Den ökade mängden realtidsdata som bland annat IoT-utvecklingen för med sig gör business intelligence (BI) i realtid mer relevant än någonsin. Då många BI-projekt tenderar till att misslyckas är förståelse av kritiska framgångsfaktorer vitalt. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vilka skillnader i kritiska framgångsfaktorer som utmärker implementationer av realtids-BI (RBI) system jämfört med BI-implementationer. Semistrukturerade intervjuer baserade på forskning kring framgångsfaktorer för BI har använts för att undersöka utmärkande drag för RBI. Studien har identifierat att RBI kräver en arkitektur designad för att stödja analys av strömmande data samt att RBI kräver ett mer visionärt och experimentellt förhållningssätt. Slutligen belyser studien att risken för feltolkning och felaktiga slutsatser ökar då beslut tas utifrån rådata. Därmed krävs en högre datakvalitet vid RBI för att data ska anses vara av en hållbar kvalitet. / The increased amount of real-time data, such as IoT's development, makes business intelligence (BI) in real-time more relevant than ever before. As many BI projects tend to fail, the understanding of critical success factors are vital. This study aims to investigate the differences in critical success factors that characterize implementations of real-time BI (RBI) systems versus BI implementations. Semi-structured interviews based on research of critical success factors for BI has been used to investigate distinguishing features for RBI. The study has identified that RBI requires an architecture designed to support analysis of streaming data and that a more visionary and experimental approach is required. Finally, the study highlights that the risk of misinterpretation and incorrect conclusions increases when decisions are taken based on raw data. Therefore, higher data quality is required to be considered to be a sustainable quality in the RBI context.

Background: Over the years literature mainly focussed on time, cost and quality, also known as the triple constraint or ‘iron triangle', as the main factors to be considered as important for project success. Since then, many other factors were considered by various authors with the most cited being the work of Pinto and Slevin in 1988 who produced the Project Implementation Profile (PIP) which expanded on the triple constraint and listed ten Critical Success Factors (CSF) to be considered toward project success. The indication was that the success of projects can be improved if these factors were considered across the lifecycle of the project and they can be tailor-made to be specific to a particular industry. With this in mind, this research study has been conducted at a nuclear power plant (NPP) and it explores the applicability of the CSFs of the PIP towards nuclear project success. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis/dissertation was to gain and understanding from various stakeholders of what constitutes CSFs for projects undertaken at a NPP in South Africa; testing if those listed in the PIP would suffice or if additional factors need to be included specifically for nuclear projects. Research objectives: The research study considered the following research objectives: Understanding which CSFs of the PIP were important for nuclear projects and evaluate which of them are perceived by various stakeholders to be important to nuclear project success. Thereafter some CSFs of the PIP were analysed towards identifying if there were factors not included in the PIP but that were pertinent to nuclear project success. Research design and methodology: A mixed methods approach was adopted to this research. An interpretive case-study was conducted post event to understand phenomena through the participants' interpretation of their context. The case-study methodology was chosen and data collected using multiple data sources such as interviews with project managers who had successfully implemented projects and some system engineers who had conducted effectiveness reviews on such projects, gleaning the database of completed projects as well as Operating Experience (OE) / lessons learnt at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station (KNPS). This was done to determine the common factors that led to the analysed projects' individual success. Multiple cases at KNPS and the factors considered for nuclear project success, outside of the CSFs of the PIP were used to conduct the research. The design methodology used towards getting to the CSF framework for nuclear projects was informed by factors considered by the World Organisation of Nuclear Operators (WANO), Institute for Nuclear Plant Operators (INPO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), all organisations that are key role players in the nuclear field. This paper utilised tools and techniques to demonstrate how a framework for determining nuclear project success can be adopted. Research findings: The results revealed that while CSFs were generally understood but not known in the PIP format. Furthermore, in order for the CSFs to be applicable to nuclear project success, additional factors that are pertinent to nuclear projects needed to be included and a specific framework developed accordingly. Research Limitations: The research study focused on projects within the nuclear project management department (NPM), in order to simplify the data collection process. Strategic information that was deemed as sensitive or confidential could not be revealed explicitly during the course of data gathering and therefore inferences had to be made. Another limitation was the timing of the distribution which took place during an outage, yielding a low response rate during the allotted time compelling the Researcher to extend the time period for data collection. Finally, the uneven distribution of responses in the various phases of the nuclear project lifecycle posed a challenge with the Execution Phase being the dominating phase. This uneven distribution of results meant that the overall findings would be governed by the Execution Phase. This had an implication on the generalisability of the results. Furthermore, with the respondents' ratings of the CSF being subjective; this may have had an impact on the accuracy of results. Originality: The CSF framework for nuclear project success, when applied can provide valuable pointers for Koeberg and the nuclear industry when implementing nuclear projects for success. Practical implication: This information can be shared across NPM and related departments who form part of the nuclear project lifecycle. The information and lessons learned can also be shared in the nuclear industry by way of OE. The paper will benefit other NPP operators in applying the CSFs that are introduced in the framework to nuclear projects and provide them with the ability to monitor and control nuclear project success at each phase of the nuclear project lifecycle towards ensuring nuclear project success. The framework will allow the project manager and project team to identify, analyse, respond and monitor and control CSFs that project participants should plan for to ensure nuclear project success so as not to negatively impact the plant and the business at large with dire consequences that are introduced by project failure.

Background: ERP systems constitute the technological ‘backbone’ for organisations since all business process are mapped within the system. In the recent years, there is a transition to cloud-based ERP systems that large companies consider following. The implementation of a CERP system is a joint effort between the adopting company and the consultancy. Therefore, CSFs need to be defined that are essential for the success of the CERP project from both the consultant and client-side project manager perspective.  Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how consultants and client-side project managers perceive CSFs for the successful implementation of a cloud-based ERP system in large companies. Herein, commonalties in perception as well as perception gaps were analysed. Method: This study adopted an abductive qualitative approach. A multiple case study including seven cases was carried out. The empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews. A cross-case analysis was carried out to shed light on commonalties in perceptions as well as perception gap and the reasoning behind it. The findings were then compared to existing literature. Conclusion: The findings of these study discovered that there are commonalties in perceptions as well as perception gaps of the CSFs. Most importantly, the CSFs ‘Communication’, ‘Involvement of users and training’ as well as ‘System testing’ are deemed as critical by both consultants and client-side project managers.

The purpose of this study was to determine principals' perceptions of how effective mentoring programs and university-based principal preparation programs are in developing the skills necessary to carry out the 13 critical success factors identified by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). A review of the literature addressed what it means to be an effective principal and what an effective mentoring program should look like. The quantitative study was conducted using a survey developed from the SREB's 13 critical success factors that have been developed to determine what makes a successful, effective principal. Each factor was developed into a question about whether or not Northeast Tennessee principals perceive that they were adequately prepared to be successful principals in their principal preparation programs and if they received any training through a mentoring program on these same 13 factors once they received their principalship. The overall results indicated that few principals participated in a formal mentoring program and those who did received a marginal amount of assistance on the critical factors identified by the SREB. The results also showed that, overall, the respondents indicated that they received more adequate leadership training during their principal preparation programs on the SREB's factors in their classroom experience than they did through their hands-on experience; although, respondents did not give particularly high marks to either experience. Furthermore, respondents who belong to a cohort scored their training higher than those who did not belong to a cohort, and those who received a degree higher than a master's degree reported a higher level of training than did their peers with only master's degrees on some of the SREB's critical success factors.

No description available.

KM is the process of creating value from the intangible assets of an enterprise. It deals with how best to leverage knowledge internally in the enterprise (in its individual employees, and the knowledge that gets built into its structures and systems) and externally to the customers and stakeholders. As KM initiatives, projects and systems are just beginning to appear in organisations, there is little research and empirical field data to guide the successful development and implementation of such systems or to guide the expectations of the potential benefits of such systems. In addition, about 84 per cent of KM programmes failed or exerted no significant impact on the adopting organisations worldwide due to inability to consider many critical factors that contribute to the success of KM project implementation. Hence, this study is an exploratory investigation into the KM implementation based on an integrated approach. This includes: (1) a comprehensive review of the relevant literature; (2) a comprehensive analysis of secondary case studies of KM implementations in 90 organisations presented in the literature, in order to arrive at the most critical factors of KM implementation and their degree of criticality; (3) exploratory global survey of 92 organisations in 23 countries that have already implemented or are in the process of implementing KM; (4) in-depth case studies of four leading organisations to understand how KM implementation processes and the critical factors identified are being addressed. Based on the empirical findings of the study, 28 critical factors were identified that must be carefully considered in the KM implementation to achieve a successful project. Moreover, the study proposes an integrated model for effective KM implementation which contains essential elements that contribute to project success. / Government of Saudi Arabia represented by King Saud University.

A Kaizen event (KE) may be defined as a structured improvement project that uses a cross-functional team and specific improvement goals to improve a targeted work area or process in an accelerated time frame. KEs, also known as Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs), have been utilized within hospitals to achieve beneficial operations, stakeholder (i.e., social), financial, and clinical outcomes. Due to their potential to achieve positive results in a rapid timeframe, understanding the determinants of KE success within a hospital environment is a valuable research undertaking. To date there has been limited rigorous empirical quantitative research focused on identifying success factors (SFs) influencing socio-technical outcomes of hospital-based KEs. Hence, this empirical research study seeks to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) for KEs in hospitals. For the first phase of this research work, a comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to identify the success factors (SFs) for KEs in hospitals as reported in the literature. This SLR resulted in the identification of 54 unique success factors mapping to four broad success factor categories, KE Task Design, KE Team Design, Organization, and KE Process. Thereafter, the second phase, which involved the variable reduction process, was performed to determine the strength of effect, or importance, of the SFs in order to determine a feasible number of SFs to include in further empirical work. Two robust methods were applied; a Meta-synthesis Evaluation and an Expert Survey, to query the SFs and to determine high priority factors for the empirical study. As a result, a total of 30 factors were finalized for empirical study. Next, the last phase, the empirical study to investigate and determine the CSFs for KEs in hospitals, was executed using a retrospective field study survey research design. Specifically, a survey questionnaire was designed to elicit feedback on perceptual measures from targeted hospital KE facilitators/leaders on the criticality of SFs on socio-technical outcomes for KEs in hospitals. Sixty usable responses were obtained, which were subjected to Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), which were used to identify latent factor constructs and to determine the significance of the SFs, respectively. The results of this study identified seven significant direct relationships. Kaizen Event Design Characteristics (KEDC) and Target Area Buy-in (TABI) were found to have significant direct effects with both dependent variables, Performance Impact (PI) and Growth in Kaizen Capabilities (KCG). In addition, KEDC also had a significant direct relationship with Performance Culture (PC) and Team Dynamics (TD), respectively. Also, PC has a significant direct relationship with TD. Furthermore, Logistic Regression was utilized to test the SFs impact on the one objective technical outcome measure in the study, Goal Attainment (GOALATT). This analysis revealed one significant negative relationship occurring between TD and GOALATT. Overall, the study's findings provide evidence-based results for informing hospital managers, leaders, and continuous improvement practitioners on the key factors or value-added practices that can be adopted in their hospital KE initiatives to achieve beneficial socio-technical outcomes, as well as overall hospital KE success. Furthermore, this research can enable academia/researchers to strategize more confirmatory analysis approaches for theory validation and generalizability. / Doctor of Philosophy / The focus of this research study is to identify the most significant factors for Kaizen events (KEs) in hospitals, referred herein as critical success factors (CSFs). A KE may be defined as a structured improvement project that uses a cross-functional team and specific improvement goals to improve a targeted work area or process in an accelerated time frame. The aim of the study is to ultimately improve KE practice in hospitals through increased understanding of CSFs that can be planned or designed into KE processes to increase the likelihood of successful event outcomes. Various research formulation, development, and testing techniques are applied to frame the research study according to the aims and objectives and to achieve targeted research outcomes. The overall research design encompasses a retrospective study approach, performing a large-scale field study using a survey questionnaire to empirically identify the CSFs for KEs in hospitals. To help frame the research, a systematic literature review (SLR) along with bibliometric analyses were conducted. To help refine and select the success factors for empirical study, a meta-synthesis evaluation and an expert survey study were conducted. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) along with mediation analyses (MA) were performed to identify key factors, determine the significance of those factors, and to understand the influential relationships of those factors to hospital KE success. Results from this study aim to inform healthcare managers, healthcare improvement practitioners, researchers, and other relevant stakeholders about the critical components needed to achieve hospital KE success. The dissertation is documented according to a "manuscript style," using a journal/conference paper format to organize and report on the key findings and results obtained from the investigation. The Introduction chapter is provided to introduce the research study topic, study significance, indicate the overall research aims and objectives, present the overall research approach and design methodology, and to enumerate the main publication outputs and outcomes from this dissertation work. The Conclusions chapter summarizes the overall research outcomes, key study findings, study limitations, and provides areas for future research.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att utveckla kunskap kring vilka faktorer som påverkar implementeringen och upprätthållandet av Lean i tandvård. För att belysa detta syfte användes en kvalitativ ansats där det genomfördes fem intervjuer med nyckelpersoner i två fall, som sedan kompletterades med tre intervjuer av respondenter som inte var kopplade till något av fallen. I tillägg till dessa intervjuer gjordes en dokumentstudie relaterad till fallen där sju dokument analyserades. Intervjuerna transkriberades och en innehållsanalys gjordes genom kodning. Resultatet av studien genererade ett antal framgångsfaktorer och korresponderande hinder för implementeringen och upprätthållandet av Lean. De kritiska framgångsfaktorerna som identifierades var ledarskap som har intresse för Lean, ledarskap som driver Lean-konceptet kontinuerligt, informationsdelning och utbildning och anpassning av Lean till den egna organisationen. Det största hindret var motstånd från personalen, ett hinder som användandet av informationsdelning hjälpte att reducera. / The purpose of this thesis was to develop knowledge about which factors affect the implementation and maintenance of Lean in dental care. To study this, a qualitative method was used where five interviews were conducted with key persons in two cases, which were then supplemented with three interviews with persons that were not connected to the two cases. In addition to this, a document study was made related to the cases where seven documents were analyzed. The interviews were transcribed, and a content analysis was done through coding. The results generated several critical success factors and corresponding barriers to the implementation and maintenance of Lean. The critical success factors that were identified were leadership that has an interest in Lean, leadership that drives the Lean concept continuously, information sharing and education of employees and adaptation of Lean to the individual organization. The biggest barrier was resistance from staff, however, the use of information sharing helped to reduce it.

Projektstyrning är viktig och IT-projektledaren har en avgörande roll för ifall IT- projekt lyckas eller inte. Dock är det en stor utmaning att leda IT-projekt och att få den effekt som önskas genom exempelvis tidplan, budget och resurser. Samtidigt tar digitaliseringen hela tiden samhället framåt och kunskapen som samlas in efter avslutade IT-projekt gör att lärdomarna ständigt växer. Likväl är det fortsatt få IT- projekt som lyckas. Enligt tidigare forskning är två av huvudfaktorerna som avgör huruvida ett projekt anses lyckas eller inte, tid och budget. Vidare utgör IT-projektledaren dess mest betydande roll i början av projektet, men att löpande och god kommunikation, samt med ett flexibelt ledarskap, är viktiga hörnstenar för att lyckas med projektet. Denna studies syfte har varit att undersöka och få en bättre förståelse för varför IT- projekt lyckas eller inte lyckas utifrån projektledares perspektiv. För att besvara detta syfte har följande forskningsfrågor ställts: Hur beskriver projektledare de kritiska framgångsfaktorerna i ledningen av ett IT-projekt? och Hur beskriver projektledare utmaningarna i ledningen av ett IT-projekt?. En kvalitativ undersökningsmetod har tillämpats där semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med sex IT-projektledare vid ett stort IT-företag i Sverige. Intervjufrågorna har behandlat områden som projektledning och vilka framgångsfaktorer samt utmaningar projektledare upplever vid IT-projekt. Resultatet av studien visar att för att lyckas med ett IT-projekt utifrån projektledarens perspektiv, är nyckeln för framgång god kommunikation, att kunna prioritera rätt, samt god kravhantering. Vidare bör projektledaren ha en god förståelse för systemet, besitta tekniska färdigheter, samt ha en god förståelse för IT-komponenter såsom beroenden och kopplingar. Slutligen utgör även resurser, budget och avsatt tid avgörande faktorer. Projektledarna menar samtidigt att på grund av den komplexitet IT-projekt ofta utgörs av, är det utmanande att göra relevanta ändringar i projektet som passar samtliga intressenter, den egna projektgruppen inkluderat. Det är dessutom ofta en utmaning för projektledaren att kunna förstå och förklara den kundnytta ett IT-projekt kan medföra, återigen på grund av komplexiteten vid IT- projekt. Att som projektledare även kunna prioritera rätt, samt att ha de rätta resurserna redo, har visat sig vara en utmaning för många. Sedan är det utmanande när intressenter har ett tydligare fokus på business än den tekniska delen. / Project management is important and the IT project manager has a crucial role in whether IT projects succeed or not. However, it is a great challenge to lead IT projects and to get the desired effect through, for example, schedule, budget and resources. At the same time, digitalization is constantly moving society forward and the knowledge that is gathered after completed IT projects means that the lessons are constantly growing. Nevertheless, there are still few IT projects that succeed. According to previous research, two of the main factors that determine whether a project is considered successful or not are time and budget. Furthermore, the IT project manager has its most important role at the beginning of the project, but that continuous and good communication, and with a flexible leadership, are important cornerstones for success with the project. This study’s purpose has been to investigate and gain a better understanding of why IT projects succeed or fail from the project manager's perspective. To answer this purpose, the following research questions have been asked: How does the project manager describe the critical success factors in the management of an IT project? and How do project managers describe the challenges in managing an IT project?. A qualitative survey method has been applied where semi-structured interviews have been conducted with six IT project managers at a large IT company in Sweden. The interview questions have dealt with areas such as project management and what success factors and challenges project managers experience in IT projects. The results of the study show that to succeed with an IT project from the project manager's perspective, the key to success is good communication, being able to prioritize correctly, and good requirements management. Furthermore, the project manager should have a good understanding of the system, possess technical skills, and have a good understanding of IT components such as dependencies and connections. Finally, resources, budget and time allotted are also important factors. At the same time, the project managers believe that due to the complexity that IT projects often consist of, it is challenging to make relevant changes to the project that suit all stakeholders, including their own project group. In addition, it is often a challenge for the project manager to be able to understand and explain the customer benefit an IT project can bring, again due to the complexity of IT projects. As a project manager, being able to prioritize correctly, as well as having the right resources at hand, has proved to be a challenge for many. Furthermore, it is challenging when stakeholders have a clear focus on business rather than the technical part.

In the last decade, the rapid economic development in the Middle East has encouraged organisations to implement modem quality management and strategic initiatives such as Six Sigma to ensure continuous improvement and achieved excellence. Six Sigma is a comprehensive business strategic quality programme and a systematic process improvement methodology for achieving, sustaining and maximising business success. The proper implementation of Six Sigma leads to breakthrough in profitability through ensuring quantum gains in product/service quality, customer satisfaction and productivity. This research presents an empirical exploratory and comparative study that aims and attempts to bridge the gap in the existing literature of Six Sigma by investigating the current implementation status of Six Sigma in organisations of three Middle East countries (namely, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and United Arab Emirates (UAE)). The reasons/benefits that encourage Middle East organisations to implement Six Sigma projects, the challenges commonly faced during implementation, the critical success factors (CSFs) for effective implementation and the organisations’ satisfaction with the implementation are investigated. The key issues of Six Sigma implementation and their criticality relating to the experience of the implementing process of Six Sigma projects are explored through an extensive review of the relevant literature. The data were collected from a combination of quantitative (232 questionnaires) and qualitative (74 semi-structured interviews) methodologies. The research covered 44 organisations from manufacturing and services sectors and large, small, and medium enterprises (SME) sizes, which have implemented or were implementing Six Sigma projects in the selected countries at the time of study. The study findings identified 15 significant reasons/benefits which encourages Middle East organisations to implement Six Sigma projects, 13 major challenges commonly faced during implementation, 19 CSFs for effective implementation and level of the organisations’ satisfaction with the implementation. Based on the research findings, a generic model for successful and effective implementation of Six Sigma in Middle East organisations is developed and proposed. The research concludes that Six Sigma implementation in Middle East organisations still in early stage, most organisations have outstanding opportunities to implement the Six Sigma project successfully and effectively with tangible and intangible benefits. In addition, all the responding organisations, which are actively implementing Six Sigma programme, regardless of their countries, sectors and sizes are highly satisfied with the implementation results. However, the research output highlights that an improvement culture must be developed and promoted throughout the organisation to ensure long-term benefit and sustainable success. Furthermore, the research makes recommendations on development of an implementation strategy in Middle East organisations. Finally, a number of suggestions are made for future research.