This study is on the service models for dynamic scheduling of multi-class make-to-stock systems. An exponential single-server facility processes different types of items one by one and demand arrivals for different item types occur according to independent Poisson processes. Inventories of the items are managed by base-stock policies and backordering is allowed. The objective is to minimize base-stock investments or average inventory holding costs subject to a constraint on the aggregate fill rate, which is a weighted average of the fill rates of the item types. The base-stock controlled policy that maximizes aggregate fill rate is numerically investigated, for both symmetric and asymmetric systems, and is shown to be optimal for minimizing base-stock investments under an aggregate fill rate constraint. Alternative policies are generated by heuristics in order to approximate the policy that maximizes aggregate fill rate and performances of these policies are compared to those of two well-known Longest Queue and First Come First Served policies. Also, optimal policy for the service model to minimize average inventory holding cost subject to an aggregate fill rate constraint is investigated without restricting the attention to only base-stock controlled dynamic scheduling policies. Based on the equivalence relations between this service model and the corresponding cost model, it is observed that the base-stock controlled policy that maximizes aggregate fill rate is almost the same as the solution to the service model and cost model under consideration, especially when backorder penalties are large in the cost model as compared to cost parameters for inventory holding or equivalently when the target fill rate is large in the service model.

In this study, we consider a logistics system, in which a single supplier delivers a product to multiple retailers over a finite time horizon. Supplier decides on the amount to order in each period and services retailers facing deterministic dynamic demand via a fleet of vehicles having limited capacity. Each retailer has specific minimum and maximum levels of inventory in an order-up-to level inventory policy setting. The problem is to simultaneously determine the quantity of product to order to the supplier, retailers to be visited, the quantity of product to be delivered to retailers and routes of vehicles in each period so as to minimize system-wide costs. We present a mathematical formulation for the problem, for which we develop several Lagrangian relaxation based solution procedures providing both upper and lower bounds to the problem. We implement these solution procedures on test instances and present the results. Computational study shows that our solution procedures generate good feasible solutions in reasonable time.

Background. Management is an essential factor in any organization let alone its kind and size. Project management is the art and science of planning and implementing a project to achieve the desired outcome. Project Management (PM) plays a crucial role in businesses which are bound to function in a team-based environment regardless of the type of business. Although a variety of project management practices are employed in different kinds of industries, it is well understood that the style and level of employment of these project management practices have a significant impact on the project success. The software engineering industry has its own project management practices and the employment of these practices depends on the project manager who thus plays a key role in project management. Project manager has been a ubiquitous feature of traditional software projects. Project managers are a merger of personal characteristics and areas of competency that act together to integrate the various components of a project. In this study, the author discusses about the concept of software engineering management, various characteristics and key competencies of a project manager and also the factors influencing the overall success of a project. The authors also discuss about the current state and importance of PM education and its influence in the real time industry. Objectives. This research study is to analyze and make conclusions about the ideal features of a project manager and therefore attempt to understand its association with critical factors of PM for a project’s success in terms of delivering the product as scheduled and also understand various non-PM factors that are critical for project success. The study also attempts to show the significance of studying PM specifically in the context of Software Engineering as different from other contexts and the importance of PM education in academics and teaching PM in the industry. Methods. To achieve the objectives of this research, we attempt to study project management in the context of Software Engineering by conducting a literature review followed with a descriptive Survey as our research methods for this study to show how far literature complies to the present-day views and overall form a common opinion on this subject by comparing both the findings. Results. The results yielded by conducting a literature review conclude that Project Management or Software Engineering Management plays a vital role in software projects. Various factors that contribute towards successful project management were identified. Also, relevant literature was reviewed to identify the characteristics and competencies of an effective project manager and the status of project management education in academics and in the software engineering industry. The results obtained from the literature review were used in designing a survey and were further used to compare with and validate the results of this survey. A thorough analysis of these results yielded in capturing the current status and views with a snapshot of the situation in the present Software Engineering industry. A clear view on the subject area and results from a sample population of 73 software engineering professionals consisting of up to 41 experienced managers were analyzed, commented and documented. Conclusions. Various conclusions were drawn including discussions on the compliances and contradictions between present literature and software professionals in the present industry have been made. It was found that the majority of software professionals believe that project management in software engineering is unique from project management in other disciplines. It was found that professionals believe project management to be highly to very highly crucial for the overall success of software projects and that the most important key factors for successful project management were team motivation, communication and risk management. It was found that ‘Ability to foresee a problem’, ‘Decision making’ and ‘Inspires a shared vision’ were among the top three characteristics and ‘Team management’, ‘Leadership’ and ‘Ability to work under pressure’ were among the top three competencies of an effective project manager. It was found that managers feel the need to be taught about project management standards and that the ‘PMBoK’ and ‘ISO 9001’ were the most popular standards implemented. It was found that there are very contrasting views among companies on training project managers before promoting them to managerial positions whereas managers expect to be trained. Keywords: Software Engineering Management, Software Project Management, Project Manager, Project Success, Project Management Education, Software Engineering.

Sustainable competitive advantage (CA) is a necessary requirement of a rational economic business organisation. Without this CA a business does not have a rational source for appropriating added value in the form of retained profit. Various management research papers have identified numerous factors that may create a source of competitive advantage. Other researchers have shown how industries have changed through time. This thesis shows a temporal development of competitive advantage for the construction industry (CAC). The thesis will structure sources of CA to show the significance of each source during the lifecycle of the business and the industry. The thesis shows how the identified sources vary over time. The thesis will develop the concept of a temporal hierarchy as a model for identifying and developing potential sources of CA at any point in the lifecycle of a particular business entity. The research identifies which sources of CA may be most appropriate (at a given point in the lifecycle) to sacrifice in order to create a further (and higher) source of CA. The proposed temporal hierarchy suggests four 'dynamic' epochs, Factor, Investment, Innovation and Wealth and when these epochs are combined with the 'detail' hierarchies of internal 'detail', distinctive capability 'detail' and external 'detail' a comprehensive anatomy of competitive advantage within the construction industry is presented. The conclusion of the thesis includes examples of the application of the temporal model to a small sample of case studies, showing the representativeness of the model to 'real-life' businesses. The phenomenological reservations implicit in the study are evaluated and recommendations are made for further research.

M.Ing. (Engineering Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

MCom (Business Information Systems) / Deparment of Business Information Systems / The extent of success of a given project can be increased by using an appropriate Project Management Methodology (PMM) that takes into account the specific characteristics of the project (such as complexity, size, budget, nature of risk, etc.). PMMs have evolved over the years to become more diverse, complex, with evolving and dynamic ICT platforms. Such PMMs have traditionally been used as frameworks to guide the project management process for decision makers (such as Project Managers, Project Owners and Project Teams). The choice of selecting an appropriate project methodology is daunting; apart from other considerations related to project characteristics such as budget, scope, schedule, performance and resource constraints. One of the vital stages of a successful software development project is selecting a good software development methodology that best suits that project. The aim of this research is to investigate the critical factors to be considered by project managers in the selection of the software development methodology for the project. These critical factors are then used as a foundation for an architecture for an “unbounded rule-based expert system. A survey was conducted amongst project managers to determine the critical factors necessary for the selection of a software development methodology. From the findings of the study, it was established the critical factors revolved around three constructs of Project Excellence Enablers, Excellent Project Management Practices, and Business Value Proposition factors. The findings from this study therefore provided a rationale and a basis for the evolution of an “Unbounded Rule-Based Expert Systems Architecture” as a basis for the selection of the right software development methodology / NRF

<p>U disertacija se istražuje proces profesionalizacije nove profesije inženjer menadžment u savremenom srpskom dru&scaron;tvu. Cilj je da se ispita koji su konstitutivni elementi razvijeni, koji jo&scaron; nisu ili nisu u potpunosti, te ih treba razvijati kako bi se ubrzali procesi profesionalizacije.<br />Teorijski model primenjen u istraživanju sastoji se od elemenata strukturano-funkcionalističke teorije (dru&scaron;tvena za&scaron;tita profesije i etički kodeks) i realističko-istorijske teorije (formiranje &scaron;kola za profesionalno obrazovanje, profesionalno udruženje i izgradnja etičkog kodeksa profesije). Model je za potrebe ovog istraživanja pro&scaron;iren sa jo&scaron; dva relevantna elementa: resocijalizacija inženjera menadžmentau organizacijama i dru&scaron;tveno vrednovanje profesije.<br />Rezultati istraživanja dokazuju relevantnost izabranih nezavisnih promenljivih i potvrđuju njihov determinirajući uticaj na procese profesionalizacije profesije inženjer menadžmenta. Kao najrazvijeniji elemenat ove mlade profesije identifikovano je univerzitetsko obrazovanje. To pokazuje da je uvođenje studijskih programa inženjerskog menadžmenta na univerzitete u Srbiji prethodnica ekonomskog razvoja.</p> / <p>The thesis focuses on the research of the process of the professionalization of the engineering manager profession in the contemporary Serbina society. The main objective is to examine which of the constitutive elements of this profession are developed and which of those are yet to be developed.<br />The theoretical model applied in the research consists of the elements of the structural-functional theory (social protection of profession and ethical code) and realistic-historical theory (founding of the schools for professional education, professional associations, and establishment of the ethical code for the profession). This model was, for the needs of this research, broadened with two more relevant elements: re-socialization of the engineering managers in and social evaluation of the profession of the engineering manager.<br />The results of the research prove the relevance of the examined factors and confirm their determining influence on the process of the professionalization of the engineering manager profession. As the most developed element of this young profession, the university education was identified. This shows that introduction of the study programme of engineering management in Serbia by the universities was in fact preceding the economic development.</p>

The Water Doctoral Network of Engineering and Management is a bilateral German – Vietnamese academic network with the aim to provide a platform for the development of joint research activities in water sector. Within the framework of the project, the network members organised a series of workshops and seminars targeted especially at PhD students from universities conducting research programs in water-related issues from both countries. The present paper summarises the outcomes of the last PhD seminar held on March 21-22, 2013 in Dresden, Germany. The seminar was attended by participants from IEEM – Institute of Environmental Engineering and Manage-ment at the University of Witten/Herdecke gGmbH and IAA – Institute of Waste Management and Contaminated Site Treatment at the Technische Universität Dresden. / Mạng lưới nghiên cứu sinh ngành Kỹ thuật và quản lý về nước là một mạng lưới hàn lâm song phương Đức-Việt, nhằm tạo ra một diễn đàn đẩy mạnh hoạt động nghiên cứu hợp tác trong ngành nước. Trong khuôn khổ dự án này, các thành viên thuộc mạng lưới đã cùng nhau tổ chức một loạt những hội thảo và semina chủ yếu phục vụ cho các nghiên cứu sinh của các trường đại học đang tham gia cá chương trình nghiên cứu về những đề tài liên quan đến nước ở cả Việt Nam và Đức. Bài báo quý vị đang đọc đưa ra tóm tắt ngắn gọn những kết quả đạt được trong semina vừa tổ chức ngày 21.-22.03.2013 tại Dresden, Đức. Semina này hướng tới các đối tượng thuộc Viện Kỹ thuật và Quản lý môi trường (IEEM) thuộc trường Đại học Witten/Herdecke gGmbH và Viện Quản lý chất thải-Xử lý vùng ô nhiễm (IAA) thuộc Đại học Tổng hợp Kỹ thuật Dresden.

This Record of Study describes the Doctor of Engineering (DE) internship experience at the Supply Chain Systems Laboratory (SCSL) at Texas A&M University. The objective of the internship was to design and develop automation tools to streamline lab operations related to inventory management projects and during that process adapt and/or extend theoretical inventory models according to real-world business complexity and data integrity problems. A holistic approach to automation was taken to satisfy both short-term and long-term needs subject to organizational constraints. A comprehensive software productivity tool was designed and developed that considerably reduced time and effort spent on non-value adding activities. This resulted in standardizing and streamlining data analysis related activities. Real-world factors that significantly influence the data analysis process were identified and incorporated into model specifications. This helped develop an operational inventory management model that accounted for business complexity and data integrity issues commonly encountered during implementation. Many organizational issues including new business strategies, human resources, administration, and project management were also addressed during the course of the internship.

In this study, we focus on pricing and production decisions in reusable container systems with stochastic demand. We consider a producer that sells a single product to the customers in reusable containers with two supply options: (i) brand-new containers, (ii) returned containers from customers. Customers purchasing the products may return the containers to the producer to receive a deposit price. The return quantity depends on both customer demand and the deposit price determined by the producer. Hence, the producer has the opportunity to manipulate the return quantity via the deposit price. The unit cost of filling brand-new containers is different than the unit cost of refilling returned containers. We also consider resource restrictions on the production operations. Our setting represents certain hybrid manufacturing / remanufacturing systems where (i) the producer collects and recovers his own products, (ii) the producer supplies both brand-new and recovered products to his customers, and (iii) the customers are indierent between brand-new and recovered products. In this setting, we investigate the optimal pricing and production decisions in order to maximize the producer`s profit. Our approach utilizes non-linear optimization techniques. We characterize the optimal acquisition fee and the optimal order quantity of brand-new containers analytically and investigate the effect of parameters with an extensive computational study.