How Lean Six Sigma and Agile principles optimize ITIL-based processes

Imagine the potential implications of an organization whose business and IT processes are well aligned and are capable of reactively and proactively responding to the external and internal changes. The Philips IT Infrastructure and Operations department (I&O) is undergoing a series of transformation activities to help Philips business keeping up with the changes. I&O would serve a critical function in any business sectors; given that the I&O’s strategy switched from “design, build and run” to “specify, acquire and performance manage”, that function is amplified. In 2013, I&O’s biggest transforming programme I&O Futures engaged multiple interdisciplinary departments and programs on decommissioning legacy processes and restructuring new processes with respect to the Information Technology Internet Library (ITIL), helping I&O to achieve a common infrastructure and operating platform (CI&OP). The author joined I&O Futures in the early 2014 and contributed to the CI&OP release 1, during which a designed model Bing Box and its evaluations were conducted through the lens of six sigma’s structured define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) improvement approach. This Bing Box model was intended to firstly combine business and IT principles, namely Lean IT, Agile, ITIL best practices, and Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) into a framework. Secondly, the author implemented the modularized optimization cycles according to the defined framework into Philips’ ITIL-based processes and, subsequently, to enhance business process performance as well as to increase efficiency of the optimization cycles. The unique of this thesis is that the Bing Box model not only provided comprehensive optimization approaches and principles for business process performance, but also integrated and standardized optimization modules for the optimization process itself. The research followed a design research guideline that seek to extend the boundaries of human and organizational capabilities by creating new and innovative artifacts. The Chapter 2 firstly reviewed the current research on Lean Six Sigma, Agile, AOP and ITIL, aiming at identifying the broad conceptual bases for this study. In Chapter 3, we included the process of constructing the Bing Box model. The Chapter 4 described the adoption of Bing Box model: two-implementation case validated by stakeholders through observations and interviews. Chapter 5 contained the concluding remarks, the limitation of this research work and the future research areas. Chapter 6 provided the references used in this thesis.Master's thesissiirretty Doriast

Vortex Dynamics in Amorphous MoSi Superconducting Thin Films

Vortex dynamics in superconductors have received a great deal of attention from both fundamental and applied researchers over the past few decades. Because of its critical role in the energy relaxation process of type II superconductors, vortex dynamics have been deemed a key factor for the emerging superconducting devices, but the effect of irradiation on vortex dynamics remains unclear. With the support of electrical transport measurements under external magnetic fields and irradiation, photon effect on vortex dynamics in amorphous MoSi (a MoSi) superconducting thin films are investigated in this work. The magnetic field dependent critical vortex velocity v* derived from the Larkin Ovchinnikov model is not significantly affected by irradiation. However, vortex depinning is found to be enhanced by photon-induced reduction in potential barrier, which mitigates the adverse effect of film inhomogeneity on superconductivity in the a MoSi thin films. The thorough understanding of the vortex dynamics in a MoSi thin films under the effect of external stimuli is of paramount importance for both further fundamental research in this area and optimization of future superconducting devices

Nucleons pair shell model in M-scheme

The nucleon pair shell model (NPSM) is casted into the so-called M-scheme for the cases with isospin symmetry and without isospin symmetry. The odd system and even system are treated on the same foot. The uncoupled commutators for nucleon-pairs, which are suitable for M-scheme, are given. Explicit formula of matrix elements in M-scheme for overlap, one-body operators, two-body operators are obtained. It is found that the $cpu$ time used in calculating the matrix elements in M-scheme is much shorter than that in the J-scheme of NPSM.Comment: 38 pages, 2 figure

Broadband CPW-based impedance-transformed Josephson parametric amplifier

Quantum-limited Josephson parametric amplifiers play a pivotal role in advancing the field of circuit quantum electrodynamics by enabling the fast and high-fidelity measurement of weak microwave signals. Therefore, it is necessary to develop robust parametric amplifiers with low noise, broad bandwidth, and reduced design complexity for microwave detection. However, current broadband parametric amplifiers either have degraded noise performance or rely on complex designs. Here, we present a device based on the broadband impedance-transformed Josephson parametric amplifier (IMPA) that integrates a horn-like coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line, which significantly decreases the design and fabrication complexity, while keeping comparable performance. The device shows an instantaneous bandwidth of 700(200) MHz for 15(20) dB gain with an average saturation power of -110 dBm and near quantum-limited added noise. The operating frequency can be tuned over 1.4 GHz using an external flux bias. We further demonstrate the negligible back-action from our device on a transmon qubit. The amplification performance and simplicity of our device promise its wide adaptation in quantum metrology, quantum communication, and quantum information processing.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure

A Novel Extracellular Hsp90 Mediated Co-Receptor Function for LRP1 Regulates EphA2 Dependent Glioblastoma Cell Invasion

Extracellular Hsp90 protein (eHsp90) potentiates cancer cell motility and invasion through a poorly understood mechanism involving ligand mediated function with its cognate receptor LRP1. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents one of the most aggressive and lethal brain cancers. The receptor tyrosine kinase EphA2 is overexpressed in the majority of GBM specimens and is a critical mediator of GBM invasiveness through its AKT dependent activation of EphA2 at S897 (P-EphA2(S897)). We explored whether eHsp90 may confer invasive properties to GBM via regulation of EphA2 mediated signaling.We find that eHsp90 signaling is essential for sustaining AKT activation, P-EphA2(S897), lamellipodia formation, and concomitant GBM cell motility and invasion. Furthermore, eHsp90 promotes the recruitment of LRP1 to EphA2 in an AKT dependent manner. A finding supported by biochemical methodology and the dual expression of LRP1 and P-EphA2(S897) in primary and recurrent GBM tumor specimens. Moreover, hypoxia mediated facilitation of GBM motility and invasion is dependent upon eHsp90-LRP1 signaling. Hypoxia dramatically elevated surface expression of both eHsp90 and LRP1, concomitant with eHsp90 dependent activation of src, AKT, and EphA2.We herein demonstrate a novel crosstalk mechanism involving eHsp90-LRP1 dependent regulation of EphA2 function. We highlight a dual role for eHsp90 in transducing signaling via LRP1, and in facilitating LRP1 co-receptor function for EphA2. Taken together, our results demonstrate activation of the eHsp90-LRP1 signaling axis as an obligate step in the initiation and maintenance of AKT signaling and EphA2 activation, thereby implicating this pathway as an integral component contributing to the aggressive nature of GBM