Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 105-107). / Loyalty Programs have evolved over years turning into unique business units, responsible for producing an important source of revenue for airlines. However, despite their contribution to the business, the lack of knowledge on the impacts of giving away rewards to loyal customers may lead to suboptimal decisions, harming bottom line results. The main objective of this thesis is to develop a methodology to model and measure the net revenue impacts of award passengers as they integrate to current airline revenue management optimization practices. By modeling an award demand using the Passenger Origin Destination Simulation tool, it was possible to understand the impacts on airlines' main metrics compared to an environment without these passengers, and to define a baseline scenario based on current airline industry data, to analyze the impacts of different RM strategies. A methodology was proposed to identify and quantify three main effects seen when allowing award passengers into the current RM optimization. The Award Revenue accounts for the economic benefit for the airline of each award passenger. Displaced Revenue is the ticket revenue loss due to the displacement of paid passengers. And, the Sell Up effect measures the change in average paid fare as a result of the introduction of this new demand. Differences between the real economic benefit to the airline of award passengers and the value that the RM optimizer uses for assigning their availability were introduced to measure the net award revenue impact. Results showed that at award valuations higher than the lowest fare, airlines are able to increase their total revenues due to higher award revenue and lower displaced ticket revenue. This outcome was consistent for all RM Schemes and demand levels examined. / by Juan Pablo García Saavedra / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 56-57). / Simulators generated from project management system dynamics models are exercised for training the future project managers. In today's' high dynamic, vibrant and complex markets, the models should incorporate more business dynamics and also provide more tools to the players who can flexibly steer in the project games. Along with that objective, this study brings new dynamics and modeling approach to the original multi-phase project system dynamics model of Ford and Sterman, 1998. The new dynamics include the development of new features in the market growing the customer expectation, reflection of customer expectation to project economics, supersede of project concurrencies by rushing the tasks, allowing the defects delivered to customers to be compensated by lifetime repair cost and free positioning of the phase schedules while maintaining concurrencies. A new formulation for completion putthrough, option to include final downstream defect correction and elaborate project econometrics are also included. The model is built in modules that can be utilized to increase the number of phases and/or explain the model to the trainees more easily. The project model employs two options; a zero-defect policy and allowed defect policy where the latter is newly introduced by the repair cost. The system dynamics model is tested by proposed extreme project manager traits which are implemented as table function to use one or more modules to pursue an ultimate objective within a certain logic. A construction project principally mimicking the cases provided by Parvan et al. 2015 is simulated with the manager traits. The results initiate interesting tradeoffs such as the influence of project delivery time versus repair cost, accepting new tasks versus creating more defects or rescheduling the project or positioning the workforce before the ramping up of testing and defective task correction activities. The model necessitates a deeper understanding and analyses of long-term phenomenon such as the lifetime repair cost, the financial consequences of defects and lifetime earnings of products as well as the continuous feature development in the market and its economic value. It is found that the current model proposes an enhanced tool for the training of future project managers. Keywords: System dynamics, project management, simulation, defect policy, numerical modeling. / by Burak Gozluklu. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 154-158). / Companies today must constantly innovate to delight consumers and stay ahead of the competition. One way to deliver these is through new product launches. Despite significant investments, product failure rate in consumer products industry is high. Studies attribute failures to lack of quality and lack of integration of consumer insight in the Product Development Process. This thesis is an attempt for improvement, adopting the lens of consumer insight as information in the Product Development Process, and proposes a method to evaluate options more strategically. This thesis first examines available literature on Product Development Processes and consumer insight methodologies. It then uses Design Structure Matrix to identify consumer insight involvement in Product Development Process, and identifies gaps between the theoretical model and industry practice. Thereafter, this thesis proposes a technique to compare the quality of different consumer research methods at a given point in the process. Using this information, this thesis builds a Quantitative model to simulate the propagation effect of individual consumer insights decision on quality of output information, using rate of market change as a secondary factor. Within the constraints of this model, it was found that consumer insight strategy decisions should not be done in an ad-hoc manner, since consumer research method selection at each point in the Product Development Process has direct and propagative effects on the quality of the outcome. To obtain good quality, the selection of a good method is critical; first, because it allows for flexibility of options in subsequent phases, and second, because it is more effective than rework, under Slow and Rapid rate of market change. This thesis proposes decision and implementation frameworks as a guide for Product Managers, who can combine the predicted outcome of consumer insight quality with project management iron triangle, to select the best consumer insight strategy. While this consumer insight systemic model is a step towards a model-based design of consumer insight strategy, future work is needed to validate the quantitative model and resulting decision framework. / by Lenni Kimawati. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 79-81). / Additive Manufacturing (AM), with its bottom-up approach enables the fabrication of highly complex geometries, the combination of multiple materials to achieve specific physical properties, and the consolidation of assemblies into single parts. Although many of the prominent processes were invented 20-30 years ago, we are now seeing rapid performance improvement and the synthesis of innovative processes that greatly expand the applications of AM. That being said, there are significant barriers to entry, one being the low throughput of additive processes when compared with more conventional methods, another being the high cost of introducing AM processes into current supply chains. Identifying key use cases where AM can be of maximum benefit is pivotal to exploit its potential. This research aims to provide methodology and tools to enable rapid estimation for part suitability in AM with physics-based and predictive models. A method is presented to estimate build time for parts manufactured via the Selective Laser Sintering process, utilizing specific metrics for part geometry and machine specific parameters. Key elements of the AM cost function are identified using the estimation model, paying close attention to assessing the impact of machine cost on the final part. In summary, these tools can be expanded to allow for not only part selection in AM, but also to act as decision tools when designing equipment.. / by Talha Hasan. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 45-46). / By designing and re-designing biological system, synthetic biology is advancing a wide range of domains from biotherapeutics for fatal cancers to biofuels and artificial meat to improve the global environment and food security. As the scale and complexity of synthetic biology endeavors are increasing, designing automation processes to replace manual labor is becoming more important to improve cost effectiveness, reproducibility, and efficiency including error reduction. Despite the desire for lab automation in the research and industry, in reality, scientists still largely rely on manual techniques in the labs even though the conventional approach becomes unmanageable and slows down their research iterations. One of the key problems is the mental barrier. According to the online survey and interviews conducted in this research, almost 90% of researchers cannot trust the quality of robot's work even though they do not know the actual success rate of the robotics work and what the robot can do. To bridge the gap for making the automation process more accessible, this research is proposing the use of "Bot", a software robot with which people can communicate through the internet and "Internet of things (IoT)". In the system, Bot is connected with the lab automation robots such as liquid handling robots. By communicating with the Bot using user-interfaces such as Slack, researchers can place work orders on lab robots and monitor their order status anytime. Moreover, people can directly ask the Bot for important information and instructions, such as protocol success rate and scheduling. / by Masakazu Nagata. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 74-75). / Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) enable organizations to broaden their set of capabilities that equip them better to deal with the challenges lying ahead. While M&A transaction values account trillions of dollars each year, their success rate is surprisingly low. In spite of this, the amount of research aimed at reducing the uncertainty and risk associated with a M&A transaction is limited. In order to continue filling this gap, this research focuses on the socio-technical aspects of a merger or acquisition in the IT industry. This thesis examines available research literature and current best practices in the industry. Additionally, this study identifies five focus culture areas from empiric qualitative data acquired in the field. The focus areas examined in this thesis correspond to the most significant cultural challenges faced during an IT acquisition. Based on the initial findings stemming from a literature review and data analysis, this thesis develops a system dynamics model, which simulates transient behavior of the complex socio-technical underlying structures of an IT merger. This thesis thereafter proposes a model-based IT integration framework to assist the M&A management team and decision making leadership in their assessment, development and maintenance of a sound organizational model geared at supporting current and future M&A transactions. Given the fact that research on this topic is limited, this thesis represents only an initial effort to further the understanding of M&A. Further research must be developed in the future to validate this model-based IT integration framework, including improved methods of acquiring socio-technical attributes. / by Charles E. Lambert, IV. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 113-120). / Many public policies related to innovation have been implemented in Japan, especially focusing on promoting startups from universities, aiming at economic growth from technology. However, innovation ecosystem is complicated and dynamic that make difficult for policymakers to understand the system and evaluate policy effect. In this study, we analyze innovation ecosystem around a university and build a system dynamics model to have policy implications. We study the University of Tokyo and MIT, major universities for a large number of spin-off startups in each country, as cases of ecosystems. The study begins with policy and literature review of innovation and entrepreneurship, to understand present studies and policies. Next, stakeholders, system boundary, and causal relationships are analyzed to frame the system. Then, we build a system dynamics model of innovation ecosystem around a university. We included several causal loop structures in the model. For example, an Entrepreneur boom loop is a reinforcing loop which accelerates foundation of university spin-off startups and conversion of students to become entrepreneurial. A Risk capital depletion loop is a balancing loop which decelerates growth of startups when too many startups look for investment. Multiple loops and stakeholders interact closely in the systems, and the interrelated structures cause delay and side effects in simulation runs of our model. Results of the simulation infer policymakers need to consider combinations of policies rather than implement a single policy. Another interpretation from simulation runs is that patient policy implementation can lead to better outcomes because time delays in the loops make it difficult for policymakers to observe the effect of policies in the short term. Although additional data points are required for further calibration of the model, insights from this study and the model contribute to better understanding of innovation ecosystems around a university. / by Masaru Nagura. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 59-60). / The United States is experiencing a significant growth of the older population. As people age, they are more likely to experience decrease in social activities, limitations in cognitive capabilities, and more symptoms indicative of depression. Among older adults that live in long-term care communities, more than a quarter develop some form of dementia or depression. Virtual Reality (VR) is believed to be beneficial to the older adults due to its immersive interaction capabilities. This thesis seeks to understand how virtual reality as a technology will impact older adults' emotional and social well-being. Human-centered design process was applied to develop the Rendever VR platform. Following the development of the system, a field study was carried out with sixty-three residents from four assisted living communities. The field study was conducted over two weeks, during which residents interacted with one of two intervention conditions - VR (i.e. experiment condition) or TV (i.e. control condition). Questionnaires were filled out by participants prior to and after the intervention for comparison. The results have shown that VR provided more positive outcomes than the control group that used a TV showing the same content. Results suggest that VR has the potential to improve older adults' well-being in general. / by Xueyang (Charles) Lin. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 99-103). / This thesis presents the human-centered design and development process for a proof-of-concept technology that visualizes models of ecosystem processes using realtime, sensor-based data. The product of this thesis, EcoFlux, provides a new way for people to experience the inner working of ecosystems by using augmented or virtual reality to explore unseen ecological processes. EcoFlux builds on the existing MIT Media Lab project DoppelMarsh, which is a virtual landscape that changes in response to realtime environmental conditions captured by the distributed sensor network at the Tidmarsh wetland site. EcoFlux is the first of its kind to visualize models of molecular motion and carbon flow in 3D, within the context of the physical site, and driven by realtime data. Whether experienced remotely or integrated on site, EcoFlux can be used to inspire curiosity for visitors, enhance scientific understanding for researchers, and promote community development by demonstrating the value of ecological restoration. As environmental sensing becomes more ubiquitous in our daily lives, this thesis provides a foundation for harnessing human sensory systems to make meaning from abundant information. / by Sara E. Remsen. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 126-132). / Agricultural production is one of the cornerstones of Nebraska's economy and acts as a driver for the state's economy. Nebraska's geography, infrastructure, and industry all support agriculture, and many industries within the state depend on the labor and goods from agricultural producers. In recent years, prices for agricultural commodities have become increasingly volatile, with fluctuations rising and falling much more intensely than in previous years. Global supply and demand for agricultural commodities continues to increase, especially major commodities produced in Nebraska such as corn, soy, and cattle, and it is likely that price volatility will continue to occur. The impacts of this price volatility are being felt across the state, especially as agricultural commodity prices trend downward. Nebraska's agricultural producers are increasingly unable to break even on their operations, and Nebraska lawmakers are facing a budget shortfall caused in large part by the reduced income received from agricultural production and its ancillary effects. The problem facing Nebraska is incredibly complex, as negative downstream effects are being caused by low commodity prices received by agricultural producers. Policy mechanisms are available to Nebraska lawmakers to manage this problem, but have the ability to exacerbate things if the careful planning and implementation of these policy mechanisms is not conducted. This thesis aims to help define some of the dynamic impacts being felt in the state of Nebraska from global volatility of agricultural commodity prices, and think about these impacts long term. This thesis approaches these issues from a systems thinking perspective, attempting to capture a holistic viewpoint of the major impacts felt in the state now and the potential impacts in the future. An exploratory system dynamics model has been created to explore these dynamic issues and the impacts that different policy mechanisms might have on the state. This thesis by no means provides the "answer" for how to insulate the state of Nebraska from these negative impacts, but offers a first step towards long term systems thinking on the issue. / by Gene S. Scrivner. / S.M. in Engineering and Management