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The Internet of Things (IoT) is coined by many different standards, protocols, and data formats that are often not compatible to each other. Thus, the integration of different heterogeneous (IoT) components into a uniform IoT setup can be a time-consuming manual task. This lacking interoperability between IoT components has been addressed with different approaches in the past. However, only very few of these approaches rely on Machine Learning techniques. In this work, we present a new way towards IoT interoperability based on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL). In detail, we demonstrate that DRL algorithms, which use network architectures inspired by Natural Language Processing (NLP), can be applied to learn to control an environment by merely taking raw JSON or XML structures, which reflect the current state of the environment, as input. Applied to IoT setups, where the current state of a component is often reflected by features embedded into JSON or XML structures and exchanged via messages, our NLP DRL approach eliminates the need for feature engineering and manually written code for pre-processing of data, feature extraction, and decision making.
Rotating machinery occupies a predominant place in many industrial applications. However, rotating machines are often encountered with severe vibration problems. The measurement of these machines’ vibrations signal is of particular importance since it plays a crucial role in predictive maintenance. When the vibrations are too high, they often cause fatigue failure. They announce an unexpected stop or break and, consequently, a significant loss of productivity or an attack on the personnel’s safety. Therefore, fault identification at early stages will significantly enhance the machine’s health and significantly reduce maintenance costs. Although considerable efforts have been made to master the field of machine diagnostics, the usual signal processing methods still present several drawbacks. This paper examines the rotating machinery condition monitoring in the time and frequency domains. It also provides a framework for the diagnosis process based on machine learning by analyzing the vibratory signals.
Enterprises and societies currently face crucial challenges, while Industry 4.0 becomes important in the global manufacturing industry all the more. Industry 4.0 offers a range of opportunities for companies to increase the flexibility and efficiency of production processes. The development of new business models can be promoted with digital platforms and architectures for Industry 4.0. Therefore, products from the healthcare sector can increase in value. The adaptive integrated digital architecture framework (AIDAF) for Industry 4.0 is expected to promote and implement the digital platforms and robotics for healthcare and medical communities efficiently. In this paper, we propose that various digital platforms and robotics are designed and evaluated for digital healthcare as for manufacturing industry with Industry 4.0. We argue that the design of an open healthcare platform “Open Healthcare Platform 2030 - OHP2030” for medical product design and robotics can be developed with AIDAF. The vision of AIDAF applications to enable Industry 4.0 in the OHP2030 research initiative is explained and referenced, extended in the context of Society 5.0.
Autonomous navigation is one of the main areas of research in mobile robots and intelligent connected vehicles. In this context, we are interested in presenting a general view on robotics, the progress of research, and advanced methods related to this field to improve autonomous robots’ localization. We seek to evaluate algorithms and techniques that give robots the ability to move safely and autonomously in a complex and dynamic environment. Under these constraints, we focused our work in the paper on a specific problem: to evaluate a simple, fast and light SLAM algorithm that can minimize localization errors. We presented and validated a FastSLAM 2.0 system combining scan matching and loop closure detection. To allow the robot to perceive the environment and detect objects, we have studied one of the best deep learning technique using convolutional neural networks (CNN). We validate our testing using the YOLOv3 algorithm.
The blockchain technology represents a decentralized database that stores information securely in immutable data blocks. Regarding supply chain management, these characteristics offer potentials in increasing supply chain transparency, visibility, automation, and efficiency. In this context, first token-based mapping approaches exist to transfer certain manufacturing processes to the blockchain, such as the creation or assembly of parts as well as their transfer of ownership. However, the decentralized and immutable structure of blockchain technology also creates challenges when applying these token-based approaches to dynamic manufacturing processes. As a first step, this paper investigates existing mapping approaches and exemplifies weaknesses regarding their suitability for products with changeable configurations. Secondly, a concept is proposed to overcome these weaknesses by introducing logically coupled tokens embedded into a flexible smart contract structure. Finally, a concept for a token-based architecture is introduced to map manufacturing processes of products with changeable configurations.
The current advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) combined with other digitalization efforts significantly impacts service ecosystems. Artificial intelligence has a substantial impact on new opportunities for the co-creation of value and the development of intelligent service ecosystems. Motivated by experiences and observations from digitalization projects, this paper presents new methodological perspectives and experiences from academia and practice on architecting intelligent service ecosystems and explores the impact of artificial intelligence through real cases supporting an ongoing validation. Digital enterprise architecture models serve as an integral representation of business, information, and technological perspectives of intelligent service-based enterprise systems to support management and development. This paper focuses on architectural models for intelligent service ecosystems, showing the fundamental business mechanism of AI-based value co-creation, the corresponding digital architecture, and management models. The focus of this paper presents the key architectural model perspectives for the development of intelligent service ecosystems.
The digitization of factories will be a significant issue for the 2020s. New scenarios are emerging to increase the efficiency of production lines inside the factory, based on a new generation of robots’ collaborative functions. Manufacturers are moving towards data-driven ecosystems by leveraging product lifecycle data from connected goods. Energy-efficient communication schemes, as well as scalable data analytics, will support these various data collection scenarios. With augmented reality, new remote services are emerging that facilitate the efficient sharing of knowledge in the factory. Future communication solutions should generally ensure connectivity between the various production sites spread worldwide and new players in the value chain (e.g., suppliers, logistics) transparent, real-time, and secure. Industry 4.0 brings more intelligence and flexibility to production. Resulting in more lightweight equipment and, thus, offering better ergonomics. 5G will guarantee real-time transmissions with latencies of less than 1 ms. This will provide manufacturers with new possibilities to collect data and trigger actions automatically.
Platforms and their surrounding ecosystems are becoming increasingly important components of many companies' strategies. Artificial Intelligence, in particular, has created new opportunities to create and develop ecosystems around the platform. However, there is not yet a methodology to systematically develop these new opportunities for enterprise development strategy. Therefore, this paper aims to lay a foundation for the conceptualization of Artificial Intelligence-based service ecosystems exploiting a Service-Dominant Logic. The basis for conceptualization is the study of value creation and particularly effective network effects. This research investigates the fundamental idea of extending specific digital concepts considering the influence of Artificial Intelligence on the design of intelligent services, along with their architecture of digital platforms and ecosystems, to enable a smooth evolutionary path and adaptability for human-centric collaborative systems and services. The paper explores an extended digital enterprise conceptual model through a combined, iterative, and permanent task of co-creating value between humans and intelligent systems as part of a new idea of cognitively adapted intelligent services.
This book highlights new trends and challenges in intelligent systems, which play an essential part in the digital transformation of many areas of science and practice. It includes papers offering a deeper understanding of the human-centred perspective on artificial intelligence, of intelligent value co-creation, ethics, value-oriented digital models, transparency, and intelligent digital architectures and engineering to support digital services and intelligent systems, the transformation of structures in digital business and intelligent systems based on human practices, as well as the study of interaction and co-adaptation of humans and systems. All papers were originally presented at the International KES Conference on Human Centred Intelligent Systems 2021 (KES HCIS 2021) held on June 14–16, 2021 in the KES Virtual Conference Centre.
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly become a relevant technology for many companies. While there are a number of studies that highlight challenges and success factors in the adoption of AI, there is a lack of guidance for firms on how to approach the topic in a holistic and strategic way. The aim of this study is therefore to develop a conceptual framework for corporate AI strategy. To address this aim, a systematic literature review of a wide spectrum of AI-related research is conducted, and the results are analyzed based on an inductive coding approach. An important conclusion is that companies should consider diverse aspects when formulating an AI strategy, ranging from technological questions to corporate culture and human resources. This study contributes to knowledge by proposing a novel, comprehensive framework to foster the understanding of crucial aspects that need to be considered when using the emerging technology of AI in a corporate context.
Global, competitive markets which are characterised by mass customisation and rapidly changing customer requirements force major changes in production styles and the configuration of manufacturing systems. As a result, factories may need to be regularly adapted and optimised to meet short-term requirements. One way to optimise the production process is the adaptation of the plant layout to the current or expected order situation. To determine whether a layout change is reasonable, a model of the current layout is needed. It is used to perform simulations and in the case of a layout change it serves as a basis for the reconfiguration process. To aid the selection of possible measurement systems, a requirements analysis was done to identify the important parameters for the creation of a digital shadow of a plant layout. Based on these parameters, a method is proposed for defining limit values and specifying exclusion criteria. The paper thus contributes to the development and application of systems that enable an automatic synchronisation of the real layout with the digital layout.
Sustainability is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Business Model is a plan for the successful operation of a business, identifying sources of revenue, the intended customer base, products, and details of financing.
Circular economy is an approach of how a company creates, captures and delivers value, with a value creation logic designed to improve resource efficiency through contributing to extending the useful life of products and parts (e.g., through long-life design, repair and remanufacturing) and closing material loops.
Lehre und Lernen unterliegt einem stetigen Wandel, wobei Interaktion als ein zentrales Element der Motivationssteigerung im Lernkontext angesehen wird. Der vorliegende Beitrag zeigt verschiedene Ansätze zur Gestaltung von interaktivem und kollaborativem Lehren und Lernen in einem virtuellen Klassenzimmer auf und stellt ein Beispiel für die Umsetzung und den Einsatz eines solchen Systems vor. Die Mehrwerte und Erfolgsfaktoren, die sich beim Einsatz virtueller Klassenzimmer und deren Gestaltung in Form einer interaktiven blended-learning Umgebung ergeben, werden dargestellt und diskutiert. Mit dem System Accelerator wird eine CSILT (Computer Supported Interactive Learning and Teaching)-Umgebung vorgestellt, in der diese Faktoren zum Einsatz kommen.
Das Weltwirtschaftswachstum der vergangenen Jahrzehnte war durch die Dynamik der Digitalisierung und Globalisierung in den Lieferketten geprägt. Die Corona-Pandemie hat die Abhängigkeit und Verletzlichkeit der Lieferketten offengelegt. Trotz einer Vielzahl verbindlicher Standards haben Unternehmen die Digitalisierung und Arbeitsteilung auch für regulatorische Arbitrage genutzt. Einerseits erhöht das die Effizienz der Wirtschaft - was mithin ökologische Ressourcen schont - andererseits werden damit internationale Standards konterkariert. Globalisierung und Digitalisierung sind Segen und Fluch zugleich.
The article analyzes experimentally and theoretically the influence of microscope parameters on the pinhole-assisted Raman depth profiles in uniform and composite refractive media. The main objective is the reliable mapping of deep sample regions. The easiest to interpret results are found with low magnification, low aperture, and small pinholes. Here, the intensities and shapes of the Raman signals are independent of the location of the emitter relative to the sample surface. Theoretically, the results can be well described with a simple analytical equation containing the axial depth resolution of the microscope and the position of the emitter. The lower determinable object size is limited to 2–4 μm. If sub-micrometer resolution is desired, high magnification, mostly combined with high aperture, becomes necessary. The signal intensities and shapes depend now in refractive media on the position relative to the sample surface. This aspect is investigated on a number of uniform and stacked polymer layers, 2–160 μm thick, with the best available transparency. The experimental depth profiles are numerically fitted with excellent accuracy by inserting a Gaussian excitation beam of variable waist and fill fraction through the focusing lens area, and by treating the Raman emission with geometric optics as spontaneous isotropic process through the lens and the variable pinhole, respectively. The intersectional area of these two solid angles yields the leading factor in understanding confocal (pinhole-assisted) Raman depth profiles.
A hybrid deep registration of MR scans to interventional ultrasound for neurosurgical guidance
(2021)
Despite the recent advances in image-guided neurosurgery, reliable and accurate estimation of the brain shift still remains one of the key challenges. In this paper, we propose an automated multimodal deformable registration method using hybrid learning-based and classical approaches to improve neurosurgical procedures. Initially, the moving and fixed images are aligned using classical affine transformation (MINC toolkit), and then the result is provided to the convolutional neural network, which predicts the deformation field using backpropagation. Subsequently, the moving image is transformed using the resultant deformation into a moved image. Our model was evaluated on two publicly available datasets: the retrospective evaluation of cerebral tumors (RESECT) and brain images of tumors for evaluation (BITE). The mean target registration errors have been reduced from 5.35 ± 4.29 to 0.99 ± 0.22 mm in the RESECT and from 4.18 ± 1.91 to 1.68 ± 0.65 mm in the BITE. Experimental results showed that our method improved the state-of-the-art in terms of both accuracy and runtime speed (170 ms on average). Hence, the proposed method provides a fast runtime for 3D MRI to intra-operative US pair in a GPU-based implementation, which shows a promise for its applicability in assisting the neurosurgical procedures compensating for brain shift.
Purpose
Injury or inflammation of the middle ear often results in the persistent tympanic membrane (TM) perforations, leading to conductive hearing loss (HL). However, in some cases the magnitude of HL exceeds that attributable by the TM perforation alone. The aim of the study is to better understand the effects of location and size of TM perforations on the sound transmission properties of the middle ear.
Methods
The middle ear transfer functions (METF) of six human temporal bones (TB) were compared before and after perforating the TM at different locations (anterior or posterior lower quadrant) and to different degrees (1 mm, ¼ of the TM, ½ of the TM, and full ablation). The sound-induced velocity of the stapes footplate was measured using single-point laser-Doppler-vibrometry (LDV). The METF were correlated with a Finite Element (FE) model of the middle ear, in which similar alterations were simulated.
Results
The measured and calculated METF showed frequency and perforation size dependent losses at all perforation locations. Starting at low frequencies, the loss expanded to higher frequencies with increased perforation size. In direct comparison, posterior TM perforations affected the transmission properties to a larger degree than anterior perforations. The asymmetry of the TM causes the malleus-incus complex to rotate and results in larger deflections in the posterior TM quadrants than in the anterior TM quadrants. Simulations in the FE model with a sealed cavity show that small perforations lead to a decrease in TM rigidity and thus to an increase in oscillation amplitude of the TM mainly above 1 kHz.
Conclusion
Size and location of TM perforations have a characteristic influence on the METF. The correlation of the experimental LDV measurements with an FE model contributes to a better understanding of the pathologic mechanisms of middle-ear diseases. If small perforations with significant HL are observed in daily clinical practice, additional middle ear pathologies should be considered. Further investigations on the loss of TM pretension due to perforations may be informative.
Distributed ledger technologies such as the blockchain technology offer an innovative solution to increase visibility and security to reduce supply chain risks. This paper proposes a solution to increase the transparency and auditability of manufactured products in collaborative networks by adopting smart contract-based virtual identities. Compared with existing approaches, this extended smart contract-based solution offers manufacturing networks the possibility of involving privacy, content updating, and portability approaches to smart contracts. As a result, the solution is suitable for the dynamic administration of complex supply chains.
The main aim of presented in this manuscript research is to compare the results of objective and subjective measurement of sleep quality for older adults (65+) in the home environment. A total amount of 73 nights was evaluated in this study. Placing under the mattress device was used to obtain objective measurement data, and a common question on perceived sleep quality was asked to collect the subjective sleep quality level. The achieved results confirm the correlation between objective and subjective measurement of sleep quality with the average standard deviation equal to 2 of 10 possible quality points.
Projektmanagement
(2020)
Projektmanagement ist ein Werkzeug um singuläre Aufgaben interdisziplinär und unternehmensübergreifend strukturiert zu bearbeiten, die einmalig und extrem bedeutsam für das Unternehmen sind sowie nicht einfach in der bestehenden Linienorganisation bearbeitet werden können. Unter Projektmanagement versteht man ein Konzept für die Leitung eines komplexen Vorhabens und die Institution, die dieses Vorhaben leitet.
Effektives Risiko-Management sollte neben quantifizierbaren, bekannten Risiken auch Ereignisse berücksichtigen, die entweder in ähnlicher Art bereits eingetreten oder grundsätzlich vorstellbar sind. Für eine Identifikation dieser "Grauen Schwäne" müssen institutionell-organisatorische Voraussetzungen geschaffen und analytisch-konzeptionelle Instrumente bereitgestellt werden.
Unternehmen wenden insbesondere bei IT-nahen Projekten seit einigen Jahren auch im Controlling verstärkt ein agiles Vorgehen an. Erfahrungen zeigen jedoch, dass dies nicht bei allen Projekten in jedem Unternehmen funktioniert. Hybride Ansätze, die agile mit klassischen Projekt-Management-Methoden verbinden, bieten eine Lösung.
Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State (HATEOAS) is one of the core constraints of REST. It refers to the concept of embedding hyperlinks into the response of a queried or manipulated resource to show a client possible follow-up actions and transitions to related resources. Thus, this concept aims to provide a client with a navigational support when interacting with a Web-based application. Although HATEOAS should be implemented by any Web-based API claiming to be RESTful, API providers tend to offer service descriptions in place of embedding hyperlinks into responses. Instead of relying on a navigational support, a client developer has to read the service description and has to identify resources and their URIs that are relevant for the interaction with the API. In this paper, we introduce an approach that aims to identify transitions between resources of a Web-based API by systematically analyzing the service description only. We devise an algorithm that automatically derives a URI Model from the service description and then analyzes the payload schemas to identify feasible values for the substitution of path parameters in URI Templates. We implement this approach as a proxy application, which injects hyperlinks representing transitions into the response payload of a queried or manipulated resource. The result is a HATEOAS-like navigational support through an API. Our first prototype operates on service descriptions in the OpenAPI format. We evaluate our approach using ten real-world APIs from different domains. Furthermore, we discuss the results as well as the observations captured in these tests.
We discuss the fabrication technologies for IC chips in this chapter. We will focus on the main process steps and especially on those aspects that are of particular importance for understanding how they affect, and in some cases drive, the layout of ICs. All our analyses in this chapter will be for silicon as the base material; the principles and understanding gained can be applied to other substrates as well. Following a brief introduction to the fundamentals of IC fabrication (Sect. 2.1) and the base material used in it, namely silicon (Sect. 2.2), we discuss the photolithography process deployed for all structuring work in Sect. 2.3. We will then present in Sect. 2.4 some theoretical opening remarks on typical phenomena encountered in IC fabrication. Knowledge of these phenomena is very useful for understanding the process steps we cover in Sects. 2.5–2.8. We examine a simple exemplar process in Sect. 2.9 and observe how a field-effect transistor (FET) – the most important device in modern integrated circuits—is created. To drive the key points home, we provide a review of each topic at the end of every section from the point of view of layout design by discussing relevant physical design aspects.
Additive Manufacturing is increasingly used in the industrial sector as a result of continuous development. In the Production Planning and Control (PPC) system, AM enables an agile response in the area of detailed and process planning, especially for a large number of plants. For this purpose, a concept for a PPC system for AM is presented, which takes into account the requirements for integration into the operational enterprise software system. The technical applicability will be demonstrated by individual implemented sections. The presented solution approach promises a more efficient utilization of the plants and a more elastic use.
Personalmanagement
(2020)
Auch wenn der Wert in keiner Bilanz auftaucht: das Humankapital entscheidet über den Unternehmenserfolg. Während Kapital im Überfluss vorhanden ist, ist das Personal zunehmend der Engpassfaktor. Wurde bis in die 1980er-Jahre der Mensch als Produktionsfaktor und die Personalabteilung als seine Verwaltungsinstanz gesehen, so ist die Personalarbeit heute ein integratives Element des Managementprozesses und die Personalabteilung aktiver Teil des Managementteams (Scholz 2014c). Damit verbunden ist der begriffliche Wandel von Personalwirtschaft bzw. Personalverwaltung hin zum Personalmanagement bzw. Human Ressource Management (HRM). Die Begriffe signalisieren eine stärker strategisch ausgerichtete Auseinandersetzung mit allen Fragen, die den Einsatz von Personal und die Verknüpfung der Personal- mit der Unternehmensstrategie zum Gegenstand haben.
Wichtige Aufgaben der Personalarbeit sind Personalplanung, Personalbeschaffung, Personalentwicklung, Personaleinsatz, Personalkostenmanagement, Personalführung. Diese werden in der Regel von unterschiedlichen Stellen wahrgenommen – neben der Personalabteilung spielen dabei auch die direkte Führungskraft sowie die Unternehmensleitung eine wichtige Rolle.
Context: Nowadays, companies are challenged by increasing market dynamics, rapid changes and disruptive participants entering the market. To survive in such an environment, companies must be able to quickly discover product ideas that meet the needs of both customers and the company and deliver these products to customers. Dual-track agile is a new type of agile development that combines product discovery and delivery activities in parallel, iterative, and cyclical ways. At present, many companies have difficulties in finding and establishing suitable approaches for implementing dual-track agile in their business context.
Objective: In order to gain a better understanding of how product discovery and product delivery can interact with each other and how this interaction can be implemented in practice, this paper aims to identify suitable approaches to dual-track agile.
Method: We conducted a grey literature review (GLR) according to the guidelines to Garousi et al.
Results: Several approaches that support the integration of product discovery with product delivery were identified. This paper presents a selection of these approaches, i.e., the Discovery-Delivery Cycle model, Now-Next-Later Product Roadmaps, Lean Sprints, Product Kata, and Dual-Track Scrum. The approaches differ in their granularity but are similar in their underlying rationales. All approaches aim to ensure that only validated ideas turn into products and thus promise to lead to products that are better received by their users.
Context: A product roadmap is an important tool in product development. It sets the strategic direction in which the product is to be developed to achieve the company’s vision. However, for product roadmaps to be successful, it is essential that all stakeholders agree with the company’s vision and objectives and are aligned and committed to a common product plan.
Objective: In order to gain a better understanding of product roadmap alignment, this paper aims at identifying measures, activities and techniques in order to align the different stakeholders around the product roadmap.
Method: We conducted a grey literature review according the guidelines to Garousi et al.
Results: Several approaches to gain alignment were identified such as defining and communicating clear objectives based on the product vision, conducting cross-functional workshops, shuttle diplomacy, and mission briefing. In addition, our review identified the “Behavioural Change Stairway Model” that suggests five steps to gain alignment by building empathy and a trustful relationship.
A fast way to test business ideas and to explore customer problems and needs is to talk to them. Customer interviews help to understand what solutions customers will pay for before investing valuable resources to develop solutions. Customer interviews are a good way to gain qualitative insights. However, conducting interviews can be a difficult procedure and requires specific skills. The current ways of teaching interview skills have significant deficiencies. They especially lack guidance and opportunities to practice. Objective: The goal of this work is to develop and validate a workshop format to teach interview skills for conducting good customer interviews in a practical manner. Method: The research method is based on design science research which serves as a framework. A game-based workshop format was designed to teach interview skills. The approach consists of a half-day, hands-on workshop and is based on an analysis of necessary interview skills. The approach has been validated in several workshops and improved based on learnings from those workshops. Results: Results of the validation show that participants could significantly improve their interview skills while enjoying the game-based exercises. The game-based learning approach supports learning and practicing customer interview skills with playful and interactive elements that encourage greater motivation among participants to conduct interviews.
The recovery of our body and brain from fatigue directly depends on the quality of sleep, which can be determined from the results of a sleep study. The classification of sleep stages is the first step of this study and includes the measurement of vital data and their further processing. The non-invasive sleep analysis system is based on a hardware sensor network of 24 pressure sensors providing sleep phase detection. The pressure sensors are connected to an energy-efficient microcontroller via a system-wide bus. A significant difference between this system and other approaches is the innovative way in which the sensors are placed under the mattress. This feature facilitates the continuous use of the system without any noticeable influence on the sleeping person. The system was tested by conducting experiments that recorded the sleep of various healthy young people. Results indicate the potential to capture respiratory rate and body movement.
Today, many companies are adapting their strategy, business models, products, services as well as business processes and information systems in order to expand their digitalization level through intelligent systems and services. The paper raises an important question: What are cognitive co-creation mechanisms for extending digital services and architectures to readjust the usage value of smart services? Typically, extensions of digital services and products and their architectures are manual design tasks that are complex and require specialized, rare experts. The current publication explores the basic idea of extending specific digital artifacts, such as intelligent service architectures, through mechanisms of cognitive co-creation to enable a rapid evolutionary path and better integration of humans and intelligent systems. We explore the development of intelligent service architectures through a combined, iterative, and permanent task of co-creation between humans and intelligent systems as part of a new concept of cognitively adapted smart services. In this paper, we present components of a new platform for the joint co-creation of cognitive services for an ecosystem of intelligent services that enables the adaptation of digital services and architectures.
Intelligent systems and services are the strategic targets of many current digitalization efforts and part of massive digital transformations based on digital technologies with artificial intelligence. Digital platform architectures and ecosystems provide an essential base for intelligent digital systems. The paper raises an important question: Which development paths are induced by current innovations in the field of artificial intelligence and digitalization for enterprise architectures? Digitalization disrupts existing enterprises, technologies, and economies and promotes the architecture of cognitive and open intelligent environments. This has a strong impact on new opportunities for value creation and the development of intelligent digital systems and services. Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, service computing, cloud computing, blockchains, big data with analysis, mobile systems, and social business network systems are essential drivers of digitalization. We investigate the development of intelligent digital systems supported by a suitable digital enterprise architecture. We present methodological advances and an evolutionary path for architectures with an integral service and value perspective to enable intelligent systems and services that effectively combine digital strategies and digital architectures with artificial intelligence.
While many maintainability metrics have been explicitly designed for service-based systems, tool-supported approaches to automatically collect these metrics are lacking. Especially in the context of microservices, decentralization and technological heterogeneity may pose challenges for static analysis. We therefore propose the modular and extensible RAMA approach (RESTful API Metric Analyzer) to calculate such metrics from machine-readable interface descriptions of RESTful services. We also provide prototypical tool support, the RAMA CLI, which currently parses the formats OpenAPI, RAML, and WADL and calculates 10 structural service-based metrics proposed in scientific literature. To make RAMA measurement results more actionable, we additionally designed a repeatable benchmark for quartile-based threshold ranges (green, yellow, orange, red). In an exemplary run, we derived thresholds for all RAMA CLI metrics from the interface descriptions of 1,737 publicly available RESTful APIs. Researchers and practitioners can use RAMA to evaluate the maintainability of RESTful services or to support the empirical evaluation of new service interface metrics.
Cloud resources can be dynamically provisioned according to application-specific requirements and are payed on a per-use basis. This gives rise to a new concept for parallel processing: Elastic parallel computations. However, it is still an open research question to which extent parallel applications can benefit from elastic scaling, which requires resource adaptation at runtime and corresponding coordination mechanisms. In this work, we analyze how to address these system-level challenges in the context of developing and operating elastic parallel tree search applications. Based on our findings, we discuss the design and implementation of TASKWORK, a cloud-aware runtime system specifically designed for elastic parallel tree search, which enables the implementation of elastic applications by means of higher-level development frameworks. We show how to implement an elastic parallel branch-and-bound application based on an exemplary development framework and report on our experimental evaluation that also considers several benchmarks for parallel tree search.
The advent of chatbots in customer service solutions received increasing attention by research and practice throughout the last years. However, the relevant dimensions and features for service quality and service performance for chatbots remain quite unclear. Therefore, this research develops and tests a conceptual model for customer service quality and customer service performance in the context of chatbots. Additionally, the impact of the developed service dimensions on different customer relationship metrics is measured across different service channels (hotline versus chatbots). Findings of six independent studies indicate a strong main effect of the conceptualized service dimensions on customer satisfaction, service costs, intention to service reusage, word-of-mouth, and customer loyalty. However, different service dimensions are relevant for chatbots compared to a traditional service hotline.
This book describes the current state of the art in integrated ring resonators, covering more than two decades in the development of this exciting device. It discusses in depth one of the most fascinating and versatile integrated optical filters, providing readers with a panoramic view spanning from design and simulation to implementation in various material systems. Written by authors with extensive experience in both academia and industry, this second edition offers a much-needed, major update as interest in integrated ring resonators undergoes a global revival. The new edition includes a comprehensive technological update, and a timely discussion of recent advances in new application areas, such as optofluidics and microfluidics, telecom operations and biosensors. This aptly named compendium is the ideal guide for researchers and engineers looking to review the field as a whole while exploring several of its possible and exciting future trajectories.
Context: Currently, most companies apply approaches for product roadmapping that are based on the assumption that the future is highly predicable. However, nowadays companies are facing the challenge of increasing market dynamics, rapidly evolving technologies, and shifting user expectations. Together with the adaption of lean and agile practices it makes it increasingly difficult to plan and predict upfront which products, services or features will satisfy the needs of the customers. Therefore, they are struggling with their ability to provide product roadmaps that fit into dynamic and uncertain market environments and that can be used together with lean and agile software development practices.
Objective: To gain a better understanding of modern product roadmapping processes, this paper aims to identify suitable processes for the creation and evolution of product roadmaps in dynamic and uncertain market environments.
Method: We performed a Grey Literature Review (GLR) according to the guidelines from Garousi et al.
Results: 32 approaches to product roadmapping were identified. Typical characteristics of these processes are the strong connection between the product roadmap and the product vision, an emphasis on stakeholder alignment, the definition of business and customer goals as part of the roadmapping process, a high degree of flexibility with respect to reaching these goals, and the inclusion of validation activities in the roadmapping process. An overall goal of nearly all approaches is to avoid waste by early reducing development and business risks. From the list of the 32 approaches found, four representative roadmapping processes are described in detail.
This book discusses important topics for engineering and managing software startups, such as how technical and business aspects are related, which complications may arise and how they can be dealt with. It also addresses the use of scientific, engineering, and managerial approaches to successfully develop software products in startup companies.
The book covers a wide range of software startup phenomena, and includes the knowledge, skills, and capabilities required for startup product development; team capacity and team roles; technical debt; minimal viable products; startup metrics; common pitfalls and patterns observed; as well as lessons learned from startups in Finland, Norway, Brazil, Russia and USA. All results are based on empirical findings, and the claims are backed by evidence and concrete observations, measurements and experiments from qualitative and quantitative research, as is common in empirical software engineering.
The book helps entrepreneurs and practitioners to become aware of various phenomena, challenges, and practices that occur in real-world startups, and provides insights based on sound research methodologies presented in a simple and easy-to-read manner. It also allows students in business and engineering programs to learn about the important engineering concepts and technical building blocks of a software startup. It is also suitable for researchers at different levels in areas such as software and systems engineering, or information systems who are studying advanced topics related to software business.
This book presents an empirical investigation of the efforts that multinational pharmaceutical companies take in order to find a business model that allows for a profitable access to the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) markets. The Bottom of the Pyramid in Africa is frequently mentioned as an attractive market due to its sheer size. Yet most companies struggle to access it because of the low price level, difficult physical market access and challenges when it comes to payment.
More specifically, the book investigates the following business model-related questions: Do pharmaceutical companies provide products that meet the needs of the BoP? What characterizes the value generation of the company? What revenue model leads to a profitable business, and what role does a network of partners play in the business model?
Findings reveal that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to these questions. Providing continuous availability, affordability at a good quality of goods and services, creating health awareness, as well as localizing business to achieve a level of inclusivenessare essential prerequisites for success. In the last chapter this book provides a business model prototype that accounts for these key success factors for business at the Bottom of the Pyramid and points to further research topics.
The livestock sector is growing steadily and is responsible for around 18% of global greenhouse‐gas‐emissions, which is more than the global transport sec-tor (Steinfeld et al. 2006). This paper examines the potential of social marketing to reduce meat consumption. The aim is to understand consumers’ motivation in diet choices and to learn what opportunities social marketing can provide to counteract negative environmental and health trends. The authors believe that research to answer this question should start in metropolitan areas, be-cause measures should be especially effective there. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB, Ajzen 1991) and the Technology‐Acceptance‐Model by Huijts et al. (2012), an online‐study with participants from the metropolitan region (n = 708) was conducted in which central socio‐psychological constructs for a meat consumption reduction were examined. It was shown that attitude, personal norm and habit have a critical influence on the intention to reduce meat consumption. A segmentation of consumers based on these factors led to three consumer clusters: vegetarians/flexitarians, potential flexitarians and convinced meat eaters. Potential flexitarians are an especially relevant target group for the development of social‐marketing‐measures to reduce meat consumption. In co‐creation‐workshops with potential flexitarians from the metropolitan region, barriers and benefits of reducing meat consumption were identified. The factors of environmental protection, animal welfare and desire for variety turn out to be the most relevant motivational factors. Based on these factors, consumers proposed a variety of social marketing measures, such as applications and labels to inform about the environmental impact of meat products.
Exogenous factors of influence on exhaled breath analysis by ion-mobility spectrometry (MCC/IMS)
(2019)
The interpretation of exhaled breath analysis needs to address to the influence of exogenous factors, especially to a transfer of confounding analytes by the test persons. A test person who was exposed to a disinfectant had exhaled breath analysis by MCC/IMS (Bioscout®) after different time intervals. Additionally, a new sampling method with inhalation of synthetic air before breath analysis was tested. After exposure to the disinfectant, 3-Pentanone monomer, 3-Pentanone dimer, Hexanal, 3-Pentanone trimer, 2-Propanamine, 1-Propanol, Benzene, Nonanal showed significantly higher intensities, in exhaled breath and air of the examination room, compared to the corresponding baseline measurements. Only one ingredient of the disinfectant (1-Propanol) was identical to the 8 analytes. Prolonging the time intervals between exposure and breath analysis showed a decrease of their intensities. However, the half-time of the decrease was different. The inhalation of synthetic air - more than consequently airing the examination room with fresh air - reduced the exogenous and also relevant endogenous analytes, leading to a reduction and even changing polarity of the alveolar gradient. The interpretation of exhaled breath needs further knowledge about the former residence of the proband and the likelihood and relevance of the inhalation of local, site-specific and confounding exogenous analytes by him. Their inhalation facilitates a transfer to the examination room and a detection of high concentrations in room air and exhaled breath, but also the exhalation of new analytes. This may lead to a misinterpretation of these analytes as endogenous resp. disease-specific ones.
Standardisation of breath sampling is important for application of breath analysis in clinical settings. By studying the effect of room airing on indoor and breath analytes and by generating time series of room air with different sampling intervals we sought to get further insights into room air metabolism, to detect the relevance of exogenous VOCs and to make conclusions about their consideration for the interpretation of exhaled breath. Room air and exhaled breath of a healthy subject were analysed before and after room airing. Furthermore a time series of room air with doors and windows closed was taken over 84 h by an automatic sampling every 180 min. A second times series studied room air analytes over 70 h with samples taken every 16.5 min. For breath and room air measurements an IMS coupled to a multi-capillary column (IMS/MCC) [Bio-Scout® - B&S Analytik GmbH, Dortmund, Germany] was used. The peaks were characterized using the Software Visual Now (B&S Analytik, Dortmund Germany) and identified using the software package MIMA (version 1.1, provided by the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany) and the database 20160426_SubstanzDbNIST_122 (B & S Analytik GmbH, Dortmund, Germany). In the morning 4 analytes (Decamethylcylopentasiloxane [541-02-6]; Pentan-2-one [107-87-9] – Dimer; Hexan-1-al [66-25-1]; Pentan-2-one [107-87-9]) – Monomer showed high intensities in the room air and exhaled breath. They were significantly but not equally reduced by room airing. The time series about 84 h showed a time dependent decrease of analytes (limonen-monomer and -dimer; Decamethylcylopentasiloxane, Butan-1-ol, Butan-1-ol) as well as increase (Pentan-2-one [107-87-9] – Dimer). Shorter sampling intervals exhibited circadian variations of analyte concentrations for many analytes. Breath sampling in the morning needs room airing before starting. Then the variation of the intensity of indoor analytes can be kept small. The time series of indoor analytes show, that their intensities have a different behaviour, with time dependent declines, constant increases and circadian variations, dependent on room airing. This has implications on the breath sampling procedure and the intrepretation of exhaled breath.
Companies are becoming aware of the potential risks arising from sustainability aspects in supply chains. These risks can affect ecological, economic or social aspects. One important element in managing those risks is improved transparency in supply chains by means of digital transformation. Innovative technologies like blockchain technology can be used to enforce transparency. In this paper, we present a smart contract-based Supply Chain Control Solution to reduce risks. Technological capabilities of the solution will be compared to a similar technology approach and evaluated regarding their benefits and challenges within the framework of supply chain models. As a result, the proposed solution is suitable for the dynamic administration of complex supply chains.
Due to digitalization, constant technological progress and ever shorter product life cycles, enterprises are currently facing major challenges. In order to succeed in the market, business models have to be adapted more often and more quickly to changing market conditions than they used to be. Fast adaptability, also called agility, is a decisive competitive factor in today’s world. Because of the ever-growing IT part of products and the fact that they are manufactured using IT, changing the business model has a major impact on the enterprise architecture (EA). However, developing EAs is a very complex task, because many stakeholders with conflicting interests are involved in the decision-making process. Therefore, a lot of collaboration is required. To support organizations in developing their EA, this article introduces a novel integrative method that systematically integrates stakeholder interests into decision-making activities. By using the method, collaboration between stakeholders involved is improved by identifying points of contact between them. Furthermore, standardized activities make decision-making more transparent and comparable without limiting creativity.
Enterprises are currently transforming their strategy, processes, and their information systems to extend their degree of digitalization. The potential of the Internet and related digital technologies, like Internet of Things, services computing, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data with analytics, mobile systems, collaboration networks, and cyber physical systems both drives and enables new business designs. Digitalization deeply disrupts existing businesses, technologies and economies and fosters the architecture of digital environments with many rather small and distributed structures. This has a strong impact for new value producing opportunities and architecting digital services and products guiding their design through exploiting a Service-Dominant Logic. The main result of the book chapter extends methods for integral digital strategies with value-oriented models for digital products and services which are defined in the framework of a multi-perspective digital enterprise architecture reference model.
This chapter presents an introduction to the emerging trends for architecting the digital transformation having a strong focus on digital products, intelligent services, and related systems together with methods, models and architectures. The primary aim of this book is to highlight some of the most recent research results in the field. We are providing a focused set of brief descriptions of the chapters included in the book.
The digital transformation is today’s dominant business transformation having a strong influence on how digital services and products are designed in a service-dominant way. A popular underlying theory of value creation and economic exchange that is known as the service-dominant (S-D) logic can be connected to many successful digital business models. However, S-D logic by itself is abstract. Companies cannot directly use it as an instrument for business model innovation and design in an easy way. To address this a comprehensive ideation method based on S-D logic is proposed, called service-dominant design (SDD). SDD is aimed at supporting firms in the transition to a service- and value-oriented perspective. The method provides a simplified way to structure the ideation process based on four model components. Each component consists of practical implications, auxiliary questions and visualization techniques that were derived from a literature review, a use case evaluation of digital mobility and a focus group discussion. SDD represents a first step of having a toolset that can support established companies in the process of service- and value-orientation as part of their digital transformation efforts.
This research-oriented book presents key contributions on architecting the digital transformation. It includes the following main sections covering 20 chapters: · Digital Transformation · Digital Business · Digital Architecture · Decision Support · Digital Applications Focusing on digital architectures for smart digital products and services, it is a valuable resource for researchers, doctoral students, postgraduates, graduates, undergraduates, academics and practitioners interested in digital transformation.
Companies compete more and more as integrated supply chains rather than as individual firms. The success of the entire supply chain determines the economic well-being of the individual company. With management attention shifting to supply chains, the role of management accounting naturally must extend to the cross-company layer as well. This book demonstrates how management accounting can make a significant contribution to supply chain success.It targets students who are already familiar with the fundamentals of accounting and now want to extend their expertise in the field of cross company (or network) management accounting. Practitioners will draw valuable insights from the text as well.