Benchmarking and readiness assessment for concurrent engineering in construction (BEACON)

In the increasingly competitive business environment reduced project cost, improved time-to-market, better quality products, and customer involvement are becoming the key success factors for any product development process. Many organisations within different industries are now focusing on Concurrent Engineering (CE) to bring improvements to their product development process in order to keep pace with the competitive environment. The adoption of CE has shown positive effects on project quality, cost, lead time, schedule, and customer satisfaction. For a targeted and effective implementation, it is recommended to carry out a readiness assessment of an organisation prior to the adoption of CE. This thesis discusses the adoption of CE within the construction industry, reviews existing CE readinessa ssessmentto ols used in other industry sectors,a nd assessesth eir applicability to construction. It then presentsa new developedC E readinessa ssessmentto ol for construction called the 'BEACON Model', its associated questionnaire, and an associated software. Description and results of CE readiness assessment case studies, which were conducted within five sectors of the construction industry, are then presented. At the end of the thesis, CE implementation strategiesa nd considerationsa re presentedb asedo n the assessmenrte sults, followed by conclusions, recommendations and future work. The most important conclusion, which could be drawn from the research, is that the construction industry as a whole still needs improvements in most of the critical areas identified by the BEACON Model in order to adopt CE effectively

EGI: anOpen e-Infrastructure Ecosystem for the Digital European Research Area

Bringing the digital European Research Area (ERA) online means modernising Europe’s research infrastructure by promoting open science through the availability, accessibility and reuse of scientific data and results, the use of web- based tools that facilitate scientific collaboration and ensuring public access to research. As the European Grid Infrastructure (EGI) is the largest European distributed computing infrastructure providing 24/7 access to large scale computing, storage and data resources through a federation of national resource providers, it allows scientists from all disciplines to make the most out of the latest computing technologies for the benefit of their research. This paper describes the methodology and approach for defining EGI’s role in bringing this digital ERA online. The work presented defines the roles and functions of EGI as an open ICT ecosystem, required service redesign, the added value of EGI for the European research communities and demonstrates the role that EGI plays in contributing to the Europe 2020 strategy for social-economic impact

ICT for eco-sustainability: an assessment of the capability of the Australian ICT sector

Executive summary As eco-sustainability issues become increasingly important to most, if not all, Australian organisations, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry is expected to provide solutions that reduce material consumption (dematerialise), emissions (decarbonise), and energy use and waste production (demobilise) in both the ICT infrastructure and the business processes and practices of industries. The term \u27Green ICT\u27 represents this eco- sustainability enabling role of the ICT industry. The School of Business Information Technology and Logistics, RMIT University in collaboration with the Australian Information Industries Association (AIIA) surveyed all members and affiliates of the AIIA at the beginning of 2010 to understand Australian ICT firms\u27 capability to enhance the eco-sustainability of other industries. Based on data collected from 133 ICT firms, this report constitutes the first comprehensive study that exclusively focuses on the Australian ICT industry

Impact of Covid-19 crisis on the digital strategy optimization of Oceanário de Lisboa : a case study

The year 2020 was marked by the outbreak of the Covid-19 crisis. The following case looks into the cultural institutions' industry, and, more specifically, analyses how a Portuguese leading cultural institution, Oceanário de Lisboa navigated the crisis. It focuses on how Oceanário de Lisboa transformed its digital strategy to overcome the challenge. The analysis is concluded based on several underlying strategic theoretical models supporting the institution’s information. The case study is written in a form of a pedagogical instrument, aiming to provide the understanding and a learning tool of how cultural institutions may adapt their digital strategy to overcome the crisis. Considering the focus of strategic change, the main emphasis of the case study is on digital strategy, dynamic capabilities, and agile governance. The analysis of the actions reveals how Oceanário de Lisboa turned a threat into an opportunity. Facing a drop in visits, hence reduced income, the institution resolved it by following the market trend of digitalization, however with the selective application. The crisis emphasised the need for agility and innovation and the application of these to the new optimised digital strategy.O ano de 2020 ficou marcado pelo surgimento da crise de Covid-19. O caso seguinte olha para a indústria das instituições culturais, e, mais especificamente, analisa como uma instituição cultural portuguesa líder, o Oceanario de Lisboa, lidou com a crise. Foca-se na forma como o mesmo transformou a sua estratégia digital para ultrapassar o desafio. A análise é feita com base em várias teorias estratégicas, como suporte da informação recolhida junto da própria instituição. O caso de estudo é redigido na forma de um instrumento pedagógico, com o objetivo de permitir dar a entender, e servir de ferramenta, como instituições culturais podem adaptar a sua estratégia digital para ultrapassar a crise. Considerando o foco em mudança estratégica, a tese incide principalmente na estratégia digital, capacidades dinâmicas, e gestão ágil. A análise do caso revela como o Oceanario de Lisboa transformou uma ameaça numa oportunidade. Enfrentando um declínio nas visitas, e por conseguinte menos receita, a instituição resolveu a situação seguindo a tendência de mercado da digitalização, ainda que com aplicação seleta. A crise enfatizou a necessidade de agilidade e inovação, e a aplicação destas à nova estratégia digital

A discussion on the Role of People in Global Software Development.

Literature is producing a considerable amount of papers which focus on the risks, challenges and solutions of global software development (GSD). However, the influence of human factors on the success of GSD projects requires further study. The aim of our paper is twofold. First, to identify the challenges related to the human factors in GSD and, second, to propose the solution(s), which could help in solving or reducing the overall impact of these challenges. The main conclusions of this research can be valuable to organizations that are willing to achieve the quality objectives regarding GSD projects

Exploring The Antecedents Of Successful E-business Implementations Through ERP : A Longitudinal Study of SAP-based Organisations 1999-2003

This research was carried out between 1999 and 2003 on the use of e-business applications in ERP-based organisations. A composite research method based on structured case studies was developed for this study. It combined the application of case methods by Carroll et al. (1998], Klein and Myer (1998), and Eisenhardt (1989). This was used to provide a focused, yet flexible structure, as a dynamic approach to case study interpretive research. The research method used three distinct models at three progressive stages of the study, to provide a multi-faceted view of each case. This composite case-based method was developed to maintain the balance between research rigour and relevance. A pilot case study of nine Australian SAP sites helped ground the theory of the study. This was followed by three stages of study of eleven international cases within a diverse industry context. The method revealed the antecedents of e-business success using the findings from case analyses against three separate research models B2B interaction, e-business change, and virtual organising. A final conceptual framework was developed as new theory of e-business transformation. The theory views e-business transformation as realising the benefits from virtual organising within complex B2B interactions by utilising the facilitators of successful e-business change. The research demonstrates that successful e-business transformation with ERP occurs when value propositions are realised through integration and differentiation of technologies used to support new business models to deliver products and services online. The associated management practice evolves through efficiency from self-service, effectiveness through empowerment towards customer care, and value enhancement from extensive relationship building with multiple alliances. The new theory of e-business transformation identifies the stages of e-business growth and development as a comprehensive plan that should assist managers of ERP-based organisations in migrating their company towards a successful e-business organisation. The detailed analysis of the findings offers a foundational per11pectlve of strategies, tactics and performance objectives for e-ERP implementations. The strength of the theory lies in the synthesis of multiple case analyses using three different lenses over three separate time periods. The triangulation of the three research frameworks provides a method for study at appropriate levels of complexity. It is evolutionary in nature and is content driven. Other researchers are urged to apply similar multi-viewed analysis

Communication Efficacy Using Technology within Virtual Teams

Technology has given businesses the flexibility to allow employees to collaborate beyond the limitations of geography. Today’s businesses are taking advantage of collaborative teams that are separated by distance, but work together as if they are in the same room