A dependency on secrets is inherent in most IT systems, especially as they become increasingly complex and interdependent. Vast amounts of research have explored how to protect the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of secrets through means such as encryption and authentication. These means are in themselves supported by secrets, and introducing those secrets is an area that has seen less exploration. Secrets are protected by secrets, and the secret at the top needs to be provided by one of the numerous methods with various advantages and disadvantages. This work follows a design science research approach to design a framework for comparing those methods of secure introduction, demonstrated through scenarios and practical exercises.

Business-IT alignment (BITA) has clearly become more important over the last decade. However, considerable difficulties remain when attempting to achieve a mature level of BITA. Therefore, research efforts which have resulted in a number of theoretical models have been able to help in devising and applying supportive tools for assessing different components of BITA. However, most of these efforts have either been produced in Anglo-Saxon countries or have been based on specific experiences in those countries. Consequently, they have tended to ignore a number of factors which differ in nature due to variations in cultural contexts. However, organisational culture has been given little consideration. Societal and organisational cultural aspects of BITA are particularly important because the majority of BITA models tend to focus more on the efficiency and effectiveness of BITA components rather than on trying to create ways in which how BITA can be achieved or maintained in different contexts. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the impact of societal and organisational culture on achieving BITA and influencing its maturity. The main result is an extended BITA model developed originally by Luftman, known as; Luftman’s Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAM), which is influenced by the organisational culture perspective. The research method and process advocated by Peffers et al. (2007) is used in the thesis to design the extended-SAM, consisting of six activities. The first of these activities involves identifying specific problems. This is achieved by an extensive literature survey of theories related to BITA, an explorative study of the impact of organisational culture on BITA and a classification of the general limitations of BITA. The second activity concerns the requirement for definitions of the designed artifact. The third activity is then specified in terms of designing the artifact; i.e. an extended-SAM. The design is based on constructed hypotheses of the potential impact of organisational culture elements (based on Smit et al.’s model (2008) on BITA attributes (based on SAM), and followed by an empirical study of 6 multinational organisations, for testing the hypotheses. Following that, in the fourth activity, various processes for extending SAM are demonstrated in different seminars within the IT management group at DSV, in conference papers and in different seminars of the Swedish research School of Management and Information Technology (MIT) (Forskarskolan Management och IT. In the fifth activity, the extended-SAM model is evaluated in 5 multinational organisations to test its practicality and utility. In the last activity, a journal paper (Paper III in the thesis) is presented to summarise all the processes. The communication is also carried out through pre-licentiate and the licentiate seminars. The extended-SAM shows in the result of the thesis that organisational culture is a clear factor that should be considered while assessing and studying BITA maturity. In addition, by considering organisational culture, assessing BITA is clearly shown as being more accurate and as reflecting a more detailed picture of the organisation’s BITA.

Users and providers benefit considerably from public Wi-Fi hotspots. Users receive wireless Internet access and providers draw new prospective customers. While users are able to enjoy the ease of Wi-Fi Internet hotspot networks in public more conveniently, they are more susceptible to a particular type of fraud and identify theft, referred to as evil twin attack (ETA). Through setting up an ETA, an attacker can intercept sensitive data such as passwords or credit card information by snooping into the communication links. Since the objective of free open (unencrypted) public Wi-Fi hotspots is to provide ease of accessibility and to entice customers, no security mechanisms are in place. The public’s lack of awareness of the security threat posed by free open public Wi-Fi hotspots makes this problem even more heinous. Client-side systems to help wireless users detect and protect themselves from evil twin attacks in public Wi-Fi hotspots are in great need. In this dissertation report, the author explored the problem of the need for client-side detection systems that will allow wireless users to help protect their data from evil twin attacks while using free open public Wi-Fi. The client-side evil twin attack detection system constructed as part of this dissertation linked the gap between the need for wireless security in free open public Wi-Fi hotspots and limitations in existing client-side evil twin attack detection solutions. Based on design science research (DSR) literature, Hevner’s seven guidelines of DSR, Peffer’s design science research methodology (DSRM), Gregor’s IS design theory, and Hossen & Wenyuan’s (2014) study evaluation methodology, the author developed design principles, procedures and specifications to guide the construction, implementation, and evaluation of a prototype client-side evil twin attack detection artifact. The client-side evil twin attack detection system was evaluated in a hotel public Wi-Fi environment. The goal of this research was to develop a more effective, efficient, and practical client-side detection system for wireless users to independently detect and protect themselves from mobile evil twin attacks while using free open public Wi-Fi hotspots. The experimental results showed that client-side evil twin attack detection system can effectively detect and protect users from mobile evil twin AP attacks in public Wi-Fi hotspots in various real-world scenarios despite time delay caused by many factors.

The aim of the study was to develop a platform to monitor and evaluate care homes using heterogeneous data sources for a French startup company. The study found that there was no current system to supervise healthcare resources in these facilities with live data. To address this, a digital platform was proposed that would integrate information from various sources, including IoT devices, existing software systems and digital documents. The proposed platform, which would be built from scratch, includes a data collection and processing system, and a blockchain to store the processed data. The platform would also include a dashboard with features, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and graphs for stakeholders to access.   The research would focus on the first two objectives of the proposed platform, which are design a platform for real time access to heterogeneous data sources and generate derivative dataset (generate transformed data set from the primary raw data set) with access but not visibility of the accessible zero knowledge heterogeneous data in secured way. Zero knowledge refers to fetching data from primary data sources and present it to users of in another format which can be understand easily, while hiding actual data and transforming mechanism (Goldreich, 2004). The proposed solution should be versatile and extensible to incorporate additional data sources and generate derivative datasets in a scalable manner. The study concludes that utilizing the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) to investigate and identify an ideal solution to the research topics is both challenging and stimulating. Additionally, the findings can be applied by other researchers working in related fields.   In summary, the proposed solution involves the development of a digital platform based on information system theories and technologies that will enrich the area of Information Systems for similar problems. The thesis will evaluate existing research on these theories and technologies and recommend the best solution by integrating the most suitable set of theories and technologies for the given problem. This will provide a practical solution for the immediate needs of the startup company and contribute to future research on similar problems.

I takt med att användandet av e-handelsplattformar växer tillkommer även högre krav på att underhållsjobb, till exempel generera filer och rensa loggar, förvaltas effektivt. Motillo, ett karlstadbaserat konsultföretag inriktade på e-handel och digitala affärer, använder e- handelsplattformen Litium. Underhållsjobb, som idag finns specifikt för jobb i Litium, måste i dagsläget hanteras genom en konfigurationsfil, vilket kan vara tidskrävande. Motillo vill kunna konfigurera och monitorera dessa underhållsjobb direkt i Litiums administratörsvy, back-office. Syftet med denna studie har för författaren varit att utveckla och utvärdera ett adminverktyg i Litiums back-office baserat på en kravställning som upprättats av uppdragsgivaren Motillo. Det utvecklade adminverktyget skulle öka möjligheten och insikten att konfigurera och monitorera underhållsjobb. Studien låg även till grund för de med intresse av att implementera en likande lösning som det utvecklade adminverktyget. För att utveckla adminverktyget tillämpades olika tekniker som innefattade bland annat ramverken React och ASP.NET Core MVC, olika verktyg för versionshantering och pakethantering, samt utveckling efter den agila arbetsmetoden Scrum. Metoder som MoSCoW, Think-aloud, expertutvärderingar, beta-tester samt ett användar-acceptanstest, i form av en semi-strukturerad intervju, tillämpades och genomfördes för att utvärdera det utvecklade adminverktyget mot slutanvändaren. Insamlad data i studien har varit av kvalitativ karaktär. Studien har även inspirerats av Design Science Research där författaren använt den som övergripande metod där övriga metoder mer konkret tillfogats.  Det utvecklade verktyget utvärderades mot den upprättade kravställningen, där endast funktionella krav utvärderades, samt uppfattningar om verktyget och dess potentiella förbättringsåtgärder. Slutanvändaren uppfattade artefakten som bra och de var, baserat på kravställningen, nöjda med resultatet av det utvecklade adminverktyget. Slutanvändaren uppfattade dock att det fanns förbättringspotential och vidareutvecklingsmöjligheter, som bland annat innefattade krav med lägre prioritet som inte genomförts. Dessa krav var krav som prioriterats W, på MoSCoW-skalan, alltså krav som var önskade men som inte kom att genomföras. Författaren kunde lista tre vidareutvecklingsförslag som var Ändra exekveringsintervaller i adminpanelen, Möjlighet att avbryta ett jobb från att vidare exekvera och Visa status för jobbet. Från resultatet kunde författaren även identifiera förbättringar för att öka spårbarheten av loggar, genom ytterligare filtreringsmöjligheter, samt en tydligare presentation av jobbstatus i form av en progress-bar. Författaren rekommenderar även att vidare undersökning om adminverktyget, gällande icke-funktionella krav samt det grafiska användargränssnittet, bör genomföras.

Allt fler företag letar efter effektiva sätt att utföra repetitiva uppgifter. Författaren kom i kontakt med företaget Etteplan, som manuellt granskar olika handlingar (dokument) för att hitta och notera eventuella felaktigheter. Uppdraget författaren fick av Etteplan bestod av att implementera en automatiseringslösning som automatiskt granskar dessa handlingar och identifierar eventuella felaktigheter i handlingens tabellhuvud, som sedan presenteras i en Excel-fil. Dessa felaktigheter kan vara att de olika fälten har fel format eller att fälten är tomma.Författarens syfte var att utveckla och utvärdera denna automatiseringslösning och ta reda på hur automatiseringslösningen mottogs av Etteplan, samt vilka förbättringsförslag som framkom. För att utveckla automatiseringslösningen har flera tekniker använts, som till exempel programmeringsspråket Python, OCR-verktyget PyTesseract och datorseende-biblioteket OpenCV. Automatiseringslösningen utvecklades och utvärderades iterativt med stöd av Design Science Research tillsammans med enhetstester, acceptanstester, ”tänka högt”-sessioner och semi-strukturerade intervjuer, där automatiseringslösningen testades av slutanvändaren på Etteplan. Under utvärderingssessionerna framkom bland annat uppfattningar om lösningens funktionalitet, utseende och layout samt förbättringsförslag. Studiens resultat indikerar att automatiseringslösningen uppfattades som positiv av slutanvändarna samt att den kan skapa mervärde på Etteplan. Ett flertal förbättringsförslag framkom, exempelvis att Excel-rapportens utformning kan förbättras. Det framkom även önskemål om ny funktionalitet, exempelvis att fler filformat skulle gå att granska, så som TIFF- och DWG-filer.

Immersive technologies, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), are envisioned to become ubiquitous in future work environments. The implementation of both technologies is associated with versatile benefits, such as decreased costs, reduced physical risks, increased employee self-satisfaction, and lower resource consumption. Despite these potential benefits, the organizational diffusion of immersive technologies faces myriad challenges. For instance, usability problems along with privacy concerns have introduced technology acceptance issues. Addressing these challenges, this cumulative dissertation explores the design, application, and implications of AR and VR systems in the workplace by employing a mixed-methods approach. The contribution of this research is threefold. First, this dissertation provides descriptive insights into user preferences for immersive technologies to inform user-centered design considerations. Second, this dissertation presents design principles to guide the development of four information technology artifacts. Two of these artifacts enable VR-based collaboration in the fields of design thinking and process modeling, while the remaining two artifacts leverage AR to facilitate the crowdsourcing of human intelligence tasks and to support students in distance learning settings. Third, this dissertation develops an e³-value model for the AR and VR business ecosystem to illustrate how technology providers can transform such artifacts into economic value. Taken together, these insights improve understanding the sociotechnical interplay between humans, tasks, and immersive technologies, as well as its economic implications.

In our qualitative master thesis, we explore theories on sustainability in levels, ranging from very weak to very strong. We integrate academic theories with corporate perspectives to provide representatives in the corporate world with an alternative way of conversing and engaging mainly in strong sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a richer understanding of what corporate sustainability can be in practice. Our study is a collaboration with business leaders, designers, sustainability professionals and students. Using Design Science Research as an overarching framework for our method, we conducted interviews, focus groups and a survey. The academic theories and the insights from our data were then translated into a visual and verbal co-creation of an artefact (as it is called in Design Science Research). Wording and visualisations are inspired both from the corporate and the academic world. The artefact is intended to be a conversation starter which is hoped to lead to a shift in the strength with which companies work with sustainability, guided by an ecological case for business.

This thesis focuses on the adaptation of formal education to people’s technology- use patterns, theirtechnology-in-practice, where the ubiquitous use of mobile technologies is central. The research question is: How can language learning practices occuring in informal learning environments be effectively integrated with formal education through the use of mobile technology? The study investigates the technical, pedagogical, social and cultural challenges involved in a design science approach. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study systematises MALL (mobile-assisted language learning) research. The second investigates Swedish and Chinese students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technology in education. The third examines students’ use of technology in an online language course, with a specific focus on their learning practices in informal learning contexts and their understanding of how this use guides their learning. Based on the findings, a specifically designed MALL application was built and used in two courses. Study four analyses the app use in terms of students’ perceived level of self-regulation and structuration. The studies show that technology itself plays a very important role in reshaping peoples’ attitudes and that new learning methods are coconstructed in a sociotechnical system. Technology’s influence on student practices is equally strong across borders. Students’ established technologies-in-practice guide the ways they approach learning. Hence, designing effective online distance education involves three interrelated elements: technology, information, and social arrangements. This thesis contributes to mobile learning research by offering empirically and theoretically grounded insights that shift the focus from technology design to design of information systems.

This thesis is framed within the research area of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), which is concerned with how ICT can make a difference to the lives of the poor. This study focuses primarily on mobile phones and how they can be used as part of an Agriculture Market Information Service (AMIS) in order to provide crucial information to farmers in Bangladesh. AMIS principally collect, manage and disseminate agricultural market prices and related information through various processes and media. These services are mainly used by farmers. The research question of how mobile phone-based AMIS can be designed and deployed in order to improve opportunities for farmers in Bangladesh is investigated through a design science research approach in four steps; understanding the scope and challenges related to AMIS in least developed countries; diagnosing the situational realities of farmers of Bangladesh; understanding the process of adopting mobile phones and investigating market information practices and preferences in a rural context; and finally designing and implementing a mobile phone based AMIS and evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of it for the farmers of Bangladesh. In this thesis, development is viewed in terms of bringing about an in-crease in farmers’ capability set directed towards the utilization of resources for the purpose of production and trade. Information and knowledge are important drivers of development and poverty reduction: ICT can create new opportunities to expand the availability, exchange, and impact of information and knowledge. This thesis contributes to ICT4D research and practice through empirical findings, the design of an AMIS, test results, and the development of analytical tools. Its major contributions include an increased understanding of farmers’ attitudes and preferences towards the use of technology in general, and mobile phones in particular, and a broader understanding of ICT for human development in the context of poor rural regions. / Informatics or ICT4D