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Dagens webbyråer ligger i en ständig kamp för att hålla sig i utvecklingens framkant. Det digitala samhället förändras och privatpersoner som egenföretagare kan på ett enkelt sätt skapa sin egen hemsida. Därmed förväntas webbutvecklarna kunna leverera tjänster av hög kvalité som kräver stor erfarenhet och kunskap. Hur påverkas då de webbyråer som är ute efter att hålla sig i utvecklingens framkant? Många större företag väljer att arbeta utefter processledning med hjälp av modeller för att höja kvalitén i deras produktion. För en webbyrå kan det ses som svårt då inget projekt brukar vara sig likt. Studien syftar till att bidra med ökad kunskap i hur en processmodells tillämpning vid en webbyrås interna tjänsteproduktion inom ett större projekt kan bidra till förbättringar för att hinna med i den medietekniska utvecklingens framkant. Studien använder sig av kvalitativa intervjuer med medarbetare samt Dicander Alexanderssons processmodell med processkartläggning för analys och en diskussion. Resultatet visar ett samband mellan att arbeta med processmodeller inom webbyråer kan bidra med förbättringar då problem lyckades identifieras samt att en del av medarbetare redan arbetade med privata modeller. I diskussionen framgick oväntade aktiviteter som annars inte identifierats med vare sig analys eller Dicander Alexanderssons processmodell. På grund av tidsbrister, stress och korta uppföljningsmöten visar det sig vara svårt att hålla sig i utvecklingens framkant. Men genom att analysera tjänsteproduktionen en gång i månaden med en modell för att se om problem lokaliseras i de varierande projekten kan bidra till förbättringar. Det svåra med att förlita sig på en modell är på grund av den stora variationen i projekt som skedde inom företagen. En processmodell tar däremot upp de problem som medarbetarna uppfattade som viktigast på byråarna. / Today's web agencies are in a constant battle to stay in the forefront. The digital society is changing and private persons can easily create their own websites. Web developers are expected to deliver services of high quality that requires great experience and knowledge. So how do the web agencies stay at the cutting edge of technologies? Larger companies choose to work along process management using models to enhance the quality of their production. For a web agency it can be seen as difficult as no projects usually are the same. The study aims to contribute to increased knowledge of how a process model functions at a web agencie’s internal production and how it can contribute to improvements to keep up with the media forefront of technological development. The study uses qualitative interviews with employees as well as Dicander Alexandersson’s process model with process mapping for analysis and discussion. The results show a correlation between working with process models in web agencies. Areas for improvements were identified and some of the employees were already working with private models. The discussion showed unexpected problems that would be hard to localize without using analysis with Dicander Alexandersson’s process model. The results showed that due to time gaps and short follow-up meetings, it was difficult to stay at the cutting edge of technology through a simple model. But to analyze the production of services once a month with a model to see if the problems are located throughout the various projects that appear would work as beneficial. The difficulty with relying on a model for the web agencies is because of the wide variety of projects that took place within the companies. A process model, however, took up the problems that employees perceived as most important.

With modern high-throughput technologies, scientists can now collect high-dimensional data of various forms, including brain images, medical spectrum curves, engineering signals, etc. These data provide a rich source of information on disease development, cell evolvement, engineering systems, and many other scientific phenomena. To achieve a clearer understanding of the underlying mechanism, one needs a fast and reliable analytical approach to extract useful information from the wealth of data. The goal of this dissertation is to develop novel methods that enable scalable estimation, testing, and analysis of complex, high-dimensional data. It contains three parts: parameter estimation based on complex data, powerful testing of functional data, and the analysis of functional data supported on manifolds. The first part focuses on a family of parameter estimation problems in which the relationship between data and the underlying parameters cannot be explicitly specified using a likelihood function. We introduce a wavelet-based approximate Bayesian computation approach that is likelihood-free and computationally scalable. This approach will be applied to two applications: estimating mutation rates of a generalized birth-death process based on fluctuation experimental data and estimating the parameters of targets based on foliage echoes. The second part focuses on functional testing. We consider using multiple testing in basis-space via p-value guided compression. Our theoretical results demonstrate that, under regularity conditions, the Westfall-Young randomization test in basis space achieves strong control of family-wise error rate and asymptotic optimality. Furthermore, appropriate compression in basis space leads to improved power as compared to point-wise testing in data domain or basis-space testing without compression. The effectiveness of the proposed procedure is demonstrated through two applications: the detection of regions of spectral curves associated with pre-cancer using 1-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy data and the detection of disease-related regions using 3-dimensional Alzheimer's Disease neuroimaging data. The third part focuses on analyzing data measured on the cortical surfaces of monkeys' brains during their early development, and subjects are measured on misaligned time markers. In this analysis, we examine the asymmetric patterns and increase/decrease trend in the monkeys' brains across time. / Doctor of Philosophy / With modern high-throughput technologies, scientists can now collect high-dimensional data of various forms, including brain images, medical spectrum curves, engineering signals, and biological measurements. These data provide a rich source of information on disease development, engineering systems, and many other scientific phenomena. The goal of this dissertation is to develop novel methods that enable scalable estimation, testing, and analysis of complex, high-dimensional data. It contains three parts: parameter estimation based on complex biological and engineering data, powerful testing of high-dimensional functional data, and the analysis of functional data supported on manifolds. The first part focuses on a family of parameter estimation problems in which the relationship between data and the underlying parameters cannot be explicitly specified using a likelihood function. We introduce a computation-based statistical approach that achieves efficient parameter estimation scalable to high-dimensional functional data. The second part focuses on developing a powerful testing method for functional data that can be used to detect important regions. We will show nice properties of our approach. The effectiveness of this testing approach will be demonstrated using two applications: the detection of regions of the spectrum that are related to pre-cancer using fluorescence spectroscopy data and the detection of disease-related regions using brain image data. The third part focuses on analyzing brain cortical thickness data, measured on the cortical surfaces of monkeys’ brains during early development. Subjects are measured on misaligned time-markers. By using functional data estimation and testing approach, we are able to: (1) identify asymmetric regions between their right and left brains across time, and (2) identify spatial regions on the cortical surface that reflect increase or decrease in cortical measurements over time.

Momentous choices and opportunities have opened up in South Africa since a settlement was successfully negotiated and a new political and constitutional dispensation was created. Events such as the constitutional negotiations and the establishment of reconstruction and development initiatives have placed a renewed emphasis on development management, process facilitation and the development of policy. This study provides an overview of the broad field of policy studies and specifically focuses on policy process models. In particular, this study centres on the further development of the generic process model and provides an overview of the application thereof to the operational environment. From this, simulation exercises and case study material have been developed as policy learning methodologies. Institutional arrangements for policy processes and the institutionalisation of policy and related support capacities at intergovernmental and organisational level receive particular attention. The study demonstrates the application of the generic process model by applying the framework to a case study based on the provincial demarcation exercise. This study concludes that policy management, as a cross-cutting, lateral methodology, in conjunction with similar methodologies, such as strategic planning, research methodology and project management, should be regarded as a critical tool, by the academic community and development practitioners alike, for improving the decision-making capacity of government, the private sector and civil society. / D.Litt. et Phil. (Development Administration)

La mort d'un enfant est considérée comme l'une des expériences les plus difficiles à laquelle une personne puisse faire face. Les cliniciens, les hôpitaux et plusieurs organismes ont pour objectif d’aider les parents endeuillés, mais leurs efforts sont compliqués par un manque de recherche dans le domaine du deuil parental. Cette thèse est composée de trois articles, soit deux revues de littérature et une étude empirique, qui tentent de combler cette lacune et d’informer les services en soins palliatifs pédiatriques et les services de soutien au deuil en particulier. Le premier article porte sur les besoins des patients recevant des soins palliatifs pédiatriques et de leurs familles. Par le biais d’un méta-résumé de la recherche descriptive et qualitative récente, 10 domaines de besoins ont été identifiés qui correspondent aux lignes directrices actuelles en soins palliatifs pédiatriques et de fin de vie. Ces besoins sont présentés de manière à être facilement applicables à la pratique. Cependant, les résultats mettent aussi en évidence plusieurs aspects des soins identifiés comme déficitaires ou problématiques qui mériteraient une attention particulière dans le cadre de politiques futures. Dans le deuxième article, l'objectif était de résumer une vaste littérature d'une manière utile aux cliniciens. À cette fin, une synthèse narrative a permis d’intégrer la recherche quantitative et qualitative dans le domaine du deuil parental. Les résultats mettent en évidence les éléments susceptibles de favoriser l’adaptation des parents au deuil, éléments qui suggèrent par le fait même des avenues possibles de soutien et d'intervention. Cette synthèse a cependant cerné dans la littérature certaines failles méthodologiques qui rendent l'applicabilité clinique des résultats difficile. L'objectif du troisième article était d'informer les services de suivi et de soutien au deuil auprès des parents en se renseignant directement auprès de parents endeuillés. À cette fin, 21 parents (dont 8 couples) et 7 membres du personnel impliqués dans des activités de suivi de deuil de 2 hôpitaux pédiatriques ont été interrogés dans le cadre d’une description interprétative, et l'application clinique des résultats a été vérifiée par le biais de réunions avec des collaborateurs de recherche et les décideurs des centres hospitaliers. Les résultats décrivent comment les parents ont fait face à leur détresse dans la phase précoce de leur deuil, ainsi que leurs points de vue sur la façon dont les divers services de suivi de deuil ont été aidants. Les résultats suggèrent que les parents gèrent leurs sentiments intenses de douleur par une alternance de stratégies axées soit sur leur deuil ou sur leur quotidien et que dans plusieurs cas leurs relations avec autrui les ont aidé. Cette étude a également permis d'élucider la façon dont divers services de soutien aide les parents à aborder leur deuil. Les implications cliniques de ces résultats sont discutées ainsi que des recommandations à l’intention de ceux qui sont impliqués dans la provision des services en deuil. / The death of a child is considered one of the most stressful and difficult experiences a person can face. Clinicians, hospitals, and other organizations want to help and support bereaved parents through their grief, but their efforts are hampered by a lack of research in the area of parental bereavement. This dissertation is comprised of two literature reviews and one empirical study that attempt to address this gap and inform services in paediatric palliative care in general, and in bereavement support in particular. The first article consists of an examination of the needs of patients receiving paediatric palliative care and their families. By metasummarizing the descriptive and qualitative research in the area, 10 need domains were found. The results were generally in agreement with current guidelines in paediatric palliative and end-of-life care; however, there were several aspects of care that were reported as lacking or problematic that are not addressed in these guidelines and that should be considered in future guideline and policy creation. In the second article, parents’ adaptation to their grief and elements found to influence their adaptation were examined. The aim was to synthesize the relevant literature in a way that could be useful to clinicians; to this end, a narrative synthesis method was employed in order to synthesize both quantitative and qualitative research in the area of parental bereavement. The results suggest important elements to keep in mind when assessing how parents adapt to their grief. The results also suggest aspects related to better adaptation, which could serve as potential avenues for support and intervention. However, this review also demonstrated certain methodological issues in the literature that hinder the synthesis and clinical applicability of the findings. The objective of the third article was to inform bereavement follow-up and support services through the use of an interpretive description methodology. To this end, 21 bereaved parents (including 5 parental couples) and 7 hospital staff involved in bereavement follow-up activities at two paediatric hospitals were interviewed, and the clinical applicability of the results verified through various meetings with project collaborators and service/program providers. The results of the study describe how parents coped with their grief in the early phase of their bereavement, as well as their perspectives on how various bereavement follow-up services helped them cope. We found that parents regulate their intense feelings of grief through either loss-oriented or restoration-oriented strategies, including attempts to reorganize their self-identity and connection to their deceased child; often parents’ relationships with others help them cope in these ways. The insights we gained from the respondents also allowed us to elucidate how various bereavement support and follow-up services were helpful. These results are discussed along with the clinical implications and how these findings can inform bereavement service providers.

Momentous choices and opportunities have opened up in South Africa since a settlement was successfully negotiated and a new political and constitutional dispensation was created. Events such as the constitutional negotiations and the establishment of reconstruction and development initiatives have placed a renewed emphasis on development management, process facilitation and the development of policy. This study provides an overview of the broad field of policy studies and specifically focuses on policy process models. In particular, this study centres on the further development of the generic process model and provides an overview of the application thereof to the operational environment. From this, simulation exercises and case study material have been developed as policy learning methodologies. Institutional arrangements for policy processes and the institutionalisation of policy and related support capacities at intergovernmental and organisational level receive particular attention. The study demonstrates the application of the generic process model by applying the framework to a case study based on the provincial demarcation exercise. This study concludes that policy management, as a cross-cutting, lateral methodology, in conjunction with similar methodologies, such as strategic planning, research methodology and project management, should be regarded as a critical tool, by the academic community and development practitioners alike, for improving the decision-making capacity of government, the private sector and civil society. / D.Litt. et Phil. (Development Administration)

This dissertation focuses on the re-use of business process reference models, available in a business process model warehouse, to enable the definition of more comprehensive business requirements. It proposes a business process model warehouse framework to promote the re-use of multiple business process reference models and the flexible visualisation of business process models. The critical success factor for such a framework is that it should contribute to minimise to some extent the causes of inadequate business requirements. The proposed framework is based on an analogy with a data warehouse framework, consisting of the following components: usage of multiple business process reference models as source models, the conceptual design of a process to extract, load and transform multiple business process reference models into a repository, a description of repository functionality for managing enterprise architecture artefacts, and motivation of flexible visualisation of business process models to ensure more comprehensive business requirements. / Computer Science (School of Computing) / M.Sc. (Information Systems)

The research is conducted in the area of software methodologies with the emphasis on the integration of legacy systems with the client/server environment. The investigation starts with identifying the characteristics of legacy systems in order to determine the features and technical characteristics required of an integration methodology. A number of existing methodologies are evaluated with respect to their features and technical characteristics in order to derive a synthesis for a generic methodology. This evaluation yields the meta primitives of a generic methodology. The revised spiral model (Boehm,1986; DuPlessis & Vander Wah,1992) is customised to arrive at a software process model which provides a framework for the integration of legacy systems with the client/server environment. The integration methodology is based on this process model. / Computing / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

<p>In electronic commerce, systems development is based on two fundamental types of models, business models and process models. A business model is concerned with value exchanges among business partners, while a process model focuses on operational and procedural aspects of business communication. Thus, a business model defines the what in an e-commerce system, while a process model defines the <i>how</i>. Business process design can be facilitated and improved by a method for systematically moving from a business model to a process model. Such a method would provide support for traceability, evaluation of design alternatives, and seamless transition from analysis to realization. This work proposes a unified framework that can be used as a basis to analyze, to interpret and to understand different concepts associated at different stages in e-Commerce system development. In this thesis, we illustrate how UN/CEFACT’s recommended metamodels for business and process design can be analyzed, extended and then integrated for the final solutions based on the proposed unified framework. Also, as an application of the framework, we demonstrate how process-modeling tasks can be facilitated in e-Commerce system design. The proposed methodology, called BP³ stands for Business Process Patterns Perspective. The BP³ methodology uses a question-answer interface to capture different business requirements from the designers. It is based on pre-defined process patterns, and the final solution is generated by applying the captured business requirements by means of a set of production rules to complete the inter-process communication among these patterns.</p>

1960年代起資訊科技應用興起以協助組織運行，多數企業因缺乏資訊知識背景，紛紛購入套裝軟體協助業務營運。但套裝軟體無法切合企業的流程，且隨環境變遷和科技演進，不敷使用的問題日益嚴重。從資料庫設計的角度出發，套裝軟體複雜的資料架構、長期修改和存取資料而欠缺管理、無關連式資料庫的概念，導致組織的資料品質低落。當今組織如何將資料庫重新設計以符合所需、新舊系統資料該如何轉換以提升品質，是企業面臨的一大挑戰。 　　有鑑於此，本研究設計一套資料庫重構流程，以企業流程為基礎為企業設計客製化的資料庫，並將資料從套裝軟體移轉至該理想的資料庫。流程分三階段，階段1是運用資料庫反向工程（Database Reverse Engineering）的方法，還原企業現行資料庫的資料語意和模型架構；階段2則結合流程模型（Process Model）和資料模型（Data Model）的概念，建立以企業流程為基礎的理想資料庫；階段3利用ETL（Extract、Transform、Load）和資料整合的技術，將企業資料從現行資料庫中萃取、轉換和載入至理想資料庫，便完成資料庫重構的作業。 　　本研究亦將資料庫重構流程實做於個案公司，探討企業早期導入之套裝軟體和以流程為基礎的理想資料模型間的設計落差。實做分析結果，二者在資料庫架構設計、資料語意建立和正規化設計等三部分存有落差設計，因此在執行資料庫重構之資料移轉解決落差時，需釐清來源端資料的含糊語意、考量目的端資料的一致性和參考完整性、以及清潔錯誤的來源資料。 　　最後，總結目前企業老舊資料庫普遍面臨資料庫架構複雜、無法吻合作業流程所需、未制訂完善資料庫管理機制等問題，而本研究之資料庫重構流程的設計概念，能為企業建立以流程為導向的理想資料庫。 / The raising of information technique helped organization governance greatly was started since 1960s, but because of lack information background and knowledge, many organizations just simply brought software packages to assist business processes or organization governance. The result was those software packages which couldn't fit in with the processes of organization' requirements were getting worse because of changes of environment. From the view of database design, it results in low quality of data because of the complexity of database structure, long-term modifications and accessing to data, and the lack of relational database knowledge. Nowadays, the problems of redesign database structure or transform data from a old system to a new system are great challenges to enterprises. Based on the above, thie research designed a process of database restruction in order to establish customized database based on businesss processes. There are three phases of this process. In phase 1, a company acquires the original data structure and semantic of its software package by the method of database reverse engineering. In phase 2, using concepts of process model and data model, the company establishes its ideal database based on businesss processes. In phase 3, it extracts, transforms, and load data from the current database of software package to ideal database by the technique of ETL and data integration. After these three phases, the company completes the process of data restriction. The process of database restruction is done in a case company to analyze the design gap between the current data model of software package and the ideal data model based on business processes. In the result of analysis, this research found out there are three gaps between its as-is and to-be data models. These three gaps are the design of database struction, the definition of data semantic, and the design of database normalization. Because of these design gaps, when removing gaps by data transformation, a company should pay attention to clarify the semantic of source data, considerate the consistency and referential integrity of destination data, and clean dirty data from source database. Finanlly, the summary of the problems a company using old database are the complexity of database structure, the unfit database for businesss processes, the lack of database management, etc. The process of database restruction this research design can assist a company in establishing ideal database based on business processes.