Customer Driven Service Development – Technology-based Care and Services for the Elderly

The objective of this master’s thesis was to examine technology-based smart home devices and services. Topic was approached through basic theories, transaction cost theory and resource-based view in order to build basis for this thesis. Conceptual framework was discussed by means of networks, value networks and service systems which provide a useful framework for service development. The needs of the elderly living at home were discussed in order to find out which technology-based services could be used to satisfy the needs. Segmentation and need data collected previously during proactive home visits was exploited and additionally a survey targeted to experts and professionals of social and health care sector was done to verify the needs. Finally, the results of the survey were analyzed using quality function deployment method to figure out the most important and suitable service offerings for the elderly. As a conclusion of analysis, social media and monitoring services are the most useful technology-based services. However, traditional home services will still maintain their necessity too.

Integrating environmental aspects into product development process

Various regulations and customer requirements have made it necessary for Vacon Oyj to pay more attention to the environmental aspects in its processes. The main purpose of this master’s thesis project is to define how environmental aspects could be integrated into Vacon’s product development process. The aim is to find out the most important environmental aspects for the company to address, to examine how these could be taken into account during the development process and to map the critical factors that need consideration in order to ensure the successful integration of environmental aspects into the design process. Based on the customer requirements and evolving regulations the most important aspects for Vacon include minimizing the amount of harmful substances, improving the recyclability and energy efficiency of the product and moreover providing meaningful information related to these aspects. To tackle these issues, a new DfE process was developed, tasks in each phase were described and responsibilities were indicated. To ensure the success of the DfE process, management commitment, support of other processes and significant improvements in ways the information is managed are required. The developers should be provided with training and support. Environmental expertise and knowledge in-house should be developed and establishing meaningful environmental indicators is suggested.

Software Development Process Modeling. Developers Perspective to Contemporary Modeling Techniques

Formal software development processes and well-defined development methodologies are nowadays seen as the definite way to produce high-quality software within time-limits and budgets. The variety of such high-level methodologies is huge ranging from rigorous process frameworks like CMMI and RUP to more lightweight agile methodologies. The need for managing this variety and the fact that practically every software development organization has its own unique set of development processes and methods have created a profession of software process engineers. Different kinds of informal and formal software process modeling languages are essential tools for process engineers. These are used to define processes in a way which allows easy management of processes, for example process dissemination, process tailoring and process enactment. The process modeling languages are usually used as a tool for process engineering where the main focus is on the processes themselves. This dissertation has a different emphasis. The dissertation analyses modern software development process modeling from the software developers’ point of view. The goal of the dissertation is to investigate whether the software process modeling and the software process models aid software developers in their day-to-day work and what are the main mechanisms for this. The focus of the work is on the Software Process Engineering Metamodel (SPEM) framework which is currently one of the most influential process modeling notations in software engineering. The research theme is elaborated through six scientific articles which represent the dissertation research done with process modeling during an approximately five year period. The research follows the classical engineering research discipline where the current situation is analyzed, a potentially better solution is developed and finally its implications are analyzed. The research applies a variety of different research techniques ranging from literature surveys to qualitative studies done amongst software practitioners. The key finding of the dissertation is that software process modeling notations and techniques are usually developed in process engineering terms. As a consequence the connection between the process models and actual development work is loose. In addition, the modeling standards like SPEM are partially incomplete when it comes to pragmatic process modeling needs, like light-weight modeling and combining pre-defined process components. This leads to a situation, where the full potential of process modeling techniques for aiding the daily development activities can not be achieved. Despite these difficulties the dissertation shows that it is possible to use modeling standards like SPEM to aid software developers in their work. The dissertation presents a light-weight modeling technique, which software development teams can use to quickly analyze their work practices in a more objective manner. The dissertation also shows how process modeling can be used to more easily compare different software development situations and to analyze their differences in a systematic way. Models also help to share this knowledge with others. A qualitative study done amongst Finnish software practitioners verifies the conclusions of other studies in the dissertation. Although processes and development methodologies are seen as an essential part of software development, the process modeling techniques are rarely used during the daily development work. However, the potential of these techniques intrigues the practitioners. As a conclusion the dissertation shows that process modeling techniques, most commonly used as tools for process engineers, can also be used as tools for organizing the daily software development work. This work presents theoretical solutions for bringing the process modeling closer to the ground-level software development activities. These theories are proven feasible by presenting several case studies where the modeling techniques are used e.g. to find differences in the work methods of the members of a software team and to share the process knowledge to a wider audience.

Developing Service-based Solutions for Water Treatment in Finnish Mining Industry

The aim of this master’s thesis is to analyze the mining industry customers' current and future needs for the water treatment services and discover new business development opportunities in the context of mine water treatment. In addition, the study focuses on specifying service offerings needed and evaluate suitable revenue generation models for them. The main research question of the study is: What kind of service needs related to water treatment can be identified in the Finnish mining industry? The literature examined in the study focused on industrial service classification and new service development process as well as the revenue generation of services. A qualitative research approach employing a case study method was chosen for the study. The present study uses customer and expert interviews as primary data source, complemented by archival data. The primary data was gathered by organizing total of 13 interviews, and the interviews were analyzed by using qualitative content analysis. The abductive-logic was chosen as the way of conducting scientific reasoning in this study. As a result, new service proposals were developed for Finnish mine industry suppliers. The main areas of development were on asset efficiency services and process support services. The service needs were strongly associated with suppliers’ know-how of water treatment process optimization, cost-effectiveness as well as on alternative technologies. The study provides an insight for managers that wish to pursue a water treatment services as a part of their business offering.

Service Productization and Product Servitization in The Contract Manufacturing Company

The role of contract manufacturing and subcontracting has been seen in black and white in product and service point of view. It used to be seen either as a product or a service. In the thesis product-service system, offering combining products and services, was discussed. Theory was created from two perspectives; Service productization via Business Model generation and product servitization via New Service Development process. Target for the case study was to point out new ways of service thinking and ways for changing business environment in contract manufacturing, especially in customer satisfaction and profitability point of view. The case study is following the New Service Development process phases. First ideas were collected from literature and via sales management interviews. Service offering and tool for service requirement evaluation was created. Last financial results of example service scenarios were calculated. It is recommended to take service offering into internal use and further develop it into modular service model. It is also recommended to take created customer service requirement evaluation tool into use for capturing customer service needs but also for communicating those internally.

Uuden palvelun kehittämisprosessi strategisessa liiketoimintaverkossa

Tutkielman tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten uuden palvelun kehittämisprosessi tulisi organisoida strategisessa liiketoimintaverkossa. Tarkoituksena oli löytää prosessissa tavallisimmin läpikäytävät vaiheet, prosessin tuloksellisuuteen vaikuttavat tekijät ja verkostomaisen organisaation vaikutukset prosessin organisoinnille. Tutkielman teoriaosassa käytiin laajasti läpi erilaisia uuden palvelun kehittämisen prosessimalleja ja pyrittiin löytämään tarkoituksen mukaisin malli tutkielman kannalta. Tutkimus tehtiin 34 johtavan suomalaisen sanomalehden omistamassa yhteistyö- ja myyntiorganisaatiossa. Casetutkimuksen avulla selvitettiin, miten case -yritys oli organisoinut oman kehittämisprosessinsa ja miten liiketoimintaverkossa toimiminen vaikutti prosessin kulkuun. Case -yrityksen uuden palvelun kehitysprosessi mallinnettiin ja analysoitiin lähdekirjallisuuden pohjalta. Huomattiin, että prosessi vastasi melko hyvin kirjallisuudessa esiteltyä ”päämallia”, mutta myös eroavaisuuksia löytyi. Eroavaisuuksien pääsyynä oli juuri case -yrityksen verkostomainen toimintaympäristö.

Asiakkaan osallistuminen palvelunkehitysprossiin

Suomessa on uudistuneen jätelain tavoitteena jätteiden lajittelun tehostaminen ja jätemäärien pienentäminen. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää miten asiakas voi osallistua uuden palvelun kehittämisprosessiin. Empirian kautta vastattiin kysymyksiin millainen on asiakkaan halukkuus ja valmius osallistua palvelunkehittämiseen ja mikä on asiakkaiden palaute palvelun ominaisuuksista. Tutkimus toteutettiin tapaustutkimuksena, jossa tutkittavana oli Aalto-yliopiston jätteiden raportointi- ja suunnittelupalvelun (Kierrätyspalvelin) palvelunkehitysprosessi. Tiedonkeruumenetelmänä oli yksilö- ja ryhmäteemahaastattelut. Tutkimustuloksena esitettiin Kierrätyspalvelimen palvelunkehitysprosessin malli. Tärkeimpänä tutkimuksellisena havaintona oli, että haastateltavat toimivat lähinnä tiedonlähteinä tarpeistaan. He osallistuivat palvelun ominaisuuksien testaukseen ja määrittelyyn.

Palvelun kehittämisen prosessi: Uusien ratkaisuiden yhtäaikainen kehittäminen ja testikäyttö henkilöstöravintolassa

Palveluiden kehittämista on tutkittu suhteellisen vähän. Ensimmäiset palvelukehitysprosessit esitettiin kirjallisuudessa jo 80-luvulla mutta sen jälkeen kehitysprosessia ei ole radikaalisti päivitetty. Tämän työn tarkoituksena on koota kirjallisuudesta erilaisia lähestymistapoja palveluiden kehittämiseen ja näiden tutkimuksien löydöksien pohjalta rakentaa synteesi palveluiden kehittämisen prosessista sekä tutkia sen toteutumista IBM:n ja Fazer Amican yhteishankkeena toteutetun Tulevaisuuden henkilöstöravintola –projektin tapauksessa. Palveluiden kehittämisen prosessin synteesi perustuu kirjallisuudessa esitettyyn perinteiseen 12-vaiheiseen kehitysprosessiin, jota on muokattu päällekkäin suoritettujen vaiheiden kehitysprosessin, teknologian mahdollistaman palvelukehityksen, testikäytön ja interaktioiden kautta oppimisen näkökulmasta. Synteesissä on esitetty prosessin neljä päävaihetta, jotka ovat ideointi, palvelun kehittäminen ja testikäyttö, tuotteistus ja lanseeraus.

Prosessit palveluiden kehittämisen tukena pienessä tietointensiivisessä palveluyrityksessä Case: Integrata Oy

Palvelut ovat nousseet lähes kiinteäksi osaksi tuotteita sekä niiden rinnalle omaksi liiketoiminta-alueekseen. Tämän vuoksi palveluiden kehittäminen on viime vuosikymmeninä noussut sekä yritysten että akateemisten yhteisöjen mielenkiinnonkohteeksi. Menestyksekäs palveluiden kehittäminen vaatii usein systemaattisia menetelmiä, mutta menetelmien tulee antaa tilaa myös tarkoituksenmukaisille poikkeamille. Kohdeyritys pyrkii tuottamaan laadukkaita palveluita asiakastarpeet huomioiden. Tämän takia yritys haluaa kehittää olemassa olevia palveluita jatkuvasti ja pyrkii keräämään sekä työntekijöiltä että asiakkailta tietoa palvelutarpeista, joista voidaan lähteä kehittämään uusia palvelukokonaisuuksia. Tutkimus pyrkii havainnoimaan kohdeyrityksen palveluiden kehitystä ja tavoitteena on muodostaa havaintojen perusteella prosessin, jota yritys voi jatkossa hyödyntää sekä edelleen kehittää. Tutkimus on kehittävä tapaustutkimus, jonka teoreettisen viitekehyksen muodostavat uusien palveluiden kehittämisen - ja palveluinnovaatioprosessien näkökulmat. Yrityksen palveluiden kehitystä tarkastellaan kahden primaarisen aineiston sekä kahden sekundaarisen aineiston kautta. Näin ollen palveluiden kehitystä voidaan tarkastella useista näkökulmista käyttäen menetelmänä aineistotriangulaatiota. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että kohdeyrityksen palveluiden kehitysprosessi muodostui hyvin vastaavanlaiseksi kuin teoriaosuudessa esitettyjen uusien palveluiden kehitys- ja palveluinnovaatioprosessit. Asiakkaita ja työntekijöitä osallistettiin jonkin verran prosessin aikana. Lisäksi havaittiin, että uusien palveluiden kehitys- ja palveluinnovaatioprosessit eivät ehkä ole erillisiä kehitysprosesseja, vaikka niistä käytetäänkin eri nimityksiä kirjallisuudessa.

Asiakasarvopohjaisten palveluiden kehittäminen kiinteistöpalvelualan yrityksessä

Tämän työn tavoitteena oli tutkia asiakasarvopohjaisten palveluiden kehittämistä ja luoda kiinteistöpalvelualan yritykselle kehitysprosessimalli, jonka avulla yritys voisi optimoida toimintojaan tulevaisuudessa. Tutkimuksen päätavoitteina oli tutkia asiakasarvoa kiinteistöpalveluissa, kartoittaa potentiaalisten uusien asiakkaiden palveluiden nykytila ja toiveet sekä tarkastella kohdeyrityksen palveluiden kehitysprosessia. Työn teoreettisessa osiossa tarkasteltiin palveluliiketoimintaa yleisellä tasolla, yrityksen palveluprosessin kehittämistä, asiakasarvon muodostumista sekä SERVQUAL- ja QFD-työkalujen avulla palvelun laatua ja asiakastarpeita. Työn teoriaosuuden kautta saatiin myös selville, että asiakasarvon hallinta on palveluiden kehitysprosessin ydin. Tutkimuksen empiirinen aineisto kerättiin syvähaastatteluiden avulla avainasiakkailta eri asiakassegmentteihin liittyen. Haastattelujen analysoinnissa hyödynnettiin laadullista sisällönanalyysiä. Työn tuloksissa määriteltiin asiakasarvo ja tärkeimmät asiakastarpeet kiinteistöpalveluissa, kartoitettiin asiakkaiden odotusten ja nykytilan väliset kuilut sekä luotiin yritykselle palveluiden kehitysprosessimalli, jota yritys voi toiminnoissaan tapauskohtaisesti hyödyntää tulevaisuudessa.

Developing smart services by Internet of Things in manufacturing business

Manufacturing companies have passed from selling uniquely tangible products to adopting a service-oriented approach to generate steady and continuous revenue streams. Nowadays, equipment and machine manufacturers possess technologies to track and analyze product-related data for obtaining relevant information from customers’ use towards the product after it is sold. The Internet of Things on Industrial environments will allow manufacturers to leverage lifecycle product traceability for innovating towards an information-driven services approach, commonly referred as “Smart Services”, for achieving improvements in support, maintenance and usage processes. The aim of this study is to conduct a literature review and empirical analysis to present a framework that describes a customer-oriented approach for developing information-driven services leveraged by the Internet of Things in manufacturing companies. The empirical study employed tools for the assessment of customer needs for analyzing the case company in terms of information requirements and digital needs. The literature review supported the empirical analysis with a deep research on product lifecycle traceability and digitalization of product-related services within manufacturing value chains. As well as the role of simulation-based technologies on supporting the “Smart Service” development process. The results obtained from the case company analysis show that the customers mainly demand information that allow them to monitor machine conditions, machine behavior on different geographical conditions, machine-implement interactions, and resource and energy consumption. Put simply, information outputs that allow them to increase machine productivity for maximizing yields, save time and optimize resources in the most sustainable way. Based on customer needs assessment, this study presents a framework to describe the initial phases of a “Smart Service” development process, considering the requirements of Smart Engineering methodologies.

Development of IT Service Management in a Large International Company

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to examine the IT Service Management (ITSM) capabilities of a large international company and develop a design for the IT Service Management of the company. The thesis consists of two parts: a literature review and a case study. The first part is the literature review. It examines different aspects of IT Service Management. The purpose of the literature review is to increase the credibility of the case study. In the case study, the IT Service Management of a large industrial company is assessed, and an improved design for IT Service Management is created. The services are limited to common IT services, and management is limited to operative management. To assess and develop the case company’s IT Service Management, the IT organization and its ITSM capabilities are analyzed, and on the basis of the analyses, an improved IT Service Management model is created. As a result of the analyses, it was found out that the management of the IT organization is function-oriented. Therefore, the organization needs a management model that breaks the functional borders and brings services to the center of management. The designed model aspires to achieve this by defining IT services and modeling management processes from the service perspective.