The need for a robust system architecture to support software development is well known. In enterprise software development, this must be realized in a multi-tier environment for deployment to a software framework. Many popular integrated development environment (IDE) tools for component-based frameworks push multi-tier partitioning by assisting developers with convenient code generation tools and software deployment tools which package the code. However, if components are not packaged wisely, modifying and adding components becomes difficult and expensive. To help manage change, vertical partitioning can be applied to compartmentalize components according to function and role, resulting in a grid partitioning. This thesis is to advocate a design methodology that enforces vertical partitioning on top of the horizontal multitier partitioning, and to provide guidelines that document the grid partitioning realization in enterprise software development processes as applied in the J2EE framework.

QC 20100621

Gamification is a novel method to improve engagement, motivation, or participation in non-game contexts using game mechanics. To a large extent, gamification is a psychological- and design-oriented discipline, i.e., a lot of effort has to be spent already in the design phase of a gamification project. Subsequently, the design is implemented in information systems such as portals or enterprise resource planning applications. These systems act as mediators to transport a gameful design to its users. However, the efforts for the subsequent development and integration process are often underestimated. In fact, most conceptual gamification designs are never implemented due to the high development costs that arise from building the gamification solution from scratch, imprecise design or technical requirements, and communication conflicts between different stakeholders in the project. This thesis addresses these problems by systematically defining the phases and stakeholders of the overall gamification process. Furthermore, the thesis rigorously defines the conceptual requirements of gamification based on a broad literature review. The identified conceptual requirements are mapped to a domain-specific language, called the Gamification Modeling Language. Moreover, this thesis analyzes 29 existing gamification solutions that aim to decrease the implementation efforts of gamification. However, using the different language elements, it is shown that none of the existing solutions suffices all requirements. Therefore, a generic and reusable platform as runtime environment for gamification is proposed which fulfills all presented functional and non-functional requirements. As another benefit, it is shown how the Gamification Modeling Language can be automatically compiled into code for the gamification runtime environment and, thus, further reduces development efforts. Based on the developed artifacts and five real gamified applications from industry, it is shown that the efforts for the implementation of the gamification can be significantly reduced from several months or weeks to a few days. Since the technology is designed as a reusable service, future projects benefit continuously with regards to time and efforts.

Due to the characteristics of software, software products have been considered products with "pure" profits which are suitable to be sold in the international market. Enterprise software is one typical type of software which is mainly sold in business market. More and more enterprise software providers are going abroad to discover opportunities for their enterprise solutions. This thesis is to try to give more suggestions on internationalization for these enterprise software providers. The empirical case is concerning the internationalization of the enterprise software provided by a Swedish software company, Company A. The case happens in the specific geographic area (China) which is far away from the domestic market, the Swedish market. Based on the business network of Company A, Software A has been successfully sold in the Chinese market. The analysis is on the basis of the empirical case and the relevant theories on internationalization. In the context of the empirical case, the nature of enterprise software has been analyzed. Enterprise software is usually tangible and customized, and the internationalization of enterprise software is more relationship-based than mass software products. The discussion about the nature of enterprise software contains the "service" nature of enterprise software, the "service" typology of enterprise software in international marketing and some features of enterprise software which are influencing the internationalization of enterprise software. By understanding the nature of enterprise software, enterprise software providers are capable of crafting international marketing strategies in their internationalization processes. For example, enterprise software providers can develop module-based software or add more self-customization functions to decrease the risks of internationalization. ii Internationalization has been discussed for a long time since the "Uppsala" model was come up in 1977. In the last thirty years, the business environment has been changing with the tendency of expanding through the network-based business relationship. The new "Uppsala" model, which was born in this new business environment, has been leaded me to analyze the success and failure in the empirical case. The internationalization of enterprise software is observed to follow the changes of the four elements in the new "Uppsala" model, in which "opportunities learning" and "trust building" are highlighted in the network-based business environment. The new "Uppsala" model is valuable for today’s internationalization to develop strategies for the more successful internationalization. From understanding the product to understanding the network, enterprise software providers can explore more international opportunities and internationalization strategies for their enterprise software instead of the traditional thinking.

Innovation ecosystem strategy is often adopted by platform technology owners to seek complementary innovation from resources located outside the firm to exploit indirect network effect. In this dissertation I aim to address the issues that are related to the formation and business value of platform innovation ecosystems in the enterprise software industry. The first study explores the role of three factors - increased payoff from access to platform owner's installed base, risk of misappropriation due to knowledge transfer, and the extent of competition - in shaping the decisions of third-party complementors to join a platform ecosystem. The second study evaluates the effect of participation in a platform ecosystem on small independent software vendors' business performances, and how their appropriability strategies, such as ownership of intellectual property rights or downstream complementary capabilities, affect the returns from such partnerships. Built upon resource based view and theory of dynamic capabilities, the third study reveals that users' co-innovation in enterprise information systems, measured by their participation in online professional community networks, constitute a source of intangible organizational asset that helps to enhance firm level IT productivity.

The interest in the phenomenon of industrial agglomeration dates back to the late 19th century (particularly, the work of Alfred Marshall). The late 20th century saw a renaissance in this interest, for example, in the ‘new geographical economics’ (e.g. Krugman) and Porter’s framework of competitive forces. Subsequently, clustering has come to be seen as a feature of high technology industries, despite the difficulty to gather empirical evidence to underpin this assertion and to corroborate underlying cluster-related mechanisms that would result in benefits for firms in clustered environments.This thesis extends the discourse on rationales of clustering into the field of the management software industry sector. Its objective is to use the example of the cluster around the German software giant SAP in South-western Germany as a model to explore the strengths and characteristics of clustering in this industry context. A survey-based research design was selected and interview responses were collected from 206 management software firms located throughout Germany. The empirical analysis was based on two complementary statistical approaches. The SAP cluster was compared to two control groups, one consisting of firms from non-clustered regions, the other of firms from other clustered locations. Diversities between environments were analysed using bivariate statistical techniques. The findings of this descriptive analysis substantiate disparities between the SAP cluster and the non-clustered control group. Beneficial effects available to SAP cluster firms can be observed in respect to nearly all factors analysed, i.e. access to specialised human resources, access to investment capital, demand proximity, knowledge spillover externalities, spin-off activity and the accumulation of social capital.This in-depth comparative perspective is complemented through a holistic evaluation employing structural equation modelling. Among the key findings of this analysis are the significant links between location in the SAP cluster and superior growth performance, in which long term professional networks and social capital derived from major software vendors (particularly SAP) act as mediators. Structural equation modelling also highlights a positive effect of being located in the SAP cluster on knowledge spillover externalities, which is mediated by the cultural environment in the SAP cluster. Finally, the SAP cluster environment stimulates spin-off activity, which functions as an important mediator in the accumulation and retention of social capital held with players in the industry. In sum, the empirical analysis suggests that a wide-ranging network of factors exists, in which social capital functions as a catalyst in the mechanisms resulting in benefits available to SAP cluster firms.

Recently, cloud computing has been gaining more and more popularity. Misunderstanding, misusing and underutilizing the cloud offerings, though, both from business and technical perspective still poses a threat to the success of cloud projects. On the technical side, one of the main reasons for success or failure is often the architectural design of the system – if a system is not architected the “cloud way”, using cloud’s special characteristics, the business benefits of such a system are often questionable at best. Software architecture through architectural patterns – reusable generic solutions to classes of problems – has for long been a good way to overcome the challenges of software architecture. This paper focuses on establishing the grounds and highlighting the differences of the knowledge transfer regarding architectural patterns from building pre-cloud (“traditional”) software systems to building cloud-native systems. The following 3 research questions drive this research: RQ1.     How does the existing knowledge on architectural patterns relate to the cloud computing environment? RQ2.     Which characteristics of architectural patterns make them suitable for the cloud environment? RQ3.     How can architectural pattern evolution be documented effectively for usage in the practice? In order to answer these 3 research questions and considering their focus is on utility i.e. creating a model which can be directly used in practice, the research uses design science research methodology (Peffers, et al., 2007-8). The emphasis in this methodology is iteratively building artefact(s) which can be improved and proven through practice that they actually help solving the problem at hand. This research contributes with building 4 inter-connected artefacts: a cloud applicability taxonomy of architectural patterns (CATAP) showing how applicable to a cloud environment an architectural pattern is and why; a pattern-to-characteristics mapping showing how using an architectural pattern affects the resulting system in traditional and cloud environments; a pattern form documenting the architectural patterns and the findings about them in the previous two artefacts; a wiki site, APE Wiki, which makes the results available to the public for reference and discussion and improvement. This research has a few interesting findings. First of all, the current architectural pattern knowledge seems to be very mature as no pattern has been found to have significantly evolved because of cloud – the architectural patterns are really generic and very flexible and only their effect on system characteristics has changed with the environment switch. On the other hand, a few new patterns were discovered and documented, which confirms the need for special attention to the new environment. Apart from that, the pattern-to-characteristics mapping provides interesting insights into which characteristics are most important for cloud and where there is a gap which may need to be filled. This paper presents both the process and the results of the research as equally important as replicating and extending this research could help in maturing the results and the knowledge about architecting systems for cloud thus increasing the chances of success of cloud projects.

Gamification is a novel method to improve engagement, motivation, or participation in non-game contexts using game mechanics. To a large extent, gamification is a psychological- and design-oriented discipline, i.e., a lot of effort has to be spent already in the design phase of a gamification project. Subsequently, the design is implemented in information systems such as portals or enterprise resource planning applications. These systems act as mediators to transport a gameful design to its users. However, the efforts for the subsequent development and integration process are often underestimated. In fact, most conceptual gamification designs are never implemented due to the high development costs that arise from building the gamification solution from scratch, imprecise design or technical requirements, and communication conflicts between different stakeholders in the project. This thesis addresses these problems by systematically defining the phases and stakeholders of the overall gamification process. Furthermore, the thesis rigorously defines the conceptual requirements of gamification based on a broad literature review. The identified conceptual requirements are mapped to a domain-specific language, called the Gamification Modeling Language. Moreover, this thesis analyzes 29 existing gamification solutions that aim to decrease the implementation efforts of gamification. However, using the different language elements, it is shown that none of the existing solutions suffices all requirements. Therefore, a generic and reusable platform as runtime environment for gamification is proposed which fulfills all presented functional and non-functional requirements. As another benefit, it is shown how the Gamification Modeling Language can be automatically compiled into code for the gamification runtime environment and, thus, further reduces development efforts. Based on the developed artifacts and five real gamified applications from industry, it is shown that the efforts for the implementation of the gamification can be significantly reduced from several months or weeks to a few days. Since the technology is designed as a reusable service, future projects benefit continuously with regards to time and efforts.

Companies are looking for ways to improve their business practices to work more efficiently.They are also looking for technology that can improve their workflows and customer service systems.  Here comes the need of enterprise software applications, theses softwares allows companies to cut costs and standardize the way they work, ensuring that everyone is working towards the same goal. The objective of this study is an assignment from Ericsson Business Support Solutions with the purpose of studying the effect of transitioning from the currently used process (CSV files) to an interactive web UI, when it comes to the process of handling offering of software capabilities.In this study, we aim to study the challenges and opportunities of developing an enterprise application software(EAS) and its impact on the productivity of end users.This research will also study the challenges and benefits of developing an enterprise software application (Digital marketplace) that will be used in a large (+500 employees) organization. In addition, the study will research security aspects that should be considered when developing enterprise softwares. Two sorts of studies have been conducted to answer the research questions. In order to understand and gain knowledge about the process of enterprise software development and to be able to point out which challenges and benefits there are and to get closer view of which security aspects should be in consideration when developing a software on this scale, a literature study was conducted. In order to observe and investigate whether web interfaces are a better solution / method than CSV files, and thus see the possibility of whether web interfaces can generally replace CSV files when it comes to CRUD, search and filtering information an empirical study was carried out through the development of a user interface and a usability test survey was conducted. The overall results of the study consistently show that UI is a more resourceful alternate to the  CSV files if the challenges posed by the enterprise software are sufficiently engaged and taken care of. A solid insight and expertise into information technology, pragmatic solutions to the security challenges, and careful consideration of the participants' complaints will be helpful in creating functional enterprise software.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabio Neves da Rocha.pdf: 862999 bytes, checksum: 8c313edb7eac38b896702bed84f64f7d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-13 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / The increasing adoption of enterprise software in Brazil has led domestic market to a higher level of maturity on the usage and exploitation of such technology, first among large corporations, and most recently among medium and small companies as well. It has attracted much attention in the practitioner literature, especially about the capacity of software houses and consulting firms to cooperate in such a way that makes them capable for bringing software innovation to the market. In this sense, this research aimed to identify the mechanisms of alignment of divergent interests among large global consulting firms and global software houses for the introduction of new technologies. It was designed as a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research, given the gap in the literature on the abovementioned topic, and used the multiple case studies methodology, bringing two cases chosen by convenience that involve six different companies, each of them having one consulting firm, one software house and one customer. The data gathering was based on structured interviews and documents both publicly accessible and accessed upon authorization, having a categorical thematic analysis using predefined categories, along with a cross-case analysis. The research has brought to light 11 mechanisms, both formal and informal, that promote the alignment between software houses and consulting firms in their adaptation processes. In addition to the contributions that complement the existing literature, it has found some elements that contradict it, such as the use of hierarchical escalation, in opposition to mediation or arbitration; or the diversity of the corporate strategy among partners in a co-innovation venture, what was meant to have only product leadership kind of constituents. The research s raw material has just scratched the surface of the complex and dynamic universe of the abovementioned actors. At the end of the paper, there are some reflections that cast possibilities for both exploitation of the material in statu quo, or its expansion in order to broadly understand the strategic alliances relationship among firms of the enterprise application software segment. The collaborative innovation mechanisms, for instance, deserve study under the product development strategy pointof- view, in order to provide practitioners with substance for their R&D planning and policies. The interdependence between software houses and consulting firms is presented as a key factor for longevity and stability of alliances, which on one hand brings a major contribution to the literature in the search for a consistent explanation xii about the durable existence of hybrid organization forms in the markets, and on the other hand gives rise to the need for detailed analysis of the interdependence degree, in order to support the planning and management of the most appropriate governance forms in the process of adaptation. Starting from a better understanding of the mechanisms of interest alignment in contractual strategic alliances in particular on the relationship between software houses and consulting firms a new research agenda can be set for the discovery of the alliance relationship dimensions among the firms in the software industry. / A crescente adoção de softwares empresariais no Brasil tem levado o mercado nacional a um nível mais elevado de maturidade no uso e exploração de tais tecnologias, inicialmente entre as grandes corporações, e mais recentemente também pelas médias e pequenas empresas. Tal adoção tem atraído muita atenção da literatura profissional, especialmente sobre a capacidade de alinhamento de interesses divergentes entre as empresas desenvolvedoras de software e as de consultoria de tal forma a torna-las capazes de trazer inovação tecnológica para o mercado. Nesse sentido, a pesquisa objetivou identificar os mecanismos de alinhamento de interesses divergentes entre as grandes empresas de consultoria globais e desenvolvedoras globais de software para a introdução de novas tecnologias. Para tanto, ela foi desenhada como qualitativa exploratória descritiva, dada a lacuna que existe sobre esse tema na literatura, e utilizou a metodologia de estudo de casos múltiplos, trazendo dois casos, escolhidos por conveniência, envolvendo seis empresas distintas. Cada caso conta com uma consultoria, uma desenvolvedora de software e um cliente. A coleta de dados se baseou em entrevistas estruturadas e documentos de acesso público e de acesso autorizado, e sua análise foi feita de forma temática categorial com o uso de categorias definidas a priori e com o cruzamento dos casos. O trabalho trouxe à tona 11 mecanismos de ajustes de interesse que existem na relação de alianças entre empresas desenvolvedoras de software e as consultorias de implementação, tanto formais quanto informais, que são usados nos seus processos de adaptação. O caminho de identificação dos mecanismos acabou por encontrar, também, contrapontos com a teoria existente, como o uso da escalação hierárquica em conflitos ao invés de mediação ou arbitragem, e sobre o perfil dos participantes de alianças para inovação, nas quais os processos observados contam tanto com empresas que têm estratégia corporativa de liderança em produto, quanto com empresas de estratégia orientada ao cliente, em oposição à teoria que sugere a prevalência das empresas com estratégia de liderança em produto. A matéria-prima angariada para essa pesquisa apenas resvalou na superfície do universo complexo e dinâmico desses atores. Foram colocadas algumas reflexões finais que lançam possibilidades tanto para a exploração dela in statu quo, ou de sua ampliação, para o entendimento mais abrangente do relacionamento de alianças estratégicas entre empresas do segmento de softwares empresariais. Os mecanismos de inovação x colaborativa, por exemplo, merecem estudo sob o ponto de vista da estratégia de desenvolvimento de produtos, de forma a auxiliar os executivos no planejamento e políticas de P&D. A interdependência que existe entre desenvolvedoras de software e consultorias se apresenta como fator chave da longevidade e estabilidade das alianças, o que por um lado traz um a contribuição importante para a literatura, na busca por uma explicação consistente sobre a existência duradoura das formas organizacionais híbridas nos mercados, e por outro faz emergir a necessidade da análise detalhada dos graus de interdependência existentes, a fim de subsidiar o planejamento e a gestão das formas de governança mais adequadas no processo de adaptação dos parceiros. A partir de uma melhor compreensão dos mecanismos de alinhamento de interesses nas alianças estratégicas contratuais em específico sobre a relação entre as empresas desenvolvedoras de software e as consultorias nessa indústria poderá ser aberta uma nova agenda de pesquisa sobre as dimensões do relacionamento entre as empresas na indústria de software.