Towards Integrated Variant Management in Global Software Engineering: An Experience Report

In the automotive domain, customer demands and market constraints are progressively realized by electric/ electronic components and corresponding software. Variant traceability in SPL is crucial in the context of different tasks, like change impact analysis, especially in complex global software projects. In addition, traceability concepts must be extended by partly automated variant configuration mechanisms to handle restrictions and dependencies between variants. Such variant configuration mechanism helps to reduce complexity when configuring a valid variant and to establish an explicit documentation of dependencies between components. However, integrated variant management has not been sufficiently addressed so far. Especially, the increasing number of software variants requires an examination of traceable and configurable software variants over the software lifecycle. This paper emphasizes variant traceability achievements in a large global software engineering project, elaborates existing challenges, and evaluates an industrial usage of an integrated variant management based on experiences

Transport 2040: Truck platooning: The Australian case - Technology and transformation

This study details a transport mode, a specific technology option in a specific country. In particular, this study covers truck platooning in road transport, with the focus on Australia. The Transport 2040: Automation, Technology, Employment – The Future of Work Report identified a series of key trends in the context of future transport technologies vis-à-vis transport workers’ employment situation and the wider ramifications on the market. Some of these trends are mode-specific, technology-specific, or specific to a certain geographic location and thus they do not develop in the same manner in all local contexts.https://commons.wmu.se/lib_reports/1074/thumbnail.jp

The Business of Innovating: Bringing Low-Carbon Solutions to Market

Discusses the advantages of bringing low-carbon innovations to market and at scale; challenges; and best practices, such as integrating existing and possible future policies into strategy and pursuing strategic partnerships, investments, and acquisitions

Sustainability Assessment of Innovative Energy Technologies – Hydrogen from Wind Power as a Fuel for Mobility Applications

An approach for life-cycle-based sustainability assessment for innovative energy technologies was developed that includes Life Cycle Assessment, economic assessment and selected social indicators, i.e. acceptance, patents and added value. As a case study for this approach, hydrogen supply by wind powered electrolysis was assessed and different distribution options to its final use in fuel cell vehicles were compared. First results of the Life Cycle Assessment show that lowest environmental impacts are caused by transporting hydrogen in pipelines, which is also the most cost-effective option. The preliminary survey about hydrogen refuelling stations showed that the fear of explosions is most relevant to people. Regarding added value, it could be revealed that a slight shift from domestic to more globalised expenditures is to be expected in the future. It can be concluded that hydrogen supply by pipelines is the most sustainable option. However, for the implementation of this technology, social issues such as acceptance of hydrogen filling stations and decrease of local employment have to be addressed

Mobility on Demand in the United States

The growth of shared mobility services and enabling technologies, such as smartphone apps, is contributing to the commodification and aggregation of transportation services. This chapter reviews terms and definitions related to Mobility on Demand (MOD) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), the mobility marketplace, stakeholders, and enablers. This chapter also reviews the U.S. Department of Transportation’s MOD Sandbox Program, including common opportunities and challenges, partnerships, and case studies for employing on-demand mobility pilots and programs. The chapter concludes with a discussion of vehicle automation and on-demand mobility including pilot projects and the potential transformative impacts of shared automated vehicles on parking, land use, and the built environment

The evolution of business analytics : based on case study research

While business analytics is becoming more significant and widely used by companies from increasing industries, for many the concept remains a complex illusion. The field of business analytics is considerably generic and fragmented, leaving managers confused and ultimately inhibited to make valuable decisions. This paper presents an evolutionary depiction of business analytics, using real-world case studies to illustrate a distinct overview that describes where the phenomenon was derived from, where it currently stands, and where it is heading towards. This paper provides eight case studies, representing three different eras: yesterday (1950s to 1990s), today (2000s to 2020s), and tomorrow (2030s to 2050s). Through cross-case analysis we have identified concluding patterns that lay as foundation for the discussion on future development within business analytics. We argue based on our findings that automatization of business processes will most likely continue to increase. AI is expanding in numerous areas, each specializing in a complex task, previously reserved by professionals. However, patterns show that new occupations linked to artificial intelligence will most probably be created. For the training of intelligent systems, data will most likely be requested more than ever. The increasing data will likely cause complications in current data infrastructures, causing the need for stronger networks and systems. The systems will need to process, store, and manage the great amount of various data types in real-time, while maintaining high security. Furthermore, data privacy concerns have become more significant in recent years, although, the case study research indicates that it has not limited corporations access to data. On the contrary, corporations, people, and devices will most likely become even more connected than ever before.nhhma

E-mobility charging sites. Assessment of power system impacts, consumption patterns and feasibility aspects to explore a new business opportunity.

Electrification of energy demand is seen as one of the key elements of energy transition toward decarbonisation. E-mobility is one main side of the electrification process, and it is considered as a crucial way to reduce the emissions of the transport sector. A core element for a widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is the deployment of the charging infrastructure, and installing a microgrid can the best way to integrate a charging site in the main power grid. The research project has being developed in collaboration with Volvo Penta to support the exploration of this new business opportunity. For the possible stakeholders the knowledge gap concerns the economic feasibility of charging sites/microgrids, and also which data and information are needed to properly assess it. The present research project has then the objective to gather and analyse information and data to deliver a semi quantitative assessment of different alternative charging site/microgrid configurations, to evaluate which could be the most economically viable and under which conditions. Three research questions (RQ) focused the work toward the aim of the study: 1) which are the main impacts and implications for the power system? 2) Which can be some potential consumption patterns? 3) Which are the main technical, economic, regulatory feasibility aspects? A mixed research method was adopted: qualitative, with a thorough literature review and a number of interviews, for all the three RQs; and quantitative, performing a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) comparative analysis for different cases, for the third RQ. The work finds that e-mobility can entail a number of issues for the power system, but they will become relevant only when a higher degree of penetration will be reached, when it will also become important to provide some solutions to cope with them. A common assumption, also adopted in the present research, for the assessment of potential charging profiles is that, at least at the beginning, the use patterns of EVs will be in line with use of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). The work also concludes that although today the main feasibility problems for charging sties/microgrid are still related to the costs of the involved technologies, in the mid-long term the need to update the regulation and the adoption of new business models could be the main hurdles. The LCOE calculations show how the results vary substantially according to the configuration, but in general the economics are not yet favourable for microgrids in the considered cases. In the best case the LCOE for the microgrid configurations is 1.2 times higher than the one for the grid dependent solutions, while in the worse cases they are more than 10 times higher. The detailed comparative analysis illustrates the cost compositions in the different cases. Further research should be conducted in particular regarding the feasibility aspects. Different elements can radically change these results, such as possible needed grid upgrades or the evolution electricity tariffs. Possible investors and researches should bear in mind those aspects related to the charging sites when delving into e-mobility. In the future specific business cases will need to be assessed by Volvo Penta in order to get more exact results and insights

Automobiles: Toyota Motor Corporation: Gaining and sustaining long-term advantage through information technology

This case for a large automobile producer, together with other cases, support an initial research hypothesis that leading software users in the U.S. and Japan are very sophisticated in the ways they have integrated software into their business strategies. They use IT to institutionalize organizational strengths and capture tacit knowledge on an iterative basis. In Japan this strategy has involved heavy reliance on customized and semi-customized software but is changing towards a more selective use of package software managed via customized systems. This case is illustrated by Toyota's development of its system to automate its traditional "just-in-time" (JIT) ordering from suppliers, its new intelligent transportation system (ITS) and its new smart cars. Conversely, U.S. firms, such as Merck, who have often relied more on packaged software, are now customizing more. This is especially true for the systems needed to integrate software packages into something more closely linked with a firm's business strategies, markets, and organizational structure