Bridging the Gap Between Organisational Needs and ERP Functionality

International audienceWe argue that ERP installations are difficult to align to specific requirements of the enterprise because of the low level at which ERP functionality is described. We raise this level from a functional description to a goal-oriented one. We use SAP R/3 to illustrate this. A SAP goal expresses the task that a SAP function carries out and abstracts away from the performance of this task. Since a SAP goal can be achieved in many ways, we introduce the notion of SAP strategies. We organise goals and strategies as a directed graph called a map. We illustrate the map with the Materials Management Module of SAP. In order to evaluate and compare the use of the map with the functional approach, we develop an evaluation framework. The evaluation and comparison is presented. The materials management map is then used to align the SAP module to the stores and purchase department of an academic institute

Matching ERP System Functionality to Customer Requirements

International audienceAlthough procuring Enterprise Resource Planning systems from commercial suppliers is becoming increasingly popular in our industry, fitting those systems to customer requirements remains problematic. In this paper, we propose an approach for matching ERP system functionality to customer requirements. The assumption made is that the ERP system postulates a set of requirements that are worth eliciting from the ERP documentation as abstractions of the ERP system functionality. Then, the requirements engineering process is a process that matches the ERP set of requirements against organisational ones. Those requirements that match, perhaps after adaptation identify the ERP system features and their adaptations, that must be included in the ERP installation. To facilitate the matching process, the ERP requirements and the organisational ones are both expressed using the same representation system, that of a Map. The paper presents the Map representation system and the matching process. The process is illustrated by considering the Treasury module of SAP and its installation in the financial management of a cultural exchanges unit

From Conceptual Modelling to Requirements Engineering

International audienceConceptual modelling is situated in the broader view of information systems requirements engineering. Requirements Engineering (RE) explores the objectives of different stakeholders and the activities carried out by them to meet these objectives in order to derive purposeful system requirements and therefore lead to better quality systems i.e. systems that meet the requirements of their users. Thus RE product models use concepts for modelling these instead of concepts like data, process, events etc. used in conceptual models. Since the former are more stable than the latter, requirements engineering manages change better. The paper gives the rationale for extending traditional conceptual models and introduces some RE product models. Furthermore, in contrast to conceptual modelling, requirements engineering lays great stress on the engineering process employed. The paper introduces some RE process models and considers their effect on tool support

A Multi-Model View of Process Modelling

International audienceSituatedness of development processes is a key issue in both the software engineering and the method engineering communities, as there is a strong felt need for process prescriptions to be adapted to the situation at hand. The assumption of the process modelling approach presented in this paper is that process prescriptions shall be selected according to the actual situation at hand i.e. dynamically in the course of the process. The paper focuses on a multi-model view of process modelling which supports this dynamicity. The approach builds on the notion of a labelled graph of intentions and strategies called a map as well as its associated guidelines. The map is a navigational structure which supports the dynamic selection of the intention to be achieved next and the appropriate strategy to achieve it whereas guidelines help in the operationalization of the selected intention. The paper presents the map and guidelines and exemplifies the approach with the CREWS-L'Ecritoire method for requirements engineering

Role of Cyclonic Eddy in enhancing Primary and New production in the Bay of Bengal

Highlights: • First direct measurements of new production in an eddy in the Bay of Bengal. • 100% increase in nutrient concentrations is seen due to the eddy. • Eddy enhanced new and primary production in the otherwise less productive Bay of Bengal. Abstract: Eddies can be important in sustaining primary production in the tropical oceans, but their role for nutrient cycling is poorly understood in the under-sampled northern Indian Ocean. To assess the role of cyclonic eddies in enhancing primary production, measurements of primary production were carried out at four stations in the northern Bay of Bengal during the early winter 2007, around a cyclonic eddy close to 17.8 °N, 87.5 °E. Shallowing of the thermocline and halocline by 10 m was observed within the eddy compared to the surroundings; mixed layer depth was also reduced within the eddy. The highest surface productivity (2.71 μM C d− 1) and chlorophyll a (0.18 μg L− 1) were found within the eddy, while the lowest, at its outer edge. Further, the eddy supplied nutrients to the surface layers, shallowing the subsurface chlorophyll maximum as well. Integrated production in the euphotic top layers was more than twice within eddy compared to its outer edge, confirming the role of cyclonic eddies in enhancing the primary production in the otherwise less productive Bay of Bengal. Given new nitrogen input via vertical mixing, river discharge or aerosol deposition, the additional primary production due to this new nutrient input and its contribution to the total production (f-ratio, fraction of exportable organic matter) increased significantly from 0.4 to 0.7, and thus the Bay of Bengal can potentially transfer a high fraction of its total production to the deep, assisted by eddies. We suggest possible improvements in experiments for future studies, and the potential for assessing the role of eddies in biogeochemistry

INTUITIVE MASS EVENT PREDICTOR

Presented herein are techniques to learn mass event characteristics using time series data from existing mobile network functions/elements. The techniques presented herein also proactively identify overloaded cells at the underlying network traffic monitoring layer, during run time, based on the associated abnormal execution patterns

Comparison of Machining Performances Using Multiple Regression Analysis and Group Method Data Handling Technique in Wire EDM of Stavax Material

AbstractWire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) is a specialized thermal machining process capable of accurately machining parts with varying hardness or complex shapes, which have sharp edges that are very difficult to be machined by the main stream machining processes. This study outlines the development of model and its application to estimation of machining performances using Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA) and Group Method Data Handling Technique (GMDH). Experimentation was performed as per Taguchi's L’16 orthogonal array for Stavax (modified AISI 420 steel) material. Each experiment has been performed under different cutting conditions of pulse-on, pulse-off, current and bed speed. Among different process parameters voltage and flush rate were kept constant. Molybdenum wire having diameter of 0.18mm was used as an electrode. Four responses namely accuracy, surface roughness, volumetric material removal rate and electrode wear (EW) have been considered for each experiment. Estimation and comparison of responses was carried out using MRA and GMDH

A Critical Appraisal on Rasagrantha - Rasendrabhaskara

Rasashastra is the important and popular branch of Ayurveda which gained its existence from 7th century A.D. Plenty of the literature is available on Rasashastra till date but still the thirst of gaining the knowledge regarding the literature of Rasashastra remains unquenched. This may be due to lack of comparative knowledge of concepts from various texts. Rasendra Bhaskara is one of the rare text from the stream of Rasashastra which many of the readers may haven’t come across. This paper gives a framework regarding the author, period, chapters, contributions, salient features and pitfalls of the text Rasendrabhaskara which may help the reader to have a brief idea of text