-contracting aims at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the contracting process. Additionally, it offers new opportunities to the contracting parties, e.g. micro-contracting. For the design of an information system for support of e-contracting, a clear description of the e-contracting processes is required. In this report, we introduce a process model for flexible business-to-business e-contracting. To separate concerns, we distinguish structured function and communication perspectives of e-contracting processes supplemented with consistency rules. Using the defined model we propose an approach for elaboration of concrete e-contracting process specifications and their implementation in real-life busine...

format_quoteThe paper uses a real-world business scenario to demonstrate the e-contracting process model's practical application via explicitly defined activities.format_quote

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Evaluation of the E-contracting reference architecture

Reference architectures provide the major guidelines for the structure and functionalities of a c... more Reference architectures provide the major guidelines for the structure and functionalities of a class of information systems. Because of their fundamental role, reference architectures must offer a high degree of excellence. In our previous work, we have defined an initial version of an econtracting reference architecture. In order to determine its degree of excellence, we performed an evaluation of the initial design. In this report, we present the evaluation process and the main results from it. We discuss the improvements that were introduced to the initial design of the architecture due to the evaluation process.

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Supporting process control in business collaborations

Business collaborations have become highly dynamic and flexible. "Black-box" services a... more Business collaborations have become highly dynamic and flexible. "Black-box" services are gradually replaced by services where service providers not only expose the underlying processes but also allow some monitoring of their executions. In this paper, we explore the next step where the consumers can exercise some control over the process execution. We specify a set of control primitives that can be used to exert control on activities before, during and after their execution and on the complete process itself. Our design approach allows the consumer to observe the state of execution of the process and its activities, control their execution and decide how to deal with unsuccessful executions. We describe the support that must be provided in the internal process specification of the service provider for the control options. We illustrate our approach with an example from the healthcare domain.

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A Framework for the Analysis of B2B Electronic Contracting Support

IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, 2001

Contracts are fundamental to all economic production and exchange processes. The fast introductio... more Contracts are fundamental to all economic production and exchange processes. The fast introduction of IT into the business domain both facilitates and requires changes in core business processes and relations between business organizations. In the context of the latter, the use of IT in business-to-business contracting processes aims at optimisation and globalisation of these processes by improving their speed, efficiency and reach. Electronic contracting can thus be used on the one hand to improve existing business relationship paradigms and on the other hand to enable new forms of contractual relationships. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for business-to-business e-contracting support. The framework provides a complete view over the contracting field. It allows positioning research efforts in the e-contracting domain, placing their goals into perspective, and overseeing future research topics and issues. It is the basis for drawing conclusions about basic requirem...

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A Framework for Business Innovation Directions

In this report, we present a dimensional framework to analyze and design business innovation dire... more In this report, we present a dimensional framework to analyze and design business innovation directions. Strategists can use this framework to analyze their business and set business innovation directions. Entrepreneurs can use the business innovation directions to start the development of new business models. We contribute to the business model innovation research field, presenting a dimensional framework to select business innovation directions.

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Reference architectures and Scrum: friends or foes?

Proceedings of the 2017 11th Joint Meeting on Foundations of Software Engineering, 2017

Software reference architectures provide templates and guidelines for designing systems in a part... more Software reference architectures provide templates and guidelines for designing systems in a particular domain. Companies use them to achieve interoperability of (parts of) their software, standardization, and faster development. In contrast to system-specific software architectures that "emerge" during development, reference architectures dictate significant parts of the software design early on. Agile software development frameworks (such as Scrum) acknowledge changing software requirements and the need to adapt the software design accordingly. In this paper, we present lessons learned about how reference architectures interact with Scrum (the most frequently used agile process framework). These lessons are based on observing software development projects in five companies. We found that reference architectures can support good practice in Scrum: They provide enough design upfront without too much effort, reduce documentation activities, facilitate knowledge sharing, and...

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Quality of software reference architectures

The growing complexity of information systems increases the importance of paying significantly at... more The growing complexity of information systems increases the importance of paying significantly attention to their architectures. This paper distinguishes between concrete software architectures and software reference architectures. A reference architecture is defined as a generic architecture for a class of software systems that is used as a foundation for the design of concrete architectures. With respect to concrete software architectures several evaluation methods exist, for example the Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM). These methods evaluate in particular system quality attributes. Architectural qualities, i.e. reflecting the quality of the architecture itself, are hardly addressed. This paper investigates the architectural qualities of reference architectures. We present a set of extensions for an architecture evaluation method in order to evaluate the quality of a reference architecture. The set of extensions is validated in a case study.