Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how an efficient freight flow and a surface utilization of a warehouse layout can be achieved in non-manufacturing third party logistics companies. In addition to that the aim is to provide an analysis of how logistics costs are affected by existing wastes. Based on this three research questions have been formulated:   1. What factors are decisive for how efficient a freight flow can be in a nonmanufacturing business?  2. How can the layout of a terminal be streamlined based on prioritizations of freight?   3. What logistics costs arise in a non-manufacturing business and how can these be linked to specific processes and activities?  Methodology: In order to answer the study´s research questions and fulfill the purpose a case study and a literature review were used as the method. Identification of waste, layout prioritization and logistics costs are the investigated areas in the literature review. The case study was conducted at a company where interviews, observations and data collection have taken place in order to answer the research questions and provide a clear picture of the problem area. The collected data is subsequently analyzed against the processed theory in the selected areas.     Findings: By applying the processed theory several wastes have been identified which underpin potential improvements. Among others the layout prioritization and the retrieval process of the case company have been identified as wastes and focused on in this study. The layout prioritizations have resulted in two restructured layout proposals in which the case company´s delivery destinations were relocated based on factors such as physical proximity and zone division. Through the proposal the efficiency of the internal freight flow of the case company can be increased and thereby cost and complexity be reduced. The retrieval process has been analyzed with the aim to identify all the affected activities and processes. By doing this each activity can be linked to the arising logistics cost. The result of this part of the study is an established calculation of the cost generated by the retrieval process.    Recommendations: For further studies in the selected area, an extended analysis of the entire freight flow from vendor to end customer is recommended to provide a deeper understanding of the entire work process. Also further studies in the logistics costs area in a non-manufacturing business is recommended. / Syfte: Studiens syfte är att studera hur ett effektivt godsflöde och ett ökat ytutnyttjande av lagerlayouten i en icke-producerande tredjepartslogistiks verksamhet kan uppnås. Dessutom är målet att ge en analys av hur logistikkostnader påverkas av slöseri. Baserad på detta har tre forskningsfrågor formulerats:   1. Vilka faktorer är avgörande för hur effektivt ett godsflöde i en icke-tillverkande verksamhet kan vara?  2. Hur kan layouten i en terminal effektiviseras baserat på prioritering av gods?  3. Vilka logistikkostnader uppstår i en icke-tillverkande verksamhet och hur kan dessa kopplas till specifika processer och aktiviteter?  Metod och genomförande: För att kunna besvara studiens forskningsfrågor och uppfylla studiens syfte användes en fallstudie och en litteraturstudie som metod. Till litteraturstudien har teori inom områdena identifiering av slöseri, layoutprioriteringar och logistikkostnader studerats. En fallstudie hos ett fallföretag genomfördes där intervjuer, observationer och insamling av data har skett för att kunna besvara studiens forskningsfrågor och ge en tydlig bild av problemområdet. Den insamlade datan analyseras senare mot vad den befintliga teorin säger inom området.   Studiens resultat: Genom tillämpning av den behandlade teorin har slöseri kunnat identifieras vilket ligger till grund för potentiella förbättringar. Bland annat har layoutprioriteringen och återtagsprocessen hos fallföretaget identifierats som slöseri och fokuserats på i studien. Layoutprioritering har resulterat i ett framtagande av förbättringsförslag där fallföretagets leveransdestinationer omsorterats baserad på faktorer som fysisk närhet och zonindelning. Genom förslagen kan effektiviteten av det interna godsflödet på fallföretags terminal ökas och därmed kostnader och komplexitet minskas. Återtagsprocessen har analyserats med mål att identifiera alla aktiviteter och processer som inverkar. Detta med mål att kunna analysera varje aktivitet och sedan kunna göra en koppling till kostnaderna som uppstår. Genom detta har en beräkning av logistikkostnaderna för återtagsprocessen etablerats i studien.  Rekommendationer: För vidare studier inom det valda området rekommenderas en utvidgad analys av hela godsflödet från försäljare till slutkunden för att ge en ännu djupare förståelse av arbetsprocesserna. Även en fördjupning av de logistikkostnader bundna till en icke- tillverkande verksamhet rekommenderas som ett område att studera vidare.

A aplicação de metodologias de análise multicriterial já é utilizada há décadas para análise de investimentos de alto capital, e continuam sendo ferramentas de referência para tomadas de decisão nas organizações em todo mundo. Contudo, não só grandes investimentos são influênciados por variáveis que interagem entre si e precisam ser levadas em consideração numa tomada de decisão acertada. No dia-a-dia de uma empresa, em diversos setores, decisões de menores impactos são tomadas sem que um método de análise multicriterial seja adotado para tal escolha. No entanto, quando somadas, essas decisões de menores impactos acabam por influênciar no resultado geral da empresa. O objetivo dessa pesquisa foi desenvolver um método ágil de análise multicriterial que possa ser facilmente adaptado e aplicado em processos operacionais dinâmicos, comuns na rotina de grandes empresas, auxiliando nas tomadas de decisões em níveis mais baixos da organização. O método proposto foi aplicado em dois diferentes processos de uma empresa multinacional do setor de mineração. No primeiro processo foi avaliada a priorização da implantação de projetos de melhoria, onde ideias de empregados são transformadas em projetos que geram ganhos para a empresa. No segundo processo de programação da manutenção, o método auxiliou na priorização da execução de serviços de manutenção quando existem limitações de recursos. O método proposto combina a utilização de ferramentas de diversos métodos já consagrados com a adoção de soluções criativas para atender a dinamicidade dos processos avaliados. / Multicriteria analysis methodologies have been used for decades to analyze substantial capital investment alternatives, and continue to be a reference tool for capital budgeting decision making in organizations. Small investments are also influenced by several variables that need to be taken into account in assertive decision making. Minor impacts decisions are taken without using a method of multicriteria analysis and when all this decisions are combined, they influence the overall result of the company. The objective of this research is to develop a multi-criteria analysis method agile that can be easily adapted and applied to different operation dynamic process, usual in large businesses routine, helping decision making at lower levels of the organization. The proposed method was applied in two different processes of a multinational company in the mining sector. In the first case the process of prioritization projects method was studied, where ideas of employees were transformed into smaller projects that generate profit for the company. In the second case, maintenance scheduling, the method helped to prioritize the execution of maintenance services when there are resource limitation. The proposed method combines tools of renowned methods with creative solutions to help a decision making in dynamics processes.

The main goal of my work was to develop a model that could facilitate Trafikverkets (the Swedish Transport Administration's) work in prioritizing different cycling measures. In order to develop a model, I first had to study the various tools available. This in order to be able to develop a model that suited my purpose. I have also examined the reasons why different decisions need to be made. It then became the basis of my model. In addition to studying different models and decision-making processes, I also needed to examine possible cycling measures. The measures could both increase the flow of cyclists and increase road safety. All to give the bike a bigger role in society and reduce car dependency. The result shows the model developed as well as some parameters that hopefully will make the process faster for Trafikverket in prioritizing. The parameters are also valued so that they can be used directly in the priority model. / Huvudmålet med mitt arbete var att utveckla en modell som kunde underlätta Trafikverkets arbete med att göra prioriteringar mellan olika cykelåtgärder. För att utveckla en modell var jag först tvungen att studera olika prioriteringsverktyg. Detta för att kunna utveckla en modell som passade för studiens syfte. Jag har också granskat orsakerna till att olika beslut behöver fattas. Det blev sedan grunden för min modell. Förutom att studera olika modeller och beslutsprocesser, behövde jag också undersöka vilka möjliga cykelåtgärder som finns. Åtgärderna kan både öka flödet av cyklister och öka trafiksäkerheten. Allt för att ge cykeln en större roll i samhället och minska bilberoendet. Resultatet visar den utvecklade modellen samt några parametrar som förhoppningsvis kommer att göra processen snabbare för Trafikverket vid prioritering. Parametrarna värderades också så att de kan användas direkt i modellen.

Software projects with a larger code base can be hard to maintain, and testing could therefore be a necessity. But how would one prioritize tests in their existing software project, if their project never had any tests? The purpose of this study is to find concrete steps of how to prioritize tests in a software project, independent of project type and development language. Said steps were found through two iterations of the Action Learning method. The results were found without any requirements specification, which lead to using intuition, together with code complexity, to prioritize test cases, after breaking down the project into its modules. As the study was conducted on only one specific software project, the result is limited to that specific software project until further research is conducted.

abstract: INTRODUCTION: As people age, they become increasingly susceptible to falls, particularly when their attention is divided. Cognitive domains such as executive functioning and processing speed also decline over time and are associated with falls. A critical aspect to reducing falls are reactive steps, which are used to recover balance after a perturbation. Characterizing the relationship between cognition, dual tasking, and prioritization is necessary in order to decrease fall risk in older adults. Thus, the purpose of this analysis was to determine the effects of baseline cognitive status on dual task interference and prioritization of postural and cognitive tasks while reactive stepping. METHODS: 30 participants (Parkinson's disease (PD) n=16, healthy controls (HC) n=14) were divided into two groups based on their baseline cognitive status: the high-cog group (n=18) or the low-cog group (n=12). All participants experienced 7 perturbation trials where they were solely tasked with reactive stepping, 2 cognitive trials where they were solely tasked with verbally responding to an auditory Stroop test, and 7 trials that combined the two tasks. Cognitive and protective stepping performance was calculated for dual task interference and prioritization across groups. RESULTS: There were no outcome variables that showed the log-cog group performing worse than the high-cog group from single to dual task conditions. While examining the dual task interference between groups, the only significant outcome was that the low-cog group exhibited a subtle improvement in their step length performance under dual task conditions while the high-cog group did not. When comparing the prioritization scores, there was no statistically significant difference in prioritization between the high-cog and low-cog group. Albeit not significant across groups, the prioritization score for all outcomes was negative, indicating a stepping prioritization under dual task conditions for both groups. This analysis provides preliminary evidence that baseline cognitive status does not significantly affect dual task interference nor prioritization while reactive step dual tasking. While these effects should be treated with caution, these results would suggest that baseline cognitive status may not play a critical role in dual task interference or attentional allocation in both people with PD and healthy older adults. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Exercise and Wellness 2020

In this dissertation we investigate the applicability of different adaptive techniques to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the regression testing. Initially, we introduce the concept of regression testing. We then perform a literature review of current practices and state-of-the-art regression testing techniques. Finally, we advance the regression testing techniques by performing four empirical studies in which we use different types of information (e.g. user session, source code, code commit, etc.) to investigate the effectiveness of each software metric on fault detection capability for different software environments. In our first empirical study, we show the effectiveness of applying user session information for test case prioritization. In our next study, we apply learning from the previous study, and implement a collaborative filtering recommender system for test case prioritization, which uses user sessions and change history information as input parameter, and return the risk score associated with each component. Results of this study show that our recommender system improves the effectiveness of test prioritization; the performance of our approach was particularly noteworthy when we were under time constraints. We then investigate the merits of multi-objective testing over single objective techniques with a graph-based testing framework. Results of this study indicate that the use of the graph-based technique reduces the algorithm execution time considerably, while being just as effective as the greedy algorithms in terms of fault detection rate. Finally, we apply the knowledge from the previous studies and implement a query answering framework for regression test selection. This framework is built based on a graph database and uses fault history information and test diversity in attempt to select the most effective set of test cases in term of fault detection capability. Our empirical evaluation of this study with four open source programs shows that our approach can be effective and efficient by selecting a far smaller subset of tests compared to the existing techniques.

Prioritization of software requirements is an important part of the requirements engineering process within the industry of software development. There are many different methods for achieving the most optimal order of software requirements, a list that shows in what order the requirements should be implemented. This degree project utilizes the SMT-based solver Z3 for an interactive prioritization algorithm. Previous studies have shown good results with another SMT-based solver called Yices. With the newer Z3 from Microsoft, the results have been improved further, and the tool is based on Python, and the framework for Z3 is called Z3PY. Experiments have been conducted on a set of different software requirements derived from a project in the healthcare industry and show that the Z3 solution is, in general, improving the requirements prioritization compared to other mentioned solutions in the study that has been tested on the same set of requirements. Results show that the Z3 solution outperformed the other SMT-based solution Yices by 2-4% regarding disagreement and by 3% regarding average distance. The results are significantly improved based on an ANOVA test with a p-value <= 0.05.

Systematic conservation planning is an essential part of biodiversity preservation.

It is important that ambulances are urgently directed to patients who are in need of immediate help and of quick transportation to a hospital. Because resources are limited, emergency medical dispatch centres (EMD) cannot send ambulances with high priority to all callers. The efficiency of the system is therefore dependent on triage. Increased knowledge about the triage in the prehospital care can make it possible to optimize the use of resources. Traditionally nurses have an important role in triage on emergency departments and in telephone advisory. In Sweden there is a trend towards more triage by nurses at EMDs. It is important to survey experiences of nurses’ of prioritization at EMDs. Aim: The overall aim in this thesis was to measure effectivity in prioritisation of ambulance dispatches, and to elucidate experiences from these prioritizations and decisions. Method: In study I sensitivity and specificity in 4086 dispatches was calculated, by comparison of the priority given by the EMD and the assessment performed by the ambulance-nurse according to Medical Emergency Triage and Treatment System. In study II were 15 nurses interviewed about their experiences from prioritizations at an EMD. Result: The result showed that 84,5 % of the dispatches were correct prioritised and that the sensitivity was high (94,5 %) but the specificity was low (15,4 %). Content analysis was performed and two themes emerged: “Having a profession with opportunities and obstacles” and “Meeting serious and difficult situations”. Conclusions are that over- prioritizations are made concerning patients with low or no need of medical care. Also that nurses with experience from emergency care, who are allowed to make their own decisions independent of the medical index, can improve and nuance the prioritization of resources in prehospital care. However, there is an obvious risk that their assessments will tend to be on the safe side. Important for avoiding this is improving internal support systems at the EMDs and also striving for a blame-free culture, where the nurses are not pushed by threats of being reported.

The overbridging aspect of this interpretative master thesis is the implementation of a project prioritizing strategy. The concept is subdivided into three processes and entities, which could be seen as tools; project management office(PMO), project evaluation and project selection, which in turn are discussed separately. The thesis investigates how the tools impact the prioritizing strategy and why a company must follow a certain prioritizing strategy. The primary focus has been an IS/IT department at a large Swedish industrial company. Results from interviews at the industrial company have been compared to current theory. In order to map best practice methods a benchmarking study has been conducted at an auto manufacturer, medical company and a telecom company. When implementing a prioritizing strategy it is vital to have a project methodology in order to streamline the project management itself. Also, a PMO with a controlling objective should focus on the task of verifying project information quality and thus minimizing the information overflow to the decision makers. To continuously improve the project mythology and minimize the secondary failures, project should be evaluated. Prioritizing process should not only be made in the project selection phase but continuously during portfolio life cycle by comparing project relevance to risk. A prioritizing strategy would not only highlight the most important projects in the organization, but also make sure that they also receive highest support. A vision for a well defined prioritizing strategy is having project that consume more resources for a shortened time frame instead of having projects consuming less resources but for a longer time frame.