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Abstract A fundamental problem in the software engineering community is how to achieve a state of continuous improvement. Over the last ten years a number of studies have been made concerning various tools, methods and software process improvement project life-cycle models, but the problem persists and in many cases the software process improvement program dies off within a year. This thesis takes the assumption that the answer cannot be reduced to a single tool or method, as there are no silver bullets to complex problems. Instead the entire Software Process Engineering system should be studied to find out what elements are necessary for sustaining improvement activity on a long-term basis. Through understanding the fundamental elements of a Software Process Engineering system, the organization can manage and improve the system, tune it up to the environment and make it efficient and effective. When the system is operational, the software process improvement program, which is a part of the system, can be sustained. This research studies a case in which the Software Process Engineering system of a large, multi-site telecommunications company was successfully revised to meet the increasing improvement challenges. The revised system has proven to be capable of sustaining continuous improvement and case is used here to derive architectural design models of a Software Process Engineering system. Two such models are established here. One is a system model that is independent of implementation and identifies the main elements of a Software Process Engineering system. With the help of this model, those responsible for process improvement in their organizations can design, evaluate, and revise complete Software Process Engineering systems. The other model is a design of a multi-site Software Process Engineering organization, and identifies not only the operative part of the organization but also the key non-operative elements that a Software Process Engineering system needs to work with. With the help of this model a multi-site organization can set up the operative Software Process Engineering organization and plan for strategies for managing the cooperation with the interfacing entities up front, rather than ending up managing such contacts on a reactive fashion.

Thesis (M.S. in environmental engineering)--Washington State University, December 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 2, 2009). "Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering." Includes bibliographical references.

Abstract Software process improvement (SPI) approaches have been designed to produce changes at many levels, i.e. in the strategies, culture and working practices, of software development. Studies have shown that nearly two thirds of all SPI efforts have failed or fallen short of expectations. It is often stated in SPI-related literature and practice that "commitment" to SPI plays an important part in determining whether an SPI endeavor ultimately becomes a success or a failure. However, it often remains unclear what this concept actually means and how it affects SPI. This thesis argues for a scientifically grounded concept of commitment and delivers a description and a definition of this concept in the context of software process improvement. The elaboration of the concept is based on a literature study, which makes the research done in behavioral psychology and organizational science applicable in the field of software process improvement. This thesis shows that current thinking relies on practical models of commitment, and the empirically validated analysis conducted within this study reveals a number of common misleading assumptions regarding the notion and development of commitment in SPI. On this basis, this thesis suggests that the commitment phenomenon is better explained through what can be called strategic, operational and personal commitment nets. This framework can be used for analyzing the unfolding and alteration of commitment towards a specific entity, in this case a software process improvement endeavor, through time and changing circumstances. The viability and usefulness of the commitment nets framework is demonstrated through an analysis of four SPI cases in two software organizations. As a result, it is shown that even though the objective features of SPI in terms of costs and benefits may be dominating in the project initiation phase, their role tends to lose strength later on due to an inability of the SPI effort to produce quick and meaningful results, even if these are explicitly sought for. This phenomenon gives rise to a need for enhancing the role of social and psychological drivers. If this is not achieved, SPI activities are likely to cease to exist. The empirical analysis demonstrates that the use of the commitment nets model enables a more precise analysis of the various aspects involved in the commitment phenomenon than what would have been possible with current commitment models. Commitment, as conceptualized and operationalized in this thesis, makes a significant contribution to the outcome of the SPI initiative. The empirical evidence shows that, eventually, even well-planned SPI initiatives may fail to reach the goals set for them due to changes in commitment nets.

The purposes of this study were to determine the initial impact of the Oklahoma Library Media Improvement Grants on Oklahoma school library media programs; assess whether the Oklahoma Library Media Improvement Grants continue to contribute to Oklahoma school learning communities; and examine possible relationships between school library media programs and student academic success. It also seeks to document the history of the Oklahoma Library Media Improvement Program 1978 - 1994 and increase awareness of its influence upon the Oklahoma school library media programs. Methods of data collection included: examining Oklahoma Library Media Improvement Program archival materials; sending a survey to 1703 school principals in Oklahoma; and interviewing Oklahoma Library Media Improvement Program participants. Data collection took place over a one year period. Data analyses were conducted in three primary phases: descriptive statistics and frequencies were disaggregated to examine mean scores as they related to money spent on school library media programs; opinions of school library media programs; and possible relationships between school library media programs and student academic achievement. Analysis of variance was used in the second phase of data analysis to determine if any variation between means was significant as related to Oklahoma Library Improvement Grants, time spent in the library media center by library media specialists, principal gender, opinions of library media programs, student achievement indicators, and the region of the state in which the respondent was located. The third phase of data analysis compared longitudinal data collected in the 2000 survey with past data. The primary results indicated students in Oklahoma from schools with a centralized library media center, served by a full-time library media specialist, and the school having received one or more Library Media Improvement Grants scored significantly higher academically than students in schools not having a centralized library media center, not served by a full-time library media specialist, and the school not having received one or more Library Media Improvement Grants. Students in schools having even one of these components scored higher academically than students in schools with none of these components.

A preliminary purpose of this study in the area of business communications was that of determining the status of correspondence improvement in stock life insurance companies in Dallas. However, the major purpose, which stemmed from the preliminary one, was to study intensively the approach used in Great American.

The purpose of this study is to determine if a phonetic approach to speech improvement has a relationship to reading achievement, sound discrimination, and developmental articulation at the first-grade level.

Syftet med detta examensarbete var att undersöka vilka faktorer som krävs för en lyckad implementering av ett förbättringsprogram i en organisation, oavsett vilket förbättringsprogram som används. Förbättringsprogrammen har vuxit fram ur kvalitetrörelsen och har sitt ursprung i ständiga förbättringar och PDSA-cykeln. Förbättringsprogram används av ledningen för att uppnå en högre grad av kundtillfredsställelse, på ett strukturerat sätt. En implementering av ett förbättringsprogram måste successivt lanseras i en organisation genom introduktionsfas, försöksfas, införandefas, expansionsfas och integreringsfas. I införandefasen används tre olika typer av införande av förbättringsprogram totalt, delvis och införande under befintligt koncept. Implementeringsprocessen måste mätas för att det ska kunna avgöras om den blev lyckad eller inte. Metoden som använts i detta examensarbete är en kvalitativ forskningsprocess med hermeneutiskt ideal av kvalitativ metod med en kombination av etnometodologisk tradition och naturism. Författaren har använt sig av en tvärsnittsdesign i tidsaspekten. Data insamlingsmetoden har varit kvalitativ intervju, med fem respondenter, samt litteraturstudier från vetenskapliga artiklar och böcker. Detta har analyserats med Ad-hoc. Resultatet visade att faktorer för att lyckas med en implementering av förbättringsprogram är: engagerat ledarskap, mål vision, delaktighet, vilja, resurser, kunskap, förståelse, kommunikation, uthållighet och efterfrågan. Undersökningen visar framför allt på vikten av engagerat ledarskap och detta är av största vikt om en implementering ska lyckas. Det är viktigt att organisationen gör det klart vilka förväntningar som finns på de roller som ska vara delaktiga och att det utgår från den egna organisationens resurser och förutsättningar. / The purpose of this master thesis was to investigate the factors necessary for a successful implementation of an improvement program in an organization, regardless of the improvement program used. The improvement program has grown from TQM and has its origins in continuous improvement and the PDSA cycle. The improvement programs are used by management to achieve a higher level of customer satisfaction in a structured way. The implementation of an improvement program in a company consists of five phases, introductory, pilot, implementation, expansion and integration. There are three types of introductions of the implementation phase, total, partial and during existing concepts. The implementation process must be measured in order to enable it to determine whether it was successful implementation or not. The method used in this thesis is a qualitative research process with hermeneutical ideals of a qualitative method with a combination of ethno-methodological tradition and naturism. The author has used a cross-sectional research design and the data collection methodology was qualitative interviews with five respondents, and literature studies from scientific articles and books. The result has been ad-hoc analyzed. The results showed that the factors for the success of an implementation of the improvement program are: engaged leadership, vision, goals, participation, willingness, resources, knowledge, understanding, communication, perseverance and demand. This master thesis shows above all the importance of engaged leadership and this is of paramount importance, if an implementation is to be succeed or not. It is important that the organization makes it clear what the expectations of the roles that will be involved and that it is based on the organization's own resources and conditions.

Citizen participation includes those activities by citizens who are not public officials that are more or less intended to influence the actions taken by government (Verba & Nie, 1972). Citizen initiated contacts are one such form of participation. In 1999, the volume of complaint and service related calls received by the Department of Public Works and Engineering equaled almost 20 percent of the city's population. Via Houston's Customer Response Center, these contacts are logged in, directed to the appropriate department and incorporated into the department's infrastructure management system (IMS). The goal of the IMS is to provide a systems approach to making cost-effective decisions about the design, rehabilitation, construction, retrofitting, maintenance or abandonment of the city's infrastructure (Grigg, 1988). To date, the effectiveness of this program is perceived as less than ideal and the public is critical of the results (Graves, 2002). Residents express concerns that infrastructure projects are targeted towards business and industrial areas while neighborhood needs are being ignored. Politicians are concerned that projects are not equally distributed among the districts. Meanwhile, public works' staff are concerned because there isn't enough money to address citizen calls, business and industrial needs and political concerns in addition to the problems they have identified. The purpose of this research is twofold: to determine if citizen initiated contacts have been a significant factor in the selection of water and sewer projects and, to identify other factors that may play a role in the decision making process. This study is longitudinal in nature, covering the time period between 1992 and 1999. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis were applied to the various data sets provided by the City of Houston. The results of the analysis supports the following: - Citizen contacts have been significant in determining the allocation of water and sewer CIP projects; however, that has not been consistent through the years. - Factors such as race, class, line type, material, size, age and location also factor into the decision making process.

Dagens omgivning är full av osäkerhet, marknadssvängningar, geografiska förändringar i arbetskraft och den högteknologiska utvecklingen vilket utsätter nutidens organisationer för ständiga förändringar (Savery och Luks 2000). Detta innebär att företag på 2000-talet, genom att systematiskt förbättra verksamheten, oavbrutet måste hålla ner kvalitetsbristkostnader, minimera förluster och öka produktiviteten för att kunna bevara sin position på marknaden (Baghel, Bhuiyan och Wilson, 2005). I denna studie var syftet att skapa ett nytt arbetssätt och struktur för ett framgångsrikt förbättringsarbete på Akzo Nobel Surface Chemistry Stenungsund. Studien bestod dels av ett teoriavsnitt med en litteraturstudie utifrån nutida forskning och även en kvalitativ undersökning genom djupgående intervjuer med 19 medarbetare från olika ansvarsnivåer och via en enkätundersökning som gick ut till resterande medarbetare. Akzo Nobel Surface Chemistry är en del av Akzo Nobel koncernen som är en av världens ledande färgtillverkare. Koncernen har över 55 000 anställda i över 80 länder där ungefär 3600 anställda arbetar på ett 20-tal platser runt om i Sverige. Företaget bedriver förbättringsarbete genom daglig uppföljning ute i fabrikerna och på respektive avdelning. Dessutom samlas alla förbättringsförslag upp i en databas och en utvald styrgrupp analyserar och prioriterar dessa. Problemet är dock att det saknas struktur och systematik för hur förbättringsförslag och actionpunkter ska gå från idéer, till att genomföras och följas upp för att kunna driva igenom förbättringar. I detta projekt togs det fram en modell för hur företaget kan skapa förutsättningar för ettframgångsrikt förbättringsarbete genom att skapa en kreativ miljö för medarbetarna att arbeta i. Vidare poängterades vikten av att ledningen fokuserar på att generera kvalitet hos medarbetarna genom att fokusera på kärnvärden och emotionell kompetens. Därefter presenterades framtagen struktur med arbetssätt för att minimera ledtiden från förslag till genomförande och återkoppla detta genom givna forum och system. Vidare föreslogs att ledningen ska förbereda organisationen på att ett nytt förbättringsarbete är på väg och förklara varför detta är väsentligt för företagets framtida överlevnad. Detta kan skapa förutsättningar för att implementera förbättringsarbetet på ett framgångsrikt sätt med en positiv effekt på medarbetarna.