There have been numerous studies on formal methods but little utilisation of formal methods in the commercial world. This can be attributed to many factors, such as that few specialists know how to use formal methods. Moreover, the use of mathematical notation leads to the perception that formal methods are difficult. Formal methods can be described as system design methods by which complex computer systems are built using mathematical notation and logic. Formal methods have been used in the software development world since 1940, that is to say, from the earliest stage of computer development. To date, there has been a slow adoption of formal methods, which are mostly used for mission-critical projects in, for example, the military and the aviation industry. Researchers worldwide are conducting studies on formal methods, but the research mostly deals with path planning and control and not the runtime verification of autonomous systems. The main focus of this dissertation is the question of how to increase the pace at which formal methods are adopted in the business or commercial world. As part of this dissertation, a framework was developed to facilitate the use of formal methods in the commercial world. The framework mainly focuses on education, support tools, buy-in and remuneration. The framework was validated using a case study to illustrate its practicality. This dissertation also focuses on different types of formal methods and how they are used, as well as the link between formal methods and other software development techniques. An ERP system specification is presented in both natural language (informal) and formal notation, which demonstrates how a formal specification can be derived from an informal specification using the enhanced established strategy for constructing a Z specification as a guideline. Success stories of companies that are applying formal methods in the commercial world are also presented. / School of Computing

: leaves 122-134 / There have been numerous studies on formal methods but little utilisation of formal methods in the commercial world. This can be attributed to many factors, such as that few specialists know how to use formal methods. Moreover, the use of mathematical notation leads to the perception that formal methods are difficult. Formal methods can be described as system design methods by which complex computer systems are built using mathematical notation and logic. Formal methods have been used in the software development world since 1940, that is to say, from the earliest stage of computer development. To date, there has been a slow adoption of formal methods, which are mostly used for mission-critical projects in, for example, the military and the aviation industry. Researchers worldwide are conducting studies on formal methods, but the research mostly deals with path planning and control and not the runtime verification of autonomous systems. The main focus of this dissertation is the question of how to increase the pace at which formal methods are adopted in the business or commercial world. As part of this dissertation, a framework was developed to facilitate the use of formal methods in the commercial world. The framework mainly focuses on education, support tools, buy-in and remuneration. The framework was validated using a case study to illustrate its practicality. This dissertation also focuses on different types of formal methods and how they are used, as well as the link between formal methods and other software development techniques. An ERP system specification is presented in both natural language (informal) and formal notation, which demonstrates how a formal specification can be derived from an informal specification using the enhanced established strategy for constructing a Z specification as a guideline. Success stories of companies that are applying formal methods in the commercial world are also presented. / School of Computing / M. Sc. (Computing)

Utvecklingen inom informationssystem har lett till att allt fler verksamhet villdigitalisera deras arbetsprocesser. Det växande mobila användandet av EnterpriseResource Planning (ERP) på enheter såsom smartphones, tablets och handdatorer harlett till att verksamheter ställer större krav på sina system och leverantörer av dessa.Framtidens ERPsystemmåste fungera mobilt och underlätta arbetet för de anställdaistället för att vara ännu ett ITsystemsom ska lösa organisationens alla utmaningar.Denna fallstudie är gjord hos en grossistverksamhet i Skåne som var mitt iimplementationen av sitt ERPsystem,Microsoft Dynamics. Denna studie harundersökt hur arbetet med verksamhetens affärsprocesser såg ut före och underimplementationen av det nya systemet. Bakgrunden till fallstudien var att undersökaom det fanns korrelation mellan hur väl affärsprocesserna var evaluerade, anpassadeoch hur vällyckad verksamhetens ERPimplementationblev. Fallstudien villundersöka hur processmodellering och Business Process Management (BPM) kanstödja denna slags implementation av mobila ERPsystem.Verksamheten i studien är ett mellanstort säljochdistributionsföretag med kontor på4 svenska orter. Verksamheten påbörjade 2015 en digitalisering av helaorganisationen. ITsystemeti bestod då av flera olika system som anpassats underlängre tid för att integrera med varandra och dela information precis efterorganisationens önskan. Som en del av implementationen valde de att använda ettBusiness Process Modeling verktyg för att introducera och träna användarna avprocesserna i det nya systemet. Implementationsfasen i projektet började i februari2017 och i februari 2019 har verksamheten fortfarande inte fastställt ett Golivedatum.. Medeltiden för en ERPimplementationär 17,4 månader [5]. Då verksamhetenGolivedatum har flyttats räknas det nu som att verksamhetens implementation ärförsenade och över medeltiden.Arbetet med processerna före själva projektstart uppfattas som bristfälligt utifrån BPMdras slutsatsen att förseningen av “Go livedatumet”delvis beror det på att företagetoch organisationen inte har analyserat sina egna processer och har förlitat sig förmycket på att konsultbolaget och RapidValue BPM skulle sköta inlärning ochimplementationen. / The development in information systems has led to an increasing number ofbusinesses wishing to digitize their work processes. The growing mobile use ofEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems on devices such as smartphones andtablets has led businesses to place greater demands on their information systems andsuppliers of these. ERP system in the future must be able to function mobile andfacilitate the work for the employees instead of being another IT system that will solvethe organisation's all challenges.This case study was made at a wholesale company in Skåne, which was in the midstof an ERP implementation with Microsoft Dynamics. This study has investigated howthe work with business processes looked before and during the implementation of thenew system. The background to the case study was to investigate whether there wereany correlation between how well the business processes were evaluated, adapted andhow successful the business's ERP implementation was. The case study aims toinvestigate how process modeling and Business Process Management (BPM) cansupport this kind of implementation of mobile ERP systems.The activity in the study is a mediumsizedsales and distribution company withoffices in 4 Swedish locations. In 2015, the business began digitizing the entireorganization. The IT system consisted of several different systems that had beenadapted over time to fit the needs of the organisation. As part of the implementation,they chose to use a Business Process Modeling tool to introduce the system and trainthe users of the processes in the new system. The implementation phase of the projectbegan in February 2017 and in February 2019 the business still has not set a Golivedate. The average time for an ERP implementation is 17.4 months [5]. Since theGolivedate business has been moved, it is now considered that the operation'simplementation is delayed and over the average time.The work on the processes before the actual start of the project is perceived asinadequate from BPM, the conclusion is drawn that the delay of the "Go live date" ispartly due to the fact that the company and the organization have not analyzed theirown processes and have relied too much on the consulting company and RapidValueBPM to handle learning and implementation.

The rapid changes in the global economy have imposed high pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their operations. Many SMEs have realized how important it is to integrate all units in the business by introducing Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP systems).    The adoption decision phase in ERP systems is an early phase and is often confused with implementation, which is a major cause of failure. This confusion can especially hit hard on small and medium-sized companies that may lack sufficient resources. The adoption decision phase can be particularly crucial in such case. The purpose of this study is to investigate which driving forces that influence the adoption decision phase of ERP systems within SMEs. The Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) theoretical framework was used to create a theoretical foundation for finding drivers from previous research.   Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with six ERP consultants. Respondents' responses were analyzed thematically, and 12 themes were identified as driving forces. These could then be compared with previous research. The driving forces identified were management and decision makers, benefits and efficiency, functionality, regulations and security, competition and the future, industry type and complexity, education and competence, finance and resources, supplier and solutions, integration with existing systems, maintenance and support, and challenges and uncertainty. The driving forces that were identified but could not be linked to previous research were functionality, and challenges and uncertainty.   Keywords: Adoption decision, driving forces, Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP system), small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE).

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:33:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Claudio_Soutto_Mayor_Cangi.pdf: 3420964 bytes, checksum: f2b56ac77d05c297fdafdc9c5b1444fe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-17 / This dissertation discusses the use and difficulties of obtaining benefits when adopting ERP systems. Although this topic is widely discussed in the literature, there is still a perceived lack of qualitative studies that deepen the understanding. The theoretical framework Acceptance Model Technology (TAM) is perhaps the one that best fits the discussions about the reasons why a new technology is not fully utilized by organizations. In this sense, the main purpose of this study was to evaluate the TAM model and present the main variables that impact on the level of usage of ERP and in addition, empirical data demonstrating the low ROI when using the ERP system is low. The research in this study, therefore examines - in a given organizational context - how to reduce the perception of ease of use and usefulness of ERP through two propositions drawn from qualitative literature: characteristics of initial design and changes in the external environment (business and law). The results of the dissertation show that the company does not use the whole system. Around 30% of the initial, defined design features were no longer used after a certain time. The conclusions suggested from the analysis, found that the design characteristics and changes in the external environment (business and law) influence the low utilization of the system and directly affect the level of use of the ERP system. The appreciated value of the effort expended in these activities and identified cost saving opportunity is $25 million a year, if these activities are executed in the ERP. / Essa disserta????o versa sobre a utiliza????o e dificuldade de obten????o de benef??cios pela ado????o de sistemas ERP. Embora seja um tema extensamente discutido na literatura, ainda se percebe certa escassez de estudos qualitativos que o aprofundem. O arcabou??o te??rico Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) talvez seja aquele que mais se adeque ??s discuss??es acerca das raz??es pelas quais uma nova tecnologia n??o seja completamente aproveitada pelas organiza????es. Neste sentido, o intento principal do presente trabalho foi o de avaliar o modelo TAM e apresentar as principais vari??veis que impactam no n??vel de utiliza????o do ERP e em complemento, dados emp??ricos que demonstrem o baixo ROI quando a utiliza????o do sistema ERP ?? baixa. A pesquisa analisou de que forma se reduz - em um dado contexto organizacional - a percep????o da facilidade de uso e da utilidade do ERP por meio de duas proposi????es qualitativas extra??das da literatura; caracter??sticas do desenho inicial e mudan??as nos ambientes externo e interno (neg??cios, legisla????o e opera????o). Os resultados apontam que a empresa n??o utiliza o sistema em sua totalidade. Em torno de 30% das funcionalidades definidas no desenho inicial deixam de ser utilizada ap??s determinado per??odo. As conclus??es sugerem que a proposi????o analisada neste estudo, as caracter??sticas do desenho e as mudan??as nos ambientes externo e interno (neg??cios, legisla????o e opera????o) influenciam a baixa utiliza????o do sistema, impactam diretamente no n??vel de utiliza????o do sistema ERP. Foi realizada uma valoriza????o no esfor??o dispendido nestas atividades e se identificou oportunidade de redu????o de custos de US$ 25 milh??es ao ano caso estas atividades fossem utilizadas por meio do ERP.

Purpose - The purpose of this research was to investigate the adoption of ERP tool by employees within a product manufacturing organization. Design/methodology/approach - In order to fully achieve the research task, the authors applied a qualitative case study that was descriptively designed. During data collection processes, primary and secondary data were utilized as information resources. The primary data obtained were multiple in-depth and semi-structured interviews performed with fifteen (15) employees over the course of an empirical investigation. While secondary data were, information obtain through various scientific articles, case organization’s webpage and other resourceful ones. Finally, convenient sampling method was used during identification and selection of respondents that were highly resourceful to the case study. Findings - An identification from the empirical data obtained highlighted some likely impediments to technological innovation adoption. More often, constraints to innovation adoption are not always individual factors but rather frequently organizational ones which can hinder employees’ from promptly adopting new innovations in various working environments. Research limitations/implications - Future research is proposed to measure the effect of employees’ adoption of technology innovation can have on an organization’s industrial performance. Furthermore, in order to encourage rapid adoption of innovation within an organization, recognitions and praises to employees whom are making good efforts is recommended. Personal recognitions from top managers to performing employees’ can persuade other employees to be more proactive in innovation utilization to obtain the same praise. Originality/Value - This study defines innovation adoption from an individual employee’s perspective as: an employee having a proper knowledge of the technology given to be used, personal acceptance of the technology, managerial empowerments to the employee and most importantly is an employee having the adequate ability to fully utilize the technological tool provided in order to fulfil the specific task. Keywords -  Innovation, Adoption, Technology, IT Tool, Enterprise Resource Planning, Organization Factors and Individual Factors.   Paper Type -  Master’s Thesis / <p>To Reference this paper:</p><p>Mbachu, C.I. and Bizien, Q. (2017). Adoption of innovation: A qualitative research about employees' adoption of information technological tool (ERP) within an organization. Department of Business Administration, LNU, Växjö - Sweden. Page 1 - 75.</p>

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are used to integrate all functions of an enterprise. They often evolve from a smaller monolithic object-oriented application, covering one functional area and organically grow over time in features and size until all functional areas are covered. Once they reach certain size, unrestricted dependencies among numerous classes increase complexity of the system and make it harder for development team to create new features and maintain code stability. This creates problems to further evolution of the ERP system and poses a risk to economic consequences for company developing it. ERP refactoring strategy, together with process of its creation, is presented in this thesis. It can be used with ERP systems, having architectural issues, with a purpose to improve quality of system’s architecture and thus prolong its lifecycle. The goal of modularizing monolithic system it pursued with intention to reduce complexity and make it easier to reason about the system. This architecture-level refactoring strategy is created for one specific medium-sized ERP system through iterative trial-and-error explorative approach. This thesis is carried out at the main development site for this ERP system by project team consisting of employees working on its development. The result shows the RefStratERP, an innovative refactoring strategy consisting of target architecture, refactoring process to reach it, refactoring principles and refactoring limitations. Contrary to initial expectation, arranging domain modules (modules containing business logic) in directed acyclic graph (DAG) is, in general, not feasible without sacrificing internal module cohesion of business logic. Accidental unidirectional dependency between two domain modules is at risk of becoming bidirectional under changing business requirements. On the other hand, non-domain modules (modules without business logic) could be completely separated from domain modules in a way that domain modules depend on non-domain modules. This comes from underlying nature of business domain and the fact that functional areas of an enterprise are interdependent. / Enterprise Resource Planning-system (ERP) används för att integrera alla funktioner inom ett företag. Oftast utvecklas dem från en mindre monolitisk objektorienterad applikation som täcker ett funktionellt område och växer organiskt över tiden i funktioner och storlek tills alla funktionella områden är täckta. När dem når en viss storlek ökar komplexiteten i systemet vilket gör det svårare fär utvecklingsteamet att skapa nya funktioner och hålla kodstabilitet. Detta skapar problem för fortsatt utveckling av ERP-systemet och utgör en risk för ekonomiska konsekvenser för utvecklingsföretaget. ERP refactoringstrategin, tillsammans med processen med att skapa den, presenteras i denna avhandling. Den kan användas med ERP-system, med arkitektoniska problem, med syfte att förbättra kvaliteten hos systemets arkitektur och därigenom förlänga dess livscykel. Målet att modularisera monolitiska system strävas efter i syfte att minska komplexiteten och göra det lättare att resonera kring systemet. En refaktorstrategi på arkitektnivå skapas för ett specifikt medelstort ERP-system genom en iterativ och försök-och-mistag-explorativ metod. Projektet genomfördes på ERPs huvudutvecklingsplats av ett projektteam bestående av anställda inom ERP utveckling. Resultatet visar RefStratERP, en innovativ refaktorstrategi som består av målarkitektur, refactoringprocess för att nå det, refactoringprinciper och refactoringbegränsningar. I motsats till inledande förväntningar är det i allmänhet inte möjligt att ordna domänmoduler (moduler som innehåller affärslogik) i en riktad acyklisk graf (DAG) utan att påverka interna modulsammanhang (cohesion) i affärslogiken. Oavsiktlig enriktad beroende mellan två domänmoduler riskerar att bli dubbelriktad under förändrade affärsbehov. Å andra sidan kan icke-domänmoduler (moduler utan affärslogik) helt separeras från domänmoduler så att domänmoduler beror på icke-domänmoduler. Detta kommer från underliggande egenskaper av affärsområden och det faktum att verksamhetsområden inom ett företag är beroende av varandra.

This research examines the impact of purchasing constraints and demand variability on working capital balances. The working capital accounts considered are creditors, debtors and raw material inventories. Purchasing constraints and demand uncertainty are defined. The supply chain of the South African cable industry, and one manufacturer in particular, and the challenges faced in the cable manufacturing process are discussed. To quantify the influences, a comparison between working capital accounts in the case of economic order quantity and actual purchasing practices is performed. A simulation model is developed to reproduce a larger sample of demand data, matching the cumulative probability density function of each cable type contained in the annual sales budget. The results show, that the working capital accounts react differently to changes in purchasing conditions and variations in demand, the most sensitive being raw material inventories. The study quantifies the influence of purchasing constraints on each working capital value. / Business Management / M.Com. (Business Management)

Evidence of the interest in enterprise architecture (EA) is seen in the number of enterprise architecture frameworks (EAF) in existence. An EAF is responsible for the realisation of an EA, and therefore acts as a container for the terminology of EA. The lack of acceptance of terms and definitions, coupled with the phenomenon of the large number of EAFs, indicate a silo type understanding of what EA is, which leads to a lack of clarity in the conceptual foundations of EA. By following a design science research (DSR) approach, a conceptual artefact (an enterprise architectonic (EAt)) is created to address the lack of clarity in the conceptual foundations of EA thinking and practice. The EAt serves as a conceptual device to represent the fundamental understanding of EA in terms of concepts and their relationships. The content of the EAt is derived from applying a structured interpretation method (SIM) to three prominent EAFs (The Open Group Architecture Framework, the Department of Defense Architecture Framework and the Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture). The SIM’s results are an EA understanding that consists of an EA claim: EA is similar in intent to the enterprise as a worldview is to the world. It is supported by six EA propositions:  Proposition 1: EA’s underlying theoretical knowledge is in a pre-suppositional state.  Proposition 2: EA is a description of the structure of the systems of an enterprise.  Proposition 3: EA represents the enterprise in time-oriented architectures such as an as-is, to-be and has-been architecture.  Proposition 4: EA translates the values/strategy of the enterprise into operational systems appropriate to the information society.  Proposition 5: EA provides a means to manage decisions about the IT/IS management and implementation in the enterprise.  Proposition 6: EA captures a representation of the enterprise in the form of a model or set of models. The six EA propositions are analysed through the lens of Heidegger's equipment analysis, to produce a set of architectonic elements. These elements are arranged in the EAt to create a conceptual device to support the fundamental understanding of EA. / Centre for Applied Information and Communication / Ph.D. (Information Systems)

<p>Wind power industry has become the world’s fastest growing renewable energy source. A firm’s information requirements can only be understood by examining their Information System (IS) through Organizational, People, Technical and Strategic perspective.  Current study focuses on the value of Information System implementation for Swedish Wind Power Industry (SWPI) that has reached to more than one billion dollars in recent decade. A well-known integrated IS i.e. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) used by Swedish Wind Power Industry (SWPI) for decision making activities is not without its challenges, that consumes a significant portion of their capital and resources for implementation. Exploratory and explanatory research conducted for triangulation, through quantitative and qualitative methods, with empirical data of survey, multiple case studies, interviews and extensive literature review, to highlight the problems and solutions for implementing ERP in SWPI. Several, IS are highlighted with their functionalities and critical success and failure factors. A Model of Knowledge Sharing in ERP Implementation between system users, top management and project team is proposed for critical factors of ERP implementation.</p> / <p>Vindkraftsindustrin har blivit världens snabbast växande förnybar energikälla. Ett företags krav på information kan endast förstås genom att granska deras informationssystem (IS) med hjälp av Organizational, Människor, tekniska och strategiska perspektiv. Aktuell studie fokuserar på värdet av informationssystem genomförande för svenska vindkraftsindustrin (SWPI) som har nått mer än en miljard dollar under de senaste tio åren. En välkänd integrerad dvs Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) som används av svenska vindkraftsindustrin (SWPI) för beslutsfattande verksamhet som inte är utan dess utmaningar, som förbrukar en betydande del av sitt kapital och resurser för genomförandet. Undersökande och förklarande forskning som bedrivs för triangulering, genom kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder, med empiriska data av undersökning, flera fallstudier, intervjuer och omfattande litteraturstudie för att belysa problem och lösningar för att genomföra ERP i SWPI. Flera är markeras med sina funktioner och kritiska framgångsfaktorer och faktorer misslyckande. En modell för utbyte av kunskap i ERP genomförande mellan systemanvändare, i högsta ledningen och projektgruppen föreslås för kritiska faktorer av affärssystem genomförandet.</p>