This thesis intends to develop application-level access control models to address several major security issues in enterprise environments. The first goal is to provide simple and efficient authorization specifications to reduce the complexity of security management. The second goal is to provide dynamic access control for Web service applications. The third goal is to provide an access control framework for Semantic Web services. In this thesis, an Authorization-Function-Based Role-based Access Control (FB-RBAC) model is proposed for controlling enterprise systems at the application level. The unique features of the proposed model are authorization-function-based access control and constraint-based finegrained access control. This model significantly simplifies the management of an access control system by adopting roles and authorization-functions in authorization specifications. An extension of FB-RBAC, Extended FB-RBAC (ERBAC), is applied to Web service applications. New features such as credential-based access control and dynamic role assignment are added to FB-RBAC in order to address user heterogeneity and dynamicity in the Web environment. The proposed ERBAC model is then extended to support Semantic Web services. Each component of the ERBAC model is described by security ontologies. These correlated security ontologies are integrated with Semantic Web services to form a complete ontology network. Ontology-based role assignment is facilitated so that security information can be queries and discovered through a network of ontologies.

<p>This thesis deals with how companies utilize their enterprise systems in their business relationships. The study’s starting point is enterprise systems that basically are standardised information systems that the company can acquire from software vendors like SAP, Oracle and Microsoft. Enterprise systems aim to integrate and manage all the company’s data and it can also be linked to its business partners.</p><p>The thesis contains two case studies of how a focal company utilizes its enterprise system in their business relationships. To accomplish this, an analytical framework based upon the combination of an information systems (IS) and a business relationship perspective is developed and applied. The IS perspective follows an ‘ensemble view of technology’ approach which describes the use of information systems as embedded in a both technical and social context. The business relationship perspective is founded in empirical studies of industrial companies. Basically, business relationships are unique and based on the companies’ exchanges. It also involves behavioural elements as trust, commitment, adaptations and interdependencies between the partners.</p><p>The two case studies cover the business relationships between ten companies and the character of the studied business relationships varies. The results show that enterprise systems are mainly focused on the companies’ internal activities. The exchanges in the business relationships are either carried out without the enterprise system or are supported by some complementary information system. Enterprise systems are thus mainly seen as production systems. This can be explained by the heritage from former material and resource planning (MRP) systems. An alternative explanation can be that business relationships are unique and require continuous adaptations and a mutual orientation. Enterprise systems require structural data rendering them difficult to use for the activities of a business relationship. The users then develop other, individual, applications that handle what is needed in their ongoing business. The threat is that information can be lost on a company level. The challenge is therefore to investigate the complementary information systems functions to see if it is possible to extend the enterprise system to include them. To be worth its epithet, the enterprise system must facilitate all the business activities found in the companies business relationships.</p>

This thesis deals with how companies utilize their enterprise systems in their business relationships. The study’s starting point is enterprise systems that basically are standardised information systems that the company can acquire from software vendors like SAP, Oracle and Microsoft. Enterprise systems aim to integrate and manage all the company’s data and it can also be linked to its business partners. The thesis contains two case studies of how a focal company utilizes its enterprise system in their business relationships. To accomplish this, an analytical framework based upon the combination of an information systems (IS) and a business relationship perspective is developed and applied. The IS perspective follows an ‘ensemble view of technology’ approach which describes the use of information systems as embedded in a both technical and social context. The business relationship perspective is founded in empirical studies of industrial companies. Basically, business relationships are unique and based on the companies’ exchanges. It also involves behavioural elements as trust, commitment, adaptations and interdependencies between the partners. The two case studies cover the business relationships between ten companies and the character of the studied business relationships varies. The results show that enterprise systems are mainly focused on the companies’ internal activities. The exchanges in the business relationships are either carried out without the enterprise system or are supported by some complementary information system. Enterprise systems are thus mainly seen as production systems. This can be explained by the heritage from former material and resource planning (MRP) systems. An alternative explanation can be that business relationships are unique and require continuous adaptations and a mutual orientation. Enterprise systems require structural data rendering them difficult to use for the activities of a business relationship. The users then develop other, individual, applications that handle what is needed in their ongoing business. The threat is that information can be lost on a company level. The challenge is therefore to investigate the complementary information systems functions to see if it is possible to extend the enterprise system to include them. To be worth its epithet, the enterprise system must facilitate all the business activities found in the companies business relationships.

The globalization of the markets and the worldwide competition forces the SMEs to implement new technologies and organize themselves using new concepts in order to maintain their competitivity. This type of temporary alliance is called as Virtual Enterprise (VE). SMEs seem to be appropriate units for building this type of temporary alliances when their properties (such as flexibility, adaptability and agility) are taken into account. This study is concerned with the simulation modeling of shop floor activities for SMEs in VEs. Analyzing the SMEs with their current and new work load over the existing one by using simulation tool may help the VE management unit to see the most appropriate SMEs for the projects. Because of mentioned advantages, this thesis will test whether the simulation tool will or will not be used in the selection of the VE partner. The simulation methodology for modeling shop floor activities of SMEs was developed by using ARENA simulation tool in this thesis. A hydraulic cylinder company was selected for pilot application. Manufacturing of twelve basic hydraulic cylinders was studied in the developed model. Four different queue rules were applied to the developed model to optimize the system efficiency. By analyzing the output statistical results of ARENA which were obtained with the usage of the input variables of SME (such as resource capacities, process times, setup and remove times of parts, variables wrt to workers, etc.) best manufacturing policy for pilot SME was able to be found. To see the response of the system under different circumstances, grinding and hardening operations for a drive shaft manufacturing were assigned to the company. This new job was applied on two models (Base Model and Optimized System Model) and the statistical results of each were examined.

Enterprise system (ES) is being considered an important phenomenon in the corporate use of information technology, enhancing organizational cross functional efficiency and effectiveness through the integration of all the information flowing through a company. The implementation and use of this system involve high expenditure and risk and it has a great impact in every aspect of an adopting organization. The wrong selection of this system would have an adverse effect on the company performance. So the selection of this system deserves considerable attention from the practitioner and researcher. In this study, our objective is to identify the influencing factors on the ES selection process from the existing theory and investigate them in real life situation from the client and vendor’s perspectives. To fulfil the first objective of the study, we have made a comprehensive review on ES literature and synthesized an integrated framework of influencing factors on the ES selection process. To fulfil the other objective, we have made a qualitative empirical study through multiple case study approach. To collect necessary in-depth information, we have used purposive sampling and general interview guide approach. The integrated framework has guided us in empirical study and the cross case analysis of empirical data has been performed on the basis of this framework from the view point of client and vendor. The result of this study shows that there exists a good fit between client and vendor views about the influencing factors on the ES selection process, in spite of insignificant imbalance between them. The result also reveals that most of the influencing factors of integrated framework have been recognized both by client and vendor with some diversity. Three new influencing factors: geographical proximity, requirement specification and sales skill of vendor have emerged from the study.

Introduction: As Information Technology (IT) becomes more and more advanced, the Enterprise System (ES) starts to attract researcher’s attention. While with the high rate of failure IT projects, it is important to evaluate the IT project properly. This paper conducts a case study in the Health Care area and chooses Jönköping County Council’s ROS system to be the target system. According to the established linkage between theory and real world organization, a practice of Enterprise System Evaluation is conducted by using an existing Uwizeyemungu et al.’s Enterprise System Effects Evaluation Model (ESEM). The research questions are as follows: What are the Enterprise Systems Effects which impact on business processes? To what extend do the ES effects impact on the business processes? Purpose: the study is an exploratory study that aims at identifying what are the ES Effects which impact on the business processes and assessing the importance and the actual degree of these effects. The answers of the first goal are explored by analyzing the documents and the record of interview, and the results are the basis of the second question. Method: This research has adopted a combined approach because of the nature of the research questions. Data has been collected through face-to-face interview, survey and the organizational documents. Secondary data are also be used for analyzing. Both qualitative and quantitative data are used for getting a reliable conclusion. Conclusions: The Enterprise System effects can be categorized into automaional effects, informational effects and transformational effects. The relationship between such effects and Performance indicators are very important. By determining the importance and impacts degree of such relationships, the evaluation results can be explicitly calculated and understood.

A robust enterprise system will enable companies to simplify their business process to achieve thespeed, efficiency and flexibility that are so fundamental for market survival. But implementations ofsuch enterprise system and their assimilation into the organizations seems to be very tricky and veryoften unsuccessful. The reasons are many, because it is not just the system that is new, but also theprocesses, collaboration patterns and job roles. However it is safe to say that the failures are not justdue to the technology, but also due to the inappropriate change management in connection with anintroduction of a new enterprise system.This bachelor thesis is aiming to identify, describe and explain the conditions contribution to asuccessful change management triggered by an enterprise system implementation process. This thesisis based on a case study in a large global pharmaceutical company that has embarked on a journey totransform their business processesThe most important conclusions resulted from this case study are that change management isabsolutely essential for successful assimilation of an enterprise system by the organization and thecase company is very well aware of it. The conditions that indicate the successful change managementare increased efficiency, simplified business processes, improved cross-functional collaboration, andhigh user satisfaction.

Multiple enterprise system instances in organizations with multiple business units are quite costly to maintain and causes the lack of common business processes. To consolidate these systems into one or fewer instances has the benefits of reduce costs, centralize IT and standardize business processes. But a consolidated model may not be the best choice for every company. To help companies with this decision making process, we studied relevant papers and provided several consideration factors that companies should concern before conducting a system consolidation program. By analyzing their situation according to these factors, companies will get a clearer view on whether they should consolidate their enterprise systems or not. In this thesis a case study is conducted with Holmen Paper. Our study with Holmen Paper focused on the maintenance area of theirs three paper mills. By analyzing these paper mills’ situations based on three of our consideration factors, we made the conclusion that Holmen Paper should consolidate their systems in the maintenance area when they are ready.

Enterprise systems are built for companies and used by the employees to complete work tasks. Focus on userdriven designs for consumer technology has led to expectations of user-friendly designs. Enterprise technology tends, however, to be more technology-driven rather than user-driven, creating unmatched expectations and mismatch between end-user and company objectives. This is why it is necessary to also consider enterprise systems from a user-driven perspective. Therefore, this study addresses user-driven enterprise designs through the Implicit Interaction Framework using a market surveillance system (MSS) as a case study. Practical design implementations and insights were gained through Research through Design (RtD), which were obtained from a survey to validate potential problems, mapping activities using the framework to gain design insights, and prototyped wireframes expressed through narrative video scenarios and evaluated with UX professionals to identify design directions. Three design directions were identified: Recall: Actions for Reminding, Collaboration: Anticipation of Intention, and Disruption: Supporting Ongoing State-Shifting. Control comes at the cost of disruption or risking wrongful actions, context of implicitness creates a trade-off between cognitive load and risk of errors, and lastly UX professionals might have to balance competing objectives in a situation where they collide. Furthermore, the Implicit Interaction Framework can guide enterprise UX designers and researchers to understand the interplay and interactions occurring between system and end-user. However, it is a translation where the complexity of enterprise systems is in some respects difficult to demonstrate, where better end-user experiences through implicit interactions should not be assumed. / Företagssystem är byggda för företag och används av de anställda för att slutföra arbetsuppgifter. Fokus på användardriven design inom konsumentteknik har lett till förväntningar på användarvänliga designer. Företagssystem tenderar dock att vara mer teknologidriven snarare än användardriven, vilket skapar oöverträffade förväntningar och oöverensstämmelse mellan slutanvändarnas och företagets mål. Det är därför nödvändigt att också betrakta företagssystem från ett användardrivet perspektiv. Därför behandlar den här studien användardrivna företagsdesigner genom ramverket ”Implicit Interaction Framework” där ett marknadsövervakningssystem ”market surveillance system” (MSS) används som fallstudie. Praktiska designimplementeringar och insikter nåddes genom Research through Design (RtD), som erhölls från en enkät för att validera potentiella problem, kartläggningsaktiviteter för att få designinsikter, och prototyper framhävda genom videoscenarier med berättarröst och som utvärderas med UX-yrkesverksamma personer för att identifiera designriktningar. Tre designriktningar identifierades: Komma ihåg: Åtgärder för att Påminna, Samverkan: Förväntan på Avsikt, och Avbrott: Stöd för Pågående Tillståndsändring. Kontroll har sitt pris genom avbrott eller risk för felaktiga handlingar, sammanhanget för implicititet skapar en avvägning mellan kognitiv belastning och risk för fel, och slutligen UX-yrkesverksamma kan behöva balansera konkurrerande mål i en situation där de kolliderar. Dessutom kan Implicit Interaction Framework vägleda UX-designers och forskare för att förstå samspelet och interaktionerna mellan system och slutanvändare. Det är dock en översättning där komplexiteten i företagssystem i vissa avseenden är svår att demonstrera, där bättre slutanvändarupplevelser genom implicita interaktioner inte bör antas.

Affärssystem har blivit ett betydelsefullt verktyg för verksamheter som vill upprätthålla konkurrenskraft på marknaden. Affärssystem som stöd gör det möjligt att digitalisera och automatisera affärsprocesser, vilket ger utrymme att fokusera på mer ändamålsenliga processer och skapa tillväxt. Trots betydande investering i form av tid och pengar, är det ett utbrett problem att affärssystemet inte genererar de långsiktiga affärsnyttorna som förväntas. En vanlig missuppfattning är att affärssystemsprojektet är avslutat efter implementationen är slutförd. I själva verket är det är först när affärssystemet används i sin rätta miljö som dess brister går att identifiera, vilket gör förvaltningsarbetet mycket viktigt för att motverka lägre matchningsgrad mellan affärssystem och affärsprocesser. Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats i informatik är att identifiera, beskriva och förklara kritiska framgångsfaktorer under post-implementeringsfasen i ett affärssystemsprojekt för att uppnå långsiktiga affärsnyttor genom användandet av ett affärssystem ur ett kund–systemimplementatörsperspektiv i en mellanprojektsrelation. I denna studie har fallstudiemetoden tillämpats och en litteraturstudie genomförts. Baserat på litteraturstudien har en analysmodell utformats. Semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts för att samla in primära empiriska data. Vissa semistrukturerade intervjuer har varit personliga och vissa utförts via Teams. Fyra intervjuer med projektmedlemmar har genomförts, tre med företrädare från fallföretaget Two och en med företrädare från kundföretaget Grandpa. Studiens viktigaste slutsatser är; att systemimplementatörens projektgrupp har kompetensbredd, särskilt i form av teknisk kunskap och verksamhetskunskap. Att kommunikationen inom dyaden är ändamålsenlig, vilket är viktigt för att skapa förståelsemellan varandra. Dessutom är det viktigt att kundens projektgrupp arbetar med de interna affärsprocesserna: dels för att förbättra de processer som inte fungerar, dels för att uppnå en högre förståelse för vilka behov som finns och dels för att optimera passformen till affärssystemet. Slutligen är det viktigt att det finns utbildade superanvändare som stöttar och sprider kunskap till användarna av affärssystemet. Kunskapsbidraget från denna studie är två indikatorer som adderats i den modifierade analysmodellen, vilka är Grad av stöd från superanvändare och Ökad kontroll.