The present work is concerned with the advancement of the knowledge of structural optimization in engineering design while focusing on efficient and easy to use ways of setting-up the required automated processes as well as the problems arising from it. Three industry examples are considered. In the first example a software tool that serves as a hands-on decision guidance for many occurring design situations for structured wall PE pipes is developed. In order to avoid licensing fees only public domain software or in-house code are used. It offers the efficient and automated simulation of the ringstiffness test as well as the most common pipe installation scenarios. In addition, an optimization feature is implemented for the design of optimum pipe profiles with regards to the ringstiffness test. In the second example a framework for the optimum design of carbon fibre mountain bike frames is developed. An extensively parameterized and automated simulation model is created that allows for varying tube shapes, paths and laminate ply thicknesses as well as joint locations. For improved efficiency a decomposition approach has been employed that decomposes the original optimization problem into a size optimization sub problem and a shape optimization top level problem. The former is solved by the built-in optimization tool in OptiStruct and the latter by means of surrogate based optimization where each experiment in the DoE is a full size optimization. The third example is concerned with the optimum design of a blade for a novel vertical axis wind turbine. A design approach similar to those with horizontal axes is chosen. The altered design requirements are accounted for by creating a parameterized simulation model and performing size optimization runs for 32 models with different material settings and shear web locations where the model creation process has been automated.

Le développement rapide du World Wide Web depuis les années 1990 a entraîné l'accroissement dunombre de sites web et l'intensification de la concurrence. Parallèlement, les moteurs de recherche ontjoué un rôle majeur en facilitant la recherche d'informations sur le web, au point de devenir une sourceinépuisable de trafic dont les propriétaires de sites web souhaitent profiter. Afin de capter un maximumde trafic qualifié, il est devenu nécessaire de se démarquer pour améliorer la visibilité d'un site web surles moteurs de recherche. Pour cela les propriétaires de sites web peuvent faire appel à des entreprisespratiquant le référencement web, et plus particulièrement le référencement naturel qui regroupel'ensemble des techniques d'optimisation permettant d'indexer et de positionner les pages d'un site webau plus haut niveau dans les résultats de recherche. L'activité de référencement web est conduite par leréférenceur qui, en optimisant un certain nombre de critères au sein du site web, améliore sonpositionnement. Mais les résultats obtenus sont incertains, car les algorithmes de classement desmoteurs de recherche sont en perpétuelle mutation. Dès lors, il est devenu nécessaire pour le référenceurd'avoir une meilleure maîtrise du processus de référencement web et d'être aidé dans ses prises dedécisions afin de satisfaire ses clients. Nos travaux de recherche ont permis d'apporter troiscontributions :- Établissement d'un cadre efficace pour l'activité de référencement à partir de la définition desdifférentes étapes du processus de référencement web en s'inspirant d'un méta-modèle d'ingénierie ;- Modélisation du processus de référencement web à partir d'un modèle d'agents afin de permettreune meilleure compréhension de son fonctionnement et de contrôler efficacement les différentesinteractions ;- Conception d'un système d'aide à la décision à partir de notre modèle d'agents servant desupport à l'activité de référencement web.Ces trois contributions majeures nous ont permis de répondre à notre problématique de recherche qui seproposait de répondre à la question suivante : « Comment concevoir le processus de référencement webpour améliorer sa maîtrise par le couple référenceur / client ? ». / The World Wide Web has quickly grown since the 90s, and it has led to an increase in the number ofwebsites and the intensification of the competition. In parallel, search engines have played a major roleby facilitating the research of information on the web, to the point of being an infinite source of traffic ofwhich websites' owners would like to take advantage. In order to capture the maximum of qualifiedtraffic, it has become necessary to stand out from the competitors to improve the visibility of a websiteon search engines. To do that, websites' owners can resort to firms which practice Search EngineOptimization (SEO). The latter gathers all the optimization techniques which make it possible to improvethe ranking of web pages at the highest rank in the search results. The activity of search engineoptimization is done by a SEO practitioner who, by optimizing some technical criteria, improves theranking of the website. But the obtained results are uncertain, because of the ever-changing rankingalgorithms of search engines. Consequently, it has become necessary for the SEO practitioner to have abetter mastery of the SEO process and to be helped in its decision makings in order to satisfy its clients.Our research works have allowed us to make three contributions:- Creation of an efficient structure for the SEO activity from the definition of the different steps ofthe SEO process and the use of an engineering meta-model;- Modeling of the SEO process by using a multi-agent system in order to enable a betterunderstanding of its functioning and to efficiently master its different interactions;- Design of a decision support system thanks to our agent-based model to support the SEOa c t i v i t y .These three main contributions enabled us to answer our research question which was: "How to designthe search engine optimization process in order to improve its mastery by the SEO practitioner and theclient ?"

The work focuses on the application of process management in government through the mapping of process of providing subsidies for social services and optimization of this process. For this purpose the first part explains the terms of process management, process and process modeling that are for better follow-up with real practices put into the context of quality management, which is officially adopted by the public administration. This is the subject of the second part, which connects terms defined at the beginning with the real experience, thereby facilitating the adoption of theoretical approaches as realistically feasible and "nonlaboratory". The last part deals with analysis of the attained data and the actual modeling of process and proposals for its optimization.

Master thesis focuses on payment process automatization of selected company XY, which will eliminate repetitive manual work and routine and will lead to shortening of the whole process. To reach this solution RPA – Robotic Process Automation was used. RPA was designed based on data analysis, which showed areas of process best suited for automatization. Part of the thesis is also evaluation of impacts of implemented RPA solution.

The thesis is focused on the identification of service and administrative processes and sub processes inside the chosen company and proposal of their possible separation and outsourcing using the Business Process Management methods. Potential changes should be aimed to release capacity of the monitored team of the company and optimize their processes and related capacity during busy season and also from the long term perspective. The company set the conditions for potential changes by keeping current standards about quality of products and services and keeping current rules for client communication. Additionally company expects decreasing of personal costs related to inquired services.

Online marketing professionals' perceptions about the challenges have got huge importance on marketing campaigns and conversion rates. Online marketing professionals' effective digital marketing strategies are crucial for businesses and clients to grow. However, marketers are facing several challenges in optimizing campaigns, and how they perceive them can affect the whole outcome of the campaigns, the clients' success, as well as certain markets. Understanding their perceptions is important for developing effective strategies and improving conversion rates. Therefore, this research aims to explore the perceptions of challenges that marketers are facing when it comes to optimizing online marketing campaigns. The data for this qualitative project was collected through a total of 9 interviews, of which 4 were in-depth, and 5 were conducted to support or refute the discovered themes. All of the interviewees are highly-experienced online marketing professionals who are currently working in this field. The findings of this study are divided into 5 themes, and each theme has a challenge and a solution part. Marketing professionals can perceive the challenges along these 5 themes when optimizing campaigns to improve conversions. These 5 themes cover: (1) client communication, (2) applied methods, (3) internal factors, (4) external factors, and (5) timeframe. The marketers perceive the challenges in our studied topic along the 5 identified factors below: (1) do not understand each other with the client, (2) there is no clear idea about what kind of methods can work, (3) they have a limited effect on the company's internal factors, (4) external factors cause an anomaly, (5) lack of long-term goals. They can overcome these with client-centric communication, clear ideas, a well-thought-out decision-making approach, market-appropriate strategies, and long-term goals.

This thesis deals with the implementation of quality management system in the project of Metro of London, implemented by Otis a.s. The theoretical part describes quality management tools. In the analytical part, there are mapped processes of project of Metro of London and identified problems and opportunities for improvement of processes of this project. Based on this analysis of outputs, there are designed corrective moves and their evaluation for defined problems.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Rice husk is a subproduct of the food industry, rich in carbohydrates, which can be partially fractionated and converted into fermentable sugars. In this work, it was investigated the best conditions for the conversion of the residual biomass, rice husks, into succinic acid, an important start molecule for the synthesis of the chemo-pharmaceutical industry. With the goal of the separation of lignin and transformation of cellulose and hemicellulose into sugars, the rice husks were submitted, initially, to acid hydrolysis, in autoclave and in pressurized polytetrafluoroethylene reactor. The hydrolysis conditions were optimized by factorial design for the pressurized acid hydrolysis; temperature, time and acid catalyst concentration (HCl or H2SO4) were evaluated. For the acid hydrolysis in autoclave, it was optimized the ratio rice husks mass: acid volume, time and concentration of HCl or H2SO4. It was observed that the sugar production by using autoclave was lower than by the pressurized hydrolysis system, needing further concentration of the hydrolysate for the subsequent fermentation step. The best results were obtained with the polytetrafluoroethylene reactor, by 59 bar, with HCl 0,26 mol L-1, at 175°C and reaction time of 46 min, yielding 19.0 g L- 1 of glucose and 3.01 g L- 1 of xylose. The efficiency of different detoxification methods of the hydrolyzed rice husk were evaluated; the combined method of pH adjustment plus adsorption on active carbon was the most effective by eliminating inhibitors, without appreciable reduction of the sugar concentration. The detoxified hydrolysate was sterilized and adjusted at pH 7 and fermented with A. succinogenes at 37 ° C, in anaerobic medium, occurring the conversion of the two main monosaccharides, glucose and xylose, into succinic acid. The nutrient concentration and the agitation rate of the medium were also optimized by factorial design. As a result, after 54 h of static fermentation, the hydrolysate was supplemented with 8.40 g L-1 yeast extract and 1.40 g L -1 of NaHCO3, to yield 59.9% succinic acid. Almost all of the sugar at this time was consumed and converted to succinic acid; at the same time, acetic and formic acid are formed, but, in low concentrations related to the production of succinic acid, not compromising the yield of the process. For the succinic acid extraction and purification, the fermentate was submitted to the solid phase extraction procedure; cartridges with different extraction phases were tested, and among them, the ion exchange one was the only effective, with recoveries up to 96%. After solid phase extraction, the eluted solution, containing 12.05 g L- 1 succcinic acid, was lyophilized, and crystals of succinic acid with 80.7% (m m- 1) were obtained. The raw material used in the bioprocess has no commercial value, representing a zero cost carbon source, which reveals itself adequate to the succinic acid production by fermentation with A. succinogenes, after hydrolysis. The use of the residual rice husk can contribute to the mitigation of the environmental impact resulting from the illegal discharge in the environment. / A casca de arroz é um subproduto da indústria de alimentos, rico em carboidratos, que pode ser fracionada e, parcialmente, convertida em açúcares fermentescíveis. Neste trabalho, investigou-se as melhores condições para a conversão da biomassa residual, casca de arroz, em ácido succínico, importante insumo para a síntese industrial farmoquímica. Com o objetivo de separação da lignina e transformação da celulose e da hemicelulose em açúcares, a casca de arroz foi submetida, inicialmente, à hidrólise ácida em autoclave e em reator de politetrafluoretileno, à pressão. As condições de hidrólise foram otimizadas através de planejamento fatorial, sendo avaliado na hidrólise ácida pressurizada, a influência da temperatura, do tempo e da concentração do catalisador ácido (HCl ou H2SO4); já, na hidrólise em autoclave, otimizou-se a relação massa de casca de arroz : volume de solução ácida, tempo e concentração de HCl ou H2SO4. Observou-se que a produção de açúcares em autoclave é inferior à do sistema de hidrólise à pressão, necessitando, inclusive, concentração do hidrolisado para utilização na etapa fermentativa. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos com o reator de politetrafluoretileno, à pressão de 59 bar, com 0,26 mol L-1 de HCl, temperatura de 175 °C e tempo de reação de 46 min, produzindo-se 19 g L-1 de glicose e 3,01 g L-1 de xilose. Avaliou-se a eficiência de diferentes métodos de destoxificação do hidrolisado de casca de arroz, sendo o método combinado, de ajuste de pH seguido de adsorção em carvão ativado, o mais eficaz na eliminação de inibidores, sem redução apreciável da concentração de açúcares. O hidrolisado destoxificado foi esterilizado, ajustado a pH 7 e fermentado com A. succinogenes, à 37 ºC, em meio anaeróbio, ocorrendo a conversão dos monossacarídeos predominantes, glicose e xilose, em ácido succínico. A concentração dos nutrientes e a velocidade de agitação do meio também foram otimizadas por meio de planejamento fatorial. Após 54 h de fermentação estática do hidrolisado, suplementado com 8,40 g L-1 de extrato de levedura e 1,40 g L-1 de NaHCO3, o rendimento em ácido succínico foi de 59,9%. Praticamente, toda a concentração de açúcar é consumida neste tempo e convertida em ácido succínico; simultaneamente, formam-se ácido acético e fórmico, porém, em baixas concentrações em relação à produção de ácido succínico, não comprometendo o rendimento do processo. Para a extração e purificação do ácido succínico, o fermentado foi submetido ao procedimento de extração em fase sólida; cartuchos com diferentes fases extratoras foram testados, e, dentre eles, somente o de troca iônica se mostrou efetivo, com recuperação de até 96,0%. Após a extração, o eluido da extração em fase sólida, contendo 12,0 g L-1 de ácido succínico foi liofilizado, obtendo-se cristais com pureza de 80,7% (m m-1). A matéria-prima utilizada no bioprocesso, casca de arroz, não tem valor comercial, representando fonte de carbono de custo zero, que se revelou adequada à produção de ácido succínico por meio de fermentação com A. succinogenes, após hidrólise. O aproveitamento da casca de arroz residual pode contribuir para a mitigação do impacto ambiental resultante da disposição ilegal no ambiente.

Principal aim of this thesis is the design of new website development process model and the design and implementation of its automated support by information technologies instruments. Process design itself will be build on identified best practices of available methodics for web applications development and this process will also respect and apply SEO (Search Engine Optimization) principles Biggest contribution of this thesis is designed web application development process model which is based on web application development methodics best practices and also contains additional activities which have to be done but they aren't part of these methodics. Mapping of the optimization process and designed process activities and implementation of automated support for these activities via desktop application are next important contributions of this thesis. This thesis is divided into five main chapters (except introduction and conclusion). First chapter is focused on definition of application development basic concepts and mainly on analysis of web application development methodics. Second chapter takes up analysis outputs and it forms the basis of this thesis. Design and description of web development process model generate the content of this chapter. Third chapter deals with SEO problems, in the concrete, it deals with definition of SEO, presentation of optimization process and especially with presentation of optimization recommendations. Fourth and fifth chapters are focused on automated support for web development process model with emphasis on SEO. Within the scope of fourth chapter, process model activities which can be supported by application are identified and user requirements are defined for these activities. Last fifth chapter is focused on presentation of implemented application for web development with emphasis on SEO support.