The graphical modelling of processes is of growing popularity and high relevance to organisations that seek to document, analyse and improve their business operations. This research investigates the phenomenon of continued user acceptance of the grammars that are used to build process models. It develops and tests a theory that can be used to explain and predict why users would opt to continue working with certain grammars in their process modelling efforts. This study builds on established theories, including the Technology Acceptance Model, Expectation-Confirmation Theory, Task-Technology Fit Theory and Representation Theory. These theories suggest that end users typically strive for tools that are useful and easy to use, which confirm their expectations through firsthand utility, and which match task requirements and individual abilities. Representation theory suggests that modelling grammars should be complete and clear in their capabilities to represent real-world domains. The research model has been designed by combining conceptual studies of acceptance and continuance theories with a representational analysis of the BPMN grammar, which is a recently ratified industry standard for process modelling and thereby of high practical relevance to process modelling practice. It further incorporates findings from nineteen semi-structured interviews with process modellers in Australia. The research model has been tested and validated by means of a web-based survey with 590 process modellers world-wide. This thesis contributes to the body of knowledge in a number of ways: First, it presents an empirically validated model of the factors determining a user's intention to continue using a process modelling grammar. Second, it measures the impact that grammar characteristics as well as user and task characteristics have on user evaluations of a process modelling grammar. Third, it presents empirical evidence on the consequences that perceived representational deficiencies entail on user perceptions of a process modelling grammar.

This thesis has two distinct research threads. One thread examines the effectiveness of technology support on the performance of focus groups. Unlike previous research, the work described in this thesis addresses the fundamental issue that groups are social systems, and that comprehensive measurement of the effectiveness of group activities requires assessment of both the task-oriented and social aspects of the group activity. In this research, four different communication modes are used to compare group effectiveness. The second research thread in this thesis is the use of Systems Thinking, and specifically Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), as the framework for inquiring into the effects of technology support on group effectiveness. The strategy in this thesis for developing and evaluating hypotheses extends the general descriptions and guidance in the literature on using SSM for hypothesis testing. Systems thinking also provides the basis for examining the prevailing ???profile deviation??? view that the better the fit between the group task and the technology support the greater the group performance. Using the six perspectives of fit developed by Venkatraman (1989), the most common GSS models and other models developed to examine Task-Technology Fit (TTF) are analysed. The results show that group performance models are most often tested from a ???profile deviation??? perspective and TTF models developed from a profile deviation perspective claim to have predictive and descriptive validity for assessing the level of group performance. To assess whether an SSM based approach can improve the predictive and/or descriptive analysis of the impact of technology support on group work, a field experiment was conducted at the Australian Defence Force Academy. Twenty focus groups of officer cadets assessed their military training program using a GSS in one of four communication modes. The results showed little predictive or descriptive support for the profile deviation perspective of TTF when measuring the group???s overall effectiveness, task effectiveness, participant satisfaction or group relations. The alternative ???gestalt??? perspective, operationalised in this research by using SSM, provided a more comprehensive approach to examining the effectiveness of technology support for group work.

I denna studie har en modell tagits fram för att utvärdera informationssystem med kvalitativa metoder. Denna modell har utvecklats med task technology fit theory (TTF) som ramverk, som tidigare använts främst i kvantitativa studier för att undersöka till vilken grad funktioner matchar med användares uppgifter i ett informationssystem. Modellen som utvecklats i studien har istället syftet att se vilken data som kan genereras för att skapa djupare förståelse till faktorer som ligger bakom när matchningen är dålig. Modellen har testats i en fallstudie med företaget Visma Spcs där deras webbaserade fakturerings- och bokföringssystem eEkonomi har utvärderats. Detta gjordes genom en datainsamling i form av semi-strukturerade intervjuer på användare av systemet. Resultaten visar att modellen kan generera data för att skapa djupare förståelse genom att visa hur funktioner matchar dåligt, varför de matchar dåligt, vad den upplevda effekten blir för användarna och hur användarnas behov egentligen ser ut. Datan kan även användas för kartläggning av de uppgifter som utförs i ett informationssystem. Till vidare forskning ges förslaget att kombinera denna modell med kvantitativa metoder, där den kan användas i utforskande syfte före en kvantitativ studie eller i ett förklarande syfte efter en kvantitativ studie.

L’émergence des technologies Big Data et Cloud computing pour répondre à l’accroissement constant de la complexité et de la diversité des données constituent un nouvel enjeu de taille pour les entreprises qui, désormais, doivent prendre en compte ce nouveau paradigme. Les opérateurs de services mobiles sont un exemple de sociétés qui cherchent à valoriser et monétiser les données collectées de leur utilisateurs. Cette recherche a pour objectif d’analyser ce nouvel enjeu qui allie d’une part l’explosion du nombre des données à analyser, et d’autre part, la constante émergence de nouvelles technologies et de leur adoption. Dans cette thèse, nous abordons la question de recherche suivante: « Dans quelle mesure les technologies Cloud Computing et Big Data contribuent aux tâches menées par les Data Scientists? » Sur la base d’une approche hypothético-déductive relayée par les théories classiques de l’adoption, les hypothèses et le modèle conceptuel sont inspirés du modèle de l’adéquation de la tâche et de la technologie (TTF) de Goodhue. Les facteurs proposés incluent le Big Data et le Cloud Computing, la tâche, la technologie, l'individu, le TTF, l’utilisation et les impacts réalisés. Cette thèse aborde sept hypothèses qui adressent spécifiquement les faiblesses des modèles précédents. Une enquête a été conduite auprès de 169 chercheurs contribuant à l’analyse des données mobiles. Une analyse quantitative a été effectuée afin de démontrer la validité des mesures effectuées et d’établir la pertinence du modèle théorique proposé. L’analyse partielle des moindres carrés a été utilisée (partial least square) pour établir les corrélations entre les construits. Cette recherche délivre deux contributions majeures : le développement d'un construit (TTF) spécifique aux technologies Big Data et Cloud computing ainsi que la validation de ce construit dans le modèle d’adéquation des technologies Big data - Cloud Computing et de l’analyse des données mobiles. / A new economic paradigm is emerging as a result of enterprises generating and managing increasing amounts of data and looking for technologies like cloud computing and Big Data to improve data-driven decision making and ultimately performance. Mobile service providers are an example of firms that are looking to monetize the collected mobile data. Our thesis explores cloud computing determinants of adoption and Big Data determinants of adoption at the user level. In this thesis, we employ a quantitative research methodology and operationalized using a cross-sectional survey so temporal consistency could be maintained for all the variables. The TTF model was supported by results analyzed using partial least square (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM), which reflects positive relationships between individual, technology and task factors on TTF for mobile data analysis.Our research makes two contributions: the development of a new TTF construct – task-Big Data/cloud computing technology fit model – and the testing of that construct in a model overcoming the rigidness of the original TTF model by effectively addressing technology through five subconstructs related to technology platform (Big Data) and technology infrastructure (cloud computing intention to use). These findings provide direction to mobile service providers for the implementation of cloud-based Big Data tools in order to enable data-driven decision-making and monetize the output from mobile data traffic analysis.

Research is needed that examines the effects of kiosk technology on restaurant operational performance measures, such as total sales. The study employs a 2X2 between-subjects field experimental design to empirically test the hypothesized relationships proposed in the research model. The data collection site was Burger King located in the student union of a large Tier 1 research university in southwest USA. The independent variables included ordering method (kiosk vs. cashier) and operational volume (peak vs. off-peak). The dependent variables were cognitive and affective attitudes, behavioral intention, satisfaction, sales per person, and order time. Consumers at Burger King were approached before they started ordering their meal to ask for voluntary participation. If they agreed to participate, they were randomly assigned into two test groups. Participants in one test group used kiosk technology to order their meals, while those in the other test groups spoke with a cashier to order their meals. The same number of participants were recruited from peak and non-peak volumes. The seconds used to order was observed and recorded after consumer engagement with the ordering method. After participants ordered, they completed a paper survey that measured their behaviors while ordering with each method and asked participants to indicate total purchase amount. Results of 192 surveys indicated to different extents that consumer behaviors were more positive with kiosk technology. Affective attitude results, however, were insignificant. On average, kiosk technology was found to be a faster method of ordering in quick-service restaurants, but it yielded less sales than when the consumer ordered from a cashier.

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Yes / Disaster management aims to mitigate the potential damage from the disasters, ensure immediate and suitable assistance to the victims, and attain effective and rapid recovery. These objectives require a planned and effective rescue operation post such disasters. Different types of information about the impact of the disaster are, hence, required for planning an effective and immediate relief operation. The IoT technology available today is quite mature and has the potential to be very useful in disaster situations. This paper analyzes the requirements for planning rescue operation for such natural disasters and proposes an IoT based solution to cater the identified requirements. The proposed solution is further validated using the task-technology fit (TTF) approach for analyzing the significance of the adoption of IoT technology for disaster management. Results from the exploratory study established the core dimensions of the task requirements and the TTF constructs. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis using PLS path modelling, further, suggest that both task requirements and IoT technology have significant impact on the IoT TTF in the disaster management scenario. This paper makes significant contributions in the development of appropriate constructs for modeling TTF for IoT Technology in the context of disaster management.

I denna studie har problematik kring avancerad gestbaserad navigering bejakats. Detta främst för att de riktlinjer som länge studerats inom Människa-Datorinteraktion (MDI) inte har etablerats på de plattformar där gestbaserad navigering är central. Det råder tvetydigheter angående hur bra interaktion bör tillämpas, då främst genom att stora aktörer inom området valt att applicera sina egna riktlinjer på sina enskilda plattformar.   Tidigare har forskare undersökt naturliga gestmönster hos användare genom att simulera ett händelseförlopp och sedan ge användaren möjligheten att skapa interaktionen. Detta har genomförts med en användargrupp utan tidigare erfarenheter inom denna typ av plattform.   Det denna studie haft som mål att belysa är ifall erfarenheter och behov har en påverkan på hur användare kan tänkas använda sig av avancerad gester. Utöver detta har också designprinciper inom MDI studerats för att se dess relevans till gestbaserad navigation.    Metoden för att samla in denna data har varit två workshops som fokuserat på att finna nya användningsområden för fyra unika gester samt en diskussionsworkshop baserad på kort med frågor.   Från den data som samlats in från representanterna kan man tydligt se att tidigare erfarenheter har en stor påverkan på de konceptuella modeller som representanterna har av användningsområden för avancerade gester. Resultatet visar också på att representanterna fann syften för avancerade gesterna baserat på behov som de själva saknade i dagsläget. Generellt tenderade de förslag som representanterna tagit fram att vara anpassade för  en snäv målgrupp och för  expertfunktionalitet. I denna studie har det varit tydligt att designprinciper inom MDI har en stor påverkan på hur vi interagerar och uppfattar användning av digitala artefakter då främst rörande förståelse, återkoppling, effektivitet och synlighet. / In this study problems concerning advanced gesture-based navigation is affirmed. This is mainly because the guidelines that have long been studied within the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has not been established on the platforms where gesture-based navigation is central. There is ambiguity about how good interaction should be applied, primarily by major players in the area which have chosen to apply their own guidelines on individual platforms.   Previously, researchers have investigated the natural gesture patterns of users by simulating a series of events and then give the user the ability to create interaction. This has been carried out with a group of users with no previous experience in this type of platform.   The present study had the objective to highlight if experience have an impact on how users may use advanced gestures. In addition, design principles within HCI where studied to see its relevance to gesture-based navigation.   The methodology for collecting data has been two workshops that focused on finding new uses for four unique gestures and a discussion workshop based on cards with questions.   From the data gathered from representatives its confirmed that past experiences have a major impact on the conceptual models of uses for advanced gestures. The results also show that representatives found the purposes for advanced gestures based on the needs that they themselves lacked in the current situation. The proposals that representatives developed for the gestures tended to be adapted to a narrow audience and expert functionality. This study, also confirmed that design principles of HCI has a huge impact on how we interact and perceive the use of digital artefacts, mainly regarding understanding, feedback, effectiveness and visibility.

Många företag har idag intranät som misslyckas med att möta användarnas behov och det mest förekommande klagomålet är att användarna inte hittar vad de letar efter. Detta leder till att företagen tappar både tid och pengar på att ha personal som inte kan nyttja systemet på ett effektivt sätt, vilket ofta leder till dyra utbildningskostnader och produktivitetsförluster. Den främsta anledningen till att information inte hittas är att det saknas en konsekvent navigation som ger tydliga indikationer på vart användaren ska ta sig för att finna det den letar efter. Design och struktur i gränssnitt spelar även en stor roll för hur användarna förstår och tolkar gränssnitt och ett klassiskt tillvägagångsätt för designers är att utveckla utifrån datorparadigmets grafiska gränssnitt, vars bekymmer oftast är att de tenderar att bli visuellt giriga och minneskrävande. Idag sker även en stark utveckling av mobila enheter och hur dess gränssnitt kan optimeras för att underlätta för användaren till den mobila kontexten och de begränsningar det medför. För att göra detta bör designers utveckla naturliga interaktioner vilket ska främja den kognitiva belastningen. I denna studie undersöks därför hur designriktlinjer för naturliga interaktioner och mobilitet påverkar användbarheten och användarvänligheten för arbete i en stationär datormiljö. Studien har genomförts på uppdrag av CLX Networks som skapar lösningar för bland annat sms, röst och data. Uppdraget har inneburit att förbättra företagets intranäts meny som ansetts bristfällig av CLX. I denna studie genomfördes först ett användartest på CLXs befintliga intranäts meny samt fem stycken intervjuer med de som arbetar med support som använder systemet, inom huvudområdena hittbarhet, handlingsbarhet, användbarhet och mobil användarvänlighet. Vidare gjordes en struktureringsmetod för att låta informanterna själva visualisera en tänkt meny. Resultaten från den empiriska studien användes för att skapa en interaktiv prototyp. Designprinciper för hittbarhet, handlingsbarhet, användbarhet och naturliga interaktioner har nyttjats i skapandet av den nya menyn. Utifrån de undersökningar som har genomförts i denna studie har det framkommit att designprinciper för naturlig interaktion och mobilitet har en positiv inverkan på användarvänligheten gällande menyn i grafiska gränssnitt i en stationär datormiljö. Studien visar även att en kombination av de två synsätten, naturliga interaktioner och datorparadigmet underlättar användandet och den kognitiva belastning som tidigare var ett bekymmer för de anställda. / Today many companies have intranet failing to meet the users need and the most frequent complaint is that users do not find what they are looking for. This leads companies to lose both time and money on having employees that are unable to utilize the system in a sufficient manner, which often leads to expensive educational costs and loss of productivity. The primary reason that information is not found is that there is a lack of a consistent navigation tool that clearly indicates where the user should go to find what he/she is looking for. Design and structure in an interface plays a large role when it comes to how users understand and interpret an interface. However, the difficulty is that it tends to be visually disruptive and provide a cognitive load. Currently are a strong development of mobile devices taking place and questions are raised regarding how these interfaces can be optimized to make it easier for the user. Especially, when it comes to the mobile context and the limitations it causes. To make it easier are designers advised to develop natural interactions which are supposed to ease the cognitive load. This study therefore explores how design principles stemming from natural interactions, together with the mobility, affect the usability and ease of use for work in a desktop environment. The study has been conducted upon request of CLX Networks, a company that provide solutions for, among others, sms, voice and data. The assignment has entailed suggestions of improvements of the company’s intranet menu, which has been considered as inadequate by CLX. In this study, a user test of CLX’s current intranet menu was performed as well as five interviews with employees that work and use the system. The interviews concerned the topics of findability, actability, usability and mobile usability. Continuously was a card sorting performed to let the informants themselves visualize a proposed menu. The results from the empirical investigation were used to create an interactive prototype. Design principles from findability, actability, usability and natural interactions have been utilized in the creation of the new menu. Based on the investigations performed in this study is it possible to conclude that design principles from natural interactions and the mobility have a positive influence on ease of use concerning the menu in the graphical interface in a desktop environment. The study also confirms that a combination of the two viewpoints, natural interactions and desktop paradigm that facilitate the usage and cognitive load, which previously was troublesome for the employees.

Decisions concerning IT systems are often made without adequate decision-support. This has led to unnecessary IT costs and failures to realize business benefits. The present thesis presents a framework for analysis of four information systems properties relevant to IT decision-making. The work is founded on enterprise architecture, a model-based IT and business management discipline. Based on the existing ArchiMate framework, a new enterprise architecture framework has been developed and implemented in a software tool. The framework supports modeling and analysis of data accuracy, service performance, service availability and application usage. To analyze data accuracy, data flows are modeled, the service availability analysis uses fault tree analysis, the performance analysis employs queuing networks and the application usage analysis combines the Technology Acceptance Model and Task-Technology Fit model. The accuracy of the framework's estimates was empirically tested. Data accuracy and service performance were evaluated in studies at the same power utility. Service availability was tested in multiple studies at banks and power utilities. Data was collected through interviews with system development or maintenance staff. The application usage model was tested in the maintenance management domain. Here, data was collected by means of a survey answered by 55 respondents from three power utilities, one manufacturing company and one nuclear power plant. The service availability studies provided estimates that were accurate within a few hours of logged yearly downtime. The data accuracy estimate was correct within a percentage point when compared to a sample of data objects. Deviations for four out of five service performance estimates were within 15 % from measured values. The application usage analysis explained a high degree of variation in application usage when applied to the maintenance management domain. During the studies of data accuracy, service performance and service availability, records were kept concerning the required modeling and analysis effort. The estimates were obtained with a total effort of about 20 man-hours per estimate. In summary the framework should be useful for IT decision-makers requiring fairly accurate, but not too expensive, estimates of the four properties. / <p>QC 20120912</p>