Innovation Management System Assessment and Benchmarking

TIMS (Training in Innovation Management System for Sustainable SMEs) is an EU Erasmus+ project which analyzed the ISO (International Standardisation Organisation) 56000 innovation management system norm parts and configured in 2022 an ISO 56000-based innovation assessment portal. This system allows self-assessment, independent expert assessment, and benchmarking for innovation management. In 2023, a competence matrix and related training materials to support the implementation of ISO 56000 is developed. The ISO 56000-based assessment tool applied ISO 33020 for process capability assessment for ISO 56000 and this allows us to determine the capability of ISO 56000 processes. This paper gives an overview of which processes have been derived from ISO 56000 and how the PAM (Innovation Process Assessment Model) is structured. Since ISO 33020 provides a standard method to determine process attributes and capability level profiles of innovation management system processes, the method also allows a Europe (and worldwide) benchmarking of the capability of innovation management systems. The objective of TIMS is to establish an assessment system and training to roll out ISO 56000 to the European industry. The tools and training materials will be used by universities in lecturing programs and by innovation agents in the industry

Using social media as a tool for business improvement and certification of knowledge workers

Summary Business improvement is a hot topic in all business areas. In the last years, the unstoppable emergence of the use of social media by organizations and individuals alike has opened this tool for knowledge networking purposes. In this paper the authors shed some light on how the traditional knowledge management approach has changed to a networked approach of knowledge sharing. Authors also explain how social media is used as a business tool, in particular in Information Technology industry environments. SIMS (ECQA Certified Social Media Networker) is a new qualification which is available from 2013 and is meant to train and certify experts in the use of social media as a business improvement enabler and as a means for knowledge networking in organizational settings

Cybersecurity threat analysis, risk assessment and design patterns for automotive networked embedded systems: A case study

Cybersecurity has become a crucial challenge in the automotive sector. At the current stage, the framework described by the ISO/SAE 21434 is insufficient to derive concrete methods for the design of secure automotive networked embedded systems on the supplier level. This article describes a case study with actionable steps for designing secure systems and systematically eliciting traceable cybersecurity requirements to address this gap. The case study is aligned with the ISO/SAE 21434 standard and can provide the basis for integrating cybersecurity engineering into company-specific processes and practice specifications.Web of Science27884983

Socially-critical software systems: Is extended regulation required?

Data has become a prevailing aspect of our daily lives, becoming ever more present since the beginning of the 21st century. It is a commodity in today’s world and the amount of data being produced has increased enormously. One of the major ways data is produced and collected is from the use of websites and web-based applications. This data is later used for many different purposes. This paper presents findings from a multivocal literature review, exploring the methods of how this data is collected, what the data is used for once it has been collected, the ethics of data and its collection, and the future of data collection. Among the possible futures, we introduce the concept of socially-critical applications, where data harvesting in web-based applications might require premarket disclosure and evaluation by notified bodies (instructed by regulation) as a means to break the existing cycle of technology companies outpacing under resourced and ill-equipped regulators. Rather than regulators continually falling short of enacting laws to satisfy the common good, a new class of socially-critical application could be created in law to permit pre-market evaluation of applications (or versions of applications) that could undermine or interrupt the common good

An investigation of green software engineering

The urgency of sustainability concerns has intensified in recent years, sounding alarm bells over the planet's condition and prompting nearly every industry and practice to reassess their contributions to the climate crisis. Software engineering is not immune to this scrutiny. Software engineering practices significantly affect the environment and may not align with sustainability goals. Although sustainability is a relatively recent focus in software engineering, it has garnered increased attention, with numerous studies addressing various concerns and practices. Green software engineering aspires to develop dependable, enduring, and sustainable software that fulfills user requirements while minimizing environmental impacts. As this green paradigm gains traction in software engineering, practitioners must incorporate sustainability considerations into future software designs. However, despite the surge in green software engineering research, a universally accepted definition and framework remain elusive. This paper outlines green software engineering by explaining its principles, challenges, and methods for measuring and evaluating software effectiveness in this context

Refactoring software development process terminology through the use of ontology

In work that is ongoing, the authors are examining the extent of software development process terminology drift. Initial findings suggest there is a degree of term confusion, with the mapping of concepts to terms lacking precision in some instances. Ontologies are concerned with identifying the concepts of relevance to a field of endeavour and mapping those concepts to terms such that term confusion is reduced. In this paper, we discuss how ontologies are developed. We also identify various sources of software process terminology. Our work to date indicates that the systematic development of a software development process ontology would be of benefit to the entire software development community. The development of such an ontology would in effect represent a systematic refactoring of the terminology and concepts produced over four decades of software process innovation

Integrated Engineering Skills for Improving the System Competence Level

online in Wiley InterScience, (www.interscience.wiley.com)International audienceIntegrated product development is increasingly a challenge of understanding and predicting the complete product lifecycle, and of treating the product as a whole in all phases of development. This article points out that this trend has significant implications on the competence profiles of engineers, which are nowadays insufficiently taken into account by education and training programs, aswell as skill certification schemes. Building on the highly innovative and successful European-wide professional training and certification scheme of the European Certificates and Qualification Association (ECQA), it suggests a basic skill profile that is characteristic for modern job roles in Integrated Engineering, and justifies the integration into the ECQA platform. It points out that this initiative marks a major step towards the improvement of engineers' system competence levels