Modernització tecnològica, canvi organitzatiu i serveis als usuaris en el sistema de salut de Catalunya. Informe de recerca (volum III)

Aquest estudi va analitzar la interacció del canvi organitzatiu, els valors culturals i el canvi tecnològic en el sistema sanitari català. L'estudi se subdivideix en cinc parts diferents. La primera és una anàlisi de contingut de webs relacionats amb la salut a Catalunya. La segona és un estudi dels usos d'Internet en qüestions relacionades amb la salut entre la població en general, les associacions de pacients i els professionals de la salut, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet adaptat a cada un d'aquests grups. La tercera part és un estudi de treball de camp dels programes experimentals duts a terme pel Govern català en diverses àrees i hospitals locals per a integrar electrònicament la història clínica dels pacients. La quarta és un estudi de les implicacions organitzatives de la introducció de sistemes d'informació en la gestió d'hospitals i centres d'assistència primària a l'Institut Català de Salut, el principal proveïdor de salut pública a Catalunya, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet i entrevistes en profunditat. La cinquena part és un estudi de cas dels efectes organitzatius i socials de la introducció de les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació en un dels principals hospitals de Catalunya, l'Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. L'estudi es va dur a terme entre el maig del 2005 i el juliol del 2007.

Modernización tecnológica, cambio organizativo y servicio a los usuarios en el sistema de salud de Catalunya. Informe de investigación (documento de síntesis)

Aquest estudi va analitzar la interacció del canvi organitzatiu, els valors culturals i el canvi tecnològic en el sistema sanitari català. L'estudi se subdivideix en cinc parts diferents. La primera és una anàlisi de contingut de webs relacionats amb la salut a Catalunya. La segona és un estudi dels usos d'Internet en qüestions relacionades amb la salut entre la població en general, les associacions de pacients i els professionals de la salut, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet adaptat a cada un d'aquests grups. La tercera part és un estudi de treball de camp dels programes experimentals duts a terme pel Govern català en diverses àrees i hospitals locals per a integrar electrònicament la història clínica dels pacients. La quarta és un estudi de les implicacions organitzatives de la introducció de sistemes d'informació en la gestió d'hospitals i centres d'assistència primària a l'Institut Català de Salut, el principal proveïdor de salut pública a Catalunya, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet i entrevistes en profunditat. La cinquena part és un estudi de cas dels efectes organitzatius i socials de la introducció de les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació en un dels principals hospitals de Catalunya, l'Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. L'estudi es va dur a terme entre el maig del 2005 i el juliol del 2007.

Modernització tecnològica, canvi organitzatiu i serveis als usuaris en el sistema de salut de Catalunya. Informe de recerca (volum I)

Aquest estudi va analitzar la interacció del canvi organitzatiu, els valors culturals i el canvi tecnològic en el sistema sanitari català. L'estudi se subdivideix en cinc parts diferents. La primera és una anàlisi de contingut de webs relacionats amb la salut a Catalunya. La segona és un estudi dels usos d'Internet en qüestions relacionades amb la salut entre la població en general, les associacions de pacients i els professionals de la salut, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet adaptat a cada un d'aquests grups. La tercera part és un estudi de treball de camp dels programes experimentals duts a terme pel Govern català en diverses àrees i hospitals locals per a integrar electrònicament la història clínica dels pacients. La quarta és un estudi de les implicacions organitzatives de la introducció de sistemes d'informació en la gestió d'hospitals i centres d'assistència primària a l'Institut Català de Salut, el principal proveïdor de salut pública a Catalunya, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet i entrevistes en profunditat. La cinquena part és un estudi de cas dels efectes organitzatius i socials de la introducció de les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació en un dels principals hospitals de Catalunya, l'Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. L'estudi es va dur a terme entre el maig del 2005 i el juliol del 2007.

E-Health and Society : An Empirical Study of Catalonia. Research report (synthesis document)

Aquest estudi va analitzar la interacció del canvi organitzatiu, els valors culturals i el canvi tecnològic en el sistema sanitari català. L'estudi se subdivideix en cinc parts diferents. La primera és una anàlisi de contingut de webs relacionats amb la salut a Catalunya. La segona és un estudi dels usos d'Internet en qüestions relacionades amb la salut entre la població en general, les associacions de pacients i els professionals de la salut, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet adaptat a cada un d'aquests grups. La tercera part és un estudi de treball de camp dels programes experimentals duts a terme pel Govern català en diverses àrees i hospitals locals per a integrar electrònicament la història clínica dels pacients. La quarta és un estudi de les implicacions organitzatives de la introducció de sistemes d'informació en la gestió d'hospitals i centres d'assistència primària a l'Institut Català de Salut, el principal proveïdor de salut pública a Catalunya, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet i entrevistes en profunditat. La cinquena part és un estudi de cas dels efectes organitzatius i socials de la introducció de les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació en un dels principals hospitals de Catalunya, l'Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. L'estudi es va dur a terme entre el maig del 2005 i el juliol del 2007.

Modernització tecnològica, canvi organitzatiu i serveis als usuaris en el sistema de salut de Catalunya. Informe de recerca (volum II)

Aquest estudi va analitzar la interacció del canvi organitzatiu, els valors culturals i el canvi tecnològic en el sistema sanitari català. L'estudi se subdivideix en cinc parts diferents. La primera és una anàlisi de contingut de webs relacionats amb la salut a Catalunya. La segona és un estudi dels usos d'Internet en qüestions relacionades amb la salut entre la població en general, les associacions de pacients i els professionals de la salut, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet adaptat a cada un d'aquests grups. La tercera part és un estudi de treball de camp dels programes experimentals duts a terme pel Govern català en diverses àrees i hospitals locals per a integrar electrònicament la història clínica dels pacients. La quarta és un estudi de les implicacions organitzatives de la introducció de sistemes d'informació en la gestió d'hospitals i centres d'assistència primària a l'Institut Català de Salut, el principal proveïdor de salut pública a Catalunya, i es basa en un sondeig per Internet i entrevistes en profunditat. La cinquena part és un estudi de cas dels efectes organitzatius i socials de la introducció de les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació en un dels principals hospitals de Catalunya, l'Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. L'estudi es va dur a terme entre el maig del 2005 i el juliol del 2007.

Studies on coordination of systems development process

This thesis examines coordination of systems development process in a contemporary software producing organization. The thesis consists of a series of empirical studies in which the actions, conceptions and artifacts of practitioners are analyzed using a theory-building case study research approach. The three phases of the thesis provide empirical observations on different aspects of systemsdevelopment. In the first phase is examined the role of architecture in coordination and cost estimation in multi-site environment. The second phase involves two studies on the evolving requirement understanding process and how to measure this process. The third phase summarizes the first two phases and concentrates on the role of methods and how practitioners work with them. All the phases provide evidence that current systems development method approaches are too naïve in looking at the complexity of the real world. In practice, development is influenced by opportunity and other contingent factors. The systems development processis not coordinated using phases and tasks defined in methods providing universal mechanism for managing this process like most of the method approaches assume.Instead, the studies suggest that managing systems development process happens through coordinating development activities using methods as tools. These studies contribute to the systems development methods by emphasizing the support of communication and collaboration between systems development participants. Methods should not describe the development activities and phases in a detail level, butshould include the higher level guidance for practitioners on how to act in different systems development environments.

Impacts des technologies de l'information sur les modes de coordination à travers quatre études en systèmes d'information

L'évolution de l'environnement économique, des chaînes de valeur et des modèles d'affaires des organisations augmentent l'importance de la coordination, qui peut être définie comme la gestion des interdépendances entre des tâches réalisées par des acteurs différents et concourants à un objectif commun. De nombreux moyens sont mis en oeuvre au sein des organisations pour gérer ces interdépendances. A cet égard, les activités de coordination bénéficient massivement de l'appui des technologies de l'information et de communication (TIC) qui sont désormais disséminées, intégrées et connectées sous de multiples formes tant dans l'environnement privé que professionnel. Dans ce travail, nous avons investigué la question de recherche suivante : comment l'ubiquité et l'interconnec- tivité des TIC modifient-elles les modes de coordination ? A travers quatre études en systèmes d'information conduites selon une méthodologie design science, nous avons traité cette question à deux niveaux : celui de l'alignement stratégique entre les affaires et les systèmes d'information, où la coordination porte sur les interdépendances entre les activités ; et celui de la réalisation des activités, où la coordination porte sur les interdépendances des interactions individuelles. Au niveau stratégique, nous observons que l'ubiquité et l'interconnectivité permettent de transposer des mécanismes de coordination d'un domaine à un autre. En facilitant différentes formes de coprésence et de visibilité, elles augmentent aussi la proximité dans les situations de coordination asynchrone ou distante. Au niveau des activités, les TIC présentent un très fort potentiel de participation et de proximité pour les acteurs. De telles technologies leur donnent la possibilité d'établir les responsabilités, d'améliorer leur compréhension commune et de prévoir le déroulement et l'intégration des tâches. La contribution principale qui émerge de ces quatre études est que les praticiens peuvent utiliser l'ubiquité et l'interconnectivité des TIC pour permettre aux individus de communi-quer et d'ajuster leurs actions pour définir, atteindre et redéfinir les objectifs du travail commun. -- The evolution of the economic environment and of the value chains and business models of organizations increases the importance of coordination, which can be defined as the management of interdependences between tasks carried out by different actors and con-tributing to a common goal. In organizations, a considerable number of means are put into action in order to manage such interdependencies. In this regard, information and communication technologies (ICT), whose various forms are nowadays disseminated, integrated and connected in both private and professional environments, offer important support to coordination activities. In this work, we have investigated the following research question: how do the ubiquity and the interconnectivity of ICT modify coordination mechanisms? Throughout four information systems studies conducted according to a design science methodology, we have looked into this question at two different levels: the one of strategic alignment between business and information systems strategy, where coordination is about interdependencies between activities; and the one of tasks, where coordination is about interdependencies between individual interactions. At the strategic level, we observe that ubiquity and interconnectivity allow for transposing coordination mechanisms from one field to another. By facilitating various forms of copresence and visibility, they also increase proximity in asynchronous or distant coordination situations. At the tasks level, ICTs offer the actors a very high potential for participation and proximity. Such technologies make it possible to establish accountability, improve common understanding and anticipate the unfolding and integration of tasks. The main contribution emerging from these four studies is that practitioners can use the ubiquity and interconnectivity of ICT in order to allow individuals to communicate and adjust their actions to define, reach and redefine the goals of common work.

Information System Consolidation in a Multinational Corporation

Tietojärjestelmien konsolidointi on eräs vallalla olevista trendeistä, jonka avulla yritykset parantavat järjestelmiensä hallittavuutta sekä kustannustehokkuutta. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli analysoida monikansallisen yrityksen tietojärjestelmän konsolidointiprojektia. Tavoitteena oli kuvata projektissa käytetty konsolidointimalli sekä evaluoida syntyneitä liiketoiminnallisia vaikutuksia. Työn teoreettisessa osassa esitellään tietojärjestelmien hallintaan sekä konsolidointiin vaikuttavia perustekijöitä. Lisäksi analysoidaan merkittäviä liiketoiminnallisia etuja,jotka konsolidointi mahdollistaa. Työn empiirisessä osassa kuvataan yrityksen näkökulmasta konsolidointiin johtavia syitä, projektin kulkua sekä saavutettuja liiketoiminnallisia hyötyjä. Työn tulokset osoittavat, että konsolidoimalla tietojärjestelmiään yritys pystyy parantamaan tehokkuuttaan, palveluastettaan sekä liiketoiminnallista joustavuuttaan monin eri tavoin. Työssä esitettyä konsolidointimallia sekä analyysia liiketoiminnallisista vaikutuksista voidaan hyödyntää tulevien projektien suunnittelussa ja toteutuksessa.

Information and Material Flows in Project Business

Tavoitteena diplomityössä oli kuvata projektiliiketoimintaa harjoittavan yrityksen informaatio- ja materiaalivirrat toimitusprojekteissa. Selvitys haluttiin tehdä tulevia kehitysprojekteja varten. Diplomityö toteutettiin kahessa osassa: laatimalla aiheeseen liittyvä teoriakatsaus ja kartoittamalla todellinen tilanne yrityksen sisällä.Teoriaosassa kuvattiin tarkastelualue ja projektiliiketoiminnan erityispiirteitä sekä käsiteltiin tietojärjestelmiä ja materiaalivirran hallintaan liittyviä asioita. Yrityksen informaatio- ja materiaalivirtojen nykytila kartoitettiin laatimalla vuokaaviot kolmen esimerkkituotteen toimitusprojekteista. Kaaviot laadittiin yrityksen sisäisten dokumenttien ja kvalitatiivisten haastattelujen pohjalta. Kaavioiden sisältöä täydennettiin taulukoimalla kaavioissa esiintyvien dokumettien sisältöä. Työn tuloksena muodostui kuva tiedonkäsittelyn nykytilasta myynti- ja toimitusprojekteissa, pelkistetty visio tulevaisuuden tietojärjestelmien rooleista sekä ehdotuksia tulevia kehitysprojekteja varten.

University Hospital Struck Deaf and Silent by Lightning: Lessons to Learn.

We describe how an electromagnetic wave after a lightning strike affected a university hospital, including the communication shutdown that followed, the way it was handled, and the lessons learned from this incident.

Managing the Front End of Innovation in a Networked Company Environment - Combining Strategy, Processes and Systems of Innovation

The objective of the thesis is to enhance the understanding about the management of the front end phases of the innovation process in a networked environment. The thesis approaches the front end of innovation from three perspectives, including the strategy, processes and systems of innovation. The purpose of the use of different perspectives in the thesis is that of providing an extensive systemic view of the front end, and uncovering the complex nature of innovation management. The context of the research is the networked operating environment of firms. The unit of analysis is the firm itself or its innovation processes, which means that this research approaches the innovation networks from the point of view of a firm. The strategy perspective of the thesis emphasises the importance of purposeful innovation management, the innovation strategy of firms. The role of innovation processes is critical in carrying out innovation strategies in practice, supporting the development of organizational routines for innovation, and driving the strategic renewal of companies. The primary focus of the thesis from systems perspective is on idea management systems, which are defined as a part of innovation management systems, and defined for this thesis as any working combination of methodology and tools (manual or IT-supported) that enhance the management of innovations within their early phases. The main contribution of the thesis are the managerial frameworks developed for managing the front end of innovation, which purposefully “wire” the front end of innovation into the strategy and business processes of a firm. The thesis contributes to modern innovation management by connecting the internal and external collaboration networks as foundational elements for successful management of the early phases of innovation processes in a dynamic environment. The innovation capability of a firm is largely defined by its ability to rely on and make use of internal and external collaboration already during the front end activities, which by definition include opportunity identification and analysis, idea generation, profileration and selection, and concept definition. More specifically, coordination of the interfaces between these activities, and between the internal and external innovation environments of a firm is emphasised. The role of information systems, in particular idea management systems, is to support and delineate the innovation-oriented behaviour and interaction of individuals and organizations during front end activities. The findings and frameworks developed in the thesis can be used by companies for purposeful promotion of their front end processes. The thesis provides a systemic strategy framework for managing the front end of innovation – not as a separate process, but as an elemental bundle ofactivities that is closely linked to the overall innovation process and strategy of a firm in a distributed environment. The theoretical contribution of the thesis relies on the advancement of the open innovation paradigm in the strategic context of a firm within its internal and external innovation environments. This thesis applies the constructive research approach and case study methodology to provide theoretically significant results, which are also practically beneficial.

Improving Transportation and Warehousing Efficiency with Simulation-Based Decision Support Systems

Transportation and warehousing are large and growing sectors in the society, and their efficiency is of high importance. Transportation also has a large share of global carbondioxide emissions, which are one the leading causes of anthropogenic climate warming. Various countries have agreed to decrease their carbon emissions according to the Kyoto protocol. Transportation is the only sector where emissions have steadily increased since the 1990s, which highlights the importance of transportation efficiency. The efficiency of transportation and warehousing can be improved with the help of simulations, but models alone are not sufficient. This research concentrates on the use of simulations in decision support systems. Three main simulation approaches are used in logistics: discrete-event simulation, systems dynamics, and agent-based modeling. However, individual simulation approaches have weaknesses of their own. Hybridization (combining two or more approaches) can improve the quality of the models, as it allows using a different method to overcome the weakness of one method. It is important to choose the correct approach (or a combination of approaches) when modeling transportation and warehousing issues. If an inappropriate method is chosen (this can occur if the modeler is proficient in only one approach or the model specification is not conducted thoroughly), the simulation model will have an inaccurate structure, which in turn will lead to misleading results. This issue can further escalate, as the decision-maker may assume that the presented simulation model gives the most useful results available, even though the whole model can be based on a poorly chosen structure. In this research it is argued that simulation- based decision support systems need to take various issues into account to make a functioning decision support system. The actual simulation model can be constructed using any (or multiple) approach, it can be combined with different optimization modules, and there needs to be a proper interface between the model and the user. These issues are presented in a framework, which simulation modelers can use when creating decision support systems. In order for decision-makers to fully benefit from the simulations, the user interface needs to clearly separate the model and the user, but at the same time, the user needs to be able to run the appropriate runs in order to analyze the problems correctly. This study recommends that simulation modelers should start to transfer their tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. This would greatly benefit the whole simulation community and improve the quality of simulation-based decision support systems as well. More studies should also be conducted by using hybrid models and integrating simulations with Graphical Information Systems.

E-PORT. Improving efficiency of Finnish port community by intelligent systems Final report of the Mobile Port project

The management of port-related supply chains is challenging due to the complex and heterogeneous operations of the ports with several actors and processes. That is why the importance of information sharing is emphasised in the ports. However, the information exchange between different port-related actors is often cumbersome and it still involves a lot of manual work and paper. Major ports and port-related actors usually have advanced information systems in daily use but these systems are seldom interoperable with each other, which prevents economies of scale to be reached. Smaller ports and companies might not be equipped with electronic data transmission at all. This is the final report of the Mobile port (MOPO) project, which has sought ways to improve the management and control of port-related sea and inland traffic with the aid of ICT technologies. The project has studied port community systems (PCS) used worldwide, evaluated the suitability of a PCS for the Finnish port operating environment and created a pilot solution of a Finnish PCS in the port of HaminaKotka. Further, the dry port concept and its influences on the transportation system have been explored. The Mobile Port project comprised of several literature reviews, interviews of over 50 port-related logistics and/or ICT professionals, two different kinds of simulation models as well as designing and implementing of the pilot solution of the Finnish PCS. The results of these multiple studies are summarised in this report. Furthermore, recommendations for future actions and the topics for further studies are addressed in the report. The study revealed that the information sharing in a typical Finnish port-related supply chain contains several bottlenecks that cause delays in shipments and waste resources. The study showed that many of these bottlenecks could be solved by building a port community system for the Finnish port community. Almost 30 different kinds of potential services or service entities of a Finnish PCS were found out during the study. The basic requirements, structure, interfaces and operation model of the Finnish PCS were also defined in the study. On the basis of the results of the study, a pilot solution of the Finnish PCS was implemented in the port of HaminaKotka. The pilot solution includes a Portconnect portal for the Finnish port community system (available at https://www.portconnect.fi) and two pilot applications, which are a service for handling the information flows concerning the movements of railway wagons and a service for handling the information flows between Finnish ports and Finland-Russian border. The study also showed that port community systems can be used to improve the environmental aspects of logistics in two different ways: 1) PCSs can bring direct environmental benefits and 2) PCSs can be used as an environmental tool in a port community. On the basis of the study, the development of the Finnish port community system should be continued by surveying other potential applications for the Finnish PCS. It is also important to study if there is need and resources to extend the Finnish PCS to operate in several ports or even on a national level. In the long run, it could be reasonable to clarify whether there would be possibilities to connect the Finnish PCS as a part of Baltic Sea wide, European-wide or even worldwide maritime and port-related network in order to get the best benefit from the system