Modeling and Simulating Causal Dependencies on Process-aware Information Systems from a Cost Perspective

Providing effective IT support for business processes has become crucial for enterprises to stay competitive in their market. Business processes must be defined, implemented, enacted, monitored, and continuously adapted to changing situations. Process life cycle support and continuous process improvement become critical success factors in contemporary and future enterprise computing. In this context, process-aware information systems (PAISs) adopt a key role. Thereby, organization-specific and generic process support systems are distinguished. In the former case, the PAIS is build "from scratch" and incorporates organization-specific information about the structure and processes to be supported. In the latter case, the PAIS does not contain any information about the structure and processes of a particular organization. Instead, an organization needs to configure the PAIS by specifying processes, organizational entities, and business objects. To enable the realization of PAISs, numerous process support paradigms, process modeling standards, and business process management tools have been introduced. The application of these approaches in PAIS engineering projects is not only influenced by technological, but also by organizational and project-specific factors. Between these factors there exist numerous causal dependencies, which, in turn, often lead to complex and unexpected effects in PAIS engineering projects. In particular, the costs of PAIS engineering projects are significantly influenced by these causal dependencies. What is therefore needed is a comprehensive approach enabling PAIS engineers to systematically investigate these causal dependencies as well as their impact on the costs of PAIS engineering projects. Existing economic-driven IT evaluation and software cost estimation approaches, however, are unable to take into account causal dependencies and resulting effects. In response, this thesis introduces the EcoPOST framework. This framework utilizes evaluation models to describe the interplay of technological, organizational, and project-specific evaluation factors, and simulation concepts to unfold the dynamic behavior of PAIS engineering projects. In this context, the EcoPOST framework also supports the reuse of evaluation models based on a library of generic, predefined evaluation patterns and also provides governing guidelines (e.g., model design guidelines) which enhance the transfer of the EcoPOST framework into practice. Tool support is available as well. Finally, we present the results of two online surveys, three case studies, and one controlled software experiment. Based on these empirical and experimental research activities, we are able to validate evaluation concepts underlying the EcoPOST framework and additionally demonstrate its practical applicability

Effective Utilization of Historical Data to Increase Organizational Performance: Focus on Sales/ Tendering and Projects

Master's thesis in Offshore technologyIn Oil and Gas industry there was not enough focus on this topic as cost was not a big factor in good olden days. But the sensational drop in oil prices below US$40 per barrel at the end of 2015 made the price more than 60 percent down compared to the one in previous years. It’s clear that the sector is going through one of the most transformative periods in its history. This situation has created more challenges to all O&G company leaders by forcing them to change their business strategies. The operating companies in the Oil and Gas industry have been focusing to reduce costs and increase organizational performance. Accordingly suppliers companies need to acknowledge their focus on the efficiency and optimization of resources to be able to sustain and grow in a competitive market. It demands better control of estimates and cost on future sales/tendering process. As quoted by one of the Operations Managers “An informed organization saves cost and wins faster”. The only way to get reliable information for any organization is by analyzing ‘what happened in the past’ and what we learned from it. In other words this is achieved through utilization of historical data from previous projects and by developing benchmarking metrics. Further, usage of the historical data can improve estimation and scheduling, support strategic planning, and improve the organizational processes. The historical project data or information can help in making strategic business decisions in any Organization. It can play a significant role in providing very distinct advantage over the competitors. Historical data can help the management to decide what projects are right for the future of the company and which projects can be avoided. Further, it can help to learn from past mistakes and win future bids by not repeating them. Most of the top management understands the importance of having and using historical project information or data. The problem is that very few companies have the methodologies, procedures, and systems in place to effectively use this information to improve their project processes and to support the estimation, scheduling, and control of future projects (opportunities). The present work focuses on historical data, estimation process and lessons learned for enhancing organizational performance. Further, the work includes a case study and number of expert interviews conducted at ABB. The work discusses how to collect, normalize, and analyze historical project data to develop practical information. Three models have been developed for project estimation process with a feedback loop, Lessons learned process model and Historical data utilization process. The recommendations have been made to use the historical data for establishing references for the sales/tendering department for future estimates, which can reduce the dependency on manual or a single person’s judgment and improve the estimation process. Some suggestions have also been made for establishing lessons learned process which can improve organizational performance. The results from analysis show that by applying the recommended processes, organizations can achieve efficiency through easy access and storage of historical database, easy access to lessons learned, measurable KPIs. Also use of key variables like project complexity and severity of requirements for estimation process and historical data process can form a better relation for data analysis and utilization.AB

A case-based reasoning approach to improve risk identification in construction projects

Risk management is an important process to enhance the understanding of the project so as to support decision making. Despite well established existing methods, the application of risk management in practice is frequently poor. The reasons for this are investigated as accuracy, complexity, time and cost involved and lack of knowledge sharing. Appropriate risk identification is fundamental for successful risk management. Well known risk identification methods require expert knowledge, hence risk identification depends on the involvement and the sophistication of experts. Subjective judgment and intuition usually from par1t of experts’ decision, and sharing and transferring this knowledge is restricted by the availability of experts. Further, psychological research has showed that people have limitations in coping with complex reasoning. In order to reduce subjectivity and enhance knowledge sharing, artificial intelligence techniques can be utilised. An intelligent system accumulates retrievable knowledge and reasoning in an impartial way so that a commonly acceptable solution can be achieved. Case-based reasoning enables learning from experience, which matches the manner that human experts catch and process information and knowledge in relation to project risks. A case-based risk identification model is developed to facilitate human experts making final decisions. This approach exploits the advantage of knowledge sharing, increasing confidence and efficiency in investment decisions, and enhancing communication among the project participants

Combining SOA and BPM Technologies for Cross-System Process Automation

This paper summarizes the results of an industry case study that introduced a cross-system business process automation solution based on a combination of SOA and BPM standard technologies (i.e., BPMN, BPEL, WSDL). Besides discussing major weaknesses of the existing, custom-built, solution and comparing them against experiences with the developed prototype, the paper presents a course of action for transforming the current solution into the proposed solution. This includes a general approach, consisting of four distinct steps, as well as specific action items that are to be performed for every step. The discussion also covers language and tool support and challenges arising from the transformation

Best practice project management for the sustainable regeneration of Holy Karbala Province in Iraq

Many Regional Development Projects (Reconstruction Program in the Provinces) in Iraq, especially in Holy Karbala Province, suffer from mismanagement despite being 11 years since the launch of the program, the ready availability of funds from Iraq's oil revenues and the urgent need for infrastructure and essential public services. Reconstruction projects experience a high failure rate due to immature and unprofessional development plans, a lack of properly qualified people and ongoing training, and problematic routine procedures. In recent decades, there has been a boom in management science in developed countries, specifically regarding the application of project management. Sadly, this is not the case in Iraq where project management practices remained unchanged and therefore outdated. A lack of implementation of standard project management methods in the construction industry in Holy Karbala Province has resulted in reconstruction projects that suffer from poor performance, delays, cost overrun, quality failures, disputes and claims. In order to improve this situation, there is the need for in-depth research of the project management environment to establish a foundation for the design of a new framework for the development of best practice in this area. In consequence, this study aimed to examine current organizational structures and processes and to carry out an analysis of the key issues and causal relationships in Regional Development Project Management in Holy Karbala Province. The factors affecting the outcomes of projects were identified and assessed from the point of view of the key stakeholders group: residents, clients, consultants and contractors. This research adopted a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) approach, making use of questionnaires and interviews designed to examine the main aims of this study. The research started with qualitative interviews whereby thirty managers were interviewed to evaluate organisational structure and process, key problems and obstacles that they faced. This was followed by the distribution of quantitative questionnaires to a representative sample of 541 citizens, 126 employees (consultants and clients) and 78 contractors, to identify the main issues affecting project management practice and project outcome in Holy Karbala Province. Finally, focus-group interviews (qualitative approach) were carried out with 50 experts to assess the negative impact of 61 key factors affecting the timing, cost and quality of projects in Karbala. Several types of internal and external secondary data were also collected and included. Statistical analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel and Social Science Software Package (SPSS). Descriptions are used for frequencies, means, relative importance and other statistical calculations, presented in tables and graphs. The results have revealed that political change, unqualified project leaders, financial and administrative corruption, regulatory changes, inappropriate organisational structure, lack of government legislation, lack of motivation and encouragement, and slow decision-making make the greatest negative impact on projects in Karbala. There is no significant difference in any of the participant groups’ perceptions of these factors and their consequent negative impact on the work carried out. Following on from this, a conceptual framework for best practice project management for the sustainable regeneration of Holy Karbala Province in Iraq was proposed. It has adopted several strategies, based on the results from the research, which address the roots of problems identified including a lack of legislation, the limited capabilities of leaders, project teams and contractors, and organizational weaknesses

Capital, labour and economic performance in the engineering construction industry: 1960-1990

This study engages with the debates on industrial relations and economic performance at the micro-level. Primarily; this issue has been addressed through the production function approach which seeks to correlate a variable for unionisation with an economic performance measure. Criticisms are put forward which stress the technical limitations of existing studies, the limitations of statistical studies in examining social processes, and theoretical problems with the production function approach. The literature recognises the need for a detailed, processual case study. The thesis is such a case study, examining the Engineering Construction Industry, i. e. the building of large power stations and process plants, from 1960 to 1990. The principal research methods were archive work and interviewing. The industry was chosen because it constituted a 'crucial' case for the argument that labour militancy underlay the UK's poor economic performance in the 1960s and 1970s. The industry was characterised by widespread militancy and large project overruns, the assumption (tested within the thesis) being that the former caused the latter. The key finding is that the chronic project delays were at root due to the opportunistic practices of contractors who deliberately and covertly delayed construction in order to force the client into offering extra payments. A key profit focus of contractors lay in exploiting opportunities to generate additional payments. The widespread militancy of the 1960s and 1970s exacerbated overruns, but the key significance of militancy was that it was used as a tool by contractors in reproducing beneficial commercial relations with clients. The improvement in performance in the 1980s was at root due to the rise of managing contractors who curbed opportunism. Unconstrained by high levels of labour militancy, managing contractors adopted a low trust route to improve project performance, implying that the basis for longer term development has not been laid. A 'crucial' case study of the British worker argument has rejected the thesis that militancy underlay poor performance. The relationship between opportunism, militancy and poor performance uncovered within the study potentially has relevance for other important sectors of the UK economy

Regulatory Compliance-oriented Impediments and Associated Effort Estimation Metrics in Requirements Engineering for Contractual Systems Engineering Projects

Large-scale contractual systems engineering projects often need to comply with a myriad of government regulations and standards as part of contractual fulfillment. A key activity in the requirements engineering (RE) process for such a project is to elicit appropriate requirements from the regulations and standards that apply to the target system. However, there are impediments in achieving compliance due to such factors as: the voluminous contract and its high-level specifications, large number of regulatory documents, and multiple domains of the system. Little empirical research has been conducted on developing a shared understanding of the compliance-oriented complexities involved in such projects, and identifying and developing RE support (such as processes, tools, metrics, and methods) to improve overall performance for compliance projects. Through three studies on an industrial RE project, we investigated a number of issues in RE concerning compliance, leading to the following novel results:(i) a meta-model that captures artefacts-types and their compliance-oriented inter-relationships that exist in RE for contractual systems engineering projects; (ii) discovery of key impediments to requirements-compliance due to: (a) contractual complexities (e.g., regulatory requirements specified non-contiguously with non-regulatory requirements in the contract at the ratio of 1:19), (b) complexities in regulatory documents (e.g., over 300 regulatory documents being relevant to the subject system), and (c) large and complex system (e.g., 40% of the contractual regulatory requirements are cross-cutting); (iii) a method for deriving base metrics for estimating the effort needed to do compliance work during RE and demonstrate how a set of derived metrics can be used to create an effort estimation model for such work; (iv) a framework for structuring diverse regulatory documents and requirements for global product developments. These results lay a foundation in RE research on compliance issues with anticipation for its impact in real-world projects and in RE research