About me
My Research
Publications and Invited Talks
About me
I am a Research Fellow in Australian School of Business at the University of New South Wales, and part of the Asia Pacific Ubiquitous Health Care Centre. I hold a PhD in Computer Science and an International MBA, with a specialization in Japan. I speak fluent Japanese, and spent about seven years altogether living in Japan, first as a student, and then running my own business in Tokyo. Later I worked in international business development roles for foreign multinational IT companies. My research interest is in business strategy driven analysis and modeling methods to help ensure that complex enterprise IT aligns with, supports and enables competitive business strategy (or in the case of government organizations, public policy strategy). My motivation for this research comes from my industry experience, in which I witnessed the disconnect between what business executives expect IT to achieve for them, and what IT understands and ultimately delivers, or what is more often the case, fails to understand and deliver. The financial losses are often huge.
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Talk to me by emailing TalkBackToSteve@mac.com! |
My Research
To address the business-IT strategic alignment problem, I developed an innovative modeling methodology that translates complex organizational strategy into enterprise IT needs. My work has generated interest and received recognition both in Japan and Australia. I have spent a number of years collaborating with both NTT Data and NRI in Tokyo, and I have given invited talks at industry events sponsored by the Information Technology Promotion Agency (under METI) and the Information Processing Society of Japan. In Australia, I was awarded the 2005 ANCCAC Medal by the Australian Computer Society, given out once every two years for a research publication with the most potential industry impact. I have applied my methods in consulting engagements with both Federal and State government agencies in Australia. |
Publications and Invited Talks
Peer-reviewed journals J. Verner, J. Sampson, N. Cerpa and S. Bleistein, ”What factors lead to software project failure and whose fault was it?” Les systèmes décisionnels: expériences et perspectives, to appear 2009. A. Babar, K. Cox, V. Tosic, S. J. Bleistein and J. Verner, “Integrating B-SCP and MAP to manage the evolution of strategic IT requirements,” Information and Software Technology,vol. 50 (7-8): pp. 815-831, 2008. S. Yamamoto, H. Kaiya, K. Cox, and S. J. Bleistein, "Goal oriented requirements engineering: trends and issues," IEICE Transactions on Information and Systems, vol. E89-D, 2006. S. J. Bleistein, K. Cox, J. Verner, and K. T. Phalp, "B-SCP: A requirements analysis framework for validating strategic alignment of organizational IT based on strategy, context, and process," Information and Software Technology, vol. 46, pp. 846-868, 2006. ScienceDirect TOP 25 Hottest Articles Rankings: #2 in Q3'06, #10 in Q4'06 S. J. Bleistein, K. Cox, and J. Verner, "Validating strategic alignment of organizational IT requirements using goal modeling and problem diagrams," Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 79, pp. 362-378, 2006. ScienceDirect TOP 25 Hottest Articles Rankings: #5 in Q2'06, #20 inQ3'06, #8 in Q4'06 J. Verner, K. Cox, S. J. Bleistein, and N. Cerpa, "Requirements engineering and software project success: an industrial survey in Australia and the US," Australian Journal of Information Systems, vol. 13, pp. 225-238, 2005. K. Cox, K. Phalp, S. J. Bleistein, and J. Verner, "Deriving Requirements from Process Models via the Problem Frames Approach," Information and Software Technology, vol. 47, pp. 319-337, 2005. S. J. Bleistein, A. Aurum, K. Cox, and P. Ray, "Strategy-Oriented Alignment in Requirements Engineering: Linking Business Strategy to Requirements of e-Business Systems using the SOARE Approach," Journal of Research and Practice in Information Technology, vol. 36, pp. 259-276, 2004. Australian National Committee on Computation and Automatic Control (ANCCAC) Prize 2005 Peer-reviewed conferences/workshops Yamamoto S., Ibe Komon, Verner June, Cox Karl, and Bleistein Steven, [2009] “Actor Relationship Analysis for i? Framework” Proceedings of 11th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS) eds. Joaquim Filipe and José Cordeiro, Milan, Italy, May, LNBIP Vol 54, pp.491-500. ISSN 1865-1348. C. Veres, J. Sampson, S. J. Bleistein, K. Cox, J. Verner, “Using Semantic Technologies to Enhance a Requirements Engineering Approach for Alignment of IT with Business Strategy,” accepted for second International Workshop on Ontology Alignment and Visualization - OnAV'09 March 16 - 19, 2009, Fukuoka, Japan, Fukuoka Institute of Technology In conjunction with the International Conference on Complex Intelligent and Software Intensive Systems. A. Babar, D. Zowghi, K. Cox, V. Tosic, S. Bleistein, J. Verner, “Problem frames and business strategy modelling,” presented at the 3rd International Workshop on Applications and Advances of Problem Frames, Leipzig, Germany, 2008. A. Babar, K. Cox, S. J. Bleistein, and J. Verner, "Towards Evolution of Strategic IT Requirements," presented at 22nd ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, track on Organisational Engineering – ACM SAC-OE 2007, Seoul, South Korea, 2007. A. Babar, K. Cox, S. J. Bleistein, and J. Verner, "Indentifying Domain Context for the Intentional Modelling Technique MAP," presented at 1st International Workshop on Enterprise Information Systems Engineering - WEISE 2007, Regensburg, Germany, 2007. J. Verner, K. Cox, and S. J. Bleistein, "Predicing good requirements for in-house software development projects," presented at International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering (ISESE 2006), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2006. K. Cox, S. J. Bleistein, P. Reynolds, and A. Thorogood, "A contingency view of organizational infrastructure requirements engineering," presented at 21st ACM Symposium on Applied Computer Track on Organizational Engineering (ACM SAC OE 2006), Dijon, France, 2006. J. Verner, K. Cox, S. J. Bleistein, and P. L. Bannerman, "Predicting good requirements? A pilot study," presented at the Workshop on Requirements Engineering for Business Need and IT Alignment 2005 (REBNITA'05) held at the 13th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference 2005 (RE'05), Paris, France, 2005. J. Verner, S. Bleistein, N. Cerpa, and K. Cox, "Requirements practices: a comparative industrial survey - Fourteenth International Conference on Information Systems Development (ISD 2005)," in Advances in information systems development: bridging the gap between academia and industry, vol. 2, A. Nilsson, R. Gustas, W. Wojtkowski, W. G. Wojtkowski, S. Wrycza, and J. Zupancic, Eds. Karlstad, Sweden: Springer Verlag, 2005, pp. 719-730. J. M. Verner, K. Cox, S. Bleistein, and N. Cerpa, "What requirements engineering practices predict software project success?" presented at 3rd REK-SWDC International Conference on Software Development, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2005. J. Verner, K. Cox, and S. J. Bleistein, "Requirements Engineering and Software Project Success: an Industrial Survey in Australia and the U.S: An Industrial Survey," presented at 9th Australian Workshop on Requirements Engineering (AWRE'04), Adelaide, Australia, 2004. K. Cox, K. T. Phalp, A. Aurum, S. J. Bleistein, and J. Verner, "Connecting Role Activity Diagrams to the Problem Frames Approach," presented at 9th Australian Workshop on Requirements Engineering (AWRE'04), Adelaide, Australia, 2004. Book Chapter S. J. Bleistein, K. Cox, and J. Verner, "Business strategy driven requirements analysis: business strategy, context and process (B-SCP) technique (published in Japanese)," in Goal Oriented System Requirements Management Techniques, S. Yamamoto, Ed. Tokyo, Japan: Software Research Center Co. Ltd., 2007, pp. 253-266. Book foreword S. Bleistein, K. Cox, J. Verner, IT Strategy Design (Japanese title: IT Senryaku Dezain), by NTT Data Research and Development Division, Rikku Telecom, 2006. Edited proceeding K. Cox, E. Dubois, Y. Pigneur, S. Bleistein, J. Verner, A. Davis, R. Wieringa, Eds, (2005), Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Requirements Engineering for Business Need and IT Alignment, UNSW Press, Sydney, (available online), ISBN: 0-7334-2276-4. Guest editorial K. A. Cox, S. J. Bleistein, J. M. Verner, and A. M. Davis, "REBNITA'05--1st International Workshop on Requirements Engineering for Business Need and IT Alignment," Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 80, pp. 283, 2007. Invited Talks Requirements Engineering Symposium sponsored by the Software Engineering Center (Information Technology Promotion Agency) and NTT Data, “Business Strategy Driven Requirements Management and Enterprise Architecture (presented in Japanese),” Tokyo, January 19, 2007. Information Processing Society of Japan, "Requirements Engineering for Organisational IT: Business Scope and Strategic Systems," Karl Cox and Steven J. Bleistein, Tokyo, March 28, 2006. Nomura Reseach Institute, "Achieving business strategy with requirements engineering: the business strategy, context, and process (B-SCP) method," Tokyo, November 4, 2005. NTT Data, "Achieving business strategy with requirements engineering: the business strategy, context, and process (B-SCP) method,"Tokyo, October 31, 2005. |
Research collaboration
NTT Data
Australian Graduate School of Management
Bournemouth University (UK)
Nanzan University (Japan)
The Open University (UK)
Université de Paris 1 - Sorbonne (France)
Centre de Recherch en Informatique
Universidad de Talca (Chile)
Nomura Research Institute (Japan)
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
News
June 12, 2007 |
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| Jan. 12, 2007 | Kicking off the year with a talk on "Business Strategy Driven Requirements Engineering and Enterprise Architecture" at The Requirements Engineering Symposium in Tokyo Japan on January 19! I will give the talk in Japanese. The symposium is sponsored by NTT Data and Japan's Software Engineering Center (SEC), part of the Information Technology Promotion Agency (IPA) under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). |
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| Oct. 10, 2006 | IT Book published by NTT Data with foreword written by Steven Bleistein, Karl Cox, and June Verner. IT Strategy Design (below left) describes NTT Data's highly innovative FBCM methodology. The book is currently in distribution nationally in Japan. The picture (below right) shows from left to right me, Mr. Nishijima, and Mr. Kokune, authors from NTT Data's R&D division at the Kinokuniya book store in Toyosu. Mr. Kokune is pointing to the the book on the shelf.
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| Sept. 8, 2006 | I have officially graduated with a PhD! Pictures here. | ||
| June 20, 2006 | I'm famous! Some very nice press coverage by Bruce McCabe, IT business columnist for THe Australian in his article "No Shortcuts to Project Success"on the research June Verner, Karl Cox and I are doing at NICTA. McCabe writes, "Verner, Bleistein and their team at NICTA are focused on turning their work into practical, commercial tools. I don't think commercialisation will be a problem. The business value of their work is self-evident and, more importantly, Japanese, Indian and a few US companies are already lining up and asking this group to bring its expertise to their internal software projects." Click here to view the whole article. |
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| Mar. 28, 2006 | "Requirements Engineering for Organisational IT: Business Scope and Strategic Systems," a one-hour talk made by Karl Cox and Steven J. Bleistein at the Information Processing Society of Japan. Talk was arranged by Professor Mikio Aoyama of Nanzan University. Attended by practioners and business people from the Japanese SI industry, discussions and interchange of ideas were lively. |
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| Feb. 1, 2006 | "B-SCP: a requirements analysis framework for validating strategic alignment of organizational IT based on strategy, context, and process" by Steven J. Bleistein, Karl Cox, June Verner, and Keith Phalp has has been accepted for publication by Information and Software Technology. |
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| Sept. 3, 2005 | The Reqirements Engineering for Business Need and IT Alignment (REBNITA'05) workshop at RE'05 in Paris, France (Aug. 29-30) was a big success. Nineteen papers were presented over two days. Participation was greater than expected, requiring the RE'05 organizers to move the workshop to a larger venue at the Sorbonne. We will very likely be running this workshop again at RE'06. There is apparently a demand in the RE research community for a forum like REBNITA's. |
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| June 24, 2005 | Australian National Committee on Computation and Automatic Control (ANCCAC) Prize 2005 awarded for the best paper "Strategy-Oriented Alignment in Requirements Engineering: Linking Business Strategy to Requirements of e-Business Systems using the SOARE Approach" by Steven J. Bleistein, Aybuke Aurum, Karl Cox, and Pradeep K. Ray. This is an honor that has delighted my co-authors and me. The presentation ceremony will be announced at a later date. |
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| May 20, 2005 | "Requirements Engineering for e-Business Advantage" by Steven J. Bleistein, Karl Cox, June Verner, and Kieth T. Phalp has been accepted for publication by the Requirements Engineering Journal (REJ). |
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| May 4, 2005 | REBNITA'05 Keynote Speaker confirmed - Peter Reynolds, General Manager of Commonwealth Bank Australia, formally their Chief Technology Officer, will talk about his experiences of managing large scale, billion dollar business-IT projects where alignment between CBA's objectives and IT requirements was critical to project success. See workshop details at http://homepage.mac.com/karlalancox/REBN2005.htm |
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| April 26, 2005 | "Validating Strategic Alignment of Organizational IT Requirements Using Goal Modeling and Problem Diagrams" by Steven J. Bleistein, Karl Cox, and June Verner has just been accepted for publication by the prestigious Journal of Systems and Software (JSS). |
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| April 7, 2005 | The Reqirements Engineering for Business Need and IT Alignment (REBNITA'05) workshop at RE'05 in Paris, France (Aug. 29-30), for which I am on the organizing committee, has been accepted. See details at http://homepage.mac.com/karlalancox/REBN2005.htm |
Good places to eat and drink in Sydney
| Bills 2 | 359 Crown Street Surry Hills |
Written up in the New York Times as "the best breakfast in the world"! Well, that might by a bit over the top, but the scrambled eggs with cream, buttermilk pankcakes, superb rasher bacon, English cheddar cheese, along with the other delicacies are delightful. The atmosphere is chic and modern, but the acoustics of the restaurant sometimes make conversation a challenge. Bills 2 is the quintessential Sydney-style café, a place to see and be seen! |
| Sopra Caffè (upstairs at Fratelli Fresh) |
7 Danks Street Waterloo |
Fratelli Fresh is an Italian grocer/wholesaler located in a warehouse in Sydney's Waterloo district. The produce is superb, better than the best supermarkets, at comparable prices. There are lots of imported Italian food products including pastas, candies, biscuits, and others. There is an amazing selection of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fantastic Italian cheeses. Sopra is the caffè located above the grocer, and serves wonderful meals for lunch using the products of Fratelli Fresh. |
| A Little on the Side Café | Cnr Boundary St & Ivy Lane Darlington |
A bit difficult to find and only a stone's throw from the infamous "Block", this delightful café is a hidden oasis, nestled at the end of the charming Ivy Lane. It has been described as "Bills for the rest of us." It is quiet, sunny, and has a wonderful outdoor seating. Both breakfast and lunch are superb. |
| Tabou | 527 Crown Street Surry Hills |
Casual, authentic, French bistro dining. I recommend the cheese soufflé appetizer. I've always been satsified with the meal here. Reservations are recommended: Tel: +61 (0)2 9319 5682. |
| Sushi Suma | Cleveland Street Surry Hills |
This is the most authentic Japanese lunch place I have found in Sydney. They serve a variety of Japanese dishes including sushi, sashimi, tempura, beef terriyaki, chicken terriyaki, and Japanese-style yakiniku. Combination meals offer a huge volume of food for the money. The raw fish is superb, as is the tempura. Miso soup and small fried tofu appetizer come with every meal. Get there early. The place fills up quickly and there is always a line by the middle of lunch time. |
| Redoak Brewery | 201 Clarence Street Sydney |
Located in the Sydney CBD, the Redoak is a microbrewery serving up beer that competes with the best of German and Belgian brews. I have become a fan of their Rauch Bier (Smoked Beer), which is brewed in wooden barrels that have been smoked beforehand. The beer has a lovely, smokey flavor. Other favorites include a Hefeweizen wheat beer, a Vienna Lager, an Oatmeal Stout, a Belgian Chocolate Stout, and an impresseive Dunkeweiss. The food is also superb. There is restaurant dining as well as a number of dishes that can be ordered in the bar. Each meal comes with a beer recommendation to accompany it. I particularly like the venison sausages with Vienna Lager. URL: http://www.redoak.com.au/01_00.html |
| Max Brenner | 447 Oxford Street Paddington |
Bills itself as "the chocolate bar." Amazing chocolate confectionary with lots of different chocolate drinks and other treats. I particularly like the Dark Chocolate Truffle Espresso Frappé. URL: http://www.maxbrenner.com.au/ |
| Don Quixote | 545 Kent Street Sydney |
Located in what is known as the "Spanish Quarter" of the city, Don Quixote is an old Sydney favorite, with a wide selection of tapas and thirst-quenching sangria, all served by gentlemanly Spanish waiters. Don Quixote is best known for its roast suckling pig, which is a delicious, must-try menu item. Following the meal, a fine selection of Spanish brandies are also available. The atmosphere is casual and jovial. However, on weekends there is sometimes an elderly Spanish gentleman who a sings a collection of nostalgic English-language pop songs accompanying himself on a type of electric organ, popular in the 1970s, that plays music automatically. The kitschy performances are at times comical, and are best enjoyed with lots of sangria. |
| Red Lantern | 545 Crown Street Surry Hills |
Another favorite in Surry Hills, you cannot miss this Vietnamese restaurant on Crown Street with its red façade and outdoor tables on two levels of terraces. The cuisine is said to be authentic, family recipes, untampered with, and they are absolutely astounding. The flavors amaze, and sauces are succulent. I strongly recommend the Muc Rang Muoi, salt and chili battered squid as an entrée, as well as a share at the table dish of Buon Thit Nuong, a dish of char grilled pork tenderloin, with lemon-grass, honey, and peanuts, served with vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts, and herbs, including Japanese shiso leaves. Other fantastic dishes include Cari De, tender goat slow-cooked in a turmeric and coconut milk curry, Thit Kho Trung, pork leg and whole eggs caramelized with shallots, crushed pepper and red chili, and Vit Quay Xoa Cai Xanh, roast duck with wok seared mustard greens and plum sauce. These dishes taste as delicious as they sound enticing. We washed all of it down with a bottle of New Zealand Marlborough Seresin Sauvignon Blanc. The Red Lantern does not disappoint. Reservations absolutely essential. Tel: +61 (0)2 9698 4355 |
| Barzura | 62 Carr Street Coogee |
A favorite restaurant café in Coogee, Barzura is located at the south tip of Coogee beach. It has a spectcular view of the ocean, the cliffs north of coogee beach, and Wedding Cake Island, a rock island just off the beach. Outdoor seating with a view of the ocean and the sound of the waves is marvelous. I have on occasion spotted migrating whales in the distance.The breakfasts are good, and so are the dinners. The staff is friendly and attentive. |
| Ichiban Boshi | 360 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction Level 2, The Galeries Victoria, 500 George Street, Sydney Level 2 Strand Arcade 193 Pitt Street, Sydney |
Authentic Japanese ramen shop, with three locations in Sydney and one on the Gold Coast, Ichiban Boshi boasts that they "make everything, including the soups, sauces, gyoza and even our own noodles right there in the shop every day so you can taste the freshness." And it is good. All the old favorites including Tokyo, Miso, Shiyo, Chashu Ramen, among others. There are limited daily offerings of Tonkotsu Ramen, which is described by the master of the shop as "nearly perfect" (he is being humble). In the summertime, Hiyashi Chuka is also on the menu. There are three shops in Sydney, including Bondi Junction, Galleries Victoria just above Kinokuniya, and the Strand Arcade. |
| Saint Germain French Pâtisserie | 88 Rosehill Street, Redfern | A bit culture comes to Redfern! The Saint Germain is an authentic French sandwicherie/pâtisserie in the heart of Redfern. Baking on the premises, the Saint Germain offers an assortment of French pastries, including mille-feuilles, éclairs, lemon tartes, among others. The Saint Germain also does cakes, including for birthdays and weddings. There are also savoury offerings including quiches and a traditional Alsacian specialty, tarte flambée, a baked pizza-like pastry covered with ham or salmon, onions, fresh cream, white cheese, and emmental cheese - a rare treat and hard to find in Sydney. The Saint Germain also offers French style baguette sandwiches filled with meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Barista coffee is naturally available. In the mornings, there are croissants. In store seating is a bit limited, but the food is well worth it. Hours are M-F 6.30-17.30, Sat 7.30-15.30. Tel: 02-9319-7161. |
Travel photos
More France - Versailles, Paris, Nîmes, Aix-en-Provence, Camargue Region, Marseille