Business Integration
Remarkable features of a successful business process management are not only a methodically substantiated modeling, optimization and an ensuing controlling of business processes. The heterogeneous application systems, which have been improved in the course of the years, rather have to be successfully joined in order to facilitate an imperceptible interaction of heterogeneous IT applications beyond the boundaries of enterprises. In this connection the challenge not only consists in the definition and implementation of joint technical standards, but also particularly in a semantically, generally intelligible presentation of complex business management interrelations.At IWi questions on this matter are scrutinized in several research projects within different application domains. On this occasion the transfer of the newly gained know how is supported and coordinated by the Competence Center Business Integration (CCBI). The current main thematic emphases are integration scenarios in public administration, in construction industry as well as peer-to-peer integration.

E-Business/M-Business
In the field of ebusiness research the potentials of ebusiness concepts and its applications are elaborated and implemented in the scope of projects particularly in co-operation with medium-sized enterprises. This involves the assistance of the competence center for electronic business KEG Saar, which supports the implementation of new information and communication technologies. A nationally unique demonstration center is connected to this, which presents ebusiness applications in concrete scenarios specifically suited to enterprises. Apart from that, IWi developed a generic reference model of an internet market place, which focuses on the needs of medium-sized enterprises. The Institute’s present activities in the field of mbusiness are concentrated on the research of business models, concepts and applications. The close contact to and exchange of experiences with the UMTS demonstration center "UMTS-DoiT", a joint project of the DFKI and the Deutschen Telekom AG (German telephone company), facilitates an integrated processing of respective issues.

E-Government
For several years new, innovative concepts for public administration are developed in the scope of several projects at IWi, which have been successfully implemented through the co-operation with the administration units involved. The competence in this application domain has been consolidated and institutionalized by setting up the E-Government Competence Center. As a basis for the development of scientifically substantiated methods and models for the modern administration, the necessary research infrastructure is therefore ensured. In accordance with the Institute’s philosophy the focus is on the scrutiny of potentials and necessary basic conditions for the deployment of modern information technologies for the support and optimization of business administration processes. Therefore the aim is to transfer business process management approaches to the areas of public administration as well.

Business Process Management
The research field business process management belongs to the central competences of the Institute for Information Systems. The ARIS-House of Business Engineering (ARIS-HoBE) was designed for the integrated, vertical market independent business process management. ARIS-HoBE forms a framework from management to business processes, i.e. from its organizational engineering to IT technical implementation and continuously adaptive improvement. With the Architecture of Integrated Information Systems (ARIS) a framework for the complete description of business processes depending on its proximity to information technology is additionally provided. This framework includes methods for function, organization, data, output and process modeling. Models created with ARIS can be used for the development of information systems as well as for the improvement of enterprise procedures. The event-driven process chain (EPK) is one of the most important process description languages developed at the Institute for Information Systems.

Lifelong Learning/Knowledge Management
The application area “Lifelong-Learning” involves concepts, methods and technologies, which take the increasing demand for information and knowledge during all phases of the learning lifecycle into account – starting from the education of basics over further education to the continuous topicality saving of the state-of-the-art-knowledge in the everyday work field. The center of the examination is the structure, the preservation and the broadening of the knowledge and the skills of the knowledge demanders. In this context knowledge management and elearning have become central terms to purposefully deal with the dynamic environment in the scope of a life-long learning phase. At the Institute for Information Systems new concepts and methods have been developed and successfully implemented in the fields of elearning and knowledge management in the course of the years. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. August-Wilhelm Scheer pioneered in this field and worked pointing the way with the project Winfoline.

Logistik/SCM
Supply Chain Management (SCM) describes the process oriented management of the entire logistics network. Thus this research field comprises planning and controlling material, information and finance flows by using information technologies. For this, customer needs have to be synchronized with the resources of the enterprises or business units involved. At the Institute for Information Systems new concepts and methods are developed in the field of logistics/SCM and the results of the research are implemented in a parallel prototypical way.

Product und Service Engineering
Service Engineering is aimed at the development of methodical equipment for the systematic planning and realization of service products and processes. The research activities at the Institute for Information Systems include the development of methods for the modeling of service products and processes, the information technological support of development processes, as well as the control based on value criteria and the control of the service structure. The subject Product Engineering, however, deals with the development and systematic planning of material products from the first idea up to the development of the product into a marketable commodity. The aim is to scrutinize the subjects described within the field of product and service engineering in an integrated manner.