Omar Osman

Comparison of maturity models

Maturity models are one of the widespread areas in the field of improving organizational performance. They identify organizational strengths and weaknesses as well as providing benchmarking information. There are many maturity models like OPM3, CMMI, P3M3, PRINCE, BPMM, and Kerzners Project Management Maturity Model etc. These models are different from each other in terms of their factors and characteristics and also there is no standard related to these models. Therefore, it is important for organizations to be able to assess their situation by a comprehensive and useful model. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to compare the models and to find a suitable maturity model. This study compares recent maturity models in terms of selected variables. The result shows that OPM3 is a more suitable model than others.

Causes of Delays in Iranian Construction Projects

Abstract Many construction projects are carried out around the world but only some of them are completed on time. Many factors indicate the success of a project such as: completion on time, within budget, within specified quality, satisfaction of the client, and the rate of change order. Delays in a construction project can be regarded as failure. This paper aims to investigate the causes of delay in Iranian construction projects. This research was conducted by questionnaire survey to solicit the causes of delay from the viewpoints of clients, consultants, and contractors. One hundred and twenty five sets of questionnaires were distributed to the respondents. The results demonstrate that finance and payments of completed work, improper planning, site management, contract management, and lack of communication between the parties are the key reasons for delay.

The Role of Solution-Oriented Knowledge Transfer Programme and Networking in Charting a New Course in University-Stakeholder Engagement

Two major initiatives aimed at enhancing University-Stakeholder Engagement (U-SE) are addressed here. First, we discuss an innovative Knowledge Transfer Programme (KTP) introduced by the Ministry of Education in Malaysia in 2011 for which Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) serves as the Secretariat. Since the beginning, KTP has committed approximately USD20 million to the programme split between industry 70 % and community 30 %, with a caveat of 30 % or more input from the partners. Since its inception, 349 projects (industry 219 and community 130) have been implemented throughout Malaysia, with the participation of more than 1400 academic staff, 650 graduate interns, and 3500 employees from Industry and Community. Secondly, we highlight the role of four international/regional Networks USM supports as Secretariat. In this context we wish to provide our experience and best practices involving, APUCEN (Asia-Pacific University Community Engagement Network), SEASN (South-East Asia Sustainability Network), ALKN (ASEAN Local Knowledge Network) and RSEN (Regional Sejahtera ESD Network). This paper will, thus, cover one major knowledge transfer programme partnership involving ‘university-industry/community’, and four specific ‘network’ initiatives designed to promote university-stakeholder engagement at a variety of levels. The range of knowledge transferred, approaches used, and the support provided by the university will hopefully provide replicable ideas to other aspiring higher educational institutions as they position themselves to be more proactively engaged.

Region-based segmentation of Hexagonal digital images using membrane computing

P system is a distributed and parallel computing model in membrane computing, processing multisets of symbol objects in a localized manner. This computational model has proved to be a robust framework for modelling a variety of situations arising in very different areas, for instance, investigation of problems related to digital images. In this paper, we develop a P system for handling region-based segmentation of two-dimensional hexagonal digital images motivated by a corresponding model for rectangular digital images and point out the utility of these P systems for segmenting groups of crowds.

The Sustainability Journey of USM: Solution Oriented Campus Ecosphere for Vitalising Higher Education Action on GAP

Grappling with the challenges of sustainable development will require a total change in the way we interact with the ecosystems that support our lives and the people we live with. This means that all individuals and societies must be equipped with knowledge, skills, perspectives, values and issues that enable them to drive such changes. Consequently, universities across the world have been trying to integrate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into their curriculum. This global ESD commitment gained further strength when the UNESCO World Conference on ESD launched the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD in 2015 with five priority areas. The sustainability journey of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has a lot in common with the experience of UNESCO globally and GAP in particular, in that the University too is convinced, with its long-term involvement in ESD, that a whole-institution (GAP Priority 2) commitment which involves policies (GAP Priority 1) and practices which factor the creativity of educators (GAP Priority 3), and the youthful vigour of students (GAP Priority 4) are integral to promoting relevant changes that befits the needs of all stakeholders (GAP Priority 5) today and tomorrow. These examples that enable the campus ecoshere to align itself to the broader priorities of sustainable development and vitalise the university across the board to promote learner centred and solution focused education. The intention of this paper is to share USM’s sustainability experience with a wider group of practitioners in the hope that it will enhance action toward GAP and a bigger process of institutional learning for sustainability.

The Institutional Dimension of Sustainability: Creating an Enabling Environment for Sustainability Transformation at USM

Recognising the importance of strengthened institutional arrangements for the promotion of sustainability, Universiti Sains Malaysia has been taking steps to respond effectively to integrated approaches involving all the major stakeholders, especially the students. Over the years, USM has made strong commitments to internal and international efforts to prevent further irreversible environmental change and to promote sustainable development through a host of on-going activities such as Kampus Sejahtera, 2000, RCE-Penang, 2005, University in a Garden, 2006, Research University award, 2007, and the APEX University award, 2008. In order to create an enabling environment within which different sections of the university could implement sustainability depending on the demands of their discipline and special circumstances; USM has developed a new ‘sustainability integration model’, an innovative ‘sustainability assessment methodology’ and a new ‘Policy on Sustainable Development 2013’. In order to facilitate smooth and effective operationalisation, the policy is accompanied by an implementation log frame and a user guide. While there are major barriers for the enthusiastic integration of sustainability into the core activities of universities due mainly to the lack of awareness, understanding, workable models, difficulty in monitoring progress and above all, the apathy of senior level administration, the USM experience will show how in a modern university it can be practiced through committed and systematic approaches. What is innovative here is the use of a new SD-ESD concept model developed by USM, a new computerised methodology to assess sustainability, and a proactive management that promotes sustainability through targeted programs, new policies and procedures and focused financial support. The intention of this paper is to share USM’s model and working experiences to a wider group of practitioners in the hope that it will contribute to a process of institutional learning for sustainability.

Strategic information systems planning for RFID implementation in Hajj management systems

The growing number of radio frequency identification (RFID) applications in various industrial fields makes the development of strategic information systems planning (SISP) for the implementation process is essential. Hajj (pilgrimage) sector is one of sectors that would benefit from RFID system implementation through several applications. Without a good plan for the implementation process, it would be difficult to reap a lot of benefits expected from the use of this technology. For this reason, this study proposed a model of SISP for RFID implementation in Hajj management systems. This model assists Hajj management authorities and any related Hajj organization wishing to implement RFID system to better understand and prepare for RFID implementation. It provides guidelines for RFID implementation in Hajj management systems with an emphasis on implementation issues that are needed to be considered such as RFID implementation scenario and RFID data sharing. We hope that the proposed model will provide Hajj organizers with knowledge needed for the implementation of RFID technology in Hajj management.