In the current information society, the digitization of organizational processes is constantly evolving. This process of change fostered by digital technologies, especially those supporting the Industry 4.0 paradigm (e.g. Big data, cognitive computing, machine learning, cloud and fog computing, IoT and cyber-physical systems), involves different actors, whether individuals and organizations.
The objective of this course is to support the student in understanding the organizational dynamics that govern this change, emphasizing not only the benefits but also its main critical issues, with particular attention to the role played by digital platforms in the development and promotion of products and services (e.g. customer data platform - CDP - and systems for marketing automation) and the ever-increasing availability of data, very often produced, consciously or not, by the interactions with these platforms.
In addition to the theoretical aspects, the use of some tools (such as software applications) useful (i) for modeling and analyzing the processes and workflows as main object of change will also be illustrated (to support automation and redesign of processes and in general the Business Process Management - BPM), (ii) to govern and manage projects (e.g. Project Management tools), and (iii) to model data and information useful and relevant for decision making processes (e.g. data warehouse, data mining, business intelligence) that could differ on the basis of the specific actors (eg Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Business Officer, etc.)
At the end of the course the student must possess knowledge and skills to be able to interpret and evaluate the digital innovations and their effects in the organizational and social context, and students will be able to manage the development of a digital transformation project within the organizational system, as well as analyzing, describing and rethinking the business processes influenced by digitization phenomena.
The objective is to train and develop professional figures able to manage and govern the digital transformation processes and the digitization projects within the organizational context.
The general objectives of the course are therefore aimed at making the student acquire the knowledge / skills necessary to:
- apply the principles of systems theory and agency in the analysis of digitalization processes
- analyze, design and redesign the business processes affected by the digital transformation, using specific formalisms (such as the Business Process Model and Notation - BPMN)
- plan and manage projects for the development of organizational change fostered by the digitization process, using the main tools typical of project management field, with particular reference to the development and promotion of products and services
- analyze, design and model decision support tools using specific formalisms (e.g. conceptual modeling of a data warehouse through the Dimensional Fact Model)
To this end, the course proposes to develop the following skills and knowledge focusing on the following particular objectives:
KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND
At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- recognize and apply the principles of systems theory and agency in studying the organizational implications connected to digital transformations
- discuss and understand the structural, causal and evolutionary aspects of the digital transformation process as a phenomenon of socio-technical interaction
- distinguish the different levels of abstraction of an organizational process, the main and secondary actors, the different levels of interaction within the process and between different processes, as well as the resources and information involved in the phenomenon of digital transformation
- distinguish the different phases of the design and evaluate the progress of a project in terms of time and costs.
- identify and model the relevant information for a specific decision-making process, considering the decision-makers, the context and the purposes.
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- use analytical tools to understand and interpret digital transformation;
- propose strategies for fostering digital transformation.
AUTONOMY OF JUDGMENT
At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- critically interpret and analyze the digitization processes (and related documentation) that take place within the organizational system and which also cover specific functions (e.g. sales and promotion of products / services) in different sectors (industry and services)
- read and critically examine the project documentation related to the implementation of digital transformation processes
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The resulting multidisciplinary communication skills are the main result of teaching. The student will indeed be able to
express in an oral form analytical, critical and summary considerations on the main aspects concerning digital transformation processes