The development of new products and processes is a crucial point of competition and due to the rapid technological development and strong international competition, companies are being forced to design better products faster and more efficiently. In the last two decades large companies in particular have developed increasingly sophisticated models, process descriptions, structures and routines for how to steer and manage their often large and complex projects. Processes in product development projects often contain many dependencies among both tasks and people, requiring coordination of activities and the opportunity to capture incomplete information that evolves over time. When attempting to increase project performance, a strong focus has been on the efficiency of the projects, on doing things right. As a result, both in industry and in research, effectiveness, doing the right things, has gained less importance than it probably should. For companies to really increase their performance, effectiveness must be considered to a much higher extent. The objective of the research presented in this thesis has been to increase the knowledge of how the performance of projects in a product development context can be improved. This involves investigating factors which affects performance on different levels of the projects such as the individual working on the project, the single project, the project organisation, the company, and the business context. Data have been collected through literature studies as well as a case study divided into two parts. The research results show that project organisations face the challenge of being able to have projects running efficiently according to plan while at the same time exploring and creating new knowledge. Formalised product development processes can support the progress of projects, but there is a risk that exploratory work and innovation could suffer. This is a challenge, especially in contexts characterised by uncertainty and complexity. Further, a number of areas which affect the project performance were identified, including the business context, process characteristics, project model, project characteristics, and project management. These findings have resulted in a proposed start of a framework for improving product development project performance in dynamic contexts. / INNOFACTURE - innovative manufacturing development

Focus in the world today is quality and customer orientation. An organization needs to understand the concept of value from the perspective of a customer in order to keep up with expectations on quality, and the turbulent and global environment of today characterized by rapidly changing conditions. This master thesis project was conducted at ABB in Sweden during spring 2020. It is essential for ABB to have an ongoing focus on improvement to maintain a successful organization and enable a competitive future of quality and innovation. The aim of this project was to identify ways to improve material flow and reduce the amount of non-value-added activities that exist in a particular assembly process today. The objective of the project was to conduct proposals on realistic actions for improvement for implementation. Initially in the project a current state was performed and compiled into a specification of requirements and visualized through overall mapping of the material and communication flow. Two of the requirements were reducing the total lead time and ensure the same, or improved, physical and psychosocial work environment. The result of the current state showed that material is not available when needed, material shelves are not structured, and material flow is not optimal. Analysis methods used for analyzing the current state were material flow charts, value stream mapping and spaghetti diagrams. The outcome of the performed analyzes were then used as the foundation for a compiled list of problem areas. All previous performed work was then summarized, discussed and developed into a list of actions for improvement. This phase was performed by initially generating a great amount of ideas, which were then reviewed and evaluated in consideration of the specification of requirements. In addition to the final list of actions, a mapping of the future state was conducted to support the actions and visualize what a future state could look like if the actions are implemented. Lastly, the final list of actions was complemented with another list – a living document of the actions. This document gives the opportunity on a regular basis to monitor progress and should be regularly reviewed and updated. To ensure a successful implementation of improvement work based on the conducted action list, it is recommended to define and clarify responsibility for each action as well as target date and end date. Furthermore, the list should be continuously modified to ensure implementation. It is as well recommended to acknowledge implemented improvements in parallel with performing actions to maintain motivation. Additionally, participation in implementation and promoting dialogue, transparency and respect are valuable factors reducing the negative effects of the implementation of improvement concepts and contributes to a sustainable development of the improvement work.

This is a master thesis project performed with Maze Interior AB in Stockholm in the spring/summer 2019, via Luleå University of Technology within product design. It is further part of the Master Programme in Industrial Design Engineering in the course D7014A with the purpose of designing a new coffee-table concept for the less spacious homes. The assignment was additionally about developing an aesthetic coffee table that meets the needs of Maze, the market and the intended users. Other desired qualities were a sustainable and Scandinavian design that is of good quality as well as works with Maze’s existing product range. The project came about because of a perceived lack of smaller tables on today’s interior market and as a result of that, a mutual interest was found in developing a coffee table. As the coffee table is sometimes considered the heart of the living room, it puts certain demands on the product experience, which was explored in this thesis project. The project consisted of four main phases, namely the Conceive & Inspiration, Design, Implement and Operate phase. Examples of methods used, leading up to the results, included a literature review, various analyses of Scandinavian design, the market and Maze, online surveys, interviews, ideation, building a full-sized prototype, CAD modelling, stability calculations etc. The project resulted in a final coffee-table concept named Öglan and an alternative version of it presented in the collection Mono 19. Öglan is a contemporary coffee table with personality due to its playful yet elegant loop shaped leg. It furthermore fulfils the objectives and aims of the project; an innovative, aesthetic, Scandinavian rooted and sustainable coffee table of high quality for the space efficient home. Lastly, Öglan caters to social, ecologic and economic sustainability with its flat packaging, timeless design, material choices, functionality and its tried and tested durable construction.

In order to be competitive in the marketplace, all company’s need to have a well-established and thought-out brand. It is difficult to create a brand that conveys the right feeling and establishes a connection with its target group. The process consists of many steps and subjective opinions are difficult to measure. This study aims to determine how a branding process can be conceptualized and performed, in order to ensure a connection with its target audience, as well as how the results objectively can be measured. In this context, a branding process is defined as the proceedings of a series of well-defined activities used to develop a value system, and communication framework for a business. To investigate how a brand can be created, and measure its impact on the target audience, a literature review and semi-structured interviews were held with experts within the field. Based on these findings, a brand identity and strategy was developed through a number of workshop exercises, held with the founders of a start-up company named Kurr. A brand identity was established, and a new design of the company website was created. An online survey containing a desirability test was sent out to people within and outside the company’s target audience to measure the response of the website and brand. During the desirability test, the respondents got to view a prototype of the company website and then select 3 - 5 words from a list of 20 that best described their initial emotions of the brand. The results showed that the top five words chosen by the target audience matched with the five intended emotions picked for the brand. These findings reinforce previous research that highlights the importance of a well-thought- out brand strategy and identity. The results suggests that brand archetypes can be effective to use when developing a new brand. Further, the research shows that Microsoft desirability test can be used to provide data on how a brand is perceived by its audience.

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Interactions with others can influence our decision-making, often without us being aware of it. There is a link between influence and decision-making, while, the extent to which other people's decisions influence our own is a multi-faceted and complex question considering our unique personalities and ways of thinking in different areas. This thesis focuses on designing a game in the form of a quiz primarily for In-flight entertainment (IFE) systems, where the game is supposed to provide a multiplayer experience where the contestants can compete against each other in different categories. In addition to the research, this thesis also bridges the gap between game influences and the psychology behind them and links the areas of game design, games, psychology and decision-making. The work was divided into five different phases according to the "Design Thinking" method. The first phase, empathise, was about gaining a deeper understanding of the interaction between games, influence, psychology and decision-making. The second phase, define, focused on defining problems that could be converted into ideas and solutions in the third phase, ideate. The fourth phase, prototype, was about developing prototypes in the form of Lo-Fi, Mid-Fi and Hi-Fi which were later tested in the last and fifth phases, test. Participants got to test the game with and without data visualisation that was present in some questions in the form of bar charts. The result showed that the majority of the participants, corresponding to 66.7%, felt influenced by that graph. However, 7 out of 15 participants, corresponding to 46.7%, felt an increased sense of confidence in their answers when their answers matched the majority on the graph. While 8 out of 15 people, corresponding to 53.3%, did not experience an increase in confidence from the graph's presence. However, this does not negate the graph's potential influence on participants' decision-making process and decision-making. There are other factors that may have influenced this such as the participants' existing knowledge and their conscious decision to refrain from relying on the graph. Data visualisation has some impact on decision-making especially when it comes to areas of reduced knowledge certainty, and the degree to which individuals yield to external influences is dependent on their existing knowledge. / Interaktioner med andra kan påverka vårt beslutsfattande, ofta utan att vi är medvetna om det. Det finns en koppling mellan inflytande och beslutsfattande, dock i vilken utsträckning andra människors beslut påverkar våra egna är ett mångfacetterat och komplex fråga, tanken på våra unika personligheter och tankesätt i olika områden. Denna avhandling fokuserade på att designa ett spel i form av ett frågesport främst för In-flight entertainment (IFE) system, där spelet ska ge en multiplayer-upplevelse där de tävlande kan tävla mot varandra i olika kategorier. Förutom undersökningen överbryggar även avhandlingen klyftan mellan spels inflytande och psykologi bakom dem samt länkar ihop områdena speldesign, spel, psykologi, inflytande och beslutsfattande. Arbetet delades in i fem olika faser enligt metoden “Design Thinking”. Första fasen, empathise , handlade om att få en djupare förståelse av samspelet mellan spel, inflytande, psykologi och beslutsfattande. Andra fasen, define, fokuserade på att definiera problemet som kunde omvandlas till idéer och lösningar i tredje fasen, ideate. Fjärde fasen, prototypen, handlade om att utveckla prototyper i form av Lo-Fi, Mid-Fi och Hi-Fi som senare testades i sista och femte fasen, test. Deltagarna fick testa spelet med och utan datavisualisering som var närvarande i vissa frågor i form av stapeldiagram. Resultatet visade att majoriteten av deltagarna, motsvarande 66.7%, kände sig påverkade av grafen. Dock kände 7 av 15 deltagare, motsvarande 46.7%, en ökad känsla av förtroende för sina svar när deras svar överensstämde med majoriteten på grafen. Medan 8 av 15 personer, motsvarande 53.3%, upplevde inte en ökning av förtroende av grafens närvaro. Detta förnekar dock inte grafens potentiella inflytande på deltagarnas beslutsprocess och beslutsfattande. Det finns andra faktorer som kan har påverkat beslutsfattandet såsom deltagarnas befintliga kunskap och deras medvetna beslut att avstå från att förlita sig på grafen. Datavisualisering har till en viss del en inverkan på beslutsfattandet, särskilt när det kommer till områden med kunskapsosäkerhet, och i vilken grad individer ger efter för yttre påverkan är beroende av deras befintliga kunskap.

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As Mixed Reality (MR) games are becoming more and more integrated into healthcare, the need to create engaging and motivating games for rehabilitation purposes is of the utmost importance. To investigate what factors in MR games make users intrinsically motivated and engaged, 13 participants played five games of different types and rewards. After each game, a questionnaire measuring four subcategories for intrinsic motivation was performed. After playing all games, interviews were conducted to voice the participants' opinions. The results showed that there were multiple factors in an MR game contributing to the engagement and motivation of the users. The questionnaire results also revealed a significant difference between the subcategory interest/enjoyment and perceived competence. The themes identified from the interviews were the need for the game to be sufficiently challenging, interaction with MR, curiosity, as well as emotional design. These conclusions suggest a start for future research with larger samples but are argued to be transferable to different sets of target groups.

Despite significant changes in the construction industry due to the digital revolution, geotechnical engineering has been slower to adopt novel technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM). While the benefits of BIM in construction management and planning are recognized, its potential for geotechnical projects is less understood. This study seeks to develop a method for incorporating BIM into geotechnical projects, focusing in particular on the role of parametric design. A qualitative study was conducted based on a scoping review of various secondary data sources. Alongside a literature review, a case study was undertaken to provide practical insights and examine a real-world application of the method, integrating ArcGIS, Excel, Dynamo, and Revit with a Common Data Environment (CDE) to facilitate collaborative and efficient management and visualization of geotechnical data and assets. This research showcases the feasibility of merging parametric geotechnical modeling with BIM, laying the groundwork for future progress in geotechnical modeling and its digital transformation.

The data reliability is crucial in aeronautics because the least miscalculation can lead to crash. Among these data, the balanced field length (BFL) is defined as the shortest field length at which both the take-off and the acceleration-stop can be performed. As the BFL is a critical data, it is subject to certifications that add constraints for all its stages of calculation. An in-house software to calculate the BFL is developed at Dassault Aviation but it can not be embedded and its use requires an expert. Due to the nonlinear dependencies and because an available data set is available, neural networks are proposed to predict the BFL with a maximum relative error less than 2%. The data set of simulations has been set up from Falcon 7X in different configurations of take-off. However, different modelings were used for test- ing purposes and so, the data base is contaminated with points which do not respond to our issue. First of all, it was necessary to find a way to identify these points and a data cleaning algorithm is first implemented. A bagging consensus of neural network is then added to it to detect and filter the other mislabeled data points. Different neural networks are finally trained on the data set and are aggregated to propose the best model. The final model is tested on different database and in this instance, on a Falcon 8X one which has very closed characteristic. It turns out that the algorithm worked for both airplanes and reaches the expected results. / Datatillförlitligheten är avgörande inom luftfarten eftersom minsta felberäk- ning kan leda till krasch. Bland dessa data definieras den balanserade fältläng- den (BFL) som den kortaste fältlängden, vid vilken både start och accelera- tionsstopp kan utföras. Eftersom BFL är en kritisk data, är den föremål för certifieringar som lägger till begränsningar för alla dess beräkningssteg. En egen programvara för att beräkna BFL utvecklas hos Dassault Aviation men den kan inte inbäddas och dess användning kräver en expert. På grund av de olinjära beroenden och eftersom en tillgänglig datauppsättning är tillgänglig föreslås neurala nätverk att förutsäga BFL med ett maximalt relativa fel mindre än 2 %. Datauppsättningen av simuleringar har skapats från Falcon 7X i olika start- konfigurationer. Emellertid användes olika modeller för teständamål och så är databasen förorenad med punkter som inte svarar på vårt problem. Först och främst var det nödvändigt att hitta ett sätt att identifiera dessa punkter och en datalengöringsalgoritm implementerades först. Ett säckskonsensus om neura- la nätverk läggs sedan till det för att detektera och filtrera de andra felmärk- ta datapunkterna. Olika nervnätverk tränas slutligen i datauppsättningen och samlas för att föreslå den bästa modellen. Den slutliga modellen testas i olika databaser och i detta fall på en Falcon 8X som har mycket stängd egenskap. Det visar sig att algoritmen fungerade för båda flygplanen och når de förväntade resultaten.