O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal o desenvolvimento e apresentação de um modelo econômico-probabilístico para seleção e priorização de projetos. O modelo proposto utiliza 38 critérios, contempla interdependências entre projetos e permite quantificar os investimentos, benefícios e incertezas associadas, fornecendo uma análise abrangente dos retornos esperados para os projetos. O trabalho realizado envolveu cinco etapas principais: (i) identificar e selecionar os principais critérios de avaliação e seleção de projetos; (ii) identificar os principais métodos utilizados na seleção e priorização de projetos; (iii) integrar os critérios selecionados com um método de seleção e priorização de projetos em um modelo capaz de avaliar o retorno econômico e o impacto das incertezas envolvidas no resultado de cada projeto; (iv) aprimorar o modelo validado para que seja capaz de identificar interdependência entre os projetos do portfólio; e (v) testar e validar parcialmente o modelo ampliado através da aplicação na realidade de empresas. A principal contribuição desta tese é a proposição de um modelo que combina métodos econômicos e probabilísticos, seguindo procedimentos relativamente simples, mas capazes de considerar incertezas e interdependências entre projetos. O modelo proposto avalia aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos e utiliza simulação de Monte Carlo e Programação Matemática. Do ponto de vista prático, a importância desta tese reside no fato de métodos econômicos serem considerados mais amigáveis aos tomadores de decisão, uma vez que o seu procedimento é transparente e o resultado financeiro é claro para todos os envolvidos. Paralelamente, o procedimento probabilístico permite qualificar a informação disponibilizada aos tomadores de decisão uma vez que é possível entender a extensão da incerteza associada aos critérios utilizados na tomada de decisão. / This study's main objective is to develop and present an economic-probabilistic model for projects selection and prioritization. The proposed model uses 38 criteria, contemplates the interdependencies among projects and allows the quantification of benefits, investments and associated uncertainties, providing a comprehensive analysis of expected returns for the projects. The work was conducted comprising five main stages: (i) identify and select the main criteria for projects selection and evaluation; (ii) identify the main methods used in projects selection and prioritization; (iii) integrating the selected criteria to a project selection and prioritization method in a model capable of evaluating the economic returns and the impact of the uncertainties involved in the outcome of each project; (iv) improve the model to be able to identify interdependencies among projects in the portfolio, and (v) test and partially validate the extended model by application to the reality of companies. The main contribution of this thesis is the proposition of a model that combines economic and probabilistic methods, following relatively simple procedures, but able to account for interdependencies and uncertainty among projects. The proposed model evaluates qualitative and quantitative aspects and uses Monte Carlo simulation and Linear Programming. From a practical standpoint, the importance of this thesis lies in the fact that economic methods are considered more friendly to decision makers, since its procedure is transparent and the bottom line is clear to all involved. Moreover, the probabilistic procedure allows to qualify the information available to decision makers since it is possible to understand the extent of uncertainty associated with the criteria used in decision making.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal o desenvolvimento e apresentação de um modelo econômico-probabilístico para seleção e priorização de projetos. O modelo proposto utiliza 38 critérios, contempla interdependências entre projetos e permite quantificar os investimentos, benefícios e incertezas associadas, fornecendo uma análise abrangente dos retornos esperados para os projetos. O trabalho realizado envolveu cinco etapas principais: (i) identificar e selecionar os principais critérios de avaliação e seleção de projetos; (ii) identificar os principais métodos utilizados na seleção e priorização de projetos; (iii) integrar os critérios selecionados com um método de seleção e priorização de projetos em um modelo capaz de avaliar o retorno econômico e o impacto das incertezas envolvidas no resultado de cada projeto; (iv) aprimorar o modelo validado para que seja capaz de identificar interdependência entre os projetos do portfólio; e (v) testar e validar parcialmente o modelo ampliado através da aplicação na realidade de empresas. A principal contribuição desta tese é a proposição de um modelo que combina métodos econômicos e probabilísticos, seguindo procedimentos relativamente simples, mas capazes de considerar incertezas e interdependências entre projetos. O modelo proposto avalia aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos e utiliza simulação de Monte Carlo e Programação Matemática. Do ponto de vista prático, a importância desta tese reside no fato de métodos econômicos serem considerados mais amigáveis aos tomadores de decisão, uma vez que o seu procedimento é transparente e o resultado financeiro é claro para todos os envolvidos. Paralelamente, o procedimento probabilístico permite qualificar a informação disponibilizada aos tomadores de decisão uma vez que é possível entender a extensão da incerteza associada aos critérios utilizados na tomada de decisão. / This study's main objective is to develop and present an economic-probabilistic model for projects selection and prioritization. The proposed model uses 38 criteria, contemplates the interdependencies among projects and allows the quantification of benefits, investments and associated uncertainties, providing a comprehensive analysis of expected returns for the projects. The work was conducted comprising five main stages: (i) identify and select the main criteria for projects selection and evaluation; (ii) identify the main methods used in projects selection and prioritization; (iii) integrating the selected criteria to a project selection and prioritization method in a model capable of evaluating the economic returns and the impact of the uncertainties involved in the outcome of each project; (iv) improve the model to be able to identify interdependencies among projects in the portfolio, and (v) test and partially validate the extended model by application to the reality of companies. The main contribution of this thesis is the proposition of a model that combines economic and probabilistic methods, following relatively simple procedures, but able to account for interdependencies and uncertainty among projects. The proposed model evaluates qualitative and quantitative aspects and uses Monte Carlo simulation and Linear Programming. From a practical standpoint, the importance of this thesis lies in the fact that economic methods are considered more friendly to decision makers, since its procedure is transparent and the bottom line is clear to all involved. Moreover, the probabilistic procedure allows to qualify the information available to decision makers since it is possible to understand the extent of uncertainty associated with the criteria used in decision making.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal o desenvolvimento e apresentação de um modelo econômico-probabilístico para seleção e priorização de projetos. O modelo proposto utiliza 38 critérios, contempla interdependências entre projetos e permite quantificar os investimentos, benefícios e incertezas associadas, fornecendo uma análise abrangente dos retornos esperados para os projetos. O trabalho realizado envolveu cinco etapas principais: (i) identificar e selecionar os principais critérios de avaliação e seleção de projetos; (ii) identificar os principais métodos utilizados na seleção e priorização de projetos; (iii) integrar os critérios selecionados com um método de seleção e priorização de projetos em um modelo capaz de avaliar o retorno econômico e o impacto das incertezas envolvidas no resultado de cada projeto; (iv) aprimorar o modelo validado para que seja capaz de identificar interdependência entre os projetos do portfólio; e (v) testar e validar parcialmente o modelo ampliado através da aplicação na realidade de empresas. A principal contribuição desta tese é a proposição de um modelo que combina métodos econômicos e probabilísticos, seguindo procedimentos relativamente simples, mas capazes de considerar incertezas e interdependências entre projetos. O modelo proposto avalia aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos e utiliza simulação de Monte Carlo e Programação Matemática. Do ponto de vista prático, a importância desta tese reside no fato de métodos econômicos serem considerados mais amigáveis aos tomadores de decisão, uma vez que o seu procedimento é transparente e o resultado financeiro é claro para todos os envolvidos. Paralelamente, o procedimento probabilístico permite qualificar a informação disponibilizada aos tomadores de decisão uma vez que é possível entender a extensão da incerteza associada aos critérios utilizados na tomada de decisão. / This study's main objective is to develop and present an economic-probabilistic model for projects selection and prioritization. The proposed model uses 38 criteria, contemplates the interdependencies among projects and allows the quantification of benefits, investments and associated uncertainties, providing a comprehensive analysis of expected returns for the projects. The work was conducted comprising five main stages: (i) identify and select the main criteria for projects selection and evaluation; (ii) identify the main methods used in projects selection and prioritization; (iii) integrating the selected criteria to a project selection and prioritization method in a model capable of evaluating the economic returns and the impact of the uncertainties involved in the outcome of each project; (iv) improve the model to be able to identify interdependencies among projects in the portfolio, and (v) test and partially validate the extended model by application to the reality of companies. The main contribution of this thesis is the proposition of a model that combines economic and probabilistic methods, following relatively simple procedures, but able to account for interdependencies and uncertainty among projects. The proposed model evaluates qualitative and quantitative aspects and uses Monte Carlo simulation and Linear Programming. From a practical standpoint, the importance of this thesis lies in the fact that economic methods are considered more friendly to decision makers, since its procedure is transparent and the bottom line is clear to all involved. Moreover, the probabilistic procedure allows to qualify the information available to decision makers since it is possible to understand the extent of uncertainty associated with the criteria used in decision making.

Für komplexe Entwicklungsaufgaben von Großserienanwendungen mit hohem Reifegrad haben sich standardisierte Entwicklungsprozesse erfolgreich etabliert. Existieren diese für eine Aufgabenstellung nicht, kann bei überschaubarem Projektumfang gepaart mit hohem Neuheitsgrad ein Generalist den gesamten Entwicklungsprozess mit hoher Dynamik situativ und iterativ ohne Vorgegebene Ablaufstruktur erfolgreich leiten. Zur raschen und ganzheitlichen Erfassung von unbekanntem oder nicht hinreichend erfasstem (Teil-)Systemverhalten sowie der relevanten Interdependenzen und Einflussgrößen kann die menschliche Wahrnehmung bei der Testung von Spielmodellen und Prototypen einen wertvollen Beitrag leisten. Zur allgemeinen Nutzung des so erworbenen Wissens ist jedoch deren explizite Darstellung von zentraler Bedeutung. Anhand von zwei ausgewählten Praxisbeispielen wird dies verdeutlicht.

This project explores co-being and interdependencies between human and more-than-human, the microbes, through the medium of fermentation and the (hidden) communities this practice embodies. Therewith not only resisting commodification and alienation from our food but facing our very own identity, and the human-made construct of human exceptionalism and detachment of nature and culture. The cells in ’our’ human body are outnumbered by the cells of other microorganisms. They even actively influence many of the bodily functions associated with the concept of ’self‘ (our brain, immune system and genome).1 Considering this, what does it even mean to be human? What does it mean to be me, If not cherishing and embracing the more-than-human, more-than-one-culture collective? The Korean word 손맛 ’son-mat’/ ’hand-taste’ refers to the inherited quality, love and care that went into preparing the (often associated with mother‘s) dish, something uniquely connected to the cook. While the microbes in sourdough can be linked to the baker‘s hand microbes, the baker‘s microbes have also shown to beaffected by the interaction with sourdough (Herman‘s (see picture to the right) microbial culture) with the scientific findings exposing our mutual interaction. This son-mat within fermentation I see as a symbolized touching point where our human realm and the microbial invisible microcosmos meet and become tangible. To emphasize this co-being, I work with our bodily senses, using design to bridge, making the insensible sensible, tangible, and audible. Staying curious and sprawling with my design approaches of creating narratives with the more-than-human, aimed to evoke questions and reflections of us and our culture. What happens when we share culture (human and microbial)? Through our hands, eating and digesting parts of others and becoming-with. To share culture means to see that humans and ’non-humans‘ are one. To taste that our culture is shared. And to feel that nature and culture are not two but one. Can you taste it?

Title: Project portfolio optimization with time and resources Author: Bc. Tomáš Huml Department: Department of Theoretical Computer Science and Mathematical Logic Supervisor: Doc. RNDr. Roman Barták, Ph.D Abstract: Traditional project portfolio optimization deals with static projects that are not evolving in time. The focus of this diploma thesis is on projects that are spread in time, typically such projects consists of a sequence (or other partially ordered structure) of actions that require some resources (money, people, etc.) for realization. Then the project portfolio optimization deals with selecting a subset of projects according to given time and space (resource) restrictions and optimizing certain criteria such as overall profit. This problem is very close to oversubscribed scheduling where the most profitable subset of orders is being scheduled. Hence scheduling techniques will be the main inspiration for solving this new type of problems. Lots of modelling algorithms for optimal portfolio selection are proposed in this diploma thesis and several of them are implemented in a program which is part of this thesis as well. Keywords: portfolio optimization, integer linear programming (ILP), workflow optimization, project interdependencies

La présente recherche propose un cadre intégrateur de la gouvernance des réseaux de franchise, mobilisant à la fois l'approche contractuelle et relationnelle. Elle cherche à examiner le degré de dépendance entre les mécanismes de gouvernance émanant de ces deux approches. L'étude empirique est mise en œuvre à travers une méthodologie de recherche à la fois qualitative et quantitative. L'étude qualitative nous a permis de développer des connaissances plus détaillées sur le fonctionnement des réseaux de franchise, de vérifier la véracité empirique de notre modèle conceptuel et de mettre au point notre questionnaire définitif. Les données recueillies auprès de 90 franchisés français, à l'aide d'une enquête électronique, ont fait l'objet d'une étude quantitative. Cette dernière nous a permis, dans un premier temps, de valider les échelles de mesures des variables latentes intégrées dans le modèle conceptuel, à travers une analyse exploratoire suivie d'une autre confirmatoire appliquant la Modélisation en Equations Structurelles (MES). La MES a été également mobilisée afin de confirmer, dans un second temps, la structure causale du modèle empirique. En termes de résultats, nous avons mis en évidence, du moins partiellement, l'existence de relations de dépendance entre les trois composantes de la gouvernance contractuelle à savoir : le système d'allocation des droits décisionnels, le système d'évaluation des performances et le système d'incitation. Plus particulièrement, les résultats statistiques confirment que le système d'incitation dépend significativement de l'allocation des droits décisionnels et du système d'évaluation des performances. S'agissant des relations de complémentarité entre la gouvernance contractuelle et la gouvernance relationnelle, les résultats statistiques semblent plus concluants en montrant que les normes relationnelles de la dyade franchiseur-franchisé, fondées sur la confiance, la coopération et l'harmonisation des conflits, dépendent significativement des trois mécanismes de la gouvernance contractuelle cités ci-dessus. Voulant affiner davantage notre analyse, cette recherche met également en évidence l'influence de cinq variables de contrôle sur la portée de certains mécanismes de gouvernance plus que d'autres. Pour conclure, cette recherche contribue, sur le plan théorique, à enrichir les travaux émergents sur le contrôle et la gouvernance des réseaux de franchise et, sur le plan professionnel, à fournir aux acteurs du commerce des éléments d'appréciation sur la capacité de la franchise à concilier contrôle, autonomie et normes relationnelle, ainsi que des recommandations aux franchiseurs afin de bien gérer leurs relations avec leurs franchisés et emporter leur adhésion. / This research provides an integrating framework for the governance of franchising networks involving both contractual and relational approach. It seeks to examine the degree of dependence between the governance mechanisms from these two approaches. The empirical study is implemented through both qualitative and quantitative methodology. The qualitative study, allowed us to develop more detailed operational knowledge of franchising networks, to check the empirical veracity of our conceptual model and to finalize our questionnaire for the quantitative study. The electronic survey data collected from 90 French franchisees have been the subject of the quantitative study. This later allowed us, firstly, to validate the measurement scales of latent variables included in the conceptual model, through an exploratory analysis followed by a confirmatory one applying the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The SEM was also leveraged to confirm, in a second step, the causal structure of the empirical model. In terms of results, we have highlighted, at least partially, the dependency between all three components of the contractual governance, namely: the allocation of decision rights system, performance measurement system and incentive system. In particular, statistical results confirm that the incentive system depends significantly on the allocation of decision rights and performance measurement system. Regarding complementarities between contractual and relational governance, statistical results seem to be more conclusive by showing that the relational norms of the franchisor-franchisee dyad, based on trust, cooperation and harmonization of conflict, depend significantly on the three contractual governance mechanisms cited above. Wishing to further refine our analysis, this research also highlights the influence of five control variables on the scope of certain governance mechanisms more than others. In conclusion, the contributions of this research are related, on the theoretical level, to the enrichment of the emerging work on control and governance of franchising networks, and on the professional level, to providing trade players with evidence on the ability of franchising to reconcile control, autonomy and relational norms, as well as recommendations to franchisors in order to manage effectively their relationships with their franchisees and gain their support.

This paper is an in-depth study of business relationships in the Swedish construction industry and how e-commerce applications have affected the matter.  E-commerce applications are being used by all types of industries, while the construction industry lags behind and is currently in the process of implementing such type of systems. Primary data was obtained through four in-depth interviews, three of which were conducted with leading Swedish construction companies, and one with a large supplier to the industry.  The data obtained was analyzed using a series of academic tools such as currnet peer reviewed articles and models covering the topics of business relationships as well as e-commerce applications. Most importantly, the research revealed that communication on levels that affect business relationships has not decreased substantially wit hthe implementation of e-commerce applications.  Secondly, an important aspect and prerequisite for a business relationship is the price of goods traded and geographic positioning.  This may be an industry specific finding, due to both factors' high impact on total cost.  Accordingly, the paper provides a model using the obtained data, as the current academic literature weighs aspects which suppoert the forming of business relationships differently.

Dependencies between requirements are a crucial factor for any software development since they impact many project areas. Nevertheless, their identification remains a challenge. Some methods have been proposed but none of them are really applicable to real projects due to their high cost or low accuracy. DIM is a lightweight method for identifying dependencies proposed on a previous paper. This paper presents an experiment comparing the sets of dependencies found by DIM and a method based on pair-wise comparison. The experiment was executed using a requirement specification for an open source project. These requirements were extracted by reverse engineering. Our results have provided evidence confirming that DIM finds more dependencies and its results (the dependencies identified) do not depend on the profile of the practitioner applying it. Another important result is that DIM requires fewer resources when applied, since it does not rely on pair-wise comparisons and it can be easily automated. / Avda. Espana 101 P6 Bj-E 28341, Madrid, Spain. Telephone number: +34627770492

The German Government’s Integrated Energy and Climate Programme (IEKP) and the National Biomass Action Plan set ambitious targets for the further development of bioenergy until 2020. The share of energy from biomass is supposed to reach 8 % and 9.7 % of the total power consumption and of the total heat usage, respectively. The share of biofuels on the total consumption of fuels for transportation should rise up to 12 % (energetic) by 2020. This project aims to assess the possibilities of achieving the IEKP targets for bioenergy in a regional and global context. On a regional as well as global level, the potentials of different biomasses were determined in different development scenarios until 2020. Furthermore, the extent to which remote sensing could contribute in improving the spatial specification of biomass resources and whether it could be used as a monitoring system for the early detection of land use changes was investigated. On the regional level, the spatial implications of energetic biomass use was analysed with regard to environmental impacts and land use conflicts. Depending on their significance of spatial impacts, instruments of spatial planning were assessed in order to steer the supply of bioenergy. [... from Executive Summary]