Eco-efficiency improvements in manufacturing is a controversial subject for researchers, practitioners as well as policy makers. The widely accepted definition of "doing more with less" is not accurate enough to guide the design of improvements that can deliver products in a sustainable way. The outcome of these challenges is evident through significant environmental performance variations across various levels of manufacturing operations. The study is driven by the complexity of manufacturing systems and sought to offer design support for practitioners that aim to improve eco-efficiency. A maturity model has been developed in this work that simulates the influence of manufacturing practices on eco-efficiency. The model takes the form of a maturity grid (PMGE) that overlooks practices at process, management systems and top-management levels and incorporates 15 dimensions of performance overall. Evidence shows that practices tend to evolve from reactive to proactive as manufacturing systems mature and embrace eco- efficiency as a systemic property. It was also found that mature companies achieve improvements in energy and resources by relying on existing internal capabilities. Tools to facilitate research and intervene with practitioners in real-life problems were developed and tested. The researcher combined research findings and tools into a maturity-based method (PMGEM) for eco-efficiency improvements. The method intends to help practitioners plan and design eco- efficiency improvements aligned to existing internal capabilities and adopt a more proactive behaviour to environmental challenges. PMGEM was ultimately applied in two case studies with ultimate goal to help practitioners resolve real-life challenges. The applications were positively commented and encourage further work in this field. The researcher envisages that methods such as PMGEM are deeply needed in manufacturing to support practitioners approach complex concepts such as eco-efficiency. Simplification and decomposition techniques with a clear intended use can facilitate the implementation of ambitious improvement strategies for sustainable development.

Magister Commercii (Information Management) - MCom(IM) / The purpose of the study described in this thesis was to investigate the structure required to implement and manage digital forensic readiness within an enterprise. A comparative analysis of different digital forensic readiness frameworks was performed and, based on the findings of the analysis, the digital forensic readiness commonalities framework (DFRCF) was extended. The resultant structure was used to design a digital forensic readiness maturity assessment model (DFRMAM) that will enable organisations to assess their forensic readiness. In conclusion, both the extended DFRCF and the DFRMAM are shown to be validated by forensic practitioners, using semi-structured interviews. A qualitative research design and methodology was used to perform a comparative analysis of the various digital forensic readiness frameworks, to comprehend the underlying structures. All the participant responses were recorded and transcribed. Analysis of the findings resulting from the study showed that participants mostly agreed with the structure of the extended DFRCF; however, key changes were introduced to the extended DFRCF. The participants also validated the DFRMAM, and the majority of respondents opted for a checklist-type MAM. Digital forensic readiness is a very sensitive topic since organisations fear that their information might be made public and, as a result, increase their exposure to forensic incidents and reputational risk. Because of this, it was difficult to find participants who have a forensic footprint and are willing, able, and knowledgeable about digital forensic readiness. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge by presenting an original, validated DFRCF and DFRMAM. Practitioners and organisations now have access to non-proprietary DFRMAM.

Introduction Industry 4.0 is rapidly approaching the manufacturing industry and are generating multiple challenges for the companies to overcome. Simultaneously, the customer demand is changing towards customisation and the industry requires new technology within the production system development to remain competitive. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to develop a framework and assess the maturity towards Industry 4.0 and to provide guidance for further advancement. The following two research questions were defined and answered to guide the authors: ~        RQ1: What dimensions should be considered when assessing the maturity of Industry 4.0? ~        RQ2: How could the maturity assessment of Industry 4.0 be performed?    Methodology A literature review was performed to attain previous results within the area of creating and performing maturity assessment. Further, a multiple case study was performed at a selection of case companies where semi-structured interviews, workshop and observations were used to collect empirical data. The analysis has been performed through a cross case analysis for evaluating patterns between the frame of reference and empirical findings. Frame of Reference The literature review increased the authors understanding of how a maturity assessment model functions and which parameters that creates the foundation. The review mainly focused on what set of dimensions and how many levels that can be used in relation to assess a production system. Empirical Findings The empirical findings provide an overview of the current state of production within each case company. Aspects regarding a transition towards Industry 4.0 is elaborated based on process, technology and people aspects. Analysis and Discussion The synthesis between Frame of Reference and Empirical findings contribute with important dimensions to consider when assessing the maturity model. This thesis has decided to conclude the dimensions into three headings consisting of process, technology and people.  A second contribution is a framework for a maturity assessment towards Industry 4.0, where five levels are defined for each dimension. A concluded picture visualises the case companies’ mean maturity level within each dimension of process, technology and people. Conclusions and Recommendations Provided by the maturity assessment, an initiative towards Industry 4.0 exist within the case companies, although major challenges of defining the concept of Industry 4.0 and a lack of competence is highlighted. Future recommendations are to perform a similar study with more depth into the investigations within each case company to validate the maturity assessment towards Industry 4.0 within each case company.

Since today’s fast-paced landscapes evolves into digital environments, businesses are faced by the need of performing digital transformation, as it will support them in staying competitive. However, when executing digital transformation, it becomes important to prioritize the right initiatives to ensure efficient budget allocation, as well as to track progress and value realization to assess real impact and to secure efficient realization. Therefore, tracking value and realization of digital transformation is an essential process in the progress of digitalizing business processes and staying competitive, and thus, should be executed in a mature manner. Consequently, this study’s purpose includes the development of a framework, which can be used to evaluate the maturity of organizations when tracking the value and the realization of digital transformation. To fulfill this, a case study was conducted, whose results were based on qualitative data collected through observation, interviews, and internal documentation. It was found that three aspects are relevant to be assessed when evaluating processes of tracking digital transformation value and realization, namely, formalization, integration, and utilization of the tracking system. For these three aspects, different ambition levels are defined and seen as targets to be sought after by organizations. Furthermore, it is found to be relevant to track progress of digital transformation in terms of development, deployment, and adoption, as well as to assess associated risks, impact on the company’s financials, and objectives and key results. To develop a maturity framework, additionally, five distinct maturity levels were identified, based on challenges and a future ambition for a tracking system. These levels range from “not started” to an “ambition level”. As a result, the maturity assessment framework developed in this study is deemed relevant to be used in a descriptive manner, illustrating key aspects to be considered when tracking the value and realization of digital transformation, as well as when analyzing organizations’ performance in that respect. The study’s outcomes are thus expected to support transparency in organizations when managing digital transformation. / Då dagens snabba landskap utvecklas till alltmer digitala miljöer måste företagen genomföra digital transformation för att kunna behålla sin konkurrenskraft. När man genomför digital transformation blir det dock viktigt att prioritera rätt initiativ för att säkerställa effektiv budgettilldelning, samt att uppfölja framsteg och värdeförverkligande för att bedöma verklig påverkan och säkerställa effektiv realisering. Därför är uppföljning av värde och realisering av digital transformation en viktig process för att digitalisera affärsprocesser och för att förbli konkurrenskraftig, och bör därför genomföras på ett moget sätt. Följaktligen inkluderar denna studies syfte utvecklingen av ett ramverk, som kan användas för att utvärdera organisationers mognad när man uppföljer värdet och realiseringen av digital transformation. För att uppfylla detta genomfördes en fallstudie, vars resultat baserades på kvalitativ data som samlades in genom observation, intervjuer och intern dokumentation. Det visade sig att tre aspekter är relevanta att bedöma när man utvärderar processer för att uppfölja värde och realisering av digital transformation, nämligen formalisering, integration och användning av uppföljningssystemet. Olika ambitionsnivåer definieras för dessa tre aspekter och ses som mål som organisationer ska sträva efter. Vidare konstateras att det är relevant att uppfölja framstegen i digital transformation när det gäller utveckling, införande och användning, samt att bedöma tillhörande risker, inverkan på företagets ekonomi, mål och nyckelresultat. För att utveckla ett ramverk för mognadsbedömning identifierades dessutom fem olika mognadsgrader, baserade på utmaningar och en framtida ambition för ett uppföljningssystem. Dessa nivåer sträcker sig från "inte påbörjad" till "ambitionsnivå". Som ett resultat av detta anses det ramverk för mognadsbedömning som utvecklats i denna studie vara relevant att använda på ett beskrivande sätt och illustrera de viktigaste aspekterna som ska beaktas när man uppföljer värdet och realisering av digital transformation, samt när man analyserar organisationers prestationer i det avseendet. Studiens resultat förväntas således stödja transparens i organisationer när de hanterar digital transformation.

Bakgrund: En kund köper inte varor och tjänster som inte skapar något värde, vilket är något företagen på marknaden måste ta hänsyn till. Utöver det är företagens mål att nå finansiella samt icke-finansiella vinningar från sin produkt. Det är stor konkurrens på marknaden vilket innebär att konsumenten kan välja och vraka något som företagen måste anpassa sig till. I tjänstesektorn är det kunskap som är den viktigaste faktorn för att locka till sig kunder och är på så sätt något tjänsteföretagen ständigt måste arbeta med om de skall överleva på marknaden. För att undersöka detta kommer företagens syn på värdeskapande, kontinuerligt lärande och de egna resurserna studeras i uppsatsen. Syfte: Att undersöka hur tjänsteföretag arbetar med värdeskapande, kontinuerligt lärande samt dess nedlagda resurser inom ramen för internt utvecklingsarbete. Vidare är syftet att jämföra tjänsteföretagens mognadsgrader med varandra för att därigenom se vilka skillnader samt var potential till förbättring finns. Metod: Uppsatsen grundar sig i den kvalitativa ansatsen med ett heremeneutiskt förhållningssätt. Den sekundärdata som samlades in var genom vetenskapliga artiklar, internetkällor och böcker. Fyra företag och fem personer deltog i uppsatsen vilka intervjuades genom en semi-strukturerad intervjuguide. Datainsamlingen analyserades med hjälp av ett organisatoriskt IQ-test. Resultat och slutsats: Företagen har en liknande grundsyn i sättet de tänker på värdeskapande och kontinuerligt lärande. Dock visar empirin att företagen skildje sig i konflikthanteringen samt att några av företagen hade svårigheter att förändra sig på lokal nivå eftersom de agerade på en global marknad. För att uppnå ett värdeskapande och kontinuerligt lärande lägger samtliga företag ner mycket resurser för att erbjuda en tjänst som möter kundens behov och krav. Hur mognadsgraden för värdeskapande och kontinuerligt lärande ser ut skiljer sig mellan företagen eftersom företagen var bra på olika saker. Det är även inom dessa områden potential till förbättring finns. Uppsatsens bidrag: I sin helhet ger uppsatsen en ökad kunskap om hur tjänsteföretag i den privata tjänstesektorn arbetar med värdeskapande och kontinuerligt lärande. Därutöver bidrar uppsatsen med ytterligare kunskap inom vilka områden tjänsteföretagen utmärker sig, deras mognadsgrad i värdeskapande och kontinuerligt lärande samt var det finns potential till förbättring. / Background: Customer do not intend to purchase a product or service that does not provide them with value and this is something that companies have to consider. At the same time companies aim to achieve financial or non-financial profits by selling their products or services. The market is very competitive and ultimately it is the consumers who have the power to pick and choose whatever alternative that fits them best. Hence, this is something companies have to take into consideration. The private sector provides services rather than products and it is this which is used to attract customers and therefore something companies continually have to work with in order to survive in the market. In order to investigate this, different companies’ view of value creation, continual learning and resources have been studied. Aim: To investigate how service companies work with value creation, continual learning and utilized resources (within the range of internal development work). The aim is also to compare company’s level of maturity and suggest where improvements can be made. Methodology: The study is qualitative with a hermeneutic approach. Data were collected from scientific articles, internet sources and books. Four companies and five persons in total participated in the study and were interviewed using a semi-structured interview form. The data was later analyzed with the help of an organizational IQ-test. Results and conclusion: Companies often have a similar ethos in the way they think about value creation and continuous learning. However, the empirical data shows that companies differ in regard to conflict management, as well as some of the companies having difficulties in making changes at the local level because they act in a global marked. In order to achieve value creation and continuous learning all the companies use a great deal of resources to meet the needs and demands from customers. However, the maturity level of value creation and continuous learning look different between various companies because the companies are good at different activities. It is in these areas there lies the potential for improvement. Contribution of the thesis: It provides increased knowledge in how the private service sector works with value creation and continual learning. It also provides further knowledge of how the service sector excels, its maturity grade in value creation and continual learning, and how they can improve.

In an increasingly digital world, the accessibility of digital services is an important question of inclusion. Despite judicial requirements for accessibility of digital public services, the inclusion of accessibility into design practices is a new research area.   This research project explores how to facilitate the inclusion of accessibility into design practices by creating a methodology that centres around an accessibility maturity assessment. The result of the assessment forms the basis for the selection of design methods that are mapped to the attributes of the model.   Preliminary research consists of an interview study, desk research and unorganized research activities. A case study is conducted at the Swedish Tax Agency, the result of which form the basis of the design intervention. Case study data is analysed with the help of an accessibility maturity model, which also serves as the core of the design intervention. For the intervention, adapted, proven design methods are connected to the attributes of the accessibility maturity model. A proof of concept is created in the form of a handbook and validated with designers and employees at the Tax Agency. The validation shows that there is promise in the proposed methodology, as the use of the design practices ensure that accessibility is a part of the entire design process. Further research should investigate the use of the handbook in a case study in order to consolidate the practicalities of the methodology, as well as validate the utility of the methodology in a practical application.   Keywords: digital accessibility, digital public service, maturity model, accessibility maturity assessment, UX practices, universal design, disability   Contact: linneamichel@gmail.com

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the benefits and the challenges in implementing the manufacturing technology maturity assessment matrix from the US Department of Defence (US DoD) which is the Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) matrix, in automotive manufacturing industry. MRL matrix is created for maturity assessment in the defence acquisition process of the US DoD. This matrix is considered as an efficient and effective way of maturity assessment of manufacturing technologies and the resource allocation in the portfolio management. The thesis is based on a case study at an automotive manufacturing firm, taking its steps towards the MRL matrix from a stage-gate model in its portfolio management.  A Qualitative method study is carried out in this research and interviews were taken from six different personnel from an automotive manufacturing firm. These interviews gave a better understanding of the expectations and level of details needed in the MRL matrix.  From the data collected from this case study, six findings were found, which are a manufacturing technology should be implemented on the factory floor only when it is completely mature, the MRL framework by US DoD is complicated and the language used is difficult to understand, and four other findings. These findings clearly show the benefits and challenges of implementing the MRL matrix by the US DoD in the automotive manufacturing industry.

Digital analytics kallas den samling teknologier som med olika teknikeranalyserar digitala kanaler (webbsidor, email och även offline data) för attsöka förståelse för kunders beteenden och intentioner. Digital Analytics harblivit en mycket viktig komponent till en stor del webbaserade systemmiljöer,där den stödjer och underlättar affärer och beslutsfattande för organisationer.Men hur väl tillämpas dessa teknologier och hur ser den digitalatransformationen ut som utspelar sig inom organisationer, och hur kan manmäta denna digitala mognadsprocess?Denna studie tillämpar en Design Science Research-approach för att uppfyllamålet om att utveckla en Digital Analytics Maturity Model (DAMM) lämpligför små till medelstora företag, varav en expertpanel bestående av 6 st ledandeforskare inom mognadsforskning och Digital Analytic är tillsatt i formen av enDelphi-undersökning. Resultaten från studien visar bl.a att organisatoriskaaspekter spelar en viktig roll för Digital Analytics samt att utvecklingen av enfunktionsduglig DAMM som är redo att tas i burk är möjligt.

[pt] As organizações públicas, como gestoras de recursos públicos, devem pautar suas ações em princípios relativos à eficiência, eficácia e efetividade. Ciente de tal necessidade, as antigas filosofias de gestão dos bens públicos foram alteradas, a partir da introdução do conceito de New Public Management. Com a adoção dessa nova forma de gestão da coisa pública, permitiu-se a apropriação de um conceito anteriormente utilizado somente na iniciativa privada, conhecido como gestão estratégica. Esse tipo de gestão permite que as organizações, de forma sistêmica e contínua, planejem, monitorem e avaliem as ações estratégicas visando o alcance dos seus objetivos. Pela importância do processo de gestão estratégica ligado às organizações públicas, este estudo tem como objetivo principal a avaliação do nível de maturidade do processo de gerenciamento estratégico nas entidades públicas federais estudadas de forma a subsidiar os gestores com informações úteis para a melhoria do processo e da tomada de decisão cotidiana. Para esse propósito, o Strategic Management Maturity Model, desenvolvido pela consultoria norte-americana Balanced Scorecard Institute, foi selecionado e adaptado, possibilitando a formulação do questionário de pesquisa, aplicado em 12 respondentes, quatro por instituição pública federal. Tal instrumento, possibilitou a análise e a indicação do nível de maturidade das oito dimensões presentes no modelo, mesmo que sem validade estatística, de forma individual e conjunta, representando o processo de gestão estratégica. / [en] Public organizations, as managers of public resources, should guide their actions in terms of efficiency, efficacy and effectiveness. Aware of such need, the old philosophies of public management were altered, from the introduction of the concept of New Public Management. With the adoption of this new way of managing the public thing, it was allowed the appropriation of a concept previously used only in the private initiative, known as strategic management. This type of management allows organizations, in a systemic and continuous way, to plan, monitor and evaluate the strategic actions aiming the achievement of its objectives. Due to the importance of the strategic management process related to public organizations, this study will have as main objective the evaluation of the maturity level of the strategic management process in the federal public entities studied in order to subsidize managers with useful informations to improve the process and the decision-making process on a daily basis. For this purpose, the Strategic Management Maturity Model, developed by a well-known american consultancy called Balanced Scorecard Institute, was selected and adapted, enabling the formulation of the research questionnaire, applied in 12 respondents, four by federal public institution. This instrument made possible to analyze and indicate the level of maturity of the eight dimensions present in the model, even without statistical validity, individually and jointly, representing the strategic management process.

Industry 4.0 and the development of novel digital technologies is forcing manufacturing companies to introduce drastic changes to their productions systems. These technologies provide unique opportunities for manufacturing companies to collect, process and store large data volumes, which can be used to facilitate the coordination of factory elements. Previous research indicate that decisions based on data can provide fact-based decisions which can contribute to an increased productivity. However, manufacturing companies are not fully exploiting data as support for decision-making, which is desirable for an increased competitiveness. Currently, much attention is pointed towards the technology instead of the humans responsible for interpreting data and making decisions. Adding to this, there is a lack of guidance on how manufacturing companies can go from current decision making practices (i.e., decisions based on gut feelings) to fact-based decisions driven by data. To address this gap, the purpose of this thesis is to propose a framework for achieving data-driven decision making in production development in the context of Industry 4.0. The purpose is accomplished by using a qualitative-based case study approach at a small and medium sized enterprise in the electronics industry. The results indicate that both challenges and enablers for achieving data-driven decision making in production development are related to perspectives and attitudes, processes for data quality, technology and processes for decision making. Four maturity levels of data-data driven decision making are also identified. The proposed framework can be used by manufacturing companies to help them plan and prepare for their own specific development path towards data-driven decision making. Contributing to current understanding, this thesis considers the human decision makers perspective to develop the ability to collect, process, analyze and use the data to support time efficient and high-quality decisions, an insight lacking in prior academic studies. Future research may include confirmation of the findings presented in this thesis with additional use cases and industry types. / Industri 4.0 och utvecklingen av nya digitala teknologier tvingar tillverkningsföretag att introducera drastiska förändringar i sina produktionssystem. Dessa teknologier skapar unika möjligheter för tillverkningsföretag att samla, processa och lagra stora datavolymer, vilka kan användas för att stödja koordineringen av fabrikselement. Tidigare forskning indikerar att beslut baserade på data kan innebära faktabaserade beslut vilket kan bidra till en ökad produktivitet. Tillverkningsföretag utnyttjar dock inte data som underlag för beslutsfattande, vilket är önskvärt för en ökad konkurrenskraft. I dagsläget är mycket uppmärksamhet riktat mot teknologier istället för de människor som är ansvariga för att tolka data och fatta beslut. Dessutom saknas ledning gällande hur tillverkningsföretag kan gå från nuvarande beslutsrutiner (exempelvis beslut baserade på magkänsla) till faktabaserade beslut på data. Syftet med detta examensarbete är därför att föreslå ett ramverk för att åstadkomma data-baserade beslut genom produktionsutveckling i ett Industri 4.0 kontext. Syftet har uppnått genom en kvalitativ fallstudie på litet och mellanstort företag i elektronikindustrin. Resultaten påvisar att både utmaningar och möjliggörare för att åstadkomma databaserade beslut i produktionsutveckling är relaterade till perspektiv och attityder, processer för datakvalitet, teknologi och processer för beslutsfattande. Fyra olika mognadsnivåer för data-baserade beslut har också identifierats. Det föreslagna ramverket för databaserade beslut kan användas av tillverkningsföretag i syfte att hjälpa dem planera och förbereda sig för deras egna specifika utvecklings mot databaserat beslutsfattande. Genom att bidra till nuvarande kännedom avser detta examenarbete de mänskliga beslutsfattarnas perspektiv gällande utveckling at förmågan att samla, processa, analysera och använda datan för att stödja tidseffektiva och högkvalitativa beslut. Detta är en insikt som saknas i tidigare akademiska studier. Framtida studier kan inkludera verifiering av resultaten presenterade i detta examensarbete med fler tillämpningsområden och typer av industrier.