Improving project management planning and control in service operations environment.

Projects have evidently become the core activity in most companies and organisations where they are investing significant amount of resources in different types of projects as building new services, process improvement, etc. This research has focused on service sector in attempt to improve project management planning and control activities. The research is concerned with improving the planning and control of software development projects. Existing software development models are analysed and their best practices identified and these have been used to build the proposed model in this research. The research extended the existing planning and control approaches by considering uncertainty in customer requirements, resource flexibility and risks level variability. In considering these issues, the research has adopted lean principles for planning and control software development projects. A novel approach introduced within this research through the integration of simulation modelling techniques with Taguchi analysis to investigate ‗what if‘ project scenarios. Such scenarios reflect the different combinations of the factors affecting project completion time and deliverables. In addition, the research has adopted the concept of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to develop an automated Operations Project Management Deployment (OPMD) model. The model acts as an iterative manner uses ‗what if‘ scenario performance outputs to identify constraints that may affect the completion of a certain task or phase. Any changes made during the project phases will then automatically update the performance metrics for each software development phases. In addition, optimisation routines have been developed that can be used to provide management response and to react to the different levels of uncertainty. Therefore, this research has looked at providing a comprehensive and visual overview of important project tasks i.e. progress, scheduled work, different resources, deliverables and completion that will make it easier for project members to communicate with each other to reach consensus on goals, status and required changes. Risk is important aspect that has been included in the model as well to avoid failure. The research emphasised on customer involvement, top management involvement as well as team members to be among the operational factors that escalate variability levels 3 and effect project completion time and deliverables. Therefore, commitment from everyone can improve chances of success. Although the role of different project management techniques to implement projects successfully has been widely established in areas such as the planning and control of time, cost and quality; still, the distinction between the project and project management is less than precise and a little was done in investigating different levels of uncertainty and risk levels that may occur during different project phase.United Arab Emirates Governmen

ICTE and E-Learning: The Case of Private Higher Education Institutions in Morocco

The objective of this research is to identify the factors that influence students' attitudes towards the use of information technology and communication for education (ICTE) in their online learning activities, by using several models, specifically in private higher education in Morocco. Several models have been used to examine the determinants of students' behavioral intention to use ICT in the learning process. Some of these popular models include the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and its extension, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT). In this research, the methodology used is that of a structural equation model in empirical testing and validation of the different hypotheses of our model based on a sample of 400 private higher education students and with the use of software tools for this purpose. The results showed that the intent of learners to use ICT for distance learning was significantly positively influenced by perceived usefulness, ICT quality, ICT output quality, ease of use, and hedonic motivation. Contrary to our previous expectations, facilitative conditions and social influence had no influence on the intention to use. Theoretically, this research aims to contribute to an improved understanding of the determinants of ICTE adoption by learners, by proposing a model that is part of a socio-technical analysis framework. Thus, the expected impact on management objectives is important. Managers will have a good tool, easy and quick to implement, allowing them to evaluate either one or all of the to evaluate either one or all of the variables in the model. The proposed model aims to identify not only the variables operationalized for ICT in a private higher education institution, but should also provide insight into the pathway that leads to its use by learners. The model can be contextualized within Moroccan public universities, contextualized at the regional level in the kingdom, our model can also be studied in other Arab or African countries or those with similar economies. The major limitations of our research are firstly the use of a conceptual model insufficiently based on causal relationships and secondly the failure to use moderating variables (age, level of education, experience)   JEL Classification: A2 Paper type: Empirical researchThe objective of this research is to identify the factors that influence students' attitudes towards the use of information technology and communication for education (ICTE) in their online learning activities, by using several models, specifically in private higher education in Morocco. Several models have been used to examine the determinants of students' behavioral intention to use ICT in the learning process. Some of these popular models include the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and its extension, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT). In this research, the methodology used is that of a structural equation model in empirical testing and validation of the different hypotheses of our model based on a sample of 400 private higher education students and with the use of software tools for this purpose. The results showed that the intent of learners to use ICT for distance learning was significantly positively influenced by perceived usefulness, ICT quality, ICT output quality, ease of use, and hedonic motivation. Contrary to our previous expectations, facilitative conditions and social influence had no influence on the intention to use. Theoretically, this research aims to contribute to an improved understanding of the determinants of ICTE adoption by learners, by proposing a model that is part of a socio-technical analysis framework. Thus, the expected impact on management objectives is important. Managers will have a good tool, easy and quick to implement, allowing them to evaluate either one or all of the to evaluate either one or all of the variables in the model. The proposed model aims to identify not only the variables operationalized for ICT in a private higher education institution, but should also provide insight into the pathway that leads to its use by learners. The model can be contextualized within Moroccan public universities, contextualized at the regional level in the kingdom, our model can also be studied in other Arab or African countries or those with similar economies. The major limitations of our research are firstly the use of a conceptual model insufficiently based on causal relationships and secondly the failure to use moderating variables (age, level of education, experience)   JEL Classification: A2 Paper type: Empirical researc

Entry Strategy Performance: An Empirical Examination Of The Microcomputer Software Industry

Statement of problem. Not only is it expensive to bring products to market, but the rate of failure for new entries is high. Managers and researchers recognize that many factors affect the performance of a new entry, but most prior research has examined each construct one at a time using different measures for the constructs involved. These activities have contributed to the inconsistent findings.;Procedure or methods. A model of entry strategy performance is developed from prior research*. An entry strategy affects both the short and long term performance of the product as it establishes the product\u27s initial competitive posture. Entry strategies are comprised of three fundamental components or decision areas: timing of entry (when to enter the market), magnitude of investment (in terms of R&D, promotional activities, distribution, etc.) and area of competitive emphasis. Other factors, outside the immediate control of management, affect a product\u27s success or failure. They affect not only the performance of the new entrant but also the selection of the entry strategy itself. These are included in the general model*. This model is then operationalized and empirically examined to two product markets in the microcomputer software industry: word processing and business graphics. Analysis of the model is done via partial least squares analysis.;Results. All of the paths in the operationalized model were significant in one or both of the product markets. The most important predictors/explainers of performance were magazine coverage of the products (an industry specific construct added to the general model), competitive positioning dimensions: quality and value, and timing of entry. The weakest effects on performance came from the product market constructs: concentration and number of competitors.;Conclusion. The major contribution of this research is the development and testing of a comprehensive model of entry performance. It can be used as a decision-making aid for managers and as a general guide to researchers into entry strategies. ftn*Please refer to dissertation for diagram

Advanced Techniques for Assets Maintenance Management

16th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing INCOM 2018 Bergamo, Italy, 11–13 June 2018. Edited by Marco Macchi, László Monostori, Roberto PintoThe aim of this paper is to remark the importance of new and advanced techniques supporting decision making in different business processes for maintenance and assets management, as well as the basic need of adopting a certain management framework with a clear processes map and the corresponding IT supporting systems. Framework processes and systems will be the key fundamental enablers for success and for continuous improvement. The suggested framework will help to define and improve business policies and work procedures for the assets operation and maintenance along their life cycle. The following sections present some achievements on this focus, proposing finally possible future lines for a research agenda within this field of assets management

An empirical evaluation of client-vendor relationships in high maturity Indian software outsourcing companies

The study presented in this thesis investigates offshore software outsourcing relationships. Offshore software outsourcing has been increasing continuously for the last decade. More and more software vendor companies from different countries such as India, Russia, Brazil and China are joining the offshore `bandwagon'. Indian software companies especially have managed to secure a leading position as offshore software outsourcing vendors. However, with more client companies outsourcing their software operations offshore, issues associated with the establishment and management of offshore outsourcing relationships have become more important. With the growing volume of offshore outsourcing, the number of failures is also increasing. A review of the literature suggests that success or failure is mainly dependent on the management of relationships between client and vendor. Subsequently, it is imperative to identify critical factors that can help to better manage offshore software outsourcing relationships. Furthermore, it is also important to identify the difficulties faced in managing offshore relationships and also how clients and vendors develop mutual trust. Trust is important to understand in the offshore software outsourcing context as it has been reported as the most significant contributor to the management of any human relationship. Nonetheless, different advantages that motivate clients to outsource are also important in understanding offshore software outsourcing. In this study, motivators, difficulties, critical relationship management factors and trust building factors are studied by means of empirical investigation into eighteen high maturity Indian software companies and six of their clients based in the USA and Europe. Multiple case studies with grounded theory analysis techniques are used to conduct the empirical investigation. Grounded theory, which is a part of qualitative research, helps to develop emergent model from empirical data. Furthermore, multiple case studies are used as objects to collect qualitative data and organise overall investigation. The research methods used were piloted with two Indian software companies before conducting the full empirical investigation. The results of this investigation suggest that client companies are motivated to outsource their software offshore by cost savings, quality, flexibility, core competence, skills availability, higher productivity, faster development, technical expertise and high maturity of vendor. The results also uncovered difficulties faced by clients and vendors in managing relationships. Difficulties include managing cultural differences, expectation mismatch, language differences, loss of control, distance, time zone differences, workforce reshuffling and post-contractual matters. This investigation further identifies critical factors to managing offshore outsourcing relationships such as effective communication, a process driven approach, commitment to the project, transparency in actions, consistency in performance, value addition and allocating resources effectively in the project. Furthermore, results from this study suggest that previous work reference, experience and reputation in the offshore outsourcing business, background of the key vendor employees, investments, prototyping and personal visits from the client are important for achieving trust. This study also identifies that to maintain trust in the relationship both clients and vendors perceive critical factors such as commitment, process driven approach, communication, confidentiality, performance, honesty, transparency, demonstrability, personal relationships and working together in outsourcing project. Based on the results of the empirical results and their discussions, this study presents an emergent model and practical guidelines for managing offshore software outsourcing relationships. The uniqueness of this investigation is in its large scale empirical investigation into high maturity software companies. Furthermore, most previous studies have investigated either clients or vendors, whereas this study investigates vendors and their corresponding clients. An investigation into trust in offshore software outsourcing relationships is also a significant addition to the existing literature relevant to software outsourcing. The empirical investigation gave rise to proposals for discussions and to an emergent empirical model. Thus the current body of knowledge in offshore software outsourcing is enhanced by this work. Moreover, practical guidelines, based on empirical results are proposed for client and vendors to help them manage their offshore software outsourcing relationships

The importance of understanding computer analyses in civil engineering

Sophisticated computer modelling systems are widely used in civil engineering analysis. This paper takes examples from structural engineering, environmental engineering, flood management and geotechnical engineering to illustrate the need for civil engineers to be competent in the use of computer tools. An understanding of a model's scientific basis, appropriateness, numerical limitations, validation, verification and propagation of uncertainty is required before applying its results. A review of education and training is also suggested to ensure engineers are competent at using computer modelling systems, particularly in the context of risk management. 1. Introductio