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Yes / In a dynamic business environment like the energy sector, power plants face several complex risks, including both technical and non-technical risks. These risks are not isolated, as their impact may affect a series of interrelated risks. Those risks may change with time, which in turn, makes the strategic decision-making process less effective. Understanding the dynamic behaviour of a complex system is very important to achieve a more sustainable overall performance of the power plants. Thus, it is important to further develop a systematic risk assessment methodology that could help to identify and analyse the interdependencies among risks and to understand the dynamics of these risks in complex systems. This paper develops a system dynamics (SD) methodology to support the development of risk assessment models. This paper highlights the environmental perspective. The first step to develop a SD model will be applied, while the final SD model will be discussed in another paper.

Yes / In a constantly changing business environment, a systematic approach is needed for risk assessment in order to allow for a more long-term strategic view. The System Dynamics (SD) modelling technique can be applied as an effective approach to understand the dynamic behaviour of a system over time. This understanding can be subsequently explicitly reflected on policies, strategic plans and operational procedures. This paper presents a SD model to assess environmental risks in power plants. The model helps to understand the long-term behaviour of the system under study. A questionnaire and focus group interviews have been conducted to understand the relationship among various risks. The SD model has been validated with two power plants in the Middle East. The developed model highlighted the impact of environmental risks on the performance of power plants. Although the SD model focuses on risk assessment in power plants, it can be easily adapted to other industry sectors.

In the last decade, a new wave of socio-technical cyber threats has emerged that is targeting both the technical and social vulnerabilities of organizations and requires fast and efficient threat mitigations. Yet, it is still common that financial organizations rely on yearly reviewed risk management methodologies that are slow and static to mitigate the ever-changing cyber threats. The purpose of this research is to explore the field of Dynamic Risk Management in Information Security from a socio-technical perspective in order to mitigate both types of threats faster and dynamically to better suit the connected world we live in today. In this study, the Design Science Research methodology was utilized to create a Dynamic Information Security Risk Management model based on functionality requirements collected through interviews with professionals in the financial sector and structured literature studies. Finally, the constructed dynamic model was then evaluated in terms of its functionality and usability. The results of the evaluation showed that the finalized dynamic risk management model has great potential to mitigate both social and technical cyber threats in a dynamic fashion. / Under senaste decenniet har en ny våg av sociotekniska cyberhot uppkommit som är riktade både mot de sociala och tekniska sårbarheterna hos organisationer. Dessa hot kräver snabba och effektiva hotreduceringar, dock är det fortfarande vanligt att finansiella organisationer förlitar sig på årligen granskade riskhanteringsmetoder som både är långsamma och statiska för att mildra de ständigt föränderliga cyberhoten. Syftet med denna forskning är att undersöka området för dynamisk riskhantering inom informationssäkerhet ur ett sociotekniskt perspektiv, med målsättningen att snabbare och dynamiskt kunna mildra bägge typerna av hot för att bättre passa dagens uppkopplade värld.  I studien användes Design Science Research för att skapa en dynamisk riskhanteringsmodell med syfte att hantera sociotekniska cyberhot mot informationssäkerheten. Riskhanteringsmodellen är baserad på funktionskrav insamlade genom intervjuer med yrkesverksamma inom finanssektorn, samt strukturerade litteraturstudier.  Avslutningsvis utvärderades den konstruerade dynamiska modellen avseende dess funktionalitet och användbarhet. Resultaten av utvärderingen påvisade att den slutgiltiga dynamiska riskhanteringsmodellen har en stor potential att mitigera både sociala och tekniska cyberhot på ett dynamiskt sätt.

Research and Development engineering is at the corner stone of humanity’s evolution. It is perceived to be a systematic creative process which ultimately improves the living standard of a society through the creation of new applications and products. The commercial paradigm that governs project selection, resource allocation and market penetration prevails when the focus shifts from pure research to applied research. Furthermore, the road to success through commercialisation is difficult for most inventors, especially in a vast and isolated country such as Australia which is located a long way from wealthy and developed economies. While market leading products are considered unique, the actual process to achieve these products is essentially the same; progressing from an idea, through development to an outcome (if successful). Unfortunately, statistics indicate that only 3% of ‘ideas’ are significantly successful, 4% are moderately successful, and the remainder ‘evaporate’ in that form (Michael Quinn, Chairman, Innovation Capital Associates Pty Ltd). This study demonstrates and analyses two techniques developed by the author which reduce uncertainty in the engineering design and development phase of new product development and therefore increase the probability of a successful outcome. This study expands the existing knowledge of the engineering design and development stage in the new product development process and is couched in the identification of practical methods, which have been successfully used to develop new products by Australian Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Excel Technology Group Pty Ltd (ETG). Process theory is the term most commonly used to describe scientific study that identifies occurrences that result from a specified input state to an output state, thus detailing the process used to achieve an outcome. The thesis identifies relevant material and analyses recognised and established engineering processes utilised in developing new products. The literature identified that case studies are a particularly useful method for supporting problem-solving processes in settings where there are no clear answers or where problems are unstructured, as in New Product Development (NPD). This study describes, defines, and demonstrates the process of new product development within the context of historical product development and a ‘live’ case study associated with an Australian Government START grant awarded to Excel Technology Group in 2004 to assist in the development of an image-based vehicle detection product. This study proposes two techniques which reduce uncertainty and thereby improve the probability of a successful outcome. The first technique provides a predicted project development path or forward engineering plan which transforms the initial ‘fuzzy idea’ into a potential and achievable outcome. This process qualifies the ‘fuzzy idea’ as a potential, rationale or tangible outcome which is within the capability of the organisation. Additionally, this process proposes that a tangible or rationale idea can be deconstructed in reverse engineering process in order to create a forward engineering development plan. A detailed structured forward engineering plan reduces the uncertainty associated with new product development unknowns and therefore contributes to a successful outcome. This is described as the RETRO technique. The study recognises however that this claim requires qualification and proposes a second technique. The second technique proposes that a two dimensional spatial representation which has productivity and consumed resources as its axes, provides an effective means to qualify progress and expediently identify variation from the predicted plan. This spatial representation technique allows a quick response which in itself has a prediction attribute associated with directing the project back onto its predicted path. This process involves a coterminous comparison between the predicted development path and the evolving actual project development path. A consequence of this process is verification of progress or the application of informed, timely and quantified corrective action. This process also identifies the degree of success achieved in the engineering design and development phase of new product development where success is defined as achieving a predicted outcome. This spatial representation technique is referred to as NPD Mapping. The study demonstrates that these are useful techniques which aid SMEs in achieving successful new product outcomes because the technique are easily administered, measure and represent relevant development process related elements and functions, and enable expedient quantified responsive action when the evolving path varies from the predicted path. These techniques go beyond time line representations as represented in GANTT charts and PERT analysis, and represent the base variables of consumed resource and productivity/technical achievement in a manner that facilitates higher level interpretation of time, effort, degree of difficulty, and product complexity in order to facilitate informed decision making. This study presents, describes, analyses and demonstrates an SME focused engineering development technique, developed by the author, that produces a successful new product outcome which begins with a ‘fuzzy idea’ in the mind of the inventor and concludes with a successful new product outcome that is delivered on time and within budget. Further research on a wider range of SME organisations undertaking new product development is recommended.