Topics Bachelor Thesis BWL

Analytics refers to the extraction of meaningful insights from all sorts of data to enable better decision-making. It is already a major source of competitive advantage and facing the ever-increasing availability of (big) data, analytics is expected to be one of the most important firm capabilities in the future. Insights from practice show that analytics does not only involve a small number of data scientists anymore but efforts from many employees across function, hierarchy, or location are required. This requires organizations to undertake enormous efforts in governing analytics activities.

Against this backdrop, you are asked to provide a literature review on analytics governance.

References

Baijens, J., Huygh, T., and Helms, R. 2022. “Establishing and Theorising Data Analytics Governance: A Descriptive Framework and a VSM-Based View,” Journal of Business Analytics (5:1), Taylor & Francis, pp. 101–122.

Jan Schilpp

Data collection for quantitative empirical research is highly resource consuming. Simulated data might be a promising alternative offering rich data access at low cost. For instance, it is possible to leverage large language models (LLM) to simulate human behavior. These models are trained to emulate human behavior and serve as computational models of human interaction. Consequently, they might provide a viable avenue for conducting studies through simulation in the realm of social interaction (Horton 2023).

Against this backdrop, you are asked to provide a literature review on how LLM simulated data is used in quantitative empirical research.

References

Abbasi, A., Chiang, R., and Xu, J. 2023. “Data Science for Social Good,” Journal of the Association for Information Systems (24:6), pp. 1439–1458.

Argyle, L. P., Busby, E. C., Fulda, N., Gubler, J. R., Rytting, C., and Wingate, D. 2023. “Out of One, Many: Using Language Models to Simulate Human Samples,” Political Analysis (31:3), pp. 337–351.

In recent years, the term “Fusion Development” was established by leading NoCode / LowCode vendors such as Microsoft or Mendix. The term describes the concept of “Citizen-Developer” and “Pro-Developer” working together in order to build apps and workflows to solve real business challenges. Gartner predicts that by 2024, low-code application development will be responsible for more than 65% of application development activity. Therefore, it has to be investigated whether such a statement can be trusted and whether “Fusion Development” is the next evolutionary step of Agile Software Development.

Within this seminar thesis, you are asked to conduct a literature research regarding the relevance of „Citizen Development“, and which role “Fusion Development” plays in scientific literature. Furthermore, the shortcomings of Agile Software Development (ASD) have to be investigated and whether „Fusion Development“ has the potential to mitigate potential shortcomings of ASD.

References

Nurdiani, Indira, Jürgen Börstler, Samuel Fricker, Kai Petersen, und Panagiota Chatzipetrou. „Understanding the order of agile practice introduction: Comparing agile maturity models and practitioners’ experience“. Journal of Systems and Software 156 (1. Oktober 2019): 1–20. doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2019.05.035.

Binzer, Björn, und Till J. Winkler. „Democratizing Software Development: A Systematic Multivocal Literature Review and Research Agenda on Citizen Development“. In Software Business, herausgegeben von Noel Carroll, Anh Nguyen-Duc, Xiaofeng Wang, und Viktoria Stray, 244–59. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20706-8_17.

Digital platforms are dynamic eco­systems that trans­cend traditional business boundaries. They serve as virtual meeting points where users, businesses, and developers converge to exchange value, services, and information. These platforms can take various forms, including social networks, e-commerce marketplaces, cloud-based collaboration tools, and app eco­systems. Their underlying architecture enables seamless interactions, scalability, and adaptability across diverse devices and contexts.

Platform engineering, as the backbone of digital innovation, involves designing, building, and maintaining the foundational infrastructure that powers these platforms. Platform engineers create reusable components, APIs, and services that streamline software development. Their focus extends beyond individual applications; they aim to provide a cohesive environment for developers. Key aspects include governance models, security protocols, and self-service frameworks. By master­ing platform engineering, organizations can accelerate feature delivery, enhance collaboration, and ensure consistent user experiences.

Within this seminar thesis, you are asked to conduct a literature research regarding the relevance of Digitial Platforms and Platform Engineering, especially in the domain of FIS. The goal is to achieve a broad overview of potential concepts.

References

Many companies are starting to implement new AI technologies. How can artificial intelligence be successfully adopted at organizational level? And which determinants impact the adoption?

In your bachelor’s thesis, you are asked to provide a literature review of organizational AI Adoption approaches and AI-readiness factors.

References

Jöhnk, J., Weißert, M., & Wyrtki, K. (2020). Ready or Not, AI Comes— An Interview Study of Organizational AI Readiness Factors. In Business & Information Systems Engineering (Vol. 63, Issue 1, pp. 5–20). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-020-00676-7

Large Language Models (LLMs) and especially Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) are hot topics in the information technology area. RAG is used to minimize disadvantages such as hallucinations and outdated knowledge of LLMs. Large companies are incorporating generative AI solutions into their processes. There is still no comprehensive integration of GenAI in the software landscape, but this is currently beginning to change.

In your bachelor’s thesis, you are asked to provide a literature review of the capabilities of LLMs and RAG and their application in enterprise software.

References

O’Leary, D. E. (2024). The Rise and Design of Enterprise Large Language Models. In IEEE Intelligent Systems (Vol. 39, Issue 1, pp. 60–63). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). https://doi.org/10.1109/mis.2023.3345591