Determinants of an Appropriate Degree of Autonomy in a Cyber-physical Production System

AbstractClassical productions systems are migrating step-by-step into cyber-physical production systems. The addition of much more computing power and object-bound data storage will lead to new possibilities for the advancement of autonomy in production systems. Autonomous message exchange and coordination can help to prevent quality problems (for instance wrong pairing of tool and work piece) and improve the disturbance management (for instance by faster information about current and probable disturbances). Due to the fact that nearly all improvements of existing production systems with cyber-physical systems take place in real and active manufacturing sites, on-site experiments for determining an appropriate degree of autonomy for production objects are not feasible. Therefore, a lab approach is necessary. In this contribution a hybrid lab approach to simulate various degrees of autonomy is presented [1]. The paper starts with a definition of autonomy and suggests diverse measurement methods [2]. After a short introduction into the lab concept, the results of some test runs are presented where autonomous objects perform the same production program as “dumb” production objects. Finally, an outlook for further research is given

Enterprise Systems Knowledge: A New Way to Detect Changes in the ERP Market in Central Europe

There are some market share estimations by analysts (Pang 2007) that give us a very raw figure on the developments of the ERP or Enterprise Systems market either globally or in certain countries. The assumptions and fundamental calculations of the market share investigations are seldom visible for the public. For countries with a broad range of enterprise system vendors like Germany where more than 600 enterprise system vendors are registered insufficient there is to do data research in that area although text-based case studies are broadly available like the honorable project \u27Experience base\u27 (Woelfle 2009). However, a detailed and industry-specific analysis of reasons for new enterprise systems answering the following questions is missing: - Movements of market shares from systems with an old technological base to newer ones? - Trends in scrapping of old systems? - Movements to a new system from the same vendor and so on. The main goal of the ongoing project \u27Enterprise Systems Knowledge\u27 is to attack these questions in a new manner

Business Models of ERP System Providers

This contribution will propose an analytically derived reference framework for business models of ERP system providers. First, ERP systems are defined. Further, implications from services marketing are outlined. The business model concept is defined and positioned against strategy and business processes. Furthermore, the business model framework is developed based on previous publications on business models and adapted to ERP system providers. The components of the business model framework are explained. This contribution concludes with a summary and further research questions

ADJUSTMENT STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING UNANTICIPATED CHANGES IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES

Software engineers face multiple challenges of managing unanticipated changes, dependencies, uncertainty, emerging demand patterns. In this contribution we focus on the process of software development and its design to especially cover unforeseen changes. The article presents a structural view on the (distributed) software engineering process introducing three domains that trigger adjustment opportunities of the engineering process. Hereafter the solution approach imposing the process model PEPMAD is outlined

Managing Change: Business/ IT Alignment and Adaptability of Information Systems

The ability to adapt to frequent changes has emerged as a new paradigm for successful business operations. The paper outlines an approach for business/ IT alignment taking organizational transformation into account. A framework for enterprise architecture is introduced which links business - , application -, and infrastructure architecture. Key element of architecture design is to account for interdependencies among the building blocks of architecture. Blueprints give a comprehensive view on the building blocks and how the interact. The criteria and process how to analyse the adaptability of information systems are described. Based on the assessment principal strategies for information system deployment are pointed out. Finally the architecture development process and the main stakeholders and their respective usage of the design techniques are sketched. Keywords: business/ IT alignment, organizational change, adaptability of information systems, enterprise architecture, architecture management, blue prints, architecture development process, stakeholder

Adaptability Concepts for Enterprise Resource Planning Systems - A Component Framework

The research project CHANGE1 aims to bring adaptability into Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software systems. Adaptability is seen as a quality to manage change. This could be a reaction to a need or a proactive push to leverage potential opportunities. In any case the process change should be optimally represented in the ERP application. One of the major problems in developing adaptable software systems is the lack of systematic methods during the process of software development. For that, a pattern-based approach has been developed which covers three identified dimensions of adaptability in ERP systems. In the next step a component framework is proposed for characterising adaptable ERP software systems, regardless of venture type

Enterprise systems ecosystem: A case study based comparison of software companies

Enterprise System (ES) providers may create an ecosystem around their solution permitting other software companies to develop and distribute software that enhances, extends or modifies enterprise systems. This contribution takes a closer look at the business model of companies that are part of an ecosystem through various comparative case studies. Companies have been evaluated according to their business model and success in two steps: a standardized survey and in-depth interviews. Based on the results a model was derived that visualizes the fact that companies success is related to their consulting intensity, volume of sold licenses and degree of standardization of the software they provide. From this fact a classification model has been created and introduced, which can also be applied to evaluating business models and success of companies that are not members of an ES ecosystem