Syftet med denna uppsats var att utveckla kunskap kring vilka faktorer som påverkar implementeringen och upprätthållandet av Lean i tandvård. För att belysa detta syfte användes en kvalitativ ansats där det genomfördes fem intervjuer med nyckelpersoner i två fall, som sedan kompletterades med tre intervjuer av respondenter som inte var kopplade till något av fallen. I tillägg till dessa intervjuer gjordes en dokumentstudie relaterad till fallen där sju dokument analyserades. Intervjuerna transkriberades och en innehållsanalys gjordes genom kodning. Resultatet av studien genererade ett antal framgångsfaktorer och korresponderande hinder för implementeringen och upprätthållandet av Lean. De kritiska framgångsfaktorerna som identifierades var ledarskap som har intresse för Lean, ledarskap som driver Lean-konceptet kontinuerligt, informationsdelning och utbildning och anpassning av Lean till den egna organisationen. Det största hindret var motstånd från personalen, ett hinder som användandet av informationsdelning hjälpte att reducera. / The purpose of this thesis was to develop knowledge about which factors affect the implementation and maintenance of Lean in dental care. To study this, a qualitative method was used where five interviews were conducted with key persons in two cases, which were then supplemented with three interviews with persons that were not connected to the two cases. In addition to this, a document study was made related to the cases where seven documents were analyzed. The interviews were transcribed, and a content analysis was done through coding. The results generated several critical success factors and corresponding barriers to the implementation and maintenance of Lean. The critical success factors that were identified were leadership that has an interest in Lean, leadership that drives the Lean concept continuously, information sharing and education of employees and adaptation of Lean to the individual organization. The biggest barrier was resistance from staff, however, the use of information sharing helped to reduce it.

Projektstyrning är viktig och IT-projektledaren har en avgörande roll för ifall IT- projekt lyckas eller inte. Dock är det en stor utmaning att leda IT-projekt och att få den effekt som önskas genom exempelvis tidplan, budget och resurser. Samtidigt tar digitaliseringen hela tiden samhället framåt och kunskapen som samlas in efter avslutade IT-projekt gör att lärdomarna ständigt växer. Likväl är det fortsatt få IT- projekt som lyckas. Enligt tidigare forskning är två av huvudfaktorerna som avgör huruvida ett projekt anses lyckas eller inte, tid och budget. Vidare utgör IT-projektledaren dess mest betydande roll i början av projektet, men att löpande och god kommunikation, samt med ett flexibelt ledarskap, är viktiga hörnstenar för att lyckas med projektet. Denna studies syfte har varit att undersöka och få en bättre förståelse för varför IT- projekt lyckas eller inte lyckas utifrån projektledares perspektiv. För att besvara detta syfte har följande forskningsfrågor ställts: Hur beskriver projektledare de kritiska framgångsfaktorerna i ledningen av ett IT-projekt? och Hur beskriver projektledare utmaningarna i ledningen av ett IT-projekt?. En kvalitativ undersökningsmetod har tillämpats där semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med sex IT-projektledare vid ett stort IT-företag i Sverige. Intervjufrågorna har behandlat områden som projektledning och vilka framgångsfaktorer samt utmaningar projektledare upplever vid IT-projekt. Resultatet av studien visar att för att lyckas med ett IT-projekt utifrån projektledarens perspektiv, är nyckeln för framgång god kommunikation, att kunna prioritera rätt, samt god kravhantering. Vidare bör projektledaren ha en god förståelse för systemet, besitta tekniska färdigheter, samt ha en god förståelse för IT-komponenter såsom beroenden och kopplingar. Slutligen utgör även resurser, budget och avsatt tid avgörande faktorer. Projektledarna menar samtidigt att på grund av den komplexitet IT-projekt ofta utgörs av, är det utmanande att göra relevanta ändringar i projektet som passar samtliga intressenter, den egna projektgruppen inkluderat. Det är dessutom ofta en utmaning för projektledaren att kunna förstå och förklara den kundnytta ett IT-projekt kan medföra, återigen på grund av komplexiteten vid IT- projekt. Att som projektledare även kunna prioritera rätt, samt att ha de rätta resurserna redo, har visat sig vara en utmaning för många. Sedan är det utmanande när intressenter har ett tydligare fokus på business än den tekniska delen. / Project management is important and the IT project manager has a crucial role in whether IT projects succeed or not. However, it is a great challenge to lead IT projects and to get the desired effect through, for example, schedule, budget and resources. At the same time, digitalization is constantly moving society forward and the knowledge that is gathered after completed IT projects means that the lessons are constantly growing. Nevertheless, there are still few IT projects that succeed. According to previous research, two of the main factors that determine whether a project is considered successful or not are time and budget. Furthermore, the IT project manager has its most important role at the beginning of the project, but that continuous and good communication, and with a flexible leadership, are important cornerstones for success with the project. This study’s purpose has been to investigate and gain a better understanding of why IT projects succeed or fail from the project manager's perspective. To answer this purpose, the following research questions have been asked: How does the project manager describe the critical success factors in the management of an IT project? and How do project managers describe the challenges in managing an IT project?. A qualitative survey method has been applied where semi-structured interviews have been conducted with six IT project managers at a large IT company in Sweden. The interview questions have dealt with areas such as project management and what success factors and challenges project managers experience in IT projects. The results of the study show that to succeed with an IT project from the project manager's perspective, the key to success is good communication, being able to prioritize correctly, and good requirements management. Furthermore, the project manager should have a good understanding of the system, possess technical skills, and have a good understanding of IT components such as dependencies and connections. Finally, resources, budget and time allotted are also important factors. At the same time, the project managers believe that due to the complexity that IT projects often consist of, it is challenging to make relevant changes to the project that suit all stakeholders, including their own project group. In addition, it is often a challenge for the project manager to be able to understand and explain the customer benefit an IT project can bring, again due to the complexity of IT projects. As a project manager, being able to prioritize correctly, as well as having the right resources at hand, has proved to be a challenge for many. Furthermore, it is challenging when stakeholders have a clear focus on business rather than the technical part.

In the last decade, the rapid economic development in the Middle East has encouraged organisations to implement modem quality management and strategic initiatives such as Six Sigma to ensure continuous improvement and achieved excellence. Six Sigma is a comprehensive business strategic quality programme and a systematic process improvement methodology for achieving, sustaining and maximising business success. The proper implementation of Six Sigma leads to breakthrough in profitability through ensuring quantum gains in product/service quality, customer satisfaction and productivity. This research presents an empirical exploratory and comparative study that aims and attempts to bridge the gap in the existing literature of Six Sigma by investigating the current implementation status of Six Sigma in organisations of three Middle East countries (namely, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and United Arab Emirates (UAE)). The reasons/benefits that encourage Middle East organisations to implement Six Sigma projects, the challenges commonly faced during implementation, the critical success factors (CSFs) for effective implementation and the organisations’ satisfaction with the implementation are investigated. The key issues of Six Sigma implementation and their criticality relating to the experience of the implementing process of Six Sigma projects are explored through an extensive review of the relevant literature. The data were collected from a combination of quantitative (232 questionnaires) and qualitative (74 semi-structured interviews) methodologies. The research covered 44 organisations from manufacturing and services sectors and large, small, and medium enterprises (SME) sizes, which have implemented or were implementing Six Sigma projects in the selected countries at the time of study. The study findings identified 15 significant reasons/benefits which encourages Middle East organisations to implement Six Sigma projects, 13 major challenges commonly faced during implementation, 19 CSFs for effective implementation and level of the organisations’ satisfaction with the implementation. Based on the research findings, a generic model for successful and effective implementation of Six Sigma in Middle East organisations is developed and proposed. The research concludes that Six Sigma implementation in Middle East organisations still in early stage, most organisations have outstanding opportunities to implement the Six Sigma project successfully and effectively with tangible and intangible benefits. In addition, all the responding organisations, which are actively implementing Six Sigma programme, regardless of their countries, sectors and sizes are highly satisfied with the implementation results. However, the research output highlights that an improvement culture must be developed and promoted throughout the organisation to ensure long-term benefit and sustainable success. Furthermore, the research makes recommendations on development of an implementation strategy in Middle East organisations. Finally, a number of suggestions are made for future research.

The definition of a project is that an individual or group of individuals carries out a work that results in a unique product or service. What is usually discussed in both the media and in the construction industry is the type of project that you can talk about. In this study, this is called conventional construction projects. There are also projects that you are not allowed to talk about and that must be kept secret for various reasons. These can, for example, be based on protecting national interests. In these projects, integrity is one of the most important parameters to keep track of from a management perspective. This study examines the work methodology in this area of the Swedish construction industry. The study is based on traditional project management theory and begins with a review of concepts such as critical success factors (CSF), the distinction between confidentiality and conventionality, key performance indicators (KPI) and the classic iron triangle. The study's question is whether these concepts appear and are applied differently in confidential construction projects compared to conventional ones. Are there any activities that are of utmost importance that they are carried out for a confidential project to be considered successful? The study was conducted as a qualitative, abductive study where information was obtained through semi-structured interviews. In total, eleven interviews were conducted with individuals who participated in some form of confidential construction project. All respondents have represented construction contractors during their time in confidential construction projects. The conclusion after the completed analysis of the interviews shows that confidential projects do not differ significantly in terms of project structure. On the other hand, this type of project is characterized by a much higher degree of accuracy regarding planning and implementation than a comparable conventional construction project. / Definitionen av ett projekt är att en enskild eller grupp av individer genomför ett arbete som resulterar i en, på något sätt, unik produkt eller tjänst. Vad som vanligtvis diskuteras i både media och i byggbranschen är den typ av projekt som du faktiskt får prata om. I denna studie kallas detta för konventionella byggprojekt. Det finns även projekt som du inte får prata om och som måste hållas hemliga av olika anledningar. Dessa kan exempelvis vara grundade i nationella skyddsintressen. I dessa projekt är integritet en av de viktigaste parametrarna att hålla koll på ur ett ledningsperspektiv. Denna studie undersöker arbetsmetodiken inom detta område i byggbranschen. Studien tar avstamp från traditionell projektledningsteori, och inleds med en genomgång av koncept såsom kritiska framgångsfaktorer (CSF), distinktionen mellan konfidentialitet och konventionalitet, nyckeltal (KPI) samt den klassiska järntriangeln. Studiens frågeställning är om dessa begrepp ter sig och tillämpas annorlunda i konfidentiella byggprojekt jämfört med konventionella. Är det några aktiviteter som är av yttersta vikt att de genomförs för att ett konfidentiellt projekt ska anses vara framgångsrikt? Studien har genomförts som en kvalitativ, abduktiv studie där informationsinhämtningen har skett genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Totalt har ett antal om elva intervjuer genomförts med individer som deltagit inom någon form av konfidentiellt byggprojekt. Samtliga respondenter har representerat byggentreprenörer under deras tid i konfidentiella byggprojekt. Slutsatsen efter den genomförda analysen av intervjuerna visar att konfidentiella projekt inte skiljer sig avsevärt mycket sett till struktur på projektet. Däremot karakteriseras denna typ av projekt av en mycket högre grad av noggrannhet avseende planering och genomförande än ett jämförbart konventionellt byggprojekt.

Lean Management and Lean Six Sigma (LM/LSS) are improvement methodologies that have been utilized to achieve better performance outcomes at organizational and operational levels. Although there has been evidence of breakthrough improvement across diverse organizational settings, LM/LSS remains an early-stage improvement methodology in public sector organizations, specifically within local government organizations (LGOs). Some LGOs have benefited from LM/LSS and reported significant improvements, such as reducing process time by up to 90% and increasing financial savings by up to 57%. While the success of LM/LSS can lead to satisfactory outcomes, the risk of failure can also result in a tremendous waste of financial and non-financial resources. Evidence from the literature indicates that the failure to achieve the expected outcomes is likely due to the lack of attention paid to critical success factors (CSFs) that are crucial for LM/LSS success. Furthermore, research in this research area regarding characterizing and statistically examining the CSFs associated with LM/LSS in such organizational settings has been limited. Hence, the aim of this research is to provide a comprehensive investigation of the success factors for LM/LSS in LGOs. The initial stage of this dissertation involved analyzing the scientific literature to identify and characterize the CSFs associated with LM/LSS in LGOs through a systematic literature review (SLR). This effort identified a total of 47 unique factors, which were grouped into 5 categories, including organization, process, workforce knowledge, communications, task design, and team design. The next stage of this investigation focused on identifying a more focused set of CSFs. This involved evaluating the strength of the effect (or importance) of the factors using two integrated approaches: meta-synthesis and expert assessment. This process concluded with a total of 29 factors being selected for the empirical field study. The final stage included designing and implementing an online survey questionnaire to solicit LGOs' experience on the presence of factors during the development and/or implementation of LM/LSS and their impact on social-technical system outcomes. Once the survey was concluded, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to identify the underlying latent variables, followed by using a partial least square-structural equation model (PLS-SEM) to determine the significance of the factors on outcomes. The EFA identified three endogenous and five exogenous latent variables. The results of the PLS-SEM model identified four significant positive relationships. Based on the results from the structural paths, the antecedent Improvement Readiness (IR) and Change Awareness (CA) were significant and had a positive influence on Transformation Success (TS). For the outcome Deployment Success (DS), Sustainable Improvement Infrastructure (SII) was the only significant exogenous variable and had the highest positive impact among all significant predictor constructs. Furthermore, Measurement-Based Improvement (MBI) was significant and positively influenced Improvement Project Success (IPS). Findings from this dissertation could serve as a foundation for researchers looking to further advance the maturity of this research area based on the evidence presented in this work. Additionally, this work could be used as guidelines for practitioners in developing implementation processes by considering the essential factors to maximize the success of LM/LSS implementation. Given the diversity of functional areas and processes within LGO contexts, it is also possible that other public sector organizations could benefit from these findings. / Doctor of Philosophy / Lean Management and Lean Six Sigma (LM/LSS) is an improvement methodology that is used by businesses and organizations to improve how they work and achieve better results. LM/LSS has been especially helpful in various organizations; however, the implementation of this improvement methodology has been limited by many challenges for public sector organizations, especially local government organizations (LGOs). The overall aim of this dissertation is to improve the success of LM/LSS implementation within the context of LGOs. More specifically, this dissertation systematically studied the critical success factors associated with LM/LSS success. Different research approaches, including research formulation, development, and testing techniques, were conducted to achieve the aim of this dissertation. Publications related to LM/LSS in LGOs have been rigorously analyzed to identify a comprehensive list of CSFs. To identify the most important factors, a meta-synthesis evaluation and expert survey assessment have been conducted. Following the refinement of the factors, a large-scale field study using a survey questionnaire has been designed and distributed to LGOs. Once the survey concluded, statistical methods that included Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) were conducted. The former was used to identify the underlying latent variables, while the latter was conducted to examine the influence of the factors on social and technical outcomes. This dissertation could be used as a reference guideline helping practitioners to increase the success of LM/LSS implementation in LGOs. This dissertation can also guide scholars to potential research avenues that could advance this research area.

No / Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine those factors perceived by users to influence the successful on-going use of e-commerce systems in business-to-business (B2B) buying and selling transactions through examination of the views of individuals acting in both purchasing and selling roles within the UK National Health Service (NHS) pharmaceutical supply chain. Design/methodology/approach Literature from the fields of operations and supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) is used to determine candidate factors that might influence the success of the use of e¿commerce. A questionnaire based on these is used for primary data collection in the UK NHS pharmaceutical supply chain. Factor analysis is used to analyse the data. Findings The paper yields five composite factors that are perceived by users to influence successful e-commerce use. "System quality," "information quality," "management and use," "world wide web - assurance and empathy," and "trust" are proposed as potential critical success factors. Of these, all respondents ranked information quality, system quality, and trust as being of most importance, but differences in the rankings between purchasing and selling respondents are evident. Research limitations/implications The empirical study is limited to a single supply network, and although the findings seem intuitively to be of relevance to other sectors and supply contexts, there remains an opportunity to test this through further research. There is also an opportunity to extend the survey research, particularly into the wholesaler organisations that operate in the sector of study. Practical implications The managerial implications that result from this research provide practical guidance to organisations in this sector on how to ensure that e¿commerce systems for B2B buying and selling are used successfully. Originality/value This paper furthers knowledge and understanding in the fields of operations management, IS, and SCM, by suggesting potential determinants of successful e¿commerce use in both buying and selling organisations within supply networks.

Information Technology (IT) has become an ever-growing element of almost every large enterprise. IT Governance has emerged as a way to ensure effective and efficient use of IT to enable organizations to achieve their goals. The purpose of this study is to investigate how successful IT Governance is characterized to aid the research effort in determining Critical Success Factors for IT Governance. This is performed by a qualitative study researching IT Governance professionals in the finance sector. The study finds that companies take inspiration from ITIL, COBIT, and SAFe to construct their own instructions and guidelines for how to operate their IT organizations. IT Governance instructions and guidelines must be anchored in the business strategy and well distributed and communicated throughout the organization. Alignment between IT and business is an important aspect shown to bolster success. IT Governance is largely about finding a balance between developing and optimizing while having a formalized structure that ensures that the overall goals of the organization are supported in a way that is compliant and risk averse.

As with many new technology implementations before, Business Intelligence (BI) implementations have come under scrutiny in terms of the value added to organisations. The latest academic research uses various different ‘traditional financial methods’ such as the Return on Investment (ROI) calculations to determine the value of investments. In some instances customized measurement tools are proposed as a result of empirical studies conducted. The main objective of this study is to perform qualitative investigation on the theoretical value of BI implementations in organisations. If it is assumed that BI does add value to organisations, the primary research question aims to investigate how this value is added. A balanced scorecard second generation approach is used as theoretical framework in order to address the question. This approach is also known as strategy mapping. The research process starts with an extensive literature review on the topic of BI value evaluations and BI related balanced scorecards and strategy maps. As a result, various theoretical and practical research contributions are produced. One of the theoretical contributions includes an inventory of previous academic literature on the topic of BI value evaluations. This inventory is also presented diagrammatically. A preliminary version of the BI balanced scorecard is developed and used as foundation for a semi-structured interview template to investigate the value of BI in organisations.\ The semi-structured interview template was used as primary data generation instrument to gather data for this multiple-case study project. Four organisations participated in the study. The data obtained from the study was analysed and presented using an updated version of the theoretical framework of the study and was labelled as the intermediate version of the scorecard. The intermediate version of the BI balanced scorecard provided valuable input towards investigating how value was achieved as a result of BI implementations. These results were verified as part of a final verification process through a consultation process with the same study participants. A final version of the BI balanced scorecard is presented and included in a complete BI value solution. This version of the balanced scorecard is also a valuable practical contribution of the study. The verified results of the investigation indicated the following:- (1) BI adds value to organisations in all four perspectives of the organisation, namely the business value perspective, user orientation perspective, operational excellence perspective as well as the future orientation perspective. (2) Furthermore, the study confirmed that BI adds value to organisations through a number of benefits including an increase in sales and compliance to regulatory requirements (to name a few). (3) However, the study also indicated that value-related studies must adopt a holistic approach in an attempt to cater for the many facets of the topic. (4) Despite the challenge of implementing BI in organisations, the perceived value of BI implementations amongst senior management remained positive. This was supported by the continuous implementation of new BI projects in organisations. (5) There was a definite relationship between BI implementations and organisational performance. This is evident through the positive impact on sales figures, risk and compliance management and operational management. The study contributes to the broader field of Information Systems (IS) in numerous ways. Firstly the research discovers gaps in existing research, then proposes a method to investigate the research question as a result of the gaps identified, and -iiiuses this method as a tool to investigate the problem. The main contribution of the study is to contribute to the body of knowledge by investigating the value of business intelligence to organisations. / College of Engineering, Science & Technology / D. Litt et. Phil. (Information Systems)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Business-to-business services relating to physical asset management are playing an increasingly important role in industry. This is in the midst of the current pressures which asset owning organisations are experiencing in realising optimal value from their assets. The pursuit of understanding and complying with asset management standards such as ISO 55000 as well as the potential value to be gained from successful and sustainable business relationships contributes towards the importance of these services. The problem is that there is little or no evidence regarding the critical success factors for collaborating successfully in asset management services. The study identi es these critical success factors and demonstrates how the factors can di er between role players, industries, global regions and service types. A decision support model is developed providing the asset management community with access to the critical success factors for decision-making purposes. Based on the synthesis from internationally conducted Delphi- and survey studies it is found that the continued and sustained commitment from the asset owning organisation's senior management in support of the asset management service is the most critical factor for a successful asset management service partnership. Open and e ective communication is also highlighted as being critical, while it is important to have a process in place to improve the service continuously. Laboratory and eld testing con rm the validity of the decision support model for facilitating the decision-making process to improve asset management services, and in addition it also formalises the commercial and contracting processes relating to these services. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Besigheid-tot-besigheidsdienste met betrekking tot siese batebestuur speel 'n toenemende belangrike rol in die industrie. Dit is te midde van die druk wat batebesittende organisasies tans ondervind om optimale waarde uit hul siese bates te verkry. Die strewe na beter begrip en om te voldoen aan batebestuurstandaarde soos ISO 55000, asook die potensiële waarde wat verkry kan word uit suksesvolle en volhoubare besigheidheidsvennootskappe, dra by tot die belangrikheid van hierdie dienste. Die probleem is daar bestaan min of geen bewyse rakende die kritiese suksesfaktore vir suksesvolle samewerking in batebestuurdienste. Die studie identi seer die kritiese suksesfaktore en toon aan hoe hierdie faktore kan verskil tussen rolspelers, industrieë, wêreldstreke en dienstipes. 'n Besluitnemingsmodel is ontwikkel wat die batebestuurgemeenskap toegang gee tot die kritiese suksesfaktore vir besluitnemingsdoeleindes. Gebaseeer op die sintese van internasionale Delphi- en opnamestudies is daar bevind dat die mees kritieke faktor vir 'n suksesvolle vennootskap in batebestuurdienste die voortgesette en volgehoue toewyding deur die bate-besittende organisasie se senior bestuur, ter ondersteuning van die batebestuurdiens, is. Doeltre ende en openhartige kommunikasie is ook uitgewys as krities, terwyl dit belangrik is om 'n proses te volg om die diens voortdurend te verbeter. Laboratorium- en praktyk toetsing het bevestig dat die besluitnemingsmodel geldig is vir die fasilitering van die besluitnemingsproses om batebestuursdienste te verbeter asook vir die formalisering van die kommersiële en kontraktuele prosesse wat verband hou met hierdie dienste.

The University of this interest and its library division is involved in a major transformation process, aiming to enhance the learning experience for students by modernizing learning spaces, enhancing the personalized learning, and extending support for faculty and student scholarship. One part of the transformation consist of rearranging the library space and its services and introducing a new media based faculty consisting media related career paths. During the investigation and analysis of the library, we have looked into a wide range of data including history of the library, strategic plan of the university academic technology blueprint, academic plan, the media program, reports on workshops and meeting held by the authority of library, etc. provided by the university. In order to encapsulate more information and insight, we have conducted a couple of meetings with the head of the library and the head of library IT. By considering the stakeholders’ interests, we examine the status quo and illustrate the situation in form of a Rich Picture. By means of the Soft Systems Methodology we try to identify potential relationships between the new media faculty and the library services and eventually finalized our examination by recommending additional value enhancing services. After rigorous analyzing all of the data, specifically strategic mission of the university and library, and the media program, we recommend to establish a Business Incubator, which will enhance core capabilities of a student including creativity , managerial, and analytical ability as well as provide essential guidance, supports, and tools to students to implement their idea. The suggested Business Incubator will act as a bridge between academic learning and the real world applications. Finally, we recommend specific services including market research and assistance, access to networking and funding information, center for research and development, and Entrepreneurship and innovating education forum, which will enhance digital capabilities of students/participants and fulfill some of the core strategic objectives of the library and the university as well. / <p>This specific study is about a report in the Informatics course 5IK501 during the school year of 2016/2017.</p>