Business Commons^™

How Managers Can Create A Fair Compensation Procedure In The Engineering Sector, Jose Banos Sanchez

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

This research has analyzed the feedback from managers and technicians in high tech companies when doing the individual evaluation of performance using a dualperspective approach. The research has established a list of categories and subcategories that all managers should include in a fair performance evaluation according to the feedback from different experts, avoiding potential bias described in Messick & Bazerman, (1996) and clearly known in advance by all the employees who will be evaluated. Finally, the paper concludes with an analysis of the potential impact and contribution to the employee’s satisfaction of alternatives methods of rewarding (using four options, money, …

Technological Evolution In Software Engineering, Cody Miller

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

In all software development processes, the software must evolve in response to its environment or user needs to maintain satisfactory performance. If software doesn’t support change, it gradually becomes useless. With many organizations today, being software-centric organizations, this has huge implications for their business: evolve your software, or risk your software becoming gradually useless, and therefore, your entire business.

Technology Evolution is a highly relevant subject, Intel’s business model for the last 50 years, has been that of Moore’s Law, a hardware centric Technology Evolution model. As a Software Engineer at Intel, our business group faces a similar issue, we …

Enterprise Marketing Automation Software Selection, Anju Babu

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Enterprises devote a large amount of time and effort in selecting software products that are critical to their competitive advantage, and one such software is the marketing automation software. The paper discusses in detail the different criteria and methodology for selecting one marketing automation software product among the leading products available in the market.

The selection process was identified as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem and the methodology used for analysis was Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM), a variation of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Nine experts with different backgrounds in terms of job functions, functional experience, and geographies, who had expertise …

Dynamic Capabilities Related To Converging Software Markets, Mike Smith

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Methodology for in the software development life cycle has rapidly evolved over the last couple decades. This evolution is related to strategies born in just-in-time manufacturing which reveal themselves through methods such as rapid application development, waterfall development, spiral development, agile development, and DevOps. Coupled with consumer and industry adoption of cloud-based technologies, software releases to consumers can happen minutes after code-commits. This environment breeds highly competitive firms, rapid and frequent new entrants, ever changing resource barriers, and a constant threat of replacement. To mitigate these risks the adoption of dynamic capabilities could improve firm success and assist in ensuring …

Outsourcing Strategies In Software Engineering, Cody Miller

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Over the last several years, software has become a vital component of almost every business. Success increasingly depends on using software as a competitive weapon [1]. In today’s software industry, many organizations are realizing that outsourcing is becoming an imperative, strategic step to growing their business, and as a way to gain competitive advantage over its competitors.

The focus of this article, will be a literature review of current literature on outsourcing, and its strategies in the Software Engineering domain. As a software engineer at Intel, I have seen an increased need for outsourcing within our business group, and the …

Choosing The Best Software For Spec Review: An Analytic Hierarchy Process Approach, Bob Greenlee

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Every manufacturing company is faced with the problem of accurately converting customer requirements into products and deliverables, including a thorough review of customer specifications. Software can help facilitate this tedious and time consuming process, but choosing or designing the best solution is difficult due to conflicting and poorly prioritized criteria.

This paper illustrates the use of an analytic hierarchy process, specifically the hierarchical decision model (HDM) tool developed at Portland State University, to select the best software solution for facilitating customer spec review. In addition to resolving the primary question of which software to use, it shows how the HDM …

Data Warehousing Class Project Report, Gaya Haciane, Chuan Chieh Lu, Rassaniya Lerdphayakkarat, Rudraxi Mitra

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Data mining is widely described or defined as the discipline of: “making sense of the data”. In today’s day and age, the rise of ubiquity of information calls for more advanced and developed techniques to mine the data and come up with insights. Data mining finds applications in many different fields and industries: Whether it is in Embryology, Crops, Elections, or Business Marketing...etc. It is not a wild assumption to consider that every organization in the world has some data mining capabilities or its main activity necessitates it and they have some third party organization doing that for them. One …

Voice Over Internet Protocol (Voip) Best Service Provider Decision Making With Using Hierarchical Decision Model (Hdm), Fayez Alsoubaie

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Most technical researchers expect VoIP will lead the future communications. VoIP services are offered by a wide range of providers based on the customer’s intended business or corporate need. It is thus plausible for any entity to do a well detailed research on selecting best VoIP provider that would maximize the efficiency of their work. In a hierarchical structure of a given organization the choice of VoIP is determined by the number of users through the different protocols, number of devices that are required to attain a complete network, the most lucrative choice will also be based on multi criteria …

The Impact Of Cultural Communication On Team Performance, Bret Hunley, Smarajit Chakraborty, Stephen Macdonald

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The trend in today’s corporate workforce continues to move towards becoming more culturally diverse; while beneficial, to maintain competitive edge this element also increases functional challenges between working group members. In order to achieve a high performing team, it is imperative management understands the cultural and lingual differences among the individual members, and develop practices that diminish these challenges. Workforce diversity has been identified as being able to add value to the overall outcome; however, success ultimately depends on the team’s ability to interact culturally, communicate effectively, and understand the mannerisms unique to each team member’s individual culture.

Examining Geert …

Future Of Transportation: Hyperloop, Aayushi Gupta, Anju Babu, Catalina Reyes, Lipishree Vrushabhendra, Alex Tacco Melendez

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Transportation has evolved through time witnessing an expansion of the different modes of transport. Due to the various technological and organizational breakthroughs and with the arrival of ‘information everywhere’ in this digital age, one could imagine the future of transportation to be massively networked, user centered, integrated and dynamically priced too. As complex and challenging this could be, it is essential for new models of private and public collaboration, coupled with technological innovation. Today, Hyperloop is a result of one such innovation and is referred to as the fifth mode of transport in the near future. Different companies are integrating …

Impact Of Leadership On Team’S Performance, Harshitha Gadirajurrett, Raj Srinivasan, Jake Stevens, Nihal Jeena

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The concept of leadership is a widely discussed concept, with numerous articles and books being dedicated to the exploration and evaluation of leadership and its impact on team building, team performance and team dynamics. In this paper, we will be looking at the impact of leadership on team performance, and evaluating it through the lens of different leadership styles, focusing on the idea of Transformational Leadership. Through numerous article and journal reviews, we will seek to identify characteristics and strengths of these leadership styles as they pertain to the performance of teams within an organization.

Tesla Solar Roof Marketing Plan, Mustafa Almuzel, Touraj Goudarznia, Ali Daneshi, Mohammadsaleh Saadatmand, Mufeed Yacoub

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

This marketing plan for Tesla roof has been written to find the best marketing strategies for this new product. Tesla roof was launched in 2017 as part of Tesla’s mission to accelerate the transition of the world into sustainable energy. The objective is to position Tesla roof tile as the first choice for homeowners seeking aesthetics and green energy, gaining market share within three years. The research shows that positioning Tesla roof in the solar market would be the most suitable approach for Tesla. Research and customer interviews analysis implies that the value proposition for this solar roof would be …

Wine Tasting Room, Touraj Goudarznia, Kyle Kniffin, Ali Alkhafaji

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The Purpose of this project is to renovate an abandon building already located on the CPI winery property and turn it into a wine tasting room. The CPI winery, located right here in the Willamette valley has been bottling and selling wine to the general public for the past five years. They have built a loyal customer base all around the country but look to expand their footprint by opening a brand new tasting room. 52 days after the approval from the owner of the winery to move forward with the project CPI wines will be celebrating a news year’s …

Lead User Discovery Through Netnography: Transhumanist Subcultures Of Grinders And Biohackers, Brian Lux, Page Bailey, Catalina Reyes

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Industry has already been set as a precedent that lead users are indicators for future products and areas of forming trends. By following where these lead users come from, understanding their motivations and intent of use can help discover new products. In this paper there are two groups under the ideological umbrella of Transhumanism, “Grinders” and “Biohackers” which are fringe groups where we felt there were possible lead users. To study them, we employed the use of the Unified Theory of Adoption and Use of Technology as a framework to gain an understanding of their characteristics and motivations. By doing …

Implications In Implementing Self-Managed Teams In Organizations, Aayushi Gupta, Alex Tacco Melendez, Janet Rosenthal, Lipishree Vrushabhendra

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Over the past few decades, organizations have developed workplace teams that are multi-faceted, diverse and classified or divided by objective. These teams are essentially turning out to be instrumental in innovation and change in organizations. One such work team that has evoked interest in the recent past is the self-managed team. The design, structure and performance of self-managed teams varies from the other teams significantly. Nevertheless, these teams like the other workplace teams share common benefits such as increased knowledge and skills, synergy and commitment. The main difference lies in the way these teams work. The objective of this research …

Online Managment - Pro Courses: Provide Online Training Services For Working Professionals To Achieve Their Career Goals, Alex Tacco Melendez, Lipishree Vrushabhendra, Shahram Khorasanizadeh, Tanzila Akhter

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The organization works on software projects that develops application software, website portals for private and government institutions, including its own projects related to website development. The latest project of this organization is called the Online Management-Pro Courses to provide online training services for working professionals to achieve their career goals. The purpose of this project is to develop an online training portal with courses for students and professionals aspiring to excel in management. This web portal will create a knowledge network that is expected to catalyze solutions for management challenges. This will be achieved by disseminating courses in order to …

Spacex Satellite Constellations, Anju Babu, Kevin Camp, Wray Price

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

As of June 2017, only 51% of people worldwide have access to the internet. The goal of this project is to deploy the world's first global satellite internet service capable of servicing both internet backbone infrastructure and end consumers across the globe.

Founded in 2002 SpaceX has revolutionized the space launch industry, with the end goal of making Humans a multi planetary species. This effort requires significant funding resources, which has led to the pursuit of business opportunities beyond the launch market where SpaceX currently does the majority of its business. By providing global internet coverage, SpaceX stands to make …

Solarworld Amidst Uncertainty, Palak Goel, Roland Richards, Asawari Kulkarni, Nagarjun Hassan Ranganath, Majed Alshamlani

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Solar energy is turning out to be a widely accepted renewable energy alternative. It is considered as the cleanest and abundantly available source of energy. Adoption of this source for energy generation has been made possible by technological advancements. The United States has realized the potential of the solar energy but hasn’t been able to exploit the technology until recently. Since 2009, the US has seen a significant growth in consumption of solar energy. Efficiency of solar cells, tax credits, state policies, increasing public awareness on environmental pollution have resulted in increasing use of solar energy. Although a key reason …

Reb Strategic Plan, Mohamed Sheikh, Catalina Reyes, Oneshin Aiken, Marthed Mohammed, Bhawinee Banchongraksa

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Slides from a presentation outlining the strategic plan for a new skin care enterprise, including strategic planning, customer analysis,marketing plan and forecasting.

Data Envelopment Analysis Using Glpkapi In R, Konrad Miziolek, Jordan Beary, Shreyas Vasanth, Surekha Chanamolu, Rudraxi Mitra

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The work done here is primarily a wrapper function written to separate some of the more difficult-to-use glpkAPI functionality from the end-user. The user, when prompted, selects the appropriate configuration of the .mod file to the task (for example, output-oriented CRS), and the data file, as a .dat. The function then loads the required glpkAPI library, and carries forward the model. It allocates the problem and workspace, reads the model file and data file the user selects, builds the problem, and solves it. The function returns primal values, and, if dual = TRUE is selected, also returns dual weights.

Optimizing Distributed Energy Resources On A Distribution Feeder, Bill Henry, Stephen Macdonald, Nicole Wehner, Gabe Mcbride, Tyler Groth

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The purpose of this study is to optimize a set of distributed energy resources (DERs) on an electric utility distribution level feeder. A DER is a decentralized resource, usually located at end-use electric utility customer sites, that stores or generates electricity – such as batteries and rooftop photovoltaic solar, or in the case of demand response, in which the utility has the ability to manage electricity consumption to the benefit of distribution grid operation. The aggregation and optimization of a set of DERs of disparate operating characteristics, over a period of three years is performed and the methods employed explained. …

Assessment Of Minimum Viable Product Techniques: A Literature Review, Mohammadsaleh Saadatmand

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Although the minimum viable product (MVP) concept provides a means to test ideas and hypothesis at early stages, it does not indicate that it is easy to build. MVP tests whether your idea solves a real problem that customers are willing to pay for. In order to reach the stage of building a product that people want to use and pay for, we need to make sure product passes certain tests. In turn, MVP techniques/methods are designed not only to test technical questions about the product, but also to assess the viability of business model hypothesis. Once the hypothesis that …

Portland General Electric’S Adoption Of Distributed Energy Resources, Lennae Misiewicz, Jason Carver, Abdalilah Owaishiz, Stephen Macdonald

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

For over 100 years, people have been searching for ways to make the electric grid more efficient, resilient, and cost effective. Although there have been many improvements over the years, in the past two decades from; increased concern on climate change, innovation in advance technologies, and political will mounting to become energy independent, there has been a shift in how our grid stakeholders talk future grid improvements for the next 100 years. One of the causes behind this shift is due to greater saturation of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) on the grid. This disruptive technology creates many challenges to legacy …

Virtual Teams : Boon Or Bane?, Krishna Priya Muraleedharan, Satvik Vishnubhatta, Smitha Mandhani, Unmesh Deodhar

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

A virtual team is a group of people who work together across time, space and organizational boundaries.Virtual teams came into existence as the work expertise is distributed globally and it provides more flexibility to the employees. The members of a virtual team have varied skills and they work towards achieving a common goal.

To explain the challenges faced by virtual teams we have studied research papers and case study for whom the only economically and practically means of communication was asynchronous and synchronous computer-mediated communication. This research paper highlights the challenges of making and keeping trust in a virtual team …

Dilemmas In Not Invented Here Syndrome, Surekha Chanamolu, Shihab Hanayneh, Lennae Misiewicz, Marthed Mohammed, Jacqueline Nayame

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Not Invented Here syndrome has many negative effects on the performance of companies. However, there are several ways companies can work to overcome NIH syndrome. Some of the most important aspects when it comes to identifying and overcoming NIH syndrome include performance and communication, optimal performance and tenure, the absorptive capacity paradox, intra-organizational communication, experience with external knowledge, and poorly balanced incentive systems. NIH syndrome typically begins when a company feels that their identity is threatened and therefore they reject information from other companies or organizations. The focus of this paper is to address the manifestations, causes, and consequences of …

Optimizing Student Workforce Scheduling At Psu Office Of Information Technology (Oit), Agam Ebramsyah, Aishwarya Joy, Cody Miller, Jake Stevens, Priyanka Patil

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

A significant challenge for businesses of any size, is generating a work schedule that ensures adequate personnel coverage to ensure all aspects of the business are properly staffed, while preventing waste produced from having an excess number of employees working at a given time. The decision to manually create spreadsheets and work schedules that take into account availability, staffing requirements, and cost efficiency can become overwhelming and labor intensive. For Portland State University's Office of Information Technology (OIT), there is a significant challenge in scheduling student workers, while ensuring staffing requirements are met, student work hour restrictions are observed, and …

Organics To You - Optimization Of Produce Bins, Rassaniya Lerdphayakkarat, Chuan Chieh Lu, Jon Roschke, Juliana Suzuki, Jessie Truong

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Organics to You (www.organicstoyou.org ) is a produce delivery company that focuses on bringing organic local food from local farms straight to the homes, schools, and businesses of its clients. Each week a "Small Bin" is created using different varieties of local produce from various farms. Customers receive a bin that contains 12-14 varieties of produce with 2-6 "servings" of each variety (e.g., 1 melon, 4 apples, 1 head of lettuce, 2 lbs potatoes, etc).

Our objective is to optimize the contents of the “Small Bin”. The decision we want to make is how much of each variety do …

Maximizing Profit Of Certification Services Provided By Nrtls, Bhawinee Banchongraksa, Chatchai Kubpiyajanya, Mufeed Yacoub, Tiffany Tran

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs) are independent third-party organizations recognized by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) to provide evaluation, testing and certification of products. All NRTLs conduct testing and certification are based on safety standards developed by organizations, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). In order to remain competitive in their respective markets, NRTLs must continually find new business lines to provide services to and maintain. NRTLs accomplish this goal by seeking out companies to which they can provide their certification services at a profit.

One of the biggest challenges NRTLs face in their annual operations, is finding a …

Exclusive Summary: Diabetes Happy Meal, Bhawinee Banchongraksa

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Brief summary of application software designed to assist diabetics to make healthy dietary choices, and to offer means to buy ingredients online.

Flipscreen.Ai, Christopher Davis

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Slides from a presentation outlining a new software product that pushes real time, personalized fantasy data directly to viewers' televisions, allowing them to better play skill based fantasy sports games.