Durch die digitale Transformation des Gesundheitswesens können die Qualität der Patientenversorgung und die Leistungseffizienz hinsichtlich ökonomischer Zielgrößen verbessert werden. Die Adoptions- und Diffusionsforschung im Gesundheitswesen misst und vergleicht die Auswirkungen, Kosten und Qualität von Informationssystemen und den damit verbundenen informationslogistischen Wertschöpfungsprozessen. Daraus ging wiederholt hervor, dass im Speziellen Krankenhäuser unter zunehmenden Wettbewerbsdruck die IT als einen entscheidenden Faktor für die Optimierung der Leistungserbringung erkannt haben und diese somit Teil des Diskurses des strategischen Managements geworden ist. In der wissenschaftlichen Auswertung werden die daraus resultierenden Ergebnisse als Forschungsartikel für ein wissenschaftliches Publikum aufbereitet. Darüber hinaus sollten die Ergebnisse ebenfalls im Hinblick auf die Praxis, sprich dem strategischen IT-Management im Krankenhaus, zielgruppenorientiert, das heißt individualisiert für die betreffende Organisation und kontextualisiert in der jeweiligen Referenzgruppe, disseminiert werden. Solche Feedback-Systeme sind im klinischen Kontext bereits bekannt als sogenannte „Lernende Gesundheitssysteme“, in denen neue Erkenntnisse für die Diagnostik, Therapie, Rehabilitation und Pflege gewonnen werden. Im Bereich der IT-Adoptionsmessung fehlt es jedoch an einem System, welches das IT-Management und die Forschung kontinuierlich durch einen datengetriebenen Feedback-Zyklus verbindet und unterstützt. Die vorliegende kumulative Dissertation verwendet Methoden und Ergebnisse der empirischen Sozialforschung, um wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse der IT-Adoptionsforschung zu deutschen Krankenhäusern im Rahmen der konstruktionsorientierten Forschung in einem Informationssystem individuell für die spezifischen Krankenhäuser zu kontextualisieren. Neben der anwendungsnahen Aufbereitung wissenschaftlicher Ergebnisse für die Praxis ist dieses Informationssystem im gleichen Maß relevant für die nötige Grundlage des Datenmanagements und der Datenanalyse zur Unterstützung der IT-Adoptions- und Diffusionsforschung, in der Daten über mehrere Jahre erhoben und longitudinal ausgewertet werden.

The full enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that began on May 25, 2018 forced any organization that collects and/or processes personal data from European Union citizens to comply with a series of stringent and comprehensive privacy regulations. Many software organizations struggled to comply with the entirety of the GDPR's regulations both leading up and even after the GDPR deadline. Previous studies on the subject of the GDPR have primarily focused on finding implications for users and organizations using surveys or interviews. However, there is a dearth of in-depth studies that investigate compliance practices and compliance challenges in software organizations. In particular, small and medium enterprises are often neglected in these previous studies, despite small and medium enterprises representing the majority of organizations in the EU. Furthermore, organizations that practice continuous integration have largely been ignored in studies on GDPR compliance. Using design science methodology, we conducted an in-depth study over the span of 20 months regarding GDPR compliance practices and challenges in collaboration with a small, startup organization. Our first step helped identify our collaborator's business problems. Subsequently, we iteratively developed two artifacts to address those business problems: a set of privacy requirements operationalized from GDPR principles, and an automated GDPR tool that tests these GDPR-derived privacy requirements. This design science approach resulted in five implications for research and for practice about ongoing challenges to compliance. For instance, our research reveals that GDPR regulations can be partially operationalized and tested through automated means, which is advantageous for achieving long term compliance. In contrast, more research is needed to create more efficient and effective means to disseminate and manage GDPR knowledge among software developers. / Graduate

Developing complex sociotechnical systems often involves integrating new technology into existing systems by applying systems engineering processes. This requires an understanding of the problem space and the possible impact of the new technology. Systems engineering uses modelling to explore the structural, functional, and operational elements of the problem and solution space (Hitchins 2008). Historically, systems engineering has however struggled with complex sociotechnical systems projects, as it cannot cope with the dynamic behaviour of complex sociotechnical systems. The hypothesis of this thesis is that addressing the contribution of humans performing work in a complex, constrained and dynamic environment using modelling will result in a better understanding in the analysis phase; it should also lead to improved requirements, designs, selection of technologies, and implementation strategies, enabling sociotechnical systems to cope with complex operating environments. A sociotechnical system consists of humans applying technology to perform work through processes within a social structure (organisation) aimed at achieving a defined objective (Bostrom & Heinen 1977, Walker et al. 2009). Work can become complex due to non-linear and dynamic interaction among the people themselves, among people and technology, as well as among people and the environment. Complexity may lead to “wicked and messy” problems, as many unintended or unpredicted consequences may be experienced. The new technology may also lead to new task possibilities that evolve user requirements (Carroll & Rosson 1992). Systems engineering, as developed in the 1950s, forms the basis of developing systems, including sociotechnical systems. Classic systems engineering processes assume that problems can be isolated and decomposed, making the development of complex sociotechnical systems difficult. One way to improve the success of systems engineering is to ensure that the problem to be solved is properly understood. Analysis of the problem and solution space involves capturing and modelling the knowledge and mental models of the stakeholders, to support understanding the system’s requirements. A good description of the problem situation through a model is the first step towards designing and developing a solution. The aim of this study is to develop and demonstrate a modelling methodology for complex sociotechnical systems, in support of the systems engineering process. The two approaches used in the modelling methodology are cognitive work analysis and system dynamics. Cognitive work analysis is a framework for analysing the way people perform work in an organisation, while taking the environmental constraints into consideration. The outputs of cognitive work analysis are constructs or models that capture the structure of the problem. Functions provided by different technological elements are linked to the functional requirements of the system, to achieve its purpose (Lintern 2012). However, cognitive work analysis is limited in investigating the dynamic effect of decisions and policies on the system (Cummings 2006). The dynamic behaviour of complex sociotechnical systems can be analysed using system dynamics, which uses the structure of the system in simulation. System dynamics analyse the effect of feedback and delays on operating the system, as a result of decisions based on policies (Sterman 2000). The design science research framework, which also supports the research design of this thesis, is used to implement the modelling and structure the methodology. Design science research aims at creating technology for a human purpose, unlike the natural sciences, which are geared towards attempting to understand and define reality (March & Smith 1995). The proposed methodology is demonstrated in a case study using modelling and analysis of the impact of a new collaboration technology on command and control systems. Command and control is a good example of a complex sociotechnical system, as humans use technology to assemble and analyse information for situation assessment in support of planning operations (Walker et al. 2009). These systems are also used to control the successful implementation of plans in constrained and variable operating environments. The modelling methodology is demonstrated by modelling and assessing the effect of a new command and control technology for border safeguarding operations, anti-poaching operations and community policing forums. The new technology to be implemented in these complex sociotechnical systems is called “Cmore”. It is a web-based collaboration system that uses smartphones to capture information and track users. Even though the three demonstrations constitute similar systems, the different contextual situations result in diverse behaviour and issues to be investigated. The demonstrations centre on the functions of situation awareness and decision support. The different output models for the command and control systems are used in system dynamics simulations to assess the effect of new technology on the operating and effectiveness of a system. The case studies demonstrated that the modelling methodology support learning about the implementation of a new technology in various complex sociotechnical systems. The developed models and constructs also supported developing evaluation templates during the planning of experiments through identifying key issues. The system dynamics simulations used parametric inputs to investigate the behaviour of the system. In most cases, the simulation outputs identified interesting and counter-intuitive behaviour for deeper assessment. The community policing forum case study also gathered qualitative empirical evidence on the system's behaviour, during a field experiment. The outcomes are compared with the models and simulation outputs to improve the system behavioural models. The learning and improved understanding of the complex sociotechnical system behaviour gained through the modelling methodology, demonstrated its utility. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) / PhD / Unrestricted

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019 / The availability of high-speed/high-volume Data Link Layer (Layer 2) transmission networks fuelled by the implementation of mission critical and performance-intensive technologies, such as Cloud and Data Centre services transmitting sensitive data over the wide area network (WAN) has shifted the attention of hackers, eavesdroppers, cyber-criminals and other malicious attackers to the exploitation of these data transmission technologies. It is argued that security on the current classical technologies that store, transmit and manipulate information on the OSI Layer 2 have historically not been adequately addressed when it comes to secure communication and exchange of information. Quantum teleportation (QT) stemming from quantum communication a branch of quantum information science (QIS) has emerged as a technology that promise unconditional security and providing new ways to design and develop frameworks that operate based on the laws of quantum physics. It is argued that it has a potential to address the data transmission security GAP for OSI layer 2 technologies. This research study aims to propose a framework for the implementation of secure quantum teleportation infrastructures in South Africa. There is currently a lack of generic models and methods to guide the implementation of QT infrastructures that will enable secure transmission of information. A design science research (DSR) was undertaken in order to develop a secure quantum teleportation artefact called (SecureQT-Framework). SecureQT-Framework is a generic model and method that guides the selection and implementation of QT infrastructures motivated by multi-disciplinary domains such as QIS, Quantum Physics, Computer Science as well as information and communication technology (ICT). The DSR process employed a primary DSR cycle with four DSR sub-cycles which involved the awareness and suggestion phase guided by a systematic literature review (SLR), development and evaluation phase guided by Software Defined Network’s OpenFlow, Mininet, Mininet-Wifi and computer simulations for QT using SQUANCH framework. We investigated, examined and collected credible QT techniques and its variant protocols to develop and simulate secure transmission of information over the WAN, We studied their features and challenges. We concluded the study by describing the QT techniques, protocols and implementations that has potential to bridge the security GAP for OSI Layer 2 technologies over the WAN. The results gained were used in the construction of a framework for the implementation of a secure quantum teleportation infrastructure in South Africa. The framework describes the main factors that need to be taken into consideration when implementing quantum teleportation infrastructures.

Die effiziente Nutzung beschränkter Kapazitäten (z.B. Flugzeugplätze, Hotelzimmer) erweist sich für Anbieter als kritischer Erfolgsfaktor. Zur Steuerung der Buchungsanfragen wird daher Revenue Management angewandt. Um langfristig profitable Kundenbeziehungen aufzubauen, sollten auch kundenwertbezogene Informationen (den langfristigen Wert des Kunden für den Anbieter repräsentierend) einbezogen werden. In der Folge sieht sich der Anbieter vielen Unsicherheiten gegenüber. Da die Berücksichtigung von Unsicherheiten die Effizienz der Steuerungsentscheidungen und damit die Erlöshöhe beeinflusst, widmet sich die Dissertation zunächst der Analyse und Systematisierung der unsicherheitsbasierten Problemfelder und nachfolgend der Erweiterung traditioneller Steuerungsmethoden, die in Simulationsstudien evaluiert werden. Die Intention des Beitrags ist es, das Forschungsvorhaben in seiner Zielstellung und Methodologie nachvollziehbar darzulegen.

Background: Cassandra is a NoSQL database, where the data in the background is stored in the immutable tables which are called SSTables. These SSTables are subjected to a method called Compaction to reclaim the disk space and to improve READ performance. Size Tiered Compaction Strategy and Leveled Compaction Strategy are the most used generic compaction strategies for different use cases. Space Amplification and Write Amplification are the main limitations of the above compaction strategies, respectively. This research aims to address the limitations of existing generic compaction strategies. Objectives: A new random compaction strategy will be created to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of compaction. This newly created random compaction strategy will be evaluated by comparing the read, write and space amplification with the existing generic compaction strategies, for different use cases. Methods: In this study, Design Science has been used as a research method to answer both the research questions. Focus groups meetings have been conducted to gain knowledge on the limitations of existing compaction strategies, newly created random compaction strategy, and it’s appropriate solutions. During the evaluation, The metrics have been collected from Prometheus server and visualization is carried out in Grafana server. The compaction strategies are compared significantly by performing statistical tests. Results: The results in this study showed that the random compaction strategy is performing almost similar to Leveled Compaction Strategy. The Random Compaction Strategy solves the space amplification problem and write amplification problem in the Size Tiered Compaction Strategy and Leveled Compaction Strategy, respectively. In this section, eight important metrics have been analyzed for all three compaction strategies. Conclusions: The main artefact of this research is a new Random Compaction Strategy. After performing two iterations, a new stable random compaction strategy is designed. The results were analyzed by comparing the Size Tiered Compaction Strategy, Leveled Compaction Strategy and Random Compaction Strategy on two different use cases. The new random compaction strategy has performed great for Ericsson buffer management use case.

There are many situations during information system development (ISD) where there is a need to do modelling on a business level before more detailed and robust modelling are done on the technical system level. Most business level modelling uses some form of natural language constructs which are, on the one hand, easy to use by untrained users, but which are too vague and ambiguous to be used in subsequent systems level modelling by systems analysts, on the other hand. The goal of this study is to develop an integrative modelling technique that is easy enough to be used by most business users with little training, but robust and structured enough to be used in subsequent ISD modelling. The term “integrative” in the title refers to the fact that this technique attempts to bridge the current gap between modelling on a business level and modelling on a technical level. The research consists of two major phases. During the first phase, an integrative modelling technique is developed using a grounded approach. The data that is used for analysis is a representative example of the major ISD modelling techniques used currently. For instance, to represent all the UML techniques, the UML 2 standard is used. The purpose of this first phase is to understand what the fundamental concepts and relationships in ISD are and to develop an integrative technique based on that. During the second phase, the resultant artefact created by the first phase is evaluated and improved using the design science research approach. This artefact is used in a representative set of business modelling situations to evaluate its applicability and suitability as an integrative modelling technique between business and ISD. The integrative modelling technique is evaluated from three perspectives: how it represents business rules, how it handled various aspects of ISD and how it represents requirements expressed as use cases. These evaluations used the two main design criteria of ease of use for users and at the same time adequate levels of expressive power so that the model can be easily translated into existing ISD modelling languages. The integrative modelling technique developed identified the following three levels of modelling entities and their relationships: • Base entities (corresponding to the morphological level in linguistics) • Structure entities (corresponding to the syntactical level in linguistics) • Role entities (corresponding to the semantic level in linguistics) The contribution of this research is to provide a better understanding of the fundamental entities in business and ISD modelling and their relationships in order to improve informal, mostly textual, business modelling. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Informatics / unrestricted

Risk management is a key competency that is constantly being researched how it can be improved within project management. The risk management process consists of four major steps: identify risks, assess the risks’ significance on the project, evaluate and address the key risks and follow up.The majority of companies seem to neglect certain identified risks, and decide not to mitigate if the risk does not cause adverse effects to the business. To counteract undesirable consequences and help organisations to become more effective at managing risks an initial work has been conducted for a risk repository.The project develops a proposal on the design of a risk repository which aim to effectively support a database implementation. The study includes literature studies which resulted in a relational model for database implementation. Furthermore, personal meetings were conducted within the framework of risk management.The study has resulted in development of relational models, one entity relationship model and one data model, which are essential for the database implementation. The modelling technique was based on an approach founded by Chen (1976). This modelling approach is still actively used in education and by developers within entity-relationship modelling and database design.The developed design supports the implementation of the data model in a risk repository, which eventually supports decision-making in risk management for businesses. A suggestion for further research has also emphasized the risk repository. The suggestion aims to increase the efficiency of the database of a computing system which enables cost estimates of potential risks that may occur.

En anamnes är när patienten med egna ord svarar på frågor om sin personliga sjukdomshistoria. Anamnesen skrivs idag upp till 20 gånger per vårdtillfälle tillsammans med epikrisen avvårdpersonal. Om anamnesen skulle samlas in digitalt av patienten som fyllt i den själv via ettformulär, kan denna information tas fram ur journalen av vårdpersonal vid vårdbesök. Denna studie introducerar en design av ett digitalt formulär för patienter att fylla i själva, för enmobilapplikation som fokuserar på användarvänlighet. Studien följer forskningsstrategin designscience som metod. Med hjälp av teori, intervjuer och en enkät tas designbeslut fram för attutföra ett designarbete som resulterar i en artefaktprototyp. Designarbetet går igenom treiterationer och mynnar ut i fyra egna identifierade designprinciper som tillsammans meddesignprinciper från tidigare forskning är nödvändiga att använda vid design av ett digitaltformulär för en mobilapplikation. Studiens slutsats sammanfattar de designprinciper som tagits fram för ett digitalt formulär i enmobilapplikation som främjar användarvänlighet. Designprinciperna bidrar till att ökaanvändarvänligheten genom att vardera en har användaren i fokus och bidrar till att formuläretblir enkelt att använda.

Understanding of business processes is becoming an important key factor for successful businesses and today many organizations are facing the lack of knowledge about the business processes that they are working on. Since the interaction between different business processes and different actors are becoming more common it is not only enough for employees to have knowledge about the business processes that they involve directly, but also they need to know about the other business processes in the organization. Unfortunately there is not enough research on this topic in the literature and the goal of this thesis is to propose a method for solving the indicated problem by increasing the understanding of business processes by the employees in an organization. The proposed method basically contains the design and execution of process models based on a real scenario. A case study has been conducted at an IT company where the employees have no or limited knowledge about the business processes that their organization works on. Even though the method has been only tested in one organization it is generic and can be applied to any other similar organization. The design science approach is used to develop the method and build the process models as artifacts. The process models have been verified by using an executable business modeling tool, iPB, and presented to the employees in a seminar in order to make them to understand the business processes better. The knowledge of the employees about the business processes has been analyzed before and after the presentation, thus we could compare the results and find out how much their knowledge has increased after the presentation. The results have shown that the knowledge of the employees has increased significantly. In conclusion, the method of design and presentation of executable business process models has been proved to be a solution to the problem of not understanding of business processes in an organization well enough.