A significant change is taking place in manufacturing company strategies around the globe. With new monitoring and service methods, new opportunities of product use and service provision emerge. The manufacturing companies once focused on mere product manufacture, now have started to provide ‘systemic solutions’, i.e. products combined with service packages, which are often referred to as Product-Service Systems (PSS). Currently, there is not a well-established feedback mechanism between service and design. The aim of this research is to develop a methodology to capture, represent, and re-use service knowledge to support product design. For the accomplishment of this aim an extensive literature review of the related themes to the research area took place. It was found that the feedback from service to design is fundamental for the enhancement of product performance; however, the existing literature in this area is not adequate. The industrial investigation led to the realisation that there is not an established mechanism in place to show how service knowledge (SK) can be used by designers. An in- depth investigation took place with the collaboration of, in total, four UK manufacturing companies. The author studied both the conceptual and detailed design, focusing on the design requirements (DR) and the design/service features (DF/SF) respectively. The first step was the capture of SK and its representation using Protégé software. Following this, at the conceptual design stage, SK can be re-used through the DR-SK tool. The two main purposes of the tool are the knowledge retrieval by designers, and the identification of gaps in SK. At the detailed design stage, designers can access SK through the DF-SK tool, and the developed knowledge templates. The SKaD framework was created, as a result of the amalgamation among the SKaD methodology, the knowledge templates, and the tools developed to link SK and DR, SF, and DF. Conclusively, the framework was applied on case studies within the pump manufacturing and aerospace industries, and its purpose (to aid designers accessing and re-using SK) was validated by experts within the collaborating organisations. As a result of this research’s findings, the service personnel can capture SK in a structured manner, which can then be re- used by product designers at both the conceptual and detailed design stage.

The engineering design process transforms stakeholders’ needs and desires into design specifications. In this process, manufacturers make decisions that impact how much value can be generated from a new product/service. Clear design specification can enhance the value of a product/service. This research study focuses on the engineering design process for systems of products and services - product-service systems (PSSs). An unambiguous PSS classification could help manufacturers to produce clearer design specifications, however there is a lack of clear PSS classifications for engineering design. Existing classifications rely on an out-dated distinction between tangible objects as products, and everything else as a service, a division that inappropriately classifies digital products as services. To develop a coherent PSS classification, it is necessary to understand which characteristics of PSS can clarify its design specification. This research addresses this problem by determining the PSS characteristics that are useful for clarifying the design specification. The research aims to develop a PSS characterisation scheme and explore how the scheme influences design specifications. To achieve these aims, case study and action research methods are employed. This study has developed a PSS characterisation scheme that clarifies design specifications and a method to systematically apply this scheme, the PSS characterisation approach. This approach proves useful for practitioners to clarify design specifications, and has extended the application of the theory of technical systems to instruments supporting the engineering design process. The PSS characterisation scheme comprises four characteristics: customer perceived value level, ‘connectivity number’, type and degree of connectivity and configuration type. The scheme does not use the ‘tangibility’ distinction, but incorporates concepts of value creation and interdependencies within a PSS and between a PSS and its environment. This novel characterisation scheme contributes to the development of a PSS classification scheme for engineering design and also to the literature of PSS classifications.

Jewellery as a tool in the identification of the deceased is increasingly referenced within the scientific process of Forensic Human Identification (FHI). Jewellery’s prevalence in society, connection to both place and geographic region, potential to corroborate primary methods of identification (such as DNA, fingerprinting, or odontology), and robust physical form, means it progressively contributes to practices surrounding identification in a number of forensic fields. Physical marks or characteristics such as hallmarks or serial numbers, personal inscriptions or engravings, representational symbols (such as medals, badges of office, religious iconography or military insignia), and genealogical or gemmological markings, may also prove useful in informing investigators much about a piece - and potentially - the individual to whom it may have belonged. Despite this, jewellery is an approach to establishing human identity that has yet to be explicitly investigated from the perspective of either forensic science or jewellery design. The aim of this research has been to explore the potential of jewellery and highlight its significance within this context, through employing the processes and approaches of design. Informed by my own background in both jewellery and service design; I sought to co-design the interdisciplinary proposition of Forensic Jewellery as an extension of my own personal design practice, in addition to a broader hybrid methodology through which the dualistic perspective(s) of both forensic science and jewellery design may come to be mutually explored. By centring my methodology upon my practice, the research serves to document and reflect upon my auto-ethnographic experiences in inadvertently ‘prototyping’ my emergent new role as a Forensic Jeweller – a jewellery designer engaged within, or whose work pertains to, the field of forensic science. Through a range of forensic-based fieldwork, I sought to immerse myself within various communities of forensic practice by way of considering how a design practitioner may come to add value to this otherwise polarised field - a highly subjective and interpretive framework that has remained wholly unconsidered within forensic science. In simultaneously considering the impact of the perspective of forensics upon the broader field of jewellery design, I came to capture some of the otherwise restricted narratives of Forensic Jewellery emerging from the developing research context through a series of theoretically-informed design ‘reconstructions’: objects, concepts, and scenarios (representational, propositional, and metaphorical); educational material, and series of public engagement activities. The research thus culminates in a unique portfolio of practice – written, conceptual, and visual – with relevance to both forensic science and jewellery design history, theory, and practice. Original contributions to knowledge are demonstrated through the direct study of jewellery within real-world forensic settings through combined theory and practice, while the theoretical and conceptual debates surrounding identity, death, and the human body present within the field of jewellery design are simultaneously extended through the inclusion of forensics as a perspective. The research additionally demonstrates how the visual and tangible sensibilities of design can help to attend to otherwise challenging, emotional, or difficult subjects, capture and communicate tacit knowledge or anecdotal evidence, and ultimately contribute to the development of new and emergent research contexts.

Dans une société où l’économie des services est en croissance, le design de services innovants revêt une importance cruciale. Mais comment la valeur de ces services est-elle conçue ?
La thèse interroge la manière dont s’élabore la valeur immatérielle et expérientielle des services innovants et plus particulièrement le rôle des représentations visuelles pour rendre présent un service qui n’existe pas encore. Elle vise pour cela à répondre à deux questions de recherche : Quelles sont les différentes épreuves de valuation qui structurent le processus de conception de services ?
Quels sont les rôles des représentations, en tant que valuation devices, dans ces épreuves ? Le travail repose sur l’étude de deux cas complémentaires de design de service : un terrain pédagogique et un terrain industriel. Adoptant une approche en termes de valuation, nous considérons le processus de conception de services comme un processus collectif où se jouent des conflits, des dynamiques d’intéressement et des compromis sur la valeur du service futur, que nous proposons de modéliser. Notre modèle montre que la valeur des services s’élabore au cours d’un processus de valuation collective qui s’explicite et se résout dans des épreuves de valuation caractérisées par quatre éléments : les objets et les registres des valuations, les acteurs en interaction et les opérations de valuation effectuées. Nous montrons comment, dans ces épreuves, les représentations viennent supporter, stimuler et, parfois, entraver le travail collectif sur la valeur effectué par les acteurs. Nous soulignons à quel point leurs caractéristiques matérielles ont des effets sur les épreuves de valuation (notamment en termes de types, de finition, de vraisemblance et d’équipement). Ces différentes observations nous conduisent à proposer deux régimes de travail collectif sur la valeur : un régime de convergence caractérisé par l’alignement des valuations des acteurs où les représentations constituent des catalyseurs de valeur ; un régime de démonstration, marqué par l’enrôlement de nouveaux acteurs où les représentations constituent des démonstrateurs de valeur. Nos résultats permettent de modéliser le travail sur la valeur en montrant que c’est par et dans ces épreuves, autour et dans les représentations visuelles que s’élaborent et s’éprouvent à la vois la valeur multiple, immatérielle et expérientielle du service futur et le réseau d’acteurs qui le portent. Ce modèle vient enrichir le champ du design de services et du rôle des représentations dans la conception. Il souligne en outre le rôle critique et stratégique des représentations dans la création de valeur des services et fournit des clés de compréhension et de pratiques aux designers et managers de l’innovation de services. / In our growing service economy, designing innovative services is critical. But how is the value of innovative services designed? Our thesis questions how the immaterial and experiential value of innovative services is shaped, and especially the role of visual representations in making present a service that doesn’t exist yet. We aim at answering two research questions: what are the different valuation tests that structure the service design process ? What are the different roles of visual representations, as valuation devices, in those valuation tests? Our study is based on two complementary case studies of service design projects : the first one is a pedagogical case, the second one is an industrial case. We adopt an approach in terms of valuation and consider the service design process as a collective process, in which actors express conflicts and elaborate compromises on the value of future servicesOur model shows that the value of services is shaped through a collective valuation process that is structured by valuation tests. Those valuation tests are characterized by four dimensions : the objects and registers of valuations, the actors interacting and the valuation operations performed. We show how representations support, stimulate and, sometimes, hinder the collective work on value. We highlight how their material characteristics have an impact on the valuation tests (in particular with regard to their types, their level of polishing, their level of verisimilitude and their equipment). These observations lead us to suggest two types of collective work on value: a convergence one, in which actors align their valuations and in which representations are value catalysts ; a demonstration one, in which actors try to enroll new actors in the network and in which representations are value demonstrators. Our results allow us to model the work on the value of future services: they show how this value is shaped by and in valuation test, in which visual representations are both tools for constructing the value of future services and the tools that support the actors’ social and political interactions on this value. Our model thus contributes to a better understanding of service design and of the role of visual representations in the design process. We highlight the critical and strategic part of visual representations in the value creation of services. Hence, we provide services designers and service innovation managers with keys for understanding and practicing service innovation.

This thesis deals with the process of Capacity Management. The main objective of the process is to ensure sufficient capacity of existing infrastructure to support daily business operations and projections of future capacity based on the requirements of the business. In the first part the author focuses on the basic performance characteristics of the Capacity Management coming within the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). Also, the author analyzes the process of Capacity Management in an unnamed company and compares it with the best practices of ITIL. The second part is derived from the first, where the author discusses the Business Capacity Management and management of the capacity of IS/ICT. The last part of thesis is about Cloud Computing technologies from the Capacity Management point of view, as well as the introduction of such technologies in selected company. Each part consists of both theoretical backgrounds from diverse sources, as well as practical experience of the author.

Intro „Sieben von zehn Euro wurden im Jahr 2015 in Deutschland mit Dienstleistung, also Serviceangeboten umgesetzt.“ (Statista, 2015) Was zeichnet das Design einer guten, neuen Dienstleistung aus – Erlebnis, positive Emotion, Zufriedenheit und Vertrautheit, der Wunsch nach Wiederholung? Es geht darum alltagstaugliche Dienstleistungsinnovationen ganz nah am Menschen zu entwickeln. Eine organisatorisch durchgängige, gesamtheitliche Gestaltung von Service-Produkt-Systemen ist dafür notwendig. Gutes Service-Design hat einen markanten Unterschied zu gewohnten und vorherigen Lösungen – es bietet dem Kunden einen hohen Erlebnisfaktor, Neuheitsgrad, spürbaren Mehrwert und darüber nachhaltige Weitererzählungsfaktoren an.

The purpose of the thesis is to apply the service design perspective to map value creation processes within digitally complex GIS-services. Services are becoming increasingly prevalent within organizations today, and it is crucial to continuously develop them to meet customer needs. Since existing services are used regularly, incremental development is required to maintain their relevance. By applying principles from service design, a deeper understanding of value creation processes within various digital services can be achieved. Utilizing the service design perspective in mapping the value creation processes of digital services is feasible, but it requires active involvement from all stakeholders. In this paper, we explore the application of the service design perspective using a combination of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and Service Blueprint as framework. By examining this combined framework with a focus on service design perspective on Geographic Information Systems (GIS-services), we contribute to expanding the research field of service design. The results indicate that mapping a value creation process using this approach is possible, but there is room for further improvement.

Le développement durable et la transition énergétique sont aujourd’hui des préoccupations majeures de la scène européenne. Parmi les influents demeure le domaine du bâtiment qui représente le premier levier d’action pour réduire notre empreinte carbone. Pour autant, les moyens actuels mis en œuvre ne prennent pas assez en compte l’occupant et son comportement vis-à-vis de la performance énergétique. Cette recherche problématise, par une approche info-communicationnelle, les interactions acteur-habitat dans le but d’améliorer les stratégies d’intervention. Elle montre qu’une approche compréhensive, suivant un paradigme sémantico-actionnel, permet d’analyser la manière dont les usagers appréhendent et s’approprient un espace dans lequel ils se sentent en situation de confort, permettant ainsi de guider la recherche d’informations utiles pour les acteurs intervenant sur le cadre de vie des usagers en vue de mieux les satisfaire. Dans un souci d’économie de la fonctionnalité concernant le confort thermique, cette démonstration passe par la mise en œuvre et l’expérimentation d’une démarche interdisciplinaire qui doit être capable d’une part d’appréhender ce processus de construction de sens de l’environnement bâti par les usagers et, d’autre part, capable de rendre opérationnels les indicateurs résultant des critères comportementaux, afin de les intégrer aux calculs techniques. Cette démarche, fondée à partir de la méthode d’écoute des besoins et de hiérarchisation des attentes développée par le laboratoire DeVisu à l’Université de Valenciennes, interprète la perception du confort d’un profil majoritaire d’usagers et les intègre dans un processus construit sous l’angle technique. / The sustainable development and the energetic transition as well are main concerns in Europe. The construction sector is a fundamental driver of the reduction of the carbon footprint. Furthermore, most of the current practices does not take enough into account neither the occupants’ needs nor their behavior regarding the energetic performance. Grounded on the information-communication framework, this research focuses on the definition of the interactions between the actor and its habitat to lead the strategies of rehabilitation. In line with the semantico-actional paradigm, we provide evidence that a comprehensive approach enables the analysis of the process by which the users apprehend and appropriate a living space perceived as comfortable. Practically, it ensues from this analysis a better definition of the users’ needs and a guideline for the construction stakeholders to collect information about users’ expectations so as to satisfy them. In a sake of functionality economics concerning the thermal comfort, the purpose of this interdisciplinary investigation is twofold: First, the understanding of the users’ sense-making about the environment of the habitat. Second, the definition and the implementation of operating behavioral metrics in the technical optimization of the habitat. Referring to the method of listening to the needs and hierarchy of needs, developed by the DEVISU research center of the University of Valenciennes (France), we interpret the perceived comfort according to the main users’ profile in order to integrate it in the technical processes of rehabilitation.

The diploma thesis deals with design and comparison of variants of cast-in-place concrete sewage tank made from reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete. The layout of sewage tank is rectangular. The tank is in longitudinal way divided into two chambers. The tank is not roofed and is partialy embedded in the ground. The design for ultimate limit state and for service limit state is made for both variants. There is focus on generation and development of cracks in service limit state. For calcuation of internal forces is used model made in software SCIA Engineer, based on finite element method. The reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete versions are compared in last part in term of volumes of materials needed. Also there are proposed possible savings.

he master’s thesis consists of a case study of an observation tower design made of glue laminated timber and steel. There are two different tower shapes of anchored or free standing tower and these towers are compared. One of the design is chosen and elaborated into final detailing. A short review of main issues bound with the observation towers is given. The review deals mainly with loading (mainly priniples wind loads are analised) and evaluating of towers (ultimate limit states, service limit states and acceleration comfort). The height of final construction is up to 60m. The design is formed by a space lattice structure made of glue laminated timber and steel members of different class. The members are fastened mainly by means of dowel joints with slotted-in-plates . There is a light steel stairway inserted into the main structure.