· · · Institutional Repository

The Enterprises Systems market has become a significant, billion dollar industry, over the past years. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is an example of an Enterprise System. ERP typically supports logistics, which form a strategic factor in today’s business world. Business intelligence tools, such as the ones incorporated in ERP, are an important tool for gaining insight and steering logistics processes. Currently these tools are often not used to an optimal extend and the (operational) performance measure techniques currently available are insufficient. This thesis takes up the challenge to develop a BI-tool, which incorporates a set of metrics which together provide a combined and coherent picture of the inventory management process. The typical inventory management process was analyzed and mapped. Along with the mapping of the process, eleven potential benefits of ERP were indicated and mapped on that process. Additionally a performance measurement evaluation tool for inventory management was developed, which is presented in this thesis. With this framework, a first attempt was made to assess the actual quantifiable benefits of ERP software.

Standardized technology intelligence products nowadays have come within reach of almost any interested organization. The question remains how this can be applied on a large scale while maintaining on-time delivery and the quality of results. This paper develops and evaluates such a standardized TI process. The key elements for upscaling the technology intelligence are presented and the main characteristics, benefits, and challenges are discussed. A case, drawn upon corporate experiences in light of a project with more than 200 technology analyses is discussed. A new standardized technology intelligence process to enable upscaling and recommendations for the future best practices are related.

This research provides insight in the potential of local renewable heating systems. Local renewable heating systems are energy installations that make use of a renewable energy source and can supply heat, for space- and water heating, to the built environment in the direct vicinity of the installation. The main question of research that is answered in this thesis is: What are the market opportunities for local renewable heating systems in the built environment? The local renewable heating systems considered in this research have a capacity between 100 kW – 10 MW.

Smart grids are introduced as a promising concept to facilitate the future energy supply system without excessive distribution grid reinforcement, while maintaining the same level of reliability. Load management is expected to enable a higher grid capacity utilization, thereby deferring or eliminating the need for asset reinforcements and corresponding capital expenditures. However, estimation of the potential economic benefit is difficult, due to a high degree of uncertainty surrounding the electricity distribution grids. It is for instance uncertain what the future energy system will look like in terms of the penetration of new technologies and energy demand. Furthermore, it is unknown what the technical consequences of load management on the distribution grid assets are. A model was developed suitable for analysis of the economic consequences of smart grids on the medium voltage electricity distribution grids, in different environmental scenarios over the next three decades. The model takes capital expenditures as a result of grid reinforcement and costs of energy losses into account. Simulation shows that the economic benefit of smart grids with the goal of maximizing grid utilization is not guaranteed. Though smart grids induce significant capital expenditure savings resulting from peak shaving, they increase the costs of energy losses. The economic potential is highly dependent on the energy-transition scenario, more specifically on the degree of load flexibility of all consumers connected to the grid. The model can be improved in several areas, most notably by the technical implications of a ‘smart’ load profile on the distribution grid assets.

The increasing ubiquity and capabilities of smartphones provide opportunities to combine their processing power, storage, connectivity and sensors into a shared resource pool for end-users and service providers. This is analogous to the concept of cloud computing, in which cloud computing datacenters provide a shared resource pool. Several technological architectures and prototypes exist in which smartphones themselves serve as such a mobile cloud computing resource pool. However, little guidance is available regarding the possibilities for commercialization of mobile cloud computing. This study identifies factors influencing the feasibility and viability of the mobile cloud concept in order to provide input for future mobile cloud business models. To this end the opportunities for mobile cloud to deliver multi-sided platforms are explored. Multi-sided platforms serve as matchmakers between supply and demand side customers, while the platform owner can benefit from mediating between different types of customers. Mobile cloud platforms can mediate between end-users of mobile cloud services, individuals providing smartphone resources and service providers. To evaluate the feasibility and viability of mobile cloud platforms, ecosystems theory is used to formulate a set of qualitative criteria for the role divisions, structures and performance of multi-sided platforms. The criteria have been applied in fourteen semi-structured interviews with mobile industry experts, resulting in a range of success factors and inhibitors for mobile cloud ecosystems. With regards to ecosystem role divisions it is noted that mobile cloud platforms are most likely to succeed when positioned in existing strong ecosystems with large user bases of service providers and service consumers, such as those of the handset operating systems and internet based service providers. Operators lack such ecosystems and innovation capabilities and are therefore less likely mobile cloud platform owners. However, their support may still be required as end-users incur data subscription costs and cause inter-operator traffic handoff when sharing smartphone resources via the operator network. Billing mechanisms between users and between operators may need to be adapted to take this into account. With regards to ecosystem structure a mobile cloud platform owner can benefit from the revenues obtained by providing third parties and end-users access to a shared mobile resource pool, which may include unique and desired resources such as sensors. However, this coordinating platform ownership position may be difficult to maintain as similar access to mobile resources may be obtained by installing specific-purpose applications on smartphones. Operators and handset OS developers may therefore struggle to maintain platform control as internet-based service providers can use web-based cross-platform applications to gain access to any number of smartphone resources, regardless of geography and hardware. The performance of mobile cloud ecosystems is currently considered to be hampered due to current technological limitations and market conditions. Scarce and perishable smartphone resources, limited, expensive bandwidth and lack of clear end-user sharing incentives are the most visible hurdles, along with the security, privacy and legal concerns associated with smartphone resource sharing. While some of these issues may be addressed over time with technical and network improvements, these improvements may also disrupt the need for smartphone resource sharing. Faster operator networks diminish the need to share connectivity, while increasing smartphone power and cloud computing datacenters reduce the need to offload computing tasks to other smartphones. This potential performance of mobile cloud platforms is expected to change when more collaborative services making use of multiple devices are conceived, rather than considering mobile devices as a straightforward resource pool akin to cloud computing datacenters. A shared pool of smartphone sensors is expected to lead to innovations of which both end-users and service providers can benefit. Additionally it is noted that in private or community environments such as homes and offices some of these performance hurdles may not apply, as they provide an environment where trust and cost are less of an issue and appliances are more visible than in a general purpose resource pool. Follow-up research towards mobile cloud platforms could focus on mechanisms to award smartphones users for opting in to a shared resource pool. Furthermore, operator, device and service provider centric ecosystems could be further specified in terms of role divisions, relations and platform assets shared using the success factors and inhibitors uncovered in this research as a basis. Finally, as mobile cloud can potentially seamlessly integrate with the traditional cloud, future research could explore ways to optimize whether the resources of a traditional cloud datacenter, a local mobile cloud resource or a remote mobile cloud resource are acquired depending on cost and connection properties.

Using flexible operations to reduce costs for CO2 capture using post combustion capture.

The expected increase in future demand of biomass feedstock in Rwanda cannot be met because of constraints at the supply side. This has a negative effect on the energy security for Rwandese in the future and the income generated for the Rwandan population involved in biomass feedstock production. There are, however, opportunities to stimulate the typically informal private sector in such a manner that the biomass energy production is made more sustainable. This thesis conducts research into the REDD+ mechanism (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (UN, 2011)) and the role it can play for the Rwandan biomass feedstock market. Next, an exploration is made of the current charcoal and fuelwood value chains to be able to better promote sustainable production of biomass. Then, an adapted version of business model generation theory from Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) of Vastbinder, Kroesen, Blom, and Ortt (2011) is applied to generate sustainable business models. It is shown through a charcoal and a fuelwood cooperative business model that existing, improved and economically viable techniques exist in Rwanda which can be exploited to improve the sustainability of practices within the charcoal and fuelwood value chains; and leverage private investment. It is also shown that REDD+ can provide the financial argumentation for private smallholders to provide a tangible benefit of being in a cooperative, but that there is a lack of data available to prove it. Based on the research findings, the Government of Rwanda is recommended to build institutional capacities at different levels of Government in order to: (1)Align laws and policies applying in the different sectors involved in biomass energy production so that competition for land between energy, agriculture and forestry is decreased; (2)Develop and implement laws and policies specifically addressing charcoal and fuelwood in Rwanda which can be monitored uniformly and are applied consistently across the various levels of Government; (3)Promote increased social, economical and ecological benefits of improved charcoal and fuelwood production cooperatives to reach more formal organization of the charcoal and fuelwood sector and more equally distributed income across the value chains; (4)Gain insight in what the economic characteristics of the charcoal and fuelwood markets in Rwanda are, so that intervention to create long-term economic sustainability is founded on better reasoning; (5)Operationalize additional value of their project-involved activities, so that sustainable benefits of practical intervention can be proven and continued funding for the longer term can more easily be derived. Based on the research findings, it is recommended to DGIS (the Directorate General for International Cooperation) to: (1)Reconsider their food security definition to include domestic cooking energy for developing countries which are densely populated and rely on traditional biomass. The current food security definition increases competition between wood production for domestic energy provision and agricultural food production - without the energy to cook there are no means to achieve food security; (2)Convince the international developing aid community that a reconsideration of the food security definition is needed; (3)Provide aid to the Government of Rwanda through bilateral agreements for: a.Capacity building activities (e.g. institutional or business); b.Gaining an insight in the economic characteristics of the charcoal and fuelwood markets in Rwanda; (4)Develop guidelines for the REDD+ mechanism on which data can be collected in what way to be able to prove additional value of certain projects. Currently these guidelines do not exist. Hence, sustainable benefits of practical intervention are short term. This is because involved parties lack the time and resources to consider long-term sustainability – potentially through carbon finance – since short-term results are needed; (5)Follow up on the previous recommendation so that current and future funding of projects requires not just a focus on practical intervention, but focuses on proven long-term additionality of practices as well; (6)Research opportunities to develop a mechanism by which such supply-side interventions in woody, traditional biomass value chains can be funded. Although these interventions are beneficial in terms of sustainable development, the old-fashioned image of woodfuels and the complexities with terrestrial carbon – including forest carbon – calculations hamper the possibilities for funding of wood energy interventions at the supply side.

Several Dutch municipalities stimulate electric mobility by deploying a charging infrastructure. Electric mobility is however expected to impact the electricity grid, thereby requiring the grid to be reinforced. Costs for network reinforcements are social costs and it is in society’s benefit to limit those costs. Municipalities have no real incentive to limit grid impact in their charging infrastructure deployment strategies. Network operators have the incentives, but have limited means to minimise the impact. System analysis, network impact analysis and institutional analysis are done to come to technical and institutional options to limit the grid impact of electric mobility and deal with the skewed incentive structure. It is concluded that network operators should create a grid impact guideline for charging station deployment which indicates the grid capacity to deal with high power charging stations. This guideline can be used to create a municipal strategic charging station deployment map.

Various studies indicate that the frequency and intensity of pluvial flooding, groundwater flooding, drought and heat stress will increase in The Netherlands. This is why it is important for Dutch municipalities to have a method for the assessment of vulnerability. However, vulnerability is not directly measurable. Methods to assess the vulnerability of urban areas to climate change are either qualitative and not informative enough or too costly, specific, or complex, and therefore they are not often applied by municipalities. The Adaptation Tipping Point (ATP) method is a promising method that helps municipalities to determine the urgency of climate change adaptation. It comprises assessment of ATPs: “the point where the magnitude of climate change is such that the current management strategy will no longer meet the objectives” (Kwadijk et al., 2010, p.730). In this thesis, the ATP-method is pre-tested as a method for vulnerability assessment in Rotterdam-Noord and a part of Nijmegen. These case studies, together with past experiences based on literature research, suggest that the method is - in principle - suitable for use as a way of assessing vulnerability by municipalities. It provides useful information in addition to traditional top-down impact and damage assessments. However, more research into improving the feasibility of the ATP-method, for example through estimation of ATPs on the basis of either rules of thumb or expert judgement, is necessary to make the method practically feasible. In addition, the application of the method to the theme of pluvial flooding is a proof of principle; it needs to be applied to the themes of groundwater flooding, drought and heat stress on municipal level as well.

As goals are set to increase the share of renewable energy production within the province of Overijssel, the Netherlands, the project group Groen Gas Salland is founded and has taken the initiative to explore the opportunities of green gas production through a biogas infrastructure within the region of Salland. Since within the region of Salland (intensive) livestock farming is practised, it is assumed that the utilisation of manure for the production of green gas by means of the anaerobic digestion process has a considerable potential. To comprehend whether the manure can be made available for energy production, it is necessary to learn how manure is currently used and valued by the local farmers within Salland. Due to intensive livestock farming the manure production exceeds the local demand for manure-based fertilisers, which is considered a problem as this (local) abundance of manure urges for a manure distribution system of which the costs are high. Furthermore, circumstances within the (intensive) livestock farming sector are changing especially due to the amendment of policies that monitor farming activities. Changes within these institutional rules and especially the perceptions that these changes occur unpredictably, affect the decision making of local farmers and will influence the condition that underlie the manure distribution system. In order to explore the potential for manure-based energy within this complex system, we developed an agent-based model by means of the MAIA framework. Based on our research we found that the energy potential is low due to several related causes. A clear expectation of what will be gained is lacking due to uncertainties about both the amount of subsidy that will be granted and the order of the specific technology costs. Furthermore, since a sufficient production capacity is required, many small-scale to middle-scale farms will not consider manure-based energy production. A considerable investment capital is required as well, this puts a lot of pressure upon the farmers as they often experience at the same time poor financial situations and ongoing changes in the policies. We state that farmers do not obtain a clear benefit concerning the production of manure-based energy as current issues with respect to the abundance of manure are not solved and meanwhile the produced digestate, almost identical in volume and composition to manure, had to find its way back to the manure distribution system. Although cooperation between farmers should not be taken for granted, we found in case farmers do cooperate, the potential for manure-based energy production to be highly increased. In order to increase the potential, we recommend to create a clear benefit from a farmer's point of view, increase their understanding with respect to manure-based energy and reduce institutional barriers, especially with respect to regulations that control subsidy.

The ORTEC Consulting Group (OCG) advises express service providers on efficient network design. A part of the challenge to this design is the hub location problem (HLP). The HLP consists of selecting optimal locations for large sorting centres (hubs) from a range of smaller sorting centres (depots) to which the rest of these depots can connect. The resulting network aims to transport parcels in the most cost effective manner achievable. The OCG is interested in multi-agent modelling technique as a new approach to the HLP, since this technique provides a natural way of modelling complexity that arises from interacting nodes. Literature showed no research on solving the HLP from a multi-agent systems (MAS) perspective. This thesis aims to fill this gap. With the main research goal being "Designing a model that can solve the hub location problem for express networks with use of multi-agent modelling", the model was designed using the Prometheus methodology. The model uses information on the volume distributions of a set of fixed depots to determine optimal hub locations from these depots. Simultaneously, the model ensures that parcels can be sent from any location and will be delivered within the set service time. Optimal hub locations in this sense means that the total network cost consisting of hub cost and transport cost is as low as possible. The inputs of the designed model are the depot locations, their volume distributions, the driving times between nodes, hub cost and transport cost. The outputs are the network cost, the number of hubs, the locations of these hubs and the routes of all the different parcels. The designed MAS consists of three main phases. Phase 1 is responsible for creating hubs based on volume distributions. Hubs are placed in regions that have a lot of parcels to be transported between them. Phase 2 creates routes via the hubs that resulted from Phase 1. Although the most efficient routes are calculated, the main focus of this phase is to create routes for every parcel in the first place. During Phase 3 the main focus is cost reduction through reducing air transport cost, reducing road transport cost and reducing hub cost. In addition, part of this design is implemented into a proof of concept using the JACK Agent Language (a Java based language) to show the added value of multi-agent modelling. This proof of concept, Preliminary Organisation of Hub Location Tool (POHST), contains the implementation of the first part of Phase 1. Hence, it creates hubs based on the volume distribution. A graphical user interface is added to turn POHST into an easily accessible tool. This tool is applied to two datasets to demonstrate its use in the preliminary phase of network research aiding in data gathering and the generation of initial hub configurations. Experts of the OCG confirmed the usefulness of POHST as strategic analysis tool. In addition, the type of model outputs did not allow for thorough integral testing of the tool, although other verification methods showed that the tool behaved as intended by the model design. Due to the lack of quantitative output, the tool could not be validated using traditional methods. Instead, the same experts were asked to validate the model. Although they had quite a few recommendations for further improvement of the tool, there was a consensus on its validity. The design process revealed interesting benefits and drawbacks of using the agent paradigm to solve the HLP. The source of much of the complexity of the HLP is the interaction between nodes. One of the major advantages of using the agent paradigm is that it provides a natural way of modelling such interactions. Furthermore, the scalability of agent models is an attractive feature. When a few types of agents have been designed, an unlimited amount of such agents can be used when applying the model, scaling along with the inserted data. Next, the research shows the benefit of agents adapting to local circumstances. By locally looking around for inefficiencies agents are capable to enhance the solution with limited data. Another advantage of using agents is the detailed level of statistics gathering it enables. Every agent decision can be tracked. Consequently, an agent model does not only produce an outcome, it can also show how and why this outcome evolved as it did. The major challenge of using agents to solve the HLP is the difficulty of making local decisions that might impact the entire infrastructure. To be absolutely sure that a local change will lead to lower network cost, all possible consequences are checked and valued for their change in cost. This process can lead to a vast amount of communication, because the agents are practically considering global data. Thus, undermining the multi-agent modelling values of local data views. Although this risk exists in the presented model, it does not prove that it is impossible to achieve a design that reaches a global optimum using strictly local information. However, it is the greatest challenge that the HLP poses to the use of multi-agent modelling. In conclusion, it can be said that this research has proved the potential of using MAS to solve the HLP. It is also certain that many interesting properties of agents can be further investigated. Subsequently, these models could add great value to compete with and possibly even defeat current HLP models.

Due to increasing energy dependencies, environmental concerns and European directives on sustainability, The Netherlands is increasing its share in renewable energy production. This has led to the definition of several energy ambitions. An example is related to green gas, with the ambition of green gas substituting 50% of the natural gas supply in 2050 in The Netherlands. At this moment in time, the most significant source of green gas in The Netherlands is biogas. This biogas is produced from biomass (e.g. cattle manure) by means of biological processes. Using an upgrading process step, biogas can be brought to the quality level of natural gas: green gas. However, these upgrading facilities are expensive, which results in it only being a viable option for those producers that handle significant volumes of biomass. Due to their relative low production volume, small-scale biogas producers cannot come to a solid business case for this upgrading of biogas. A biogas gathering infrastructure (biogas hub) seems to be a useful concept in approaching a cost-effective process. In this concept, several small-scale biogas producers are coupled using a stand-alone pipeline network which leads the gas of the different producers connect to one central upgrading facility. The upgrading costs are divided amongst all producers which increases the cost-effectiveness of the production process. Although several biogas infrastructures are initiated in The Netherlands, there is still no successful physical realization. However, this is not caused by a lack of enthusiasm amongst stakeholders; both private and public organizations have shown interest. Apparently there does not seem to be a successful environment in which it is able to realize a biogas infrastructure. This thesis explores the underlying causes of the impasse that arises here, by performing a system study based on the Multiple Perspective Approach of Mittrof and Linstone (1993). Recommendations are composed which could improve the situation for emerging biogas infrastructures in The Netherlands.

High copper prices have not led to a place for this metal in the debate about mineral scarcity, while copper is a base metal which has many uses and is vital for developments in the energy transition. In this research the global copper system is examined from the perspective of the development of supply and demand and the effects structural and parametric uncertainties in the system have on the development of behaviour in this system. The question immediately arises: What are the effects of parametric and structural uncertainties on the possible future behaviour of the copper system? The research approach is Exploratory System Dynamics Modelling and Analysis (ESDMA) and the period the copper system is examined is 2000 till 2050. For the analysis three different System Dynamics (SD) models were built, with regard to existing literature about the structure and functioning of the different elements in the copper system. These models were connected to a python shell to perform the Exploratory Model Analysis (EMA). The effects of a specific ESDMA structure, a randomised economic feed, were first tested in this research. The conclusions were that, mainly due to the fact that this feed mainly influenced stocks in the system, the system behaviour was not significantly different due to this feed. Henceforth the other experiments were performed without the economic feed. During the interpretation of these experiments it became clear that a mistake were made in the experimental setup. The lower bounds for the four coefficients relevant for the Recycling Input Rate (RIR) were taken too low, causing the RIR in effect to have an overly low modus, as well as a lower average value for the copper consumption. While this potentially could have changed the behaviour of the system, a new experiment with the corrected bounds has let to similar outcomes. The behavioural conclusions of these experiments are that the copper consumption is likely to decline slowly in the coming 40 years. This reduction in consumption also leads to very high Reserve over Production (R/P) ratios. The system has further a high risk for volatile price movements, caused by a disbalance between copper supply and demand. This and the importance of copper for our economy make it a vulnerable resource, which needs to be monitored more closely. Six different policy designs were tested in this research to try to counter potential unwanted effects in the copper system. These policies were designed from the perspective of European stakeholders. Performing experiments with these policies has lead to the conclusion that policies aiming at improving the collection rate of copper products at their end of life in combination with improving the Recycling Efficiency Rate (RER) leads on average to lower copper prices. The copper price volatility was lowered by a policy regarding the implementation of a strategic reserve.

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VERDER, a partnership of different governmental organizations in the Middle Netherlands, initiated different projects for regional traffic management to better use existing road capacity and safeguard mobility in the Middle Netherlands. This active form of traffic management requires traffic data with a certain quality level, although this is not taken into account in current plans. An organization plan to guarantee data quality for regional traffic management, based on various literature and expert interviews, was created and validated with experts. The plan contains a chain manager responsible for managing data quality through the information chains of regional traffic management and four different data management steps: define, measure, analyse and improve. The validation revealed that this plan brings substantial improvement on current practice.

An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a comprehensive set of integrated software solutions. It is used for example to allow companies to improve their performance by streamlining business processes and to manage the companies’ resources. An ERP system incorporates a central database that supports the various functions of a company by drawing and feeding data to the applications used within the different departments so that the information is integrated throughout the business. ERP implementations are costly and the reason for why companies are willing to spend considerable money on such an endeavor is because they have been associated with benefits that make it worth it. The problem is that the benefits that justify the cost of implementing such a system are often not realized to their potential. That might render the cost associated with the implementation to outweigh the benefits and not the other way around as it should have been. In order to get the most out of the implementation, so at least the benefits outweigh the cost, it is crucial to carry out the implementation process successfully. That means by overcoming the challenges that are manifested not only in the complicated technical rollout and installing of the system but also in the reconfiguration of the organization in terms of its business processes and its structure so that the system fits with the organization. Furthermore, as this leads an organizational change as well as an adoption of a new information system which impose great changes on employees, there is also the challenge to facilitate the transition in order to mitigate the effects of resistance to change. Most companies rely on external consultants to transfer their accumulated knowledge of ERP implementations to their employees to facilitate in-house contribution to successful implementations. This study is carried out for the company Accenture that commonly takes on the role for providing such consultancy. It is carried out in order to develop a product that can assist with getting the knowledge transfer across not only in sessions with clients of Accenture but also for in-house education. Driven by above mentioned motive this study sets out to develop an interactive model that can be used in a gaming session that simulates the process of implementing an ERP system. This model provides a formal system that captures the essence of the systematic challenge of the natural system of ERP implementations in terms of realizing the associated benefits. Here interactive means that it is allowed for multiple inputs (levers) which can be tweaked by users so that they can interact with the formal system in a way that mimics how the natural system is interacted with in reality. Through the interaction with the model the users should experience the systematic challenge of carrying out the implementation process, which brings up one of the purposes of the model. The other purpose is to provide a medium for discussion, as the model is interacted with by several persons (at once) in a group session. The aim of such discussions is to facilitate a common understanding (e.g. between consultants and clients or people from different departments) on the overall process. The interactive model was formulated and supplied with an interface aimed for usability in terms of allowing for game-like experience of going through a simulated process of an ERP implementation. This forms the product of this study which can be summarized as a prototype of a management flight simulator on the process of implementing an ERP system. The model is based on the methodology of system dynamics and the study looks also towards the field of serious gaming as the product is intended for gaming purposes. In order to realize this product so that it meets the purposes stated above the following research questions were stated and answered as follows: 1. When looking at ERP implementations in general, what is the systematic challenge that commonly needs to be overcome so the benefits of the implementation can be realized? 2. What is the best way to represent the process of ERP implementations, what are the foreseen challenges for transforming that representation to a simulation model and what are the implications of the approach taken (for this case and in general)? 3. What is the potential of the product of this study to deliver its purpose? The decision for implementing an ERP system should not be based purely on the benefits that have been generally associated with the technology but on a strategy that identifies if they apply to the organization. A benefit hierarchy was formulated in this study that traces not just what the benefits of ERP implementations are but what constitutes them. The implementation should be justified based on how the specific constituting elements of the benefits fit to solve identified problems or lead to identified opportunities. If this is clear then the systematic challenge remains to carry out the implementation by balancing the resources available for the project between four aspects that commonly need to be aligned in order for the ERP implementations to be successful. These are the aspects of technology, business processes, organizational structure and people. The level of detail for representing the activities of these four common aspects needed to be quite high in order for the challenge to be captured, of balancing resources between the aspects (and the activities within them) while making sure that the aspects are aligned. A design choice was therefore made to represent the activities in terms of what drives them which is reasonably the resource allocation to the activities. All phases of an implementation, from analysis until after the go live, were decided to be included in the simulation. From this and the level of detail for activities a modeling challenge was foreseen due to the great many activities to be included dynamically. Conceptual maps of how the activities relate to each other in terms of dependencies were first constructed in order to model the process of the activities that should be carried out in terms of their effects and dependencies. These conceptual maps were then validated with expert interviews and what remained was to transform them to a simulation model. To make this transformation feasible an approach was taken to use molecules of structures to represent the activities in general. What is meant with that is that the activities are represented by general structures that can be used repeatedly to incorporate all activities in the simulation so that they are represented dynamically. Only two types of molecule structures were needed to allow for each activity to be captured. The dynamic feedback governed behavior of the model of this study is mostly based on the model’s base structure. This base structure is the result of improving upon a pre-existing model of which the model of this study builds upon. The inputs for how this behavior will result are the outputs of the streams of activities that make up the implementation process. These streams of activities were formed by stringing together the molecules that represent the individual activities. The individual molecules are governed by a limiting feedback loop and their behavior is therefore logically characterized by an asymptotic growth of completing an activity. The behavior of entire streams of activities is therefore a combination of the activities being performed where output of activities influence the effectiveness of attaining the completeness of the asymptotic growth of other activities until it has an effect on the base structure. The management flight simulator (the product of this study) allows users to play integral part in the simulation of the ERP implementation process that the model provides for. The users travel through the streams of activities mentioned above by making sure that individual activities are performed by allocating resources to them. It is completely up to the users how they move through the process in terms of when, how much and for how long they allocate resources to the individual activities. Logically, though, the path of direction is from the analysis phase to the deploy phase by moving through the phases of design, build and test. For each of these phases the users allocate resources to the aspects and then further divide that allocation to the individual activities within them. They should try to carry out the implementation by staying within the given planned budget and to make sure that the system can be set to go live on time. If necessary the users can delay the go live point. Since the molecule structures are general they can be used in any other situation where the focus is on the rate performing the activity as driven by some input rather than how the activity is performed; where this input, such as resource allocation, is the main force driving the activity’s rate of completeness or increase in output quality. The use of the molecules is especially relevant if an activity dense process is to be modeled and simulated interactively. What would then set apart the models for the different type of projects would be the interconnections between the activities, the relative difference of the effort needed for them and there would always be some structure of which is influenced by the activities but a separate structure in itself. The evaluation of the product conducted in this thesis provides promising indications for the usability of the product in terms of fulfilling its two purposes mentioned above. Yet this is only an indication, a sneak preview, for the potential usability and usefulness. That is why this is merely a preliminary evaluation and that a more thorough face evaluation and tests for usability are needed. The criteria that the promising indication of the preliminary evaluation is based on is that the questions about the potential for the product to deliver its intended purpose received positive and affirmative answers in two feedback sessions conducted. The preliminary evaluation of the product conducted in this thesis only gives indication that the potential usability is good. What is lacking in this thesis, due to time restrictions, is that the product still needs to be tested directly for its usability. To say if the product actually delivers its purpose would require a testing of it in sessions with people, who are potential users and would play through the simulation.