Adapting the Interrelation Model for Higher Education Organizations

Abstract

This research is devoted to the adaptation of the interrelation model of the Business Technology Standard for higher education organizations. The owning organization of the standard, The Business Technology Forum, in order to ensure the universality of the developed standard in a wide range, wants to adapt the model to the university environment. Due to the lack of adaptation of the BT Standard to the university environment, organizations cannot fully realize its benefits. As a result, organizations can try to adapt it individually, which can be difficult in the absence of relevant experience or sufficient resources and may lead to incorrect utilization of the standard.

The study design is divided into five distinct phases with defined outcomes and data collection rounds. The individual stages provide a structured way to conduct research and the ability to plan and determine the necessary time frame. Data was collected from many sources and organizations using practices such as interviews, workshops, documentation reviews, a questionnaire, and participant observations. During this study, a literature review was conducted prior to examining the current situation and practices in organizations due to the need to get familiar with current global practices and also to formulate a data collection process for subsequent model adaptation.

During this work, the interrelation model of the BT standard for higher education organizations was adapted and the heterogeneity and versatility of environments depending on specific cases were revealed. The work emphasizes the need for model flexibility, a more detailed description of its elements, as well as the need for a reference framework. Based on the results of the work performed, the following steps suggest using this model in a specific context for further testing and further possible refinement.

Using the outcome of this study, organizations can utilize a universal and flexible model to support developing and improvement of products and services with a focus on student needs. This model may help to identify those value streams that are most relevant to stakeholders in the current environment, thus most effectively proposing solutions to the problems customers are trying to solve. This model can and should be modified continuously in general or for specific cases of environmental changes. With the help of this adapted model, the BT forum expands the scope of its standard and thereby makes it even more universal.