A publicação do livro “The machine that changed the world” de Womack et al. (1990) tornou popular no mundo ocidental o termo Lean, que segundo os autores seria a forma generalizada do sistema Toyota de produção. Desde então, a academia tem se dedicado a estudar diversos aspectos envolvidos com o Lean. Apesar do conhecimento teórico gerado, poucas empresas têm conseguindo aplicar esta estratégia de manufatura apropriadamente e experimentar os supostos benefícios. Este é o caso, por exemplo, da siderúrgica AGR (nome fictício). Em 2004, a empresa iniciou um programa formal para transformação Lean e poucos anos depois os esforços foram descontinuados. Recentemente, novos direcionamentos na empresa conduziram à retomada destes esforços. Neste contexto específico, um questionamento foi realizado: como os esforços Lean podem ser retomados e organizados na AGR? Cabe ressaltar que implicitamente este questionamento desdobrou em uma revisão da literatura que identificou diferentes pontos de vista teóricos sobre o fenômeno Lean. Neste sentido, Fujimoto (1999), como pensador mais proeminente da escola de pensamento evolucionária – utilizando uma abordagem interpretativista – argumenta que a Toyota apresenta uma capacidade de aprendizagem evolucionária que permite a emergência de um novo sistema de manufatura ao longo do tempo. A provável ausência desta capacidade de aprendizagem em empresas que buscam se tornar Lean indicaria uma das razões pelas quais se tem dificuldade em alcançar e sustentar este sistema. Observando a descrição desta capacidade na Toyota, verifica-se que a mesma ocorre via construção social da realidade. Desta forma, uma aprendizagem similar poderia ser gerada ao operacionalizar-se a Soft Systems Methodology no processo de estruturação da transformação Lean. Uma pesquisa-ação foi conduzida para avaliar esta possibilidade na prática e ao mesmo tempo auxiliar a AGR com a situação problemática na retomada dos esforços Lean. / The term lean became popular in the Western world after publication of "The machine that changed the world" (Womack et al., 1990) which argues it is the generalized form of the Toyota Production System. Since then, the academy has been investigating several aspects about it. Despite theoretical knowledge contribution, few companies have been able to implement this manufacturing strategy properly and, therefore, have experienced the supposed benefits. This is the case of AGR (fictitious name) steelmaking facility. The company started a lean transformation program in 2004 and few years later the efforts were discontinued. Recently new directions led other attempt at lean efforts. In this particular context, an inquiry was made: how the lean efforts can be organized and reinitiate in AGR? It is noteworthy that this implicitly unfolded a literature review that identified different theoretical views on the lean phenomenon. Fujimoto (1999) as the most prominent thinker of evolutionary school of thought – using an interpretivist approach – argues that Toyota has an evolutionary learning capability that enables the emergence of a new manufacturing system over time. The absence of a similar learning capability in companies seeking lean practices indicates one possible reason why they are difficult to achieve and sustain. Fujimoto (1999) describes it operating at Toyota through social construction of reality. Thus, a similar learning could be generated applying the Soft Systems Methodology as the structuration process for lean transformation. An action research was conducted to evaluate this proposition in practice and at the same time to help AGR in the attempt at lean efforts.

A publicação do livro “The machine that changed the world” de Womack et al. (1990) tornou popular no mundo ocidental o termo Lean, que segundo os autores seria a forma generalizada do sistema Toyota de produção. Desde então, a academia tem se dedicado a estudar diversos aspectos envolvidos com o Lean. Apesar do conhecimento teórico gerado, poucas empresas têm conseguindo aplicar esta estratégia de manufatura apropriadamente e experimentar os supostos benefícios. Este é o caso, por exemplo, da siderúrgica AGR (nome fictício). Em 2004, a empresa iniciou um programa formal para transformação Lean e poucos anos depois os esforços foram descontinuados. Recentemente, novos direcionamentos na empresa conduziram à retomada destes esforços. Neste contexto específico, um questionamento foi realizado: como os esforços Lean podem ser retomados e organizados na AGR? Cabe ressaltar que implicitamente este questionamento desdobrou em uma revisão da literatura que identificou diferentes pontos de vista teóricos sobre o fenômeno Lean. Neste sentido, Fujimoto (1999), como pensador mais proeminente da escola de pensamento evolucionária – utilizando uma abordagem interpretativista – argumenta que a Toyota apresenta uma capacidade de aprendizagem evolucionária que permite a emergência de um novo sistema de manufatura ao longo do tempo. A provável ausência desta capacidade de aprendizagem em empresas que buscam se tornar Lean indicaria uma das razões pelas quais se tem dificuldade em alcançar e sustentar este sistema. Observando a descrição desta capacidade na Toyota, verifica-se que a mesma ocorre via construção social da realidade. Desta forma, uma aprendizagem similar poderia ser gerada ao operacionalizar-se a Soft Systems Methodology no processo de estruturação da transformação Lean. Uma pesquisa-ação foi conduzida para avaliar esta possibilidade na prática e ao mesmo tempo auxiliar a AGR com a situação problemática na retomada dos esforços Lean. / The term lean became popular in the Western world after publication of "The machine that changed the world" (Womack et al., 1990) which argues it is the generalized form of the Toyota Production System. Since then, the academy has been investigating several aspects about it. Despite theoretical knowledge contribution, few companies have been able to implement this manufacturing strategy properly and, therefore, have experienced the supposed benefits. This is the case of AGR (fictitious name) steelmaking facility. The company started a lean transformation program in 2004 and few years later the efforts were discontinued. Recently new directions led other attempt at lean efforts. In this particular context, an inquiry was made: how the lean efforts can be organized and reinitiate in AGR? It is noteworthy that this implicitly unfolded a literature review that identified different theoretical views on the lean phenomenon. Fujimoto (1999) as the most prominent thinker of evolutionary school of thought – using an interpretivist approach – argues that Toyota has an evolutionary learning capability that enables the emergence of a new manufacturing system over time. The absence of a similar learning capability in companies seeking lean practices indicates one possible reason why they are difficult to achieve and sustain. Fujimoto (1999) describes it operating at Toyota through social construction of reality. Thus, a similar learning could be generated applying the Soft Systems Methodology as the structuration process for lean transformation. An action research was conducted to evaluate this proposition in practice and at the same time to help AGR in the attempt at lean efforts.

A North American university is engaged in a large transformation project involving the wholeorganisation. Students, Lecturers, departments and additional questions from the shared leadership team are engaging in defining the services offered, in particular from the university library and its associated sub-services. It is an exciting time for the University as it seeks to not only define its services but also how these can be created and consumed.There are many aspects to this re-organisation and many items to be addressed. In this report,we look at the current situation at the University, as well as taking into account the aspirations of the stakeholders. We start by drawing out a Rich Picture, part of Soft System Methodology (SSM) (Checkland, 1981) which we use in order to spot opportunities that are available for further exploration. Much of the information that we use comes from material supplied by the University itself as well as interviews with the Head of Library services and Head of Library IT. We look indepth at how SSM assists in this process of evaluation through its focus on participation and how it may assist us to understand the many different perspectives collected in our research. SSM consequently assists in defining problems with solutions to any areas that have drawn our attention. Following the evaluation of collected data, discussions and our own observations, we identify that a digital wall that is being proposed for the redesigned library presents an opportunity to explore possibilities for exploitation of this technology. Further research on other digital walls such as Brisbane’s Cube (Abdi et al, 2014), and Auraria Library’s Discovery Wall(Burch, 2016) shows some of the uses that these walls have been put to and how the Institutions use them. We then use a number of models to evaluate the data that we collected on digital walls and from the North American University and analyse it in order to inform our thinking. These models can be used independently or collectively to evaluate data from different perspectives. As such we were able to look at problems and solutions from the perspective of many of the actors involved in shaping the future library services. These models and results are discussed in the report. Finally, we take our results and make a number of proposals for the North American University digital wall along with the relevant justifications at the end of this report. / <p>This is a report in the Informatics course 5IK501 during the school year of 2016/2017.</p>

This report works with a case provided in the course IS/IT for Organizing, Communication and Coordination II at Linnaeus University, Sweden. The case involves a University in North America that is renovating and revamping and, in essence, reinventing its library along with the services offered by the library and the facilities within. Along with the university staff in charge of the library renovations, the group analysed the possible gaps in the current working ecosystem and discussed how they can be improved upon. It was found out and understood that there is a lack of cohesion in the way the library staff generate, store and share documents and resources, which was intertwined with the lack of team culture and sense of professional community. Useful information was said to be in silos in the form of staff members that were somewhat disconnected from each other. This information was often in the form of explicit knowledge that was not easily accessible and tacit knowledge that was, in a sense, locked away since it was involuntarily not being shared. The group preparing this report used the theoretical background of knowledge management and knowledge sharing, along with a Soft Systems Methodology approach, to provide recommendations that the professionals in charge of the library renovations could execute upon during their plans. The recommendations revolve around organizing the organizational knowledge and bringing more cohesiveness to the way the staff and systems generate, store and share this knowledge, leading the way towards a knowledge-friendly culture. The proposed solutions elaborated by the group take Nonaka’s two types of knowledge (1994) into consideration: explicit and tacit knowledge. The recommendations begin with organizing the knowledge with aims of easier retrieval by users, using Shared Folder platforms or Content Management Systems. The active creation and sharing of knowledge shall be supported using blogs, wikis and e-learning authoring systems. Sharing of tacit knowledge can be enhanced by a Yellow Pages of the library staff, Community of Practice and through mentoring and networking activities. / <p>Rapport inom Informatikskurs 5IK501 IS/IT for Organizing, Communicating, and Coordinating II, läsåret 2016/2017</p><p>Report in the Informatics course 5IK501 IS/IT for Organizing, Communicating, and Coordinating II, year 2016/2017</p>

As of autumn 2011, all schools in Sweden have adopted and applied the latest curriculum for the compulsory school system. The following is written in concern to technology: "The school is responsible for ensuring that each pupil on completing compulsory school: [...] can use modern technology as a tool in the search for knowledge, communication, creativity and learning." (Skolverket, 2011, pp.13-14) With this said, there are no guidelines or manuals on how this is to be conducted. In a report from the Swedish Schools Inspectorate it was concluded that the investment in technology is not being used for school education. The education systems keep investing in technology in the belief that schools and teachers will sooner or later adopt and benefit from the use of mobile and ubiquitous technologies. The aim of this study is to “create an understanding of the aspects that have an impact on adopting novel use of mobile and ubiquitous technologies in everyday teaching and learning practices in compulsory schools.” The empirical foundation will be based upon three projects: Geometry Mobile (GeM); Learning Ecology with Technologies from Science for Global Outcomes (LETS GO); and Collaborative Learning Using Digital Pens and Interactive Whiteboards (Collboard). All were conducted at local compulsory schools in Växjö municipality, Sweden, in collaboration with teachers, students and fellow researchers from the CeLeKT research group at Linnaeus University. Two Thematic Analyses have been conducted: the first, an inductive analysis exploring the Students’ and Teachers’ Experience of using Mobile and Ubiquitous Technologies in their learning and teaching environment. The second analysis is deductive and uses themes from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology models with the aim of understanding the Perception and Acceptance of Teachers’ use of Mobile and Ubiquitous Technologies. In the results from the two analyses there are clear indicators on the added value that mobile and ubiquitous technology brings to the classrooms: students are able to actively participate, collaborate and discuss in different learning settings, which enhances their understanding of the subject at hand. The challenges are mainly to be found in the lack of training and education in use of the technology as a supporting tool for teaching and learning. Further factors influencing the teachers and the students are ease of use and reliability of the technology and societal changes. The results of the analysis and the theoretical base of Technology Enhanced Learning have been illustrated with Soft Systems Methodologies Rich Picture, providing a holistic view of the problematic situation and making it possible to discuss the various parts as well as the situation as a whole. This study indicates that there are several factors influencing the adoption of the novel use of mobile and ubiquitous technologies in everyday teaching and learning within a complex situation on different levels.

Perçu comme un système adaptatif complexe, l’espace public pourrait être examiné par le biais de la complexité. Dans cette thèse, nous discutons du cas d'un parc urbain, Horch Beyrouth, visant à mettre en valeur les apports épistémologiques et méthodologiques de l'approche de la complexité dans les études urbaines. Malgré que Horch Beyrouth représente jusqu'à 70% des espaces verts de Beyrouth, il a été en grande partie fermé au public depuis la fin de la guerre civile libanaise en 1990. Entouré de trois quartiers culturellement hétérogènes, le parc triangulaire incarne à la fois la multiplicité et l'exclusion urbaine. L’approche de la complexité offre non seulement un lexique scientifique transdisciplinaire, mais également des outils de modélisation interdisciplinaires. Pour illustrer ces outils, nous avons utilisé la triangulation systémique pour le diagnostic urbain de Horch Beyrouth. Il s’agit d’un outil qui reconnaît l’inscription des problèmes complexes dans des continuums structurels, fonctionnels et dynamiques, établissant des relations entre eux et projetant des interactions entre le système et son environnement. Nous avons également présenté l'outil de la méthodologie des systèmes souples pour une gouvernance interactive basée sur des représentations non linéaires de la réalité urbaine. Cette approche nous a fourni de nouvelles idées. Premièrement, aborder les villes, ainsi que les entités urbaines comme Horch Beyrouth, en tant que systèmes complexes, pourrait diverger notre perception des solutions linéaires fragmentées vers des processus évolutifs adaptifs. Deuxièmement, le chaos n’est pas à craindre. En fait, en se situant au bord du chaos les systèmes complexes s’adaptent et co-évoluent, ainsi la créativité se catalyse et le changement émerge. Enfin et surtout, un espace public ne doit pas être conçu, mais encouragé à émerger. Il serait donc préférable d’induire son auto-organisation que d'essayer de la contrôler. Ainsi, un changement d'attitude est nécessaire : le rôle des acteurs urbains, architectes et urbanistes, devrait se réorienter pour rechercher la dynamique sous-jacente d’un système urbain, établir ses propriétés émergentes, pour ultérieurement, déterminer et induire ses opportunités synergiques. / Perceived as a complex adaptive system, public space could be examined through the means of complexity. In this thesis, we discuss the case of an urban park, Horch Beirut, aiming to showcase the contributions of the complexity approach to urban studies, both epistemological and methodological ones. Horsh Beirut makes up to 70% of green spaces in Beirut, but has been mostly closed to the public since the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990. Surrounded by three culturally heterogeneous neighborhoods, the triangular park embodies both urban multiplicity and exclusion. The complexity approach not only offers a transdiciplinary scientific lexicon but also interdisciplinary modeling tools. To showcase these tools, we apply Systemic Triangulation for the urban diagnosis of Horch Beirut. This tool acknowledges the inscription of complex problems in structural, functional and dynamic continuums, establishing the relationships between them, and projecting interactions between the system and its environment. We also propose the Soft Systems Methodology tool for an interactive governance based on non-linear representations of urban reality. The complexity approach has provided us some new insights. First, addressing cities, and urban entities like Horsh Beirut, as complex systems could diverge our perception of fragmented linear solutions towards adaptive evolutionary processes. Secondly, chaos is not to be feared. In fact, by being on the edge of chaos complex systems adapt and co-evolve, consequently creativity is catalyzed and change emerges. Finally, and most importantly, a public space should not be designed, but encouraged to emerge. It would be better to induce its self-organization than to try to control it. Thus, a change of attitude is necessary: the role of urban actors, architects and urban planners, should be reoriented towards seeking the underlying dynamics of an urban system, establishing its emerging properties, and subsequently, determining and inducing its synergistic opportunities.

This study explores stakeholder analysis and requirements engineering within an agile project at a system development company requesting a case management system. Stakeholder analysis is commonly explored in traditional project planning studies, such as the waterfall model. In agile projects, on the other hand, it is not common to have a project-planning phase or to carry out a stakeholder analysis, often due to that a stakeholder analysis entail a long and extensive documentation. Our study explores how Soft Systems Methodology can be used in an agile project-planning phase as well as how rich pictures from the SSM support requirements engineering. The study is based on an agile method in which the project-planning phase is expected to deliver a product log, and hence a requirements list. Requirements are collected, modelled and validated together with users in the form of user stories where role, goals and purpose are expressed in a sentence. Stakeholders and roles are identified and analyzed using methods in Soft Systems Methodology, like "finding-out" analyses. The result is then presented in so called rich pictures of the current situation and in a future desired situation. The data collection is carried out together with informants at the case company in the form of observations and semi-structured interviews. The result of the study indicates how rich pictures from SSM can support the start-up of an agile project. / Denna studie utforskar intressentanalys och kravinsamling inom ett agilt projekt på ett systemutvecklingsföretag som efterfrågar ett ärendehanteringssystem. Intressentanalyser är vanligt förekommande och utforskade i traditionella förstudier så som enligt vattenfallsmodellen. I agila projekt är det däremot vanligt att en förstudie inte utförs eller att förstudien inte innehåller en intressentanalys, ofta på grund av att intressentanalyser innebär lång och omfattande dokumentation. Vår studie utforskar hur Soft Systems Methodology kan användas i en agil förstudie samt hur rika bilder från SSM stöttar kravhantering. Studien utgår från an agil metod där förstudien förväntas leverera en produktlogg, där studiens fysiska bidrag blir en kravlista. Krav samlas in, modelleras samt valideras tillsammans med användare i formen av användarhistorier där roll, mål och syfte uttrycks i en mening. Intressenter och roller identifieras och analyseras med hjälp av metoder inom Soft Systems Methodology, som exempelvis ”finding out”-analys. Resultatet presenteras därefter i så kallade rika bilder över nuvarande situation samt i en framtida önskad situation. Datainsamlingen görs tillsammans med informanter på ett fallföretag i form av observationer och semistrukturerade intervjuer. Utfallet av studien visar hur den rika bilden från SSM kan stödja uppstarten av ett agilt projekt.

The purpose of this three-essay dissertation was to expand knowledge and theory regarding soft systems methodologies (SSMs) and data visualization approaches in business, engineering, and other social sciences. The first essay depicts a bibliometric analysis study of the historic impacts of SSM from 1980-2018 on business, engineering, and other social sciences fields. This study found 285 articles that described or employed SSM for research and included outcomes such as top SSM authors, author citation impacts, common dissemination outlets, time-bound distribution of publications, and other relevant findings. This study provided a picture of who, what, why, when, and where SSM has had the greatest impact on academic thought and practice. The second essay presents research on the academic impact of Systemigrams, an associated data visualization approach, finding examples of conceptual or research development that employed Systemigrams to depict complex problem situations. Recommendations for improvement of designing these data visualizations to increase their field use resulted from this study. The final essay leverages a selection of the articles as use cases to produce a grounded theory study to identify phenomena that arose from the use of SSM for operations and firm strategy research. This study identified two broad themes including (i) scope, structure, and process challenges and (ii) performance and evaluation limitations. These themes were explained by six patterns that emerged from the publications. Each produced change recommendations for SSM process, practice, and reporting to support its continued viability and adoption in business and operations research.

The key objective of this multi-disciplinary research was to seek for feasible solutions to avoid effluent from livestock trucks spilling onto roads. Stock effluent spillage mainly poses road safety hazards and environmental damage, and also causes offence to road users and tourists. This task required reviewing previous institutional actions, assessing the power of the existing legislation, and evaluating the interests and attitudes of the stakeholder groups involved in the overall livestock supply chain. It was also necessary to consider politics, administration, public policy and economics, gaining the willing cooperation and confidence of the stakeholder groups through application of 'Soft Systems Methodology' (SSM). A key component was the creation of a 13 minute video and its associated brochure as a primary tool for a stakeholder educational awareness programme. It was necessary to analyse the complex relationships between livestock preparation prior to transport; effluent produced in-transit; and end product quality factors. Detailed information pertaining to the nature of livestock shipments by truck in the South Island of New Zealand had to be collected and verified. All the above information were fed into the calculation of an ideal network of in-transit effluent discharge sites on State Highways in the South Island of New Zealand. Assuming the adoption of best practice throughout the supply chain, it was possible to recommend sustainable solutions. The problem is amenable to solution. Adoption of a strong Industry Code of Practice, coupled with the construction of a strategic network of dump sites will enable the industry to avoid the heavy-handed legal consequences of allowing the status quo to continue.

Submitted by Efrem Maranhão Filho (efremfilho@gmail.com) on 2013-03-08T18:52:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 teseDoutoradoEfrem.pdf: 4695587 bytes, checksum: 70cbab7e35da687c5b0830b63dcd7115 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vera Lúcia Mourão (vera.mourao@fgv.br) on 2013-03-08T19:45:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 teseDoutoradoEfrem.pdf: 4695587 bytes, checksum: 70cbab7e35da687c5b0830b63dcd7115 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-03-08T19:46:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 teseDoutoradoEfrem.pdf: 4695587 bytes, checksum: 70cbab7e35da687c5b0830b63dcd7115 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-07 / Multidisciplinary in decision-making undergoes the same specificities of any multidisciplinary field. Very often, the lack of communication generates problems and some different approaches can be found in other areas of expertise. The Problem Structuring Methods offers answers for current queries in business administration schools, being particularly useful when used in a multimethodological approach with others current methods. Having the Soft Systems Methodology – SSM – as the core, and the merged with Strategic Options Development and Analysis in the process, Georgiou (2012) presents the Systemic Planning in the latest configuration. Aiming to seek a computational tool that meets the assumptions of the SSM, and which incorporates the specifications of the configuration of Systemic Planning, here are defined a Notation for the method and a formalization of the existing communications between the elements, subsystems, system and environment and thus find a possible way of control the use of the method in a iteratively mode. In order to demonstrate such use of the Systemic Planning, A real case analysis is presented and shows the difficulties encountered in using the Notation defined and the Formalization of the communication. Subsequently, a design of a modular computational tool, and which can be used integrated with other tools of other methods, is presented. The contribution achieved are advances in the patterns in the use of SSM tools, presented the systemic aspects of the Systemic Planning, a demonstration of the iterative use and a blueprint for a computer tool. / A multidisciplinaridade da tomada de decisão sofre com as peculiaridades de qualquer campo multidisciplinar. A falta de comunicação, muitas vezes, gera problemas e as respostas que podem ser encontradas dentro de outras áreas. Os Métodos de Estruturação de Problemas são respostas para os questionamentos atuais nas escolas de administração e negócios, principalmente o uso multimetodológico destes com outros métodos. Tendo o Soft Systems Metholodogy – SSM – como base, e a incorporação do Strategic Options Development and Analysis – SODA – ao processo do SSM, Georgiou (2012) apresenta o Planejamento Sistêmico em sua configuração mais recente. Visando buscar uma ferramenta computacional que atenda os pressupostos do SSM, e que incorpore as especificações da configuração do Planejamento Sistêmico, definem-se uma notação para o método e uma formalização das para as comunicações existentes entre os elementos, subsistemas, sistema e ambiente e, com isso, torna-se possível controlar o uso do método de forma iterativa. Para demonstrar tal uso, apresenta-se uma análise de um caso real e demonstra as dificuldades encontradas na utilização da Notação e Comunicação definida. Posteriormente, apresenta-se um desenho técnico de uma ferramenta computacional modular e que pode ser usada de forma integrada com outras ferramentas de outros métodos. Como resultado, têm-se o avanço na definição de padrões no uso das ferramentas do SSM, na apresentação dos aspectos sistêmicos do Planejamento Sistêmico, na apresentação de um uso iterativo do método e na apresentação de um desenho técnico para uma ferramenta computacional.