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Automated regression tests are a key enabler for applying popular continuous software engineering techniques. This paper focuses on testing BPMN-based Process-Driven Applications (PDA). When evolving PDAs, the affected test cases must be identified and co-evolved as well. In this process, affected test cases can be overlooked, misunderstandings may occur during communication between different roles involved, and implementation errors can arise. Regardless of possible error sources, the entire test migration process is time-consuming. This paper presents a new semi-automated test migration process for PDAs. The concept builds on previous work on creating regression tests using a no-code approach. Our approach identifies the modifications of the PDA and classifies their impact on previously defined tests. The classification indicates whether existing test code can be migrated automatically or whether a manual revision becomes necessary. During an AB/BA experiment, the concept and the developed prototype proved a more efficient test migration process and a higher test quality.
Ecosystem Emergence and Founding Conditions - Lessions Learned from an Imprinting Perspective
(2022)
The rise of ecosystem prominence has provided several definitions of how we understand ecosystems nowadays. In this context, several scholars have considered influencing factors for ecosystem emergence. This paper addresses this consideration and analyzes the salient characteristics of different ecosystem types and their potential persistence since ecosystem founding to improve the understanding of emergence. We applied a three-step approach (1) identifying ecosystem types based on bibliometric analysis, (2) exploring salient characteristics per ecosystem type using qualitative content analysis and (3) deriving founding conditions from the salient characteristics following a conceptual approach. Based on a bibliometric analysis, we identified business/innovation, entrepreneurial and service ecosystems. In a second step, we developed salient characteristics within the themes of structure, power constellation/interdependencies and governance by inductive coding. As we identified a significant difference in alignment structure, we analyzed if alignment structure persists since ecosystem origin and explains why ecosystems differ. We analyzed potential pairings between alignment structure and their respective founding condition for every ecosystem type. With the alignment structures’ persistence, we can better understand why ecosystem types differ.
Assessing serious games within purchasing and supply management education: an in-class experiment
(2021)
Process-Driven Applications flourish through the interaction between an executable BPMN process model, human tasks, and external software services. All these components operate on shared process data, so it is even more important to check the correct data flow. However, data flow is in most cases not explicitly defined but hidden in model elements, form declarations, and program code. This paper elaborates on data-flow anomalies acting as indicators for potential errors and how such anomalies can be uncovered despite implicit and hidden data-flow definitions. By considering an integrated view, it goes beyond other approaches which are restricted to separate data-flow analysis of either process model or source code. The main idea is to merge call graphs representing programmed services into a control-flow representation of the process model, to label the resulting graph with associated data operations, and to detect anomalies in that labeled graph using a dedicated data-flow analysis. The applicability of the solution is demonstrated by a prototype designed for the Camunda BPM platform.
Specifying roles in purchasing and supply management in the era of Industry 4.0: A Delphi study
(2021)
New technologies and systems within the field of purchasing and supply management (PSM) call forth responsibilities and require expertise. Moving towards Industry 4.0 in purchasing, increasing attention on specialization within talent and skills, where human capital is needed to exploit the full potential of technologies. Based on an internet-based real-time Delhi study with 47 experts within the PSM field, six future purchasing roles have been defined and elaborated. These future roles connect to the maturing and emerging technologies within the purchasing field and provide a guideline to further develop towards Industry 4.0 in purchasing based on a human-centered evolutionary approach.
To increase maturity within purchasing and supply management (PSM), future purchasing skills are needed based on the technological development towards Industry 4.0. Past research, eg, the work of Bals, Schulze, Kelly, and Stek (2019), started to address this issue based on literature review and interview studies. However, a detailed description of these skills is missing. Utilizing a real-time Delhi study with 45 experts within the PSM field, nine future purchasing skills have been elaborated. Identified skills connect to the maturing and emerging technologies within purchasing and provide a guideline towards Industry 4.0 in purchasing based on a human-centric perspective.
Professional roles, including specific skills for each role, are a step towards higher professionalism and maturity within purchasing and supply management (PSM). The global development towards increasing digitalization, Industry 4.0, globalization, and increasing attention for corporate social responsibility force change within the purchasing organizations. Here, PSM's professional roles and skills are a good starting point to manage these changes by redefining professional roles organized by specific skills and responsibilities. For this reason, based on a systematic literature review and three World Cafés with 29 purchasing professionals, this study compiles a list of Industry 4.0 professional roles and skills in PSM.
This paper uses the findings from a literature review and series of expert interviews to develop a richer and Purchasing and Supply Management (PSM) context-specific perspective of the different key techniques, tools and principles that can be used to develop gamified learning to enhance the skills required by PSM professionals in dealing with current and future challenges, such as the transformation to Industry 4.0. It also provides further details of the different stages of implementing gamified learning, which can enhance the success of any such provision.
In the so-called ecosystem economy, new platform-based business models evolve rap-idly based on the prospects of digital technology. In the B2B context especially, data-driven platforms are highly relevant. Thus far, little research has been conducted on service providers, the so-called complementors of data-driven platforms. Therefore, this paper represents just a starting point for gaining deeper insights into the different facets of complementor management. For empirical evidence, we draw on semi-structured expert interviews with platform managers. The findings outline the distinct characteristics of open and closed platforms which need to be taken into account for complementor management. Moreover, the paper reveals a number of differences in managing suppliers compared to managing complementors. In addition, our study shows that the key factors influencing complementor management include platform openness, partnership intensity, strategic fit, and market structure respectively poten-tial.
Complementor relationship management for Data-driven B2B platforms: Towards a Holistic approach
(2021)
In the so-called ecosystem economy, new platform-based business models evolve rapidly based on the prospects of digital technology. Especially in the B2B context, data-driven platforms are highly relevant. Thus far, little research has been conducted on the supply side of data-driven platforms and especially on service providers, the so-called complementors. Therefore, this paper offers insights into the various facets of complementor relationship management (CoRM). The paper aims to develop a framework for the management of complementors of data-driven B2B platforms. For empirical evidence, we draw on 14 semi-structured expert interviews with platform managers and complementors. The findings outline two big areas of CoRM and discuss distinct characteristics of partner management and technology management. For partner management the differentiation into open and closed platform needs to be taken into account for complementor relationship management. Moreover, our study reveals the key factors of technology management which lead from platform infrastructure to digital applications like digital twins or predictive maintenance.
Innovative business models for data-driven B2B platforms evolve rapidly based on the prospects of digital technology. In addition to the platform provider, service providers on the supply side of the digital platform - the so-called complementors - play an important role in the process of value creation. This paper highlights the complementors’ perspective on the different facets of complementor relationship management (CoRM) and answers the following research questions: From the perspective of a complementor, what are the main fields of CoRM for data-driven B2B platforms? What factors of influence comprise the reason complementors join a platform?
BPMN-based Process-Driven Applications (PDA) require less coding since they are not only based on source code, but also on executable process models. Automated testing of such model-driven applications gains growing relevance, and it becomes a key enabler if we want to found their development on continuous integration (CI) techniques.While process analysts are typically responsible for test case specifications from a business perspective, technically skilled process engineers take the responsibility for implementing the required test code. This is time-consuming and, due to their often different skills and backgrounds, might result in communication problems such as information losses and misunderstandings. This paper presents a new approach which enables an analyst to generate executable tests for PDAs without the need for manual coding. It consists of a sophisticated model analysis, a wizard-based specification of test cases, and a subsequent code generation. The resulting tests can easily be integrated into CI pipelines.The concept is underpinned by a user-friendly tool which has been evaluated in case studies and in real-world implementation projects from different industry sectors. During the evaluation, the prototype proved a more efficient test creation process and a higher test quality.
While the service sector is growing rapidly, the purchasing of services has not yet received significant attention in theory or practice. Service purchasers face serious challenges, and existing purchasing practices for services are often non-strategic. We choose an exploratory–qualitative research approach to investigate the purchasing of IT, logistics and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services. In particular, we focus on the role of visibility and analyze how service purchasers can benefit from extensive knowledge about their service networks. We determine that visibility indeed adds significant value to service purchasing and can help service purchasers to decrease costs, mitigate risks and maintain competitiveness.
The use of augmented reality (AR) in outbound logistics is associated with potentially strong stimuli for cost savings and throughput time. Nevertheless, the benefits of AR compared to conventional methods require a holistic analysis for investment decision making. Until now, research has only assessed case-study-related potentials and selected aspects of the technology. This paper answers the following research questions: How can the economic efficiency of AR in the packing process be quantified by utilizing a holistic model of value drivers? How can AR be technically implemented for packing processes in outbound logistics? What economic profit results from the use of AR technology in a case company’s packing process?
The presented model enables the investment decision to be supported based on economic value added (EVA), thereby providing an assessment of value drivers in packing systems. Cost drivers are identified on the basis of the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) process model. The technical and economic validation of the model was carried out by means of an empirical study: Expert interviews were conducted for validating the model elements. Data collection by a prototype at a mechanical-engineering company was used to calculate the value contribution. The mapping of cause-effect relationships within the framework of EVA driver trees has proven itself in both the expert interviews and the prototype validation. The field experiment at the case company demonstrated a positive value contribution of AR, in particular regarding employee productivity, length and variance of throughput time, quality aspects, volume utilization, and quantity of packing material used.
Mediale Lernangebote können dazu beitragen, Bildungsprozesse anzuregen (Kerres, 2018, S. 139). Sie tun es aber nicht per se. Es gibt demnach nicht eine beste Lehrmethode (Kerres, 2018, S. 139).
Der Aufwand für das Erstellen von Videos lohnt sich insbesondere dann, wenn keine Präsenzveranstaltungen – aus welchem Grund auch immer – angeboten werden können.
Heutzutage ist es leider immer noch wichtig, dass das Erledigen der Aufgaben für die Studierenden lohnend ist. Dies kann umgesetzt werden, indem die Studierenden entweder Klausurpunkte für das korrekte Erledigen der Aufgaben erhalten oder indem das erfolgreiche Absolvieren z.B. der Online-Tests als Leistungsnachweis anerkannt wird.
Die wöchentlichen Aufgaben stellen sicher, dass sich die Studierenden regelmäßig, in Etappen und selbständig mit den Inhalten auseinandersetzen und so das Erlernte langfristiger im Gedächtnis bleibt. Zudem erhalten sie, bedingt durch die automatische Korrektur, sofort eine Rückmeldung, was sicherlich motivationsfördernd ist.
Die Lehrenden haben mit Hilfe der digitalen Instrumente den Vorteil, dass sie diese lernfördernden Instrumente auch in sehr großen Lerngruppen ohne großen zusätzlichen Aufwand einsetzen können.
Gamification has been used in a wide variety of subject-specific education contexts. Examples of such usage in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) context include the oft-played beer distribution game, developed by MIT Sloan School of Management (Forrester, 1961), which simulates the coordination of typical problems in supply chain processes, promoting information sharing and collaboration throughout a supply chain (Sterman, 1984). Purchasing and Supply Management (PSM), a subset of this wider SCM area, focuses on the direct relationships between organisational buyers and suppliers, covering aspects such as establishing trust, identifying and selecting suitable suppliers, managing supplier performance and the overall relationship. A systematic review of the PSM gamified learning literature establishes that there has been limited research to date and that which there is tends to focus on quantitative representations of managing overall supply and demand, using wider SCM elements. This suggests that there are opportunities to gamify PSM learning, in particular focusing on the human element in PSM and developing soft skills, as strong buyer-supplier relationships can generate significant benefits to both parties. To provide a more focused PSM contribution, a second systematic literature review distils the relevant principles, techniques and processes to inform the development of two gamified PSM learning activities. Negotiation and supplier relationship management rely heavily on personal interactions and are both seen as key activities at different stages of the PSM process. The development of the two gamified learning activities is strengthened by being underpinned by a synthesis of the literature review’s key findings, ensuring they are domain-meaningful abstractions of reality, contain rewards and rankings based on clear objectives and have appealing gameplay. It is hoped that this paper provides a platform for future domain specific PSM research and will be of use to educators in this field in developing their own gamified learning.
The global development towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the so-called Industry 4.0, is steaming forwards. Where cyber-physical systems connect the physical and digital world, allowing for demand identification, without the need for direct human intervention. Further, Artificial Intelligence supports various parts of operative and strategic purchasing. The new purchasing environment forces purchasing professionals to develop new skills. Research is needed to identify appropriate skill sets. Based on a World-Café method with 82 purchasing professionals, a list of 32 essential future skills in purchasing is composed. Further, the identified skills are ranked and assigned to the roles of the direct and indirect material purchasers.
Nowadays, the human-centric discipline of purchasing and supply management (PSM) is of strategic importance for firms’ success. Within the discipline, scholars address PSM professionals’ skills and provide practitioners with academic insights. Due to changes in the industry environment, changes in the working environment and the task of purchasing professionals are assumed. This paper aims to contribute to the PSM professional skills literature by defining current PSM professionals’ skill gaps as the difference between the acquired skill level and perceived skill importance. Findings show that current PSM professionals feel to be underqualified to abstract the full potential of professional relationships, as buyer-supplier relationships, due to current PSM professionals’ skill gaps.
Study programme development is one of the most challenging processes
at universities since all faculty is involved. And in our experience, the redesign of already existing programmes seems to be even more difficult: Whereas innovative forces want to pick up new trends (e.g. digitalisation or other new teaching concepts) more conservative forces emphasises on values and refer to existing experience. Both positions are important and contextually right. Thus, the presented format provides a gradual framework to bridge the gap between both sides in an interactive and creative process.
Both sides are invited to negotiate the best possible result by using an unusual approach for university discussions, the benefit analysis method known e.g. from economics. After the negotiating activity, it should be obvious that a change of perspective is also helpful, if not necessary, to create a new or updated study programme. The practiced approach helps as well to recognise which limits for study programme development remain when visionary ideas are measured against reality.
Performing in Community-Academic Health Partnerships: Interplay of Clear, Difficult and Valued Goals
(2020)
In the context of Continuous Software Engineering, it is acknowledged as best practice to develop new features on the mainline rather than on separate feature branches. Unfinished work is then usually prevented from going live by some kind of feature toggle. However, there is no concept of feature toggles for Process-Driven Applications (PDA) so far. PDAs are hybrid systems consisting not only of classical source code but also of a machine-interpretable business process model. This paper elaborates on a feature development approach that covers both the business process model and the accompanying source code artifacts of a PDA. The proposed solution, Toggles for Process-Driven Applications (T4PDA), equipped with an easy to use modeling tool extension, enables the developer to safely commit unfinished work on model and source code to the project’s mainline. It will be kept inactive during productive deployments unless the feature is finally released. During an AB/BA crossover design experiment, the T4PDA approach, including the provided tool support, showed higher software quality, a faster development process, and contented developers.
Strategically Aligning Additive Manufacturing Supply Chains for Sustainability and Effectiveness
(2019)
This paper builds on a previously developed framework that integrated additive manufacturing, life-cycle analysis, and value creation (Feldmann & Kirsch, 2019) by exploring conditions related to the life-cycle approach that would require alignment among suppliers, additive manufacturing firms, and customers. This extension creates a bridge to aid implementation of taking a sustainability approach to additive manufacturing. In order to develop this extension, we distinguish between direct/indirect customers and internal/external customers and then create a matrix of incentives and cognitive frames that we believe will help companies interested in large-scale AM improve both the speed and the effectiveness of AM adoption. We provide an organizing framework that managers can use to create a supply chain that is aligned around closed-loop principles that will help speed adoption and move closer to sustainable goals that exist for AM technologies. These include reduced raw material use, reduced scrap and material overage, and reduced rework, and lower transportation costs. The goal is to attain often-conflicting goals of lower long-term costs and decreased environmental footprint. Using our extension, we believe we can provide a useful framework to help managers implementing advanced manufacturing technologies to achieve lower costs and greater environmental sustainability by creating a common supply chain framework around customized, on-demand products.
„Innovation für Society“
(2019)
For a long time, a large number of top managers in listed companies have regarded communication with their shareholders as a necessary evil and now, in times of activist investors, are faced not only with the great challenges of opening up to shareholders and revealing their own corporate strategy, but also at the same time have to withstand the massive external pressure from activist investors, who are rarely majority shareholders. To achieve this, it is essential that a complete rethink-ing of the communication strategy of those responsible for the company takes place.