Lean and green – a systematic review of the state of the art literature

The move towards greener operations and products has forced companies to seek alternatives to balance efficiency gains and environmental friendliness in their operations and products. The exploration of the sequential or simultaneous deployment of lean and green initiatives is the results of this balancing action. However, the lean-green topic is relatively new, and it lacks of a clear and structured research definition. Thus, this paper’s main contribution is the offering of a systematic review of the existing literature on lean and green, aimed at providing guidance on the topic, uncovering gaps and inconsistencies in the literature, and finding new paths for research. The paper identifies and structures, through a concept map, six main research streams that comprise both conceptual and empirical research conducted within the context of various organisational functions and industrial sectors. Important issues for future research are then suggested in the form of research questions. The paper’s aim is to also contribute by stimulating scholars to further study this area in depth, which will lead to a better understanding of the compatibility and impact on organisational performance of lean and green initiatives. It also holds important implications for industrialists, who can develop a deeper and richer knowledge on lean and green to help them formulate more effective strategies for their deployment

DevOps in Practice -- A preliminary Analysis of two Multinational Companies

DevOps is a cultural movement that aims the collaboration of all the stakeholders involved in the development, deployment and operation of soft-ware to deliver a quality product or service in the shortest possible time. DevOps is relatively recent, and companies have developed their DevOps prac-tices largely from scratch. Our research aims to conduct an analysis on practic-ing DevOps in +20 software-intensive companies to provide patterns of DevOps practices and identify their benefits and barriers. This paper presents the preliminary analysis of an exploratory case study based on the interviews to relevant stakeholders of two (multinational) companies. The results show the benefits (software delivery performance) and barriers that these companies are dealing with, as well as DevOps team topology they approached during their DevOps transformation. This study aims to help practitioners and researchers to better understand DevOps transformations and the contexts where the practices worked. This, hopefully, will contribute to strengthening the evidence regarding DevOps and supporting practitioners in making better informed decisions about the return of investment when adopting DevOps.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, conferenc

Agile, Web Engineering and Capability Maturity ModelI ntegration : A systematic literature review

Context Agile approaches are an alternative for organizations developing software, particularly for those who develop Web applications. Besides, CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) models are well-established approaches focused on assessing the maturity of an organization that develops software. Web Engineering is the field of Software Engineering responsible for analyzing and studying the specific characteristics of the Web. The suitability of an Agile approach to help organizations reach a certain CMMI maturity level in Web environments will be very interesting, as they will be able to keep the ability to quickly react and adapt to changes as long as their development processes get mature. Objective This paper responds to whether it is feasible or not, for an organization developing Web systems, to achieve a certain maturity level of the CMMI-DEV model using Agile methods. Method The proposal is analyzed by means of a systematic literature review of the relevant approaches in the field, defining a characterization schema in order to compare them to introduce the current state-of-the-art. Results The results achieved after the systematic literature review are presented, analyzed and compared against the defined schema, extracting relevant conclusions for the different dimensions of the problem: compatibility, compliance, experience, maturity and Web. Conclusion It is concluded that although the definition of an Agile approach to meet the different CMMI maturity levels goals could be possible for an organization developing Web systems, there is still a lack of detailed studies and analysis on the field

Agile methods in small organization environment

Abstract. Agile methods are a rising star and a proven concept in software development processes. They have revolutionized the ways of project management and are becoming more common than older methods day by day. This thesis studied in which way small organizations are different to large organizations, what kind of social and environmental variables there are in small organizations and how well most used agile methods fit into small organization environment. This thesis was conducted as a literature review. In this thesis, it was concluded that agile methods are suitable for small organizations when compared with differences between small and large organizations environmental and social variables. Major differences between small and large organizations being that small organizations are working in constantly changing and turbulent environment, which requires flexibility and ability to adapt. Also, small organizations are suitable for agile methods due to their social aspects, mostly for their need for effective communication and flexibility. In the future, the subject of this thesis should be headed more towards large organizations, because fitting of agile methods into large organization environment has been studied less, mostly since agile methods are naturally suitable for small organizations. It is also important to head the research towards large organizations, because it has been concluded that it is indeed the large organizations that have had problems with implementation of agile methods

Дослідження системи операційного менеджменту організації, на прикладі Apple Computer, Inc

The object of investigation is the process of managing of operating activities of Apple, Inc. The aim of the work is to formulate theoretical approaches and to develop practical recommendations on directions of improvement of operating management at the organization. Research methods cover methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, detailing, system approach. This master’s research paper analyzes the operational management of Apple, Inc. and provides recommendations for it’s improvement. In particular, the main directions of solving the problems of operational management of the company have been outlined, the proposals on improvement of expansion distribution network and organization of innovative activity of the Apple Inc. have been made.Об'єкт дослідження ‒ процес управління операційною діяльністю компанії Apple, Inc. Мета дослідження - формування теоретичних підходів та розробка практичних рекомендацій щодо напрямів вдосконалення системи операційного менеджменту компанії Apple, Inc. Методи дослідження: методи аналізу, синтезу, порівняння, деталізації, системний підхід. У роботі проведено аналіз операційного менеджменту Apple, Inc., а також викладені рекомендації щодо його вдосконалення. Зокрема, окреслено основні напрями вирішення проблем операційного менеджменту компанії, внесено пропозиції щодо розширення дистриб’юторської мережі, а також вдосконалення організації інноваційної діяльності Apple Inc.Introduction 6 CHAPTER 1 THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT 8 1.1 Meanings and definition of operational management 8 1.2 Principles and methods of operations management 12 1.3 Factors affecting the Operations activity of Apple Inc. company 21 CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 31 2.1 Сompany introduction 31 2.2 SWOT - analysis of Apple Inc. Company 46 2.3 Analysis of operation management at Apple Inc 50 CHAPTER 3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING OF OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT AT THE APPLE INC 63 3.1 The main directions of solving operational management problems of the company 63 3.2 Recommendations concerning improvements of Distribution in the organization 65 3.3 Recommendations concerning improvements of innovative activity at the organization 67 CHAPTER 4 SPECIAL PART 73 4.1 Current trends in the field 73 4.2 Company policy in the market 75 CHAPTER 5 RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS 77 5.1 Statement for recommendations at Company 77 CHAPTER 6 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY AT THE ENTERPRISE 79 6.1 The aim of occupational health 79 6.2 Organization of occupational health and safety at the enterprise 86 CHAPTER 7 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 92 7.1 Environmental issues in the field 92 7.2 Еnvironmental factors 94 Conclusions 96 References 98 Appendices 10

Evaluation of the Agile Manifesto within Business Strategies

Every institution, company or single person needs a guideline aligning specific actions, processes and assets to an overall target. Recent research shows that guidelines of enterprises within the manufacturing branch or more specific within the automotive industry are almost identical. But new and emerging competitors force the traditional industry to adapt its business strategy and especially to increase flexibility. The internal and external changes within the manufacturing environment support this trend. The lead times are constantly shrinking and an increasing variety in customer demands has to be handled via new platforms and models. In conclusion, enterprises within the automotive industry need to increase agility and flexibility in order to stay competitive.Within IT-project management, agility has been a focus since the end of the 1990s. Beneath that the automotive industry has applied several principles on the core value chain, logistics and production. But on the highest strategic level of an enterprise these principles have not been analyzed yet. This research paper is evaluating case studies in order to derive core agile aspects as well as principles. Based on that business strategies within the automotive branch are broken down and compared with these principles.The result is that most of the agile aspects are not yet considered on the highest strategic business levels although they could increase the performance of enterprises within the automotive branch. But they need to be adapted to the specific characteristics

Examining the relationship between agile adoption motivation factors and agile practice clusters used by software startups in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Agile software development methodology (ASDM) has been increasingly adopted in organizations. Despite many benefits offered by ASDM, successful ASDM adoption is a big challenge for organizations. Many studies show that these methods were adopted partly by selecting a set of agile practices. Therefore, it is difficult for new adopters to choose agile practice sets that fit their organization needs as ASDM has a big pool of available practices or clusters. Agile practices should be selected based on motivation factors that include the organization needs in order to maximize the benefit of adopting them. The aim of this study is to identify the relationships between organization’s ASDM adoption motivation factors and the agile practices clusters. This study used a quantitative approach to evaluate the relationships between these variables. The study was conducted using a questionnaire with 76 software practitioners from software startups in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The analysis generated 4 clusters; each is associated with a list of practices. These clusters are labeled as project management, quality assurance, software process, and incremental and iterative clusters. This study finds that three adoption motivation factors (a motivation for increased software quality, increased efficiency, or increased effectiveness) are associated with the quality assurance, software process, and incremental and iterative clusters. By understanding these factors in terms of ASDM adoption and which types of agile practice cluster is more suitable will help to increase the success of the agile adoption process. Furthermore, the study will help to understand how the startups selected the practices used. Also, the study could help new startups to easily choose the proper agile practices based on their motivation and needs. The findings will help the organization to select suitable agile practices cluster by matching the motivation factors that correspondingly affect the ASDM successful adoption

Jatkuvaan ohjelmistokehitykseen siirtyminen vakiintuneessa organisaatiossa

Software development today has rapidly developed into a significant part of business and its value creation chain. Increasingly more stakeholders within an organization are tied in with more frequent software releases. This has driven organizations to adapt to more flexible and continuous software development methods. This Master’s Thesis addresses the challenges, advantages and disadvantages associated in shifting an organization’s software development culture towards that of continuous development. The specific type of continuous development within this research considers the new software development culture of DevOps. DevOps is seen as a fundamental change in the IT world today for the transition towards continuous software development, where dedication is given to the successful collaboration between development and operations. The aim of this research is to discover the vastness of attempting to change an organizational culture for an improved and modern software development process for all stakeholders involved. Furthermore, this research attempts to provide the organization at hand with information on how and where to begin initiating the required changes. New cloud computing technologies have enabled development teams to become less dependent on companies’ traditional IT departments. The research is conducted via literature review and the data collected through interviews with employees of the organization attempting to shift towards continuous development. Further information is gathered through three case studies of other companies that have successfully undergone a transition towards continuous development and DevOps.Tänä päivänä ohjelmistokehityksestä on nopeasti muodostunut merkittävä osa liiketoimintaa ja sen lisäarvon tuottamista. Yhtiöiden sisällä yhä useampi sidosryhmä on osallisena yhä useammin toistuvissa ohjelmistojulkaisuissa. Tästä johtuen yritykset ovat joutuneet sopeutumaan joustaviin ja jatkuviin tapoihin kehittää ohjelmistoa. Tämä diplomityö tutkii yhtiön jatkuvaan ohjelmistokehitykseen siirtymisen haasteita, hyötyjä ja haittoja. Jatkuvan ohjelmistokehityksen tyyppi, jota tässä työssä tutkitaan, on nimeltään DevOps. DevOps:ia pidetään keskeisenä muutoksena nykypäivän IT-alalla jatkuvaan kehitykseen siirtymisessä. Sen pääpiirteeksi koetaan sulava yhteistyö kehityksen ja ylläpidon välillä. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoite on selvittää yrityksen ohjelmistokehityksen muuttamisen laajuuden ottamalla samalla sen kaikki sidosryhmät huomioon. Lisäksi tämä tutkimus pyrkii tuottamaan yritykselle, jolle tutkimus tehdään, lisätietoa siitä miten tarvittavat muutokset voidaan käynnistää ja toteuttaa. Uudet pilvipalvelut ovat lisänneet kehityksen autonomisia työskentelytapoja ja vähentäneet heidän riippuvuuksia perinteisen IT-osaston toiminnollisuuksista. Tutkimus toteutetaan kirjallisuuskatsauksen sekä yrityksen eri sidosryhmien haastattelujen kautta. Lisätietoa kerätään esimerkkien avulla, joissa tutkitaan kolmen eri yrityksen menestyksekkäitä siirtymisiä jatkuvan ohjelmistokehityksen pariin