Browsing by Author "Saunders, Chad W."

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    Entrepreneurial Thinking In The Design of Ubiquitous Computing
    (2019-09-16) Seyed, Alemayehu; Maurer, Frank; Tang, Anthony Hoi Tin; Yang, Xing Dong; Saunders, Chad W.
    From the smart assistant in a home providing the daily news, to the smart-glasses that notify you about your next meeting, Ubiquitous computing has arrived and is here to stay. However, despite our inherent dependence on ubiquitous technologies, a number of challenges still remain, such as how do we seamlessly interact with these environments using our everyday devices, to how do we provide them with context for interactions with ourselves and our data. My dissertation work is concerned with (1) overcoming challenges in how Ubiquitous environments are designed and how we interact with them using our everyday devices, (2) if and how we can redesign these devices to better fit their context of use in these environments, and (3) how can we enable designers and novices to contribute to the field of Ubiquitous computing environments. Moving beyond the research work for this dissertation, I also provide entrepreneurial reflections in each of the aforementioned areas, where I describe my journey and key lessons learned from working in a startup to co-founding multiple startups.
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    Germany's Energy Transition "Energiewende": Turning Social Value Systems?
    (2019-05-13) Sadeghi Esfahlani, Mohammad; Hawkins, Richard William; Layzell, David B.; Saunders, Chad W.
    Energiewende is a German compound word for energy transition. This dissertation utilizes the term as a linguistic device to navigate the discourse of Germany’s energy transition and to reconstruct its dynamics, particularly in terms of associated social value systems. The concept of value is limited to monetary profit in the first innovation theory ‘entrepreneurship’ paradigm. In the subsequent technological paradigm, the value of innovation was conceived as commercial diffusion and society as a market. The recent ‘transformative change’ paradigm has shifted towards social values, pursued through supranational institutions. However, recent European Commission studies fall short of investigating the social dimension of the challenges of Energiewende and remain focused on economic dimensions. This dissertation builds on alternative approaches in communication theory and anthropology to theorize value, particularly in the context of innovation. Furthermore, it builds on approaches in innovation studies drawn from structural linguistics to identify and trace the dynamics of value systems in texts. On this basis, narrative and textual analysis were employed to trace the diffusion of Energiewende, reconstruct associated value systems and their evolutionary dynamics, and assess the influence of institutional actors. Findings challenge the predictions of diffusionist innovation theories and demonstrate a case where the diffusion of an idea was supported by the social landscape. Associated value systems include economic and environmental values, which are the most diverse and the most predominant, respectively. However, it is the social values that supplement the missing dimension of the transformative change paradigm. Specifically, the evolution of values, such as decentralization, social justice and social change, challenges theoretical projections. Likewise, the engagement of institutional actors with evolution processes also challenge entrepreneurship theories. Based on findings, a short story of Energiewende has been reconstructed, summarizing the evolution of associated concepts and the role of actors. As it turns out, the diffusion of Energiewende and the evolution of its value systems have been turbulent processes, including several pivotal “turns.” Thereby, this dissertation makes theoretical and methodological contributions to the fields of energy transition, innovation and communication studies. Furthermore, a plethora of technical and historical insights provide material for further explorations.
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    Robust Design for Feature Usage-Driven Product Improvement
    (2018-10-17) Hemmati, Ashkan; Ruhe, Guenther; Saunders, Chad W.; Rokne, Jon G.
    Software product improvement is a multi-layered area of study in software engineering, consisting of various processes and attributes. Innovations in technology, changes in customer and market requirements, as well as variations in user requirements introduce challenges, making it difficult to improve a product and satisfy all stakeholders. These concerns become crucial as more features are offered and resources become scarce. To survive in today’s competitive market, product creators need to do more than just keep their customers satisfied. They must also keep them excited for additions and improvements in future releases. The goal is to increase the overall product value; improve product quality and deliver new features to customers. To find an equilibrium between cost and value, and efficiently deploy scarce resources, we can analyze product improvement with respect to system utilization. In this thesis, an exploratory analytical approach is proposed which incorporates robust experimental designs to build the Robust Predictive Performance Model (RPPM) for feature improvement. Robust experimental designs were first introduced by Dr. Genichi Taguchi in the field of manufacturing to increase the robustness of products or processes. Robustness reduces the impact of uncontrollable factors or noises acting on the product and brings the product or process under statistical control. RPPM applies Taguchi designs in software engineering and extends it to generate a reliable predictive linear regression model, using feature usage as an attribute for quality success, customer satisfaction, and overall product value. These findings can then be analyzed to have an unbiased and reliable evaluation of the product value. As part of this thesis, a case study was performed, applying RPPM on a product created by Calgary-based start-up Brightsquid Inc, a global provider of health communication services to medical and dental professionals. Results for applying RPPM show that this approach can lead to reliable predictions about product value, creating a framework for enhancing decision-making, resource allocations, and the ability to accurately forecast future returns in a frequently changing market.