ETL Maturity Model for Data Warehouse Systems:A CMMI Compliant Framework

The effectiveness of the Business Intelligence(BI)system mainly depends on the quality of knowledge it produces.The decision-making process is hindered,and the user’s trust is lost,if the knowledge offered is undesired or of poor quality.A Data Warehouse(DW)is a huge collection of data gathered from many sources and an important part of any BI solution to assist management in making better decisions.The Extract,Transform,and Load(ETL)process is the backbone of a DW system,and it is responsible for moving data from source systems into the DW system.The more mature the ETL process the more reliable the DW system.In this paper,we propose the ETL Maturity Model(EMM)that assists organizations in achieving a high-quality ETL system and thereby enhancing the quality of knowledge produced.The EMM is made up of five levels of maturity i.e.,Chaotic,Acceptable,Stable,Efficient and Reliable.Each level of maturity contains Key Process Areas(KPAs)that have been endorsed by industry experts and include all critical features of a good ETL system.Quality Objectives(QOs)are defined procedures that,when implemented,resulted in a high-quality ETL process.Each KPA has its own set of QOs,the execution of which meets the requirements of that KPA.Multiple brainstorming sessions with relevant industry experts helped to enhance the model.EMMwas deployed in two key projects utilizing multiple case studies to supplement the validation process and support our claim.This model can assist organizations in improving their current ETL process and transforming it into a more mature ETL system.This model can also provide high-quality information to assist users inmaking better decisions and gaining their trust.

A maturity model for blockchain adoption

Background:The rapid development of the blockchain technology and its various applications has rendered it important to understand the guidelines for adopting it.Methods:The comparative analysis method is used to analyze different dimensions of the maturity model,which is mainly based on the commonly used capability maturity model.Results:The blockchain maturity model and its adoption process have been discussed and presented.Conclusions:This study serves as a guide to institutions to make blockchain adoption decisions more systematically.

Application of Capability Maturity Model Integration to Innovation Management for Software and Service Companies

To look through innovation management in small project-based firms, such as software engineering companies, which are service firms that conduct projects for their clients, capability maturity model integration （CMMI） is introduced. It is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes. Taking ABC Software Company as an example, the performances before and after the introduction of CMMI in the firm were compared. The results indicated that after two years of application, the productivity increased 92%, and the ability of detecting errors improved 26.45% ; while the rate of faults and the cost of software development dropped 12.45% and 77.55%, respectively. To conclude, small project-based firms benefit a lot if they take CMMI into their process of innovation management, particularly for those R＆D firms, since the implementation of CMMI leads them to a promising future with higher efficiency and better effects.

A blockchain maturity model in agricultural supply chain

Blockchain technology is a disruptive technology that changes business and supply chain models.Using distributed software architecture and advanced computing,blockchain can change the way information is exchanged between actors in the chain.Blockchain technol-ogy provides a platform for solving the problem of tracking product information in supply chain management.Accordingly,the present study aims to provide a model for evaluating the maturity of blockchain technology in the agricultural supply chain.The present research is applied that has been done in three stages.In the first phase,the dimensions of the blockchain are ranked by agricultural experts using the SWARA method.The research experts are 13 faculty members of the department of agriculture active in the field of technology application.In the second phase,a model is designed to evaluate blockchain maturity using each dimension of blockchain technology and maturity dimensions.In the third phase,the proposed model is tested using data collected by a questionnaire in the supply chain of a company active in the agriculture sector.The research findings show that smart contracts,Internet of Things(IoT),and transaction records are of the highest impor-tance among the blockchain dimensions.Also,the supply chain under study is in a good condition in digital documents.Theoretically,the originality aspect of the research is that it determines the importance of blockchain dimensions in the field of agriculture and from an applied point of view,it introduces the maturity model of blockchain in supply chain management.

Study on a Maturity Model of Project Management Capability for a Large Aircraft Main Manufacturer

This paper is to study a maturity model of project management capability for a large aircraft main manufacturer using a capability maturity model and an organizational project management maturity model.First,we build the project management capability maturity level,its features,key process areas and best practices to provide a clear goal and path for the development of project management capability.Secondly,we set a project management capability evaluation index system according to the project management processes and key process areas.Moreover,we use the fuzzy mathematical theory to evaluate the project management capability maturity level.Finally,the large aircraft main manufacturer can choose the best practices based on the evaluation of the maturity level so as to reach the purpose of improving project management capability of the main manufacturer gradually.

Army-Materiel-System-Analysis-Activity Maturity Projection Model Based on a Subsystem Stein Estimator

A reliability-growth test is often used to assess complex systems under development.Reliability-growth models are usually used to quantify the achievable reliability indices and predict the expected reliability values.The Crow army-materiel-system-analysis-activity(Crow-AMSAA)projection model and the AMSAA maturity projection(AMPM)-Stein model are suitable for modelling delayed corrective strategies.The AMPM-Stein model,which involves more failure data and requires limited assumptions,is more robust than the Crow-AMSAA projection model.However,the rationality of the Stein factor introduced in the AMPM-Stein model has always been controversial.An AMPM-Stein extended projection model,derived from data regrouping based on similar failure mechanisms,is presented to alleviate the problem.The study demonstrated that the proposed model performed well,the prediction results were credible,and the robustness of the proposed model was examined.Furthermore,the Stein-shrinkage factors,which are derived from components with similar inherent failure mechanisms,are easier to understand and accept in the field of engineering.An example shows that the proposed model is more suitable and accurate than the Crow-AMSAA model and the AMPM-Stein model,by comparing the projection values based on the failure data of the previous phases with the actual values of the current phases.This study provides a technical basis for extensive applications of the proposed model.

Interactional models for adults of two populations with maturation delays

This paper is concerned with interactional models for adults of two species delayed by their mature periods. The existence and local stability of equilibria are discussed thoroughly for competitive systems, cooperative systems and predator-prey systems, respectively. For systems with interaction of competition and cooperation, it is found that the two populations are uniformly persistent if the positive equilibrium is stable. For predator-prey interaction, however, some further conditions are needed to guarantee the persistence of the systems.

Re-Establishing the Merits of Thermal Maturity and Petroleum Generation Multi-Dimensional Modeling with an Arrhenius Equation Using a Single Activation Energy

Thermal maturation and petroleum generation modeling of shales is essential for suc- cessful exploration and exploitation of conventional and unconventional oil and gas plays. For basin- wide unconventional resource plays such modeling, when well calibrated with direct maturity meas- urements from wells, can characterize and locate production sweet spots for oil, wet gas and dry gas. The transformation of kerogen to petroleum is associated with many chemical reactions, but models typically focus on first-order reactions with rates determined by the Arrhenius Equation. A miscon- ception has been perpetuated for many years that accurate thermal maturity modeling of vitrinite re- flectance using the Arrhenius Equation and a single activation energy, to derive a time-temperature index （~TTIARa）, as proposed by Wood （1988）, is flawed. This claim was initially made by Sweeney and Burnham （1990） in promoting their ＂EasyRo＂ method, and repeated by others. This paper dem- onstrates through detailed multi-dimensional burial and thermal modeling and direct comparison of the ~TTIARR and ＂EasyRo＂ methods that this is not the case. The ~TTIA^R method not only provides a very useful and sensitive maturity index, it can reproduce the calculated vitrinite reflectance values derived from models based on multiple activation energies （e.g., ＂EasyRo＂）. Through simple expres- sions the ~TTIAaa method can also provide oil and gas transformation factors that can be flexibly scaled and calibrated to match the oil, wet gas and dry gas generation windows. This is achieved in a more-computationally-efficient, flexible and transparent way by the ~TTIARR method than the ＂EasyRo＂ method. Analysis indicates that the ＂EasyRo＂ method, using twenty activation energies and a constant frequency factor, generates reaction rates and transformation factors that do not realisti- cally model observed kerogen behaviour and transformation factors over geologic time scales.

Model maturity towards modeling and simulation:Concepts,index system framework and evaluation method

Simulation has become an essential way and sometimes the only way to study complex systems(e.g.,system of systems,SoS).Simulation is the model-based activity.How to build a high-quality model is the first consideration in simulation.Fidelity and credibility are the two mostly used metrics to evaluate the quality of a model.However,the definitions and evaluation methods of fidelity and credibility vary from one research to another and it’s hard to evaluate the metrics precisely.More importantly,the evolution process of a model in use cannot be directly reflected by the two metrics.Therefore,this paper introduces the model maturity to track the status of a model during its life cycle,especially in the use and management phases,which will be an important supplement to the quality evaluation system of models.The concept of model maturity is given and a framework of index system for model maturity evaluation is established.Then,a hierarchical evaluation method based on qualitative and quantitative analysis(HEQQ)for model maturity is proposed.Finally,a case study is used to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Thermal maturity and burial history modelling of shale is enhanced by use of Arrhenius time-temperature index and memetic optimizer

Thermal maturity indices and modelling based on Arrhenius-equation reaction kinetics have played an important role in oil and gas exploration and provided petroleum generation insight for many kerogenrich source rocks.Debate continues concerning how best to integrate the Arrhenius equation and which activation energies(E)and frequency factors(A)values to apply.A case is made for the strong theoretical basis and practical advantages of the time-temperature index(∑TTIARR)method,first published in 1998,using a single,carefully selected E-A set(E?218 kJ/mol(52.1 kcal/mol);A?5.45Et26/my)from the well-established A-E trend for published kerogen kinetics.An updated correlation between ∑TTIARR and vitrinite reflectance(Ro)is provided in which the P TTIARR scale spans some 18 orders of magnitude.The method is readily calculated in spreadsheets and can be further enhanced by visual basic for application code to provide optimization.Optimization is useful for identifying possible geothermal gradients and erosion intervals covering multiple burial intervals that can match calculated thermal maturities with measured Ro data.A memetic optimizer with firefly and dynamic local search memes is described that flexibly conducts exploration and exploitation of the feasible,multi-dimensional,thermal history solution space to find high-performing solutions to complex burial and thermal histories.A complex deep burial history example,with several periods of uplift and erosion and fluctuating heat flow is used to demonstrate what can be achieved with the memetic optimizer.By carefully layering in constraints to the models specific insights to episodes in their thermal history can be exposed,leading to better characterization of the timing of petroleum generation.The objective function found to be most effective for this type of optimization is the mean square error(MSE)of multiple burial intervals for the difference between calculated and measure Ro.The sensitively-scaled P TTIARR methodology,coupled with the memetic optimizer,is well suited for rapidly conducting basin-wide thermal maturity modelling involving multiple pseudo-wells to provide thermal maturity analysis at fine degrees of granularity.

Study on Regulating Effects of "Aquatic Environment Protection Oriented Fishery" on Water Environment of Qiaodun Reservoir

In order to evaluate the regulating effect of ＂ aquatic environment protection oriented fishery＂ on aquatic ecosystem,the water quality,plankton community structure,biomass,diversity index,eutrophication index and ecosystem maturity evaluated with Ecopath model were compared from 2010 to 2012 in Qiaodun Reservoir of Zhejiang Province. It was indicated that the water quality had been improved obviously. The water transparency maximally increased by 130%,while TP,TN and CODCrwere reduced. The density and biomass of the plankton were decreased,so was the ratio of Cynobacteria in phytoplankton community. The Shannon-Weaver index was increased; the trophic level was decreased; the ecosystem maturity was improved. By all accounts,the ＂ aquatic environment protection oriented fishery＂ had positive effects on maintaining the balance of reservoir ecosystem and ensuring the safety of drinking water.

Project management maturity in construction consulting services: Case of Expo in China

For many years,project management maturity models(PMMM)derived from the software industry have brought immeasurable benefits.However,the adoption and investigation of PMMM in the construction field have been weak and insufficient,particularly in construction consulting services(CCS).Moreover,professionals have gradually realized the importance of non-process factors(e.g.,teamwork,culture,leadership)in the evaluation of PMMM.This study describes the construction of PMMM for CCS that considers non-process factors and combines them with CCS-specific process factors.To verify the effectiveness of the proposed model,we conduct a case study on the overall project management consultancy for China’s 2010 Winter Expo.The results would fill in the PMMM research gap in CCS and provide practitioners with ideas to improve their performance.

Innovation capacity and the role of information systems:a qualitative study

Today businesses are facing radical transformations through digitalization of services and products.Accordingly,their ability to innovate is increasingly linked to the capacity to innovate through information and communication technologies(ICTs).This article investigates the role of information systems(IS)as a key factor for innovation capacity.To this end,the article discusses an interpretive framework for understanding the degree of capacity of innovation through information systems(IS)reached by a given company and the contradictions that bound its evolution.An interpretive study is also presented,where the framework has been applied to seven French companies from various industries.Consistently with the framework,the interviews address process areas and practices related to three core categories:management,innovation engineering and support.The study reveals seven fundamental contradictions that can explain the main tendencies observed across the companies.

A Benefit Measurement Framework for an Online Contract Change Management System

The contract change management (CCM) system is an online collaboration tool, which supports the contract change management process of new engineering contract (NEC) contract. It is currently used in practice on a wide range of civil, power, and building projects in the UK. The aim of this study is first to identify the tangible and intangible benefits of the system through a user survey; then to develop a framework to measure these benefits. A questionnaire survey is conducted, which reveals that CCM can help project teams improve process effectiveness, reduce risk of process failures, and increase the compliance with NEC requirements. Subsequently, a spreadsheet tool is developed to allow CCM users to calculate the tangible cost savings as a result of using the system. For intangible benefits, a change management maturity model (CM3) is developed, which provides a measurement framework for assessing the improvement of a project team’s capability in dealing with contract changes.