Search Results (57)

Background: While several test-automation maturity models (e.g., CMMI, TMMi, TAIM) exist, none explicitly integrate ISO 9001-based quality management systems (QMS), leaving a gap for organizations that must align E2E test automation with formal quality assurance. Objective: This study proposes a test-automation maturity model (TAMM) that bridges E2E automation capability with ISO 9001/ISO 9004 self-assessment principles, and evaluates its reliability and practical impact in industry. Methods: TAMM comprises eight maturity dimensions, 39 requirements, and 429 checklist items. Three independent assessors applied the checklist to three software teams; inter-rater reliability was ensured via consensus review (Cohen’s κ = 0.75). Short-term remediation actions based on the checklist were implemented over six months and re-assessed. Synergy with the organization’s ISO 9001 QMS was analyzed using ISO 9004 self-check scores. Results: Within 6 months of remediation, mean TAMM score rose from 2.75 → 2.85. Inter-rater reliability is filled with Cohen’s κ = 0.75. Conclusions: The proposed TAMM delivers measurable, short-term maturity gains and complements ISO 9001-based QMS without introducing conflicting processes. Practitioners can use the checklist to identify actionable gaps, prioritize remediation, and quantify progress, while researchers may extend TAMM to other domains or automate scoring via repository mining. Full article

As organizations become increasingly projectified, safeguarding the resilience of project professionals and teams emerges as a critical organizational challenge. Adopting a systems lens, we investigate how agile mindsets and agile practices function as systemic antecedents of resilience at the individual and team levels. Eleven semi-structured interviews with experienced project managers, product owners, and team members from diverse industries were analyzed through inductive thematic coding and system mapping. The findings show that mindset supplies psychological resources—self-efficacy, openness and a learning orientation—while practices such as team autonomy, iterative delivery and transparent communication provide structural routines; together they trigger five interlocking mechanisms: empowerment, fast responsiveness, holistic team dynamics, stakeholder-ecosystem engagement and continuous learning. These mechanisms reinforce one another in feedback loops that boost a project system’s adaptive capacity under volatility. The synergy of mindset and practices is especially valuable in hybrid or traditionally governed projects, where cognitive agility offsets structural rigidity. This study offers the first multi-level, systems-based explanation of agile antecedents of resilience and delivers actionable levers for executives, transformation leaders, project professionals, and HR specialists aiming to sustain talent performance in turbulent contexts. Full article

In practice, the new generation of knowledge-based employees often exhibits a “lying flat” attitude. This reflects the failure of organizational incentive mechanisms. In order to improve the incentive system and encourage employees to be proactive, the study explores and compares the synergistic effects of different rewards tools on various forms of proactive behavior in the new generation of knowledge employees. After conducting fsQCA and NCA analyses on paired data from 93 leaders and 210 employees based on the ERG theory, the findings indicate that no single reward tool is a necessary condition for triggering high proactive behavior. Instead, different reward tools need to work in synergy to produce effective motivation. Three patterns drive employees to exhibit high individual task proactivity. They are the “Dual-Drive Salary Security and Moderate Labor Dominant” pattern, the “Moderate Labor Dominant” pattern, and the “Salary Security Dominant” pattern. Two patterns drive employees to demonstrate high team member proactivity, namely the “Employee Care Dominant High-Investment” pattern and the “Pay Fairness Dominant High-Investment” pattern. Additionally, good work experience (i.e., colleague relationships) in the workplace has a significant impact on both types of proactive behavior. The research conclusions will provide insights and references for enterprise managers to design more targeted compensation incentive policies and unleash the vitality of the new generation of knowledgeable employees. Full article

Based on a sample of A-share companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2022, this paper measures and analyzes the degree of enterprises’ digital–green synergy and further tests the influence mechanism of fintech on enterprises’ digital–green synergistic development. It is found that fintech has a significant positive effect on enterprises’ digitization, enterprises’ greening, and their digital–green synergistic development, and the conclusion still holds after robustness and endogeneity tests. A heterogeneity analysis shows that the heterogeneity of enterprises’ size and the degree of industry emissions affects the promotional effect of fintech on the synergy. Fintech effectively promotes enterprises’ digital–green synergistic development through the three channels of green innovation, efficiency enhancement, and environmental information disclosure, and the heterogeneity of the executive team’s ages and the heterogeneity of their occupational backgrounds have a positive moderating effect on the promotional effect of fintech. The findings provide a conceptual framework and policy formulation guidelines for fintech to support the promotion of enterprises’ digital–green synergy and the improvement of new-quality productivity. Full article

Value management (VM) is a management approach aimed at inspiring individuals, nurturing their talents, and fostering synergy and innovation, all with the objective of enhancing an organization’s overall performance. This methodology seeks to reduce costs while actively engaging a diverse array of stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle. Despite its significance in construction projects, there exists a notable gap in the literature regarding the implementation of value management in public works. This study aims to identify the barriers that hinder the effective implementation of value management, as well as the critical success factors and potential risks associated with its adoption in public projects. Additionally, it assesses Turkey’s readiness for implementation within the construction sector by examining awareness levels, legislative issues, and other pertinent topics. To conduct the study, a quantitative survey was administered to 337 participants from various roles within the Turkish construction sector. The findings revealed that the inherent complexity of construction projects, time constraints, and difficulties in alternative selection are the primary barriers to implementing the value management approach in public works. Regarding the critical success factors for effective VM implementation, the involvement of end users, a collaborative workshop environment, and the multidisciplinary composition of the VM team were identified as the most significant contributors to success. Additionally, the study highlighted potential risks associated with the adoption of VM in public works, including low operating efficiency, a low participation rate in tenders, and cost overruns. The discussion also addressed legislative and process-oriented strategies for the potential adoption of value management. Full article

With increasing air traffic, the workload of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) and their limited number is again a restricting factor for the evolution of airspace management. Currently, possibilities to apply artificial intelligence for improving the support of ATCOs are widely discussed. By introducing a digital ATCO as a team partner for a human ATCO, we can expand capabilities. It can be trained to manage traffic across various airspace sectors without the limitations imposed by required licenses. This way, shortages of human ATCOs may be absorbed, and flexible assignment to sectors is facilitated with a digital ATCO partner. To be effective, the digital ATCO needs an understanding of current and future traffic situations to share the situation awareness of the human ATCO. The goal is to equip the digital ATCO with a comparable understanding—referred as a “mental model”—of the traffic situation and human actions, thereby improving decision-making and build up adequate trust with humans. In this work, decisive factors of traffic and management for the creation of digital situation awareness are identified and examined for their relevance and applicability for digital ATCOs. Within this study, a data-driven process of building up digital situation awareness including the influencing factors are suggested, and the usability of factors like the airspace complexity for indicating digital situation awareness are proposed. Finally, an example is presented and discussed to showcase our approach with focus on the integration of digital and human ATCOs through shared situation awareness. Full article

This study explores how age influences the relationship between physical performance (PP) and technical–tactical parameters (TPs) in youth soccer, analyzing 80 matches across four age groups: U15, U17, U19, and NB1 (adults). Team-level data were examined to assess how maturation affects the integration of physical and technical demands. Physical metrics included total distance (TD) and total high-intensity distance (THID), while TP metrics involved actions such as pressing, tackling, and ball possession. Pearson’s correlations and general linear models (GLMs) were used to identify associations between PP and TPs across age categories. The results showed age-related trends in performance integration. U19 and NB1 players demonstrated moderate-to-strong correlations between PP and TP variables, with TD and THID positively associated with pressing and tackling, indicating increasing synergy with age. U17 players showed emerging integration, while U15 players exhibited no significant correlations, suggesting developmental variability. Limitations include reliance on team-level correlational data and the absence of individual physiological or cognitive assessments. These findings suggest that training approaches should be tailored to players’ developmental stages, with increasing emphasis on combining physical conditioning and tactical understanding as players mature. Full article

This paper presents a system in which mobile manipulators and transport agents cooperate to solve a multi-agent pickup and delivery (MAPD) problem. The primary objective is to allocate appropriate tasks to heterogeneous robots by considering their capabilities and states. Unlike previous studies that focused on homogeneous teams or assigned distinct roles to heterogeneous robots, this work emphasizes synergy through cooperative task execution. A key feature of the proposed system is that mobile manipulators behave differently depending on whether they are paired with a transport agent. Additionally, rather than generating a full trajectory from start to end, the system plans partial trajectories, allowing dynamic re-pairing of transport agents through an auction algorithm. After re-pairing, new starting nodes are defined, and the following trajectory is updated accordingly. The proposed system is validated through simulations, and its effectiveness is demonstrated by comparing it against a baseline system without dynamic pairing. Full article

Basketball games are characterized by the large number of lineups that can be used by the coach during a game, e.g., with 12 players there are 792 possible lineups. This has led to the development of several statistics for the combinations of players on the court since team performance depends on synergy among players. It is of primary importance for a basketball team to understand the team performance and aid the coaching staff in making the proper decisions. In this work, we apply data mining and knowledge extraction techniques to basketball analytics. In particular, we propose an algorithm for answering questions (including filtering and maximization) about the team performance when any K-Player lineup is on the court ($1\le K\le 5$). The algorithm uses a semilattice representation and a depth-first search traversal that incrementally computes the statistics by exploiting set theory properties. As a case study, we provide experiments by using lineups mainly from the EuroLeague Basketball but also from the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarding the results, the proposed method is more than 30× faster than the baseline for the EuroLeague and 200× faster for the NBA. Indicatively, we can compute the key traditional cumulative and average statistics for all K-Player combinations of players of the EuroLeague of a single season in less than 1 s. Finally, we introduce indicative statistics using the computations mentioned. Full article

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in fostering economic growth and sustainability, requiring a deliberate emphasis on innovation and applying knowledge to navigate ever-changing markets. This study, grounded in resource-based view (RBV) theory, explores the synergy of entrepreneurial leadership and team diversity, exploring pathways to entrepreneurial success in Pakistan’s SMEs. This study employed a cross-sectional design, utilizing a non-probability convenience sampling approach to survey 350 owners, supervisors, managers, and employees of SMEs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Data were gathered through a survey questionnaire and subsequently analyzed using SPSS and SMART-PLS to validate the measurement model and examine the hypotheses for moderated analysis. The results indicated a significant moderating influence. Entrepreneurial leadership accounted for 15.8% of the variation in entrepreneurial success, while team diversity contributed 8.5%. Moreover, the moderating influence of team diversity substantially affected ES (59.7%), underscoring the pivotal role of team diversity in the interplay between EL and ES. Drawing from RBV theory, this study advances the framework by acknowledging that team diversity is a crucial element that strengthens the connections between EL and ES. This study enhances the existing literature by clarifying the mechanisms by which leadership and diversity collaboratively promote entrepreneurial outcomes. This highlights the necessity for SME leaders and policymakers to utilize team diversity as a strategic asset to improve competitive advantage and ensure sustainable success. Full article

Community of practice (CoP) has been seen as a pivotal support for higher education institutions to implement their social responsibilities. Even though this model is widely admired, assessing its effectiveness and sustainability still faces many challenges: (1) the absence of an appropriate index reveals the significance of CoP; (2) the difficulty of realizing quantitative assessment; and (3) the strategies to improve contribution sustainably by considering CoP development. To address these challenges, a comprehensive Higher Education Social Responsibility Contribution Index (HESRCI) is constructed by taking into account the CoP key influence factors. An FBN model is further developed for the purpose of assessing the various corresponding contributions quantitatively and investigating the potential interdependencies between influence factors. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is evidenced by the quantitative indication of CoP’s contributions to priorities. Research findings also highlight the significance of CoP governance, the mechanism of resource allocation, and team development, in particular, in facilitating the synergy between university development and sustainable socio-economic growth. In addition, it provides data support and a theoretical basis for higher education institutions to make more informed decisions when implementing industry-education integration strategies. Full article

(1) Background: In university contexts, the effectiveness of work teams is vital for institutional success and the personal development of an institution’s members. Objective: Our aim is to understand the relationships between emotional intelligence, team leadership, organizational culture, work climate, and creative synergy with team effectiveness. (2) Methods: We used a cross-sectional predictive design study using structural equation modeling (SEM), in which 512 surveys of employees of a private Peruvian university were analyzed. (3) Results: Leadership and emotional intelligence were found to significantly improve team effectiveness. In addition, organizational culture, work climate, and creative synergy act as mediators in these relationships, enhancing team effectiveness. The adjusted model presented adequate incremental $(x^2=9452.498,\mathrm{g}\mathrm{l}=3391,p<0.001)$ and comparative $(\mathrm{T}\mathrm{L}\mathrm{I}=0.998,\mathrm{C}\mathrm{F}\mathrm{I}=0.998,\mathrm{R}\mathrm{M}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{E}\mathrm{A}=0.017\mathrm{y}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{R}\mathrm{M}\mathrm{R}=0.033)$ goodness-of-fit indices. (4) Conclusions: The results showed that the development of emotional competencies and leadership skills is essential to optimize the effectiveness of work teams in universities. This integrated model not only provides a solid theoretical framework for future research, but also offers practical recommendations for improving the management and performance of work teams. Full article

This paper presents a novel integration of Systems Engineering (SE) methodologies and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in the design of robotic systems, focusing on enhancing underwater robotic missions. Using the conceptual design of an underwater exploration vehicle as a case study, we demonstrate how SE can systematically incorporate I4.0 tools to improve mission performance and meet stakeholder expectations. The study begins with an overview of the SE approach, emphasizing the conceptual design stage and aligning it with the application and case study of design theories. We then explore various I4.0 technologies, highlighting their functional benefits rather than technical specifics and addressing design methods for I4.0. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are examined in terms of classification, components, and tasks, showcasing their evolution driven by technological advancements, thus tackling the complexity and design of complex systems. The core of our study involves defining stakeholder expectations, using quality function deployment for requirements definition, and performing a functional and logical decomposition of the ROV system. To deal with design fixation within the design team, we developed a tool to help integrate new technologies by also empathizing with their functional capabilities rather than the technology itself. Our approach underscores the importance of understanding and incorporating new technologies functionally, aligning with the transition towards Industry/Society 5.0. This work not only illustrates the synergy between SE and I4.0, but also offers a structured methodology for advancing the design and functionality of complex systems, setting a blueprint for future developments in this field. Full article

Synergy in a contractor project team improves performance by integrating diverse knowledge and skills among team members, enabling the achievement of project objectives. However, according to a literature review, factors that enhance synergy among contractor project teams from the perspective of executives and practitioners have rarely been discovered, revealing a knowledge gap that needs to be filled. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify a common structure of such factors for executives and practitioners. Data collection involved a questionnaire survey targeting large contractors in Bangkok, Thailand. Then, we compared the mean importance and rank order of synergy factors, examined differences and similarities in synergy factors between executive and practitioner perspectives using the Mann–Whitney U test, and applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the data analysis. The differences and similarities show that executives and practitioners have similar perspectives on synergy factors. The CFA results validate a factor structure that enhances synergy. This synergy factor structure for executives and practitioners can be divided into five groups, with their standardized regression weights in parentheses: coordination (0.94), organizational structure (0.92), motivation (0.80), leadership (0.75), and planning and policy (0.69). These findings contribute to the body of knowledge and the state of practice by offering a practical framework to assist executives and practitioners in contractor organizations in identifying common measures and resource allocation based on the regression weights of synergy factors. This can improve synergy among contractor project teams, potentially resulting in better performance. Full article

Football players’ decision-making behaviours near the scoring target (finishing situations) emerge from the evolving spatiotemporal information directly perceived in the game’s landscape. In finishing situations, the ball carrier’s decision-making about shooting or passing is not an individual decision-making process, but a collective decision that is guided by players’ perceptions of match affordances. To sustain this idea, we collected spatiotemporal information and built a model to quantify the “Finishing Space Value” (FSV) that results from players’ perceived affordances about two main questions: (a) is the opponent’s target successfully reachable from a given pitch location?; and (b) from each given pitch location, the opposition context will allow enough space to shoot (low adversaries’ interference)? The FSV was calculated with positional data from high-performance football matches, combining information extracted from Voronoi diagrams (VD) with distances and angles to the goal line. FSV was tested using as a reference the opinion of a “panel of expert” (PE), composed by football coaches, about a questionnaire presenting 50 finishing situations. Results showed a strong association between the subjective perception scale used by the PE to assess how probable a shot made by the ball carrier could result in a goal and FSV calculated for that same situation ($R^2=0.6706$). Moreover, we demonstrate the accuracy of the FSV quantification model in predicting coaches’ opinions about what should be the “best option” to finish the play. Overall, results indicated that the FSV is a promising model to capture the affordances of the shooting circumstances for the ball carrier’s decision-making in high-performance football. FSV might be useful for more precise match analysis and informing coaches in the design of representative practice tasks. Full article