The recent generation of Agile Earth Observation Satellite (AEOS) has emerged to be highly effective due to its increased attitude maneuvering capabilities. However, due to these increased degrees of freedom in maneuverability, the scheduling problem has become increasingly difficult than its non-agile predecessors. The AEOS scheduling problem consists of finding an optimal assignment of user-requested imaging tasks to the respective AEOSs in their orbits by satisfying the operational resource constraints in a specified time frame. Some of these tasks might require imaging the same area of interest (AOI) multiple times, while in some tasks, the AOIs are too large for the AEOS to image in a single attempt. Some tasks might even arise while the AEOSs are preoccupied with existing tasks. This thesis focuses on formulating the AEOS scheduling models where onboard energy and memory constraints while operating and the task specifications are diverse. A mixed-integer non-linear scheduling problem with a reward factor has been considered in order to handle multiple scan requirements for a task. Although initially, it is assumed that the AOIs are small, this work is extended to a three-stage optimization framework to handle the segmentation of large AOIs into smaller regions that can be imaged in a single scan. The uncertainty regarding scan failure is handled through a Markov Decision Process (MDP). These two proposed methods have significant benefits when tasks are available to schedule prior to the mission. However, they lack the flexibility to accommodate newly arrived tasks during the mission. When multiple new tasks arrive during the mission, predictive scheduling based on learning historical data of task arrivals is proposed, which can schedule tasks in an online manner faster than complete rescheduling and minimize disruption from the original schedule. Evolutionary optimization-based solution methodologies are proposed to solve these models and are validated with simulations. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Test case design and generation is a tedious manual process that requires 40-70% of the software test life cycle. The test cases written manually by inexperienced testers may not offer a complete coverage of the requirements. Frequent changes in requirements reduce the reusability of the manually written test cases costing more time and effort. Most projects in the industry follow a Behavior-Driven software development approach to capturing requirements from the business stakeholders through user stories written in natural language. Instead of writing test cases manually, this thesis investigates a practical solution for automatically generating test cases within an Agile software development workflow using natural language-based user stories and acceptance criteria. However, the information provided by the user story is insufficient to create test cases using natural language processing (NLP), so we have introduced two new input parameters, Test Scenario Description and Dictionary, to improve the test case generation process. To establish the feasibility, we developed a tool that uses NLP techniques to generate functional test cases from the free-form test scenario description automatically. The tool reduces the effort required to create the test cases while improving the test coverage and quality of the test suite. Results from the feasibility study are presented in this thesis. / Master of Science

Agile manufacturing has become a topic of great interest over the past several years. The entire domain of modeling and analyzing different types of agile manufacturing environments and systems, however, remain largely unexplored. The objective of this research is to provide fundamental insight into how manufacturing systems should be designed and reconfigured over time in order to cope with different agile manufacturing environments. To achieve this objective, three approaches are developed and integrated into one simulation-based model. The first approach is used to model different agile manufacturing environments. The second approach is used to define various ways in which manufacturing systems can be designed and reconfigured (i.e., design/reconfiguration strategies). The third comprises the cost and objective functions used to measure system performance when different design/reconfiguration strategies are used in different agile manufacturing environments. Based upon the assumptions adopted during this thesis, the experimental work performed suggests that despite the fact that agility incurs high costs, agile manufacturing systems are indeed necessary for certain manufacturing environments in which product life cycles are short yet demand per product type is high. Therefore, it is important in certain manufacturing environments to focus on reconfiguration in short periods of time, even at the expense of higher reconfiguration costs. / Master of Science

Yes / There is an agreement among European countries about the need to achieve efficient, effective and responsive evacuations as part of disaster management. Evacuations face uncertain and dynamic conditions, which often challenge the expectations at the planning stage. This research looks at the adoption of agility in evacuation operations. Managers involved in disaster operations in three countries were interviewed to identify current practices and needs during evacuations. This article looks at the potential of beneficiary engagement, staff and information, cooperation, and fitness for change to incorporate agile practices at each one of the stages of evacuation planning. The purpose is to provide an Agile Evacuation Operations (AEO) evidence-based framework to inform theory and practice. The analysis provided shows that along with current practices it is important to engage the beneficiaries more closely, empower and train the staff to react to unexpected conditions, and take advantage of local knowledge to enhance operations. / The data collection was funded with the support of the European Commission, Directorate-General Home Affairs.

Syftet med denna rapport är att analysera samt presentera förslag på vilka ledarskapsstilar och metoder som kan användas under en ramp-up. Vidare undersöker rapporten vilka ledarskapsstilar som bör användas när en stabil respektive instabil efterfrågan råder.  Både kvantitativa samt kvalitativa forskningsmetoder ligger som grund för rapporten för att besvara forskningsfrågorna. De kvantitativa metoderna som används är huvudsakligen insamling av vetenskapliga artiklar och kurslitteratur vilka bygger det teoretiska ramverket. Även data från fallföretaget ingår i dem kvantitativa metoderna. Vidare är semistrukturerande intervjuer samt observationer inom fallföretagets produktion tillvägagångssättet för dem kvalitativa metoderna.  Det agila ledarskapet lämpar sig bra för företag som befinner sig i en situation där det krävs en högre grad av flexibilitet. Det skulle kunna vara under oroliga perioder som gör att snabba omställningar inom verksamhetenen blir nödvändigt. Företag som smidigt kan genomgå förändringar för att anpassa sig har en högre chans för fler marknadsandelar och blir därför lönsammare under perioder som kräver detta. Ett leant ledarskap har stort fokus på kontinuerlig förbättring, minimering av slöserier och människans utveckling inom företaget. Detta ledarskap bör därför implementeras i företag som är verksamma i marknader som är stabila under längre perioder. När det gäller personalens utveckling kan det dock vara gynnsamt att implementera denna form av ledarskap under en ramp-up. Detta på grund av att personalens kompetens ökar, det skapas en förbättringskultur och en gemensam strävan efter perfektion sprids på arbetsplatsen.  Inget företag är det andra likt, vilket betyder att varje företag befinner sig i en unik situation och bör implementera ledarskap, verktyg och metoder därefter. Denna rapport hoppas kunna vidga vyerna hos företag för hur dessa hjälpmedel kan underlätta arbeten med diverse processer, samt visa att dessa hjälpmedel finns tillgängliga. De föreslagna verktygen och metoderna i studien fungerar i de nämnda situationerna och även liknande, det är därför viktigt att testa implementera dessa för att undersöka vad som fungerar.  Studien baseras på intervjuer, observationer, insamling av data samt tidigare forskning om agilt och leant management. Med den insamlade informationen har förslag på när de olika formerna av ledarskap som lämpar sig som bäst för att styra verksamhetens processer tagits fram. Det har även gjorts en lista med verktyg och metoder inom de två filosofierna. Till detta finns en beskrivning för hur de kan användas för att optimera ramp-up processen av en produktionslina. / The purpose of this thesis is to analyze as well as present suggestions on which leadership styles and methods that can be used during a Ramp-up. Additionally, the thesis will explore the most suitable leadership style for both stable and unstable demands.  Both quantitative and qualitative research methods lie as a base for this thesis to answer the research questions. The qualitative methods that are being used are the collection of peer reviewed articles and course literature which is the base for the theoretical framework. Data collected from the case company is included in the qualitative methods. Furthermore, semi structured interviews and observations within the case company’s production constitute the approach for these qualitative methods.  The Agile leadership suits well for companies facing situations requiring a higher degree of flexibility. These could be turbulent periods requiring swift operational adjustments. Companies that smoothly can apply adaptive changes have a higher chance of acquiring more market shares and can therefore be more profitable during periods that demand it. A Lean leadership style have a big focus on continuous improvements, minimizing waste and the individual’s growth within the company. This leadership style should therefore be implemented in companies that are active markets where the demand is stable during longer periods. Regarding the staff’s development, it can be favorable to implement this form of leadership during a ramp-up. The reason behind this is that the staff’s competence increases, creating a culture of improvement and facilitates a shared pursuit of perfection that spreads in the workplace.  No company is the other alike, meaning that every company exist in a unique situation and should implement leadership, tools and methods thereafter. This Thesis hopes to broaden the views in companies to help them better understand how these aids can facilitate work with various processes and also show that these aids are available. The proposed tools and methods in the thesis work in the mentioned situations and also others like them, it is therefore important to try and implement these to examine what works.  The thesis is based upon interviews, observations, collection of data and also earlier research revolving around Agile and lean management. With the collected data, suggestions have been made on the different forms of leaderships that are best suited to steer the operational processes. There have also been made a list with tools and methods within the two philosophies. With it there is a description on how they can be used to optimize the Ramp-up process on a production line.

Cinnober is an organization that develops advanced software solutions for financial institutions. As a part of the technology toolkit used at Cinnober there is a web framework with which GUI development can be driven from the data available on the server, through configuration rather than development. Rather than having the user interface emerge as a result of technology and available data, they would like to explore a software development model driven by user centered design. Cinnober practices scrum, an agile software development framework, which has proven difficult to integrate with user centered design. This thesis strives to identify suitable methods for performing user centered design in the environment of agile software development. A development process based on scrum, lean UX, staggered sprints and the effect map was then utilized and evaluated in a short development project at Cinnober. Utilizing and evaluating those methods yielded valuable input which can be of use in future development efforts. While there was plenty of positive feedback from the development team there was also some room for improvement. Additionally, there are quite a few pieces missing in order for the utilized development process to cover all aspects considered important in one of the most commonly cited definitions of user centered design.