Open Access

Industry 4.0 production comprises complicated highly automated processes. However, human activities are also a crucial component of these processes, e.g., for machine main- tenance. Task assignment of human resources in this domain is challenging, as many factors have to be taken into account to ensure effective and efficient activity execution and satisfy special conditions (like worker safety). To overcome the limita- tions of current Business Process Management (BPM) Systems regarding activity resource assignment, this contribution provides a BPM-integrated approach that applies fuzzy sets for activity assignment. Our findings suggest that this approach can be easily applied to complex production scenarios, while providing efficient performance even with a large number of concurrent activity assignment requests. Additionally, our evaluation shows its potential for improved work distribution which can lead to cost savings in Industry 4.0 production processes.

In the context of Industry 4.0, smart factories enable a new level of highly individualized and very efficient production, driven by highly automated processes and connected Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices. Yet the IIoT process context, crucial for operational process enactment, cannot be readily represented in processes as currently modeled. Despite automation progress, manual tasks performed by humans (such as maintenance) remain, and while complicated tasks can be supported by Augmented Reality (AR) devices, they remain insufficiently integrated into global production processes. To seamlessly integrate process automation, IIoT context, and AR, this paper contributes BPMN-CARX, a Context and Augmented Reality eXtension (CARX) for BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) and the CARX Framework, which enables AR and IIoT context integration with existing Business Process Management Systems (BPMSs). An Industry 4.0 case study demonstrates its feasibility and applicability.

Zu Beginn der Arbeit wurden die theoretischen Grundlagen zu Penetrationstest, Audit und Red Teaming beschrieben. In den rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen wurden betroffene Gesetze unter die Lupe genommen. Anschließend wurde eine Marktforschung bestehend aus einer Primär- und einer Sekundärmarkforschung durchgeführt. Die Sekundärforschung beschreibt die Angebote und Dienstleister, die auf dem Markt Red Teaming anbieten. Daraus wurden Unternehmen aus dem DACH-Raum für die Interviews der Primärforschung ausgewählt. Das Red Team muss ein vorher definiertes Ziel erreichen. Das Red Team führt in Abstimmung mit dem White Team Angriffe durch, die technische, physische und menschliche Komponenten betreffen können. Welche Komponenten verwendet werden, unterscheidet sich nach Projekt und Dienstleister. Das Blue Team hat die Aufgabe, die Angriffe zu erkennen und darauf zu reagieren. Mit dem gesammelten theoretischen Wissen und den Interviews wurden die Methoden verglichen und eine Methodik zur Einordnung erstellt. Das Red Teaming, Penetrationstests und Audits sind für unterschiedliche Situationen nützlich. Um die Auswahl zu erleichtern, ist es sinnvoll, die Ziele zu definieren, die mit dem Test erreicht werden sollen. Als dritter Indikator ist der Scope hilfreich, da ein Penetrationstest eine technische Prüfung darstellt und beim Audit oder Red Teaming oftmals eine ganzheitliche Betrachtung der Organisation erfolgt. Im letzten Abschnitt wird eine praktikable Methode zur Durchführung von Red Teaming beschrieben. Hierzu wurden Thesen auf Grundlage des gesammelten Wissens aufgestellt. Die Arbeit endet mit einem Fazit und den Zukunftsaussichten von Red Teaming.

Enterprise Architecture (EA) Frameworks (EAFs) have attempted to support comprehensive and cohesive modeling and documentation of the enterprise. However, these EAFs were not conceived for today’s rapidly digitalized enterprises and the associated IT complexity. A digitally-centric EAF is needed, freed from the past restrictive EAF paradigms and embracing the new potential in a data-centric world. This paper proposes an alternative EAF that is digital, holistic, and digitally sustainable - the Digital Diamond Framework. D2F is designed for responsive and agile enterprises, for aligning business plans and initiatives with the actual enterprise state, and addressing the needs of EA for digitized structure, order, modeling, and documentation. The feasibility of D2F is demonstrated with a prototype implementation of an EA tool that applies its principles, showing how the framework can be practically realized, while a case study based on ArchiSurance example and an initial performance and scalability characterization provide additional insights as to its viability.

The exponential growth in knowledge coupled with the decreasing knowledge half-life creates a challenging situation for educational programs - particularly those preparing software engineers for their very dynamic high-technology field. Teachers in high technology education areas are challenged in selecting and making relevant knowledge intuitively accessible to students, especially with regard the highly dynamic digital and software technologies. This paper contributes a knowledge nexus-based multimedia approach aligned with Higher Education 4.0 for creating learning apps on mobile devices that support multiple didactic models, leverage intrinsic curiosity and motivation, support gamification, and enable digital collaboration. Object recognition is used to trigger learning paths, and various didactic methods are supported via workflow-like learning flows to support group or team-based learning. A prototype app was realized to demonstrate its feasibility and an empirical evaluation in software engineering shows the didactic potential and advantages of the approach, which can be readily generalized and applied to the arts, sciences, etc.

Software models in the Unified Modeling Language (UML) can been created or automatically reverse-engineered and used for quickly gaining structural insights into larger, legacy, or unfamiliar software. But as the size, structural complexity, and interdependencies between software components in larger systems grows, two-dimensional viewing and modeling has limitations, and new ways of visualizing larger models and numerous associated diagrams of different types are needed to intuitively convey structural and relational insights. To investigate the feasibility of using Virtual Reality (VR) to create an immersive UML-based software modeling experience, this paper contributes a VR solution concept for visualizing, navigating, modeling, and interacting with software models using UML notation. An implementation shows its feasibility while an empirical evaluation highlights its potential.

As the size of software program code bases in software development projects increases, insight into and comprehension of their underlying dependency structures presents a challenge for programmers. The increasing availability of virtual reality (VR) systems brings VR-based visualization of program code structures into practical reach for software developers and could support program comprehension and insight. However, the complete visual immersion with VR presents a cognitive burden and potential distractions. Applying gamification to such a VR visualization capability has hitherto been insufficiently investigated as to its potential motivation and program comprehension factors. This paper describes and evaluates a VR digital gamification approach for program code called VR Gamified Immersion in Software structures (VR-GaImS), which applies digital gamification to a multi-metaphor VR visualization of software program structures. The results of a preliminary empirical investigation utilizing our prototype indicate its potential to increase enjoyment and motivation, focus attention, and encourage the exploration of software structures.

The digital transformation occurring throughout enterprises results in an increasingly dynamic and complex IT landscape. As the structures with which enterprise architecture (EA) deals become more digital, larger, complex, and dynamic, new approaches for modeling, documenting, and conveying EA structural and relational aspects are needed. The potential for virtual reality (VR) to address upcoming EA modeling challenges has as yet been insufficient- ly explored. This paper contributes a VR hypermodel solution concept for visu- alizing, navigating, interacting with ArchiMate and Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) models in VR. An implementation demonstrates its feasibil- ity and a case study is used to show its potential.