M.A. Theses

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Feature analysis of an information systems product development: the case of e-mail systems
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Sofuoğlu, Ecehan.; Başoğlu, A. Nuri.
Improving the product development processes is gaining importance as the competitive business environment creates this need. "Customer" becomes the main focus in the new product development area and customer desires take the first place in this matter. To coordinate product development processes, companies increase collaboration, and support decision making between the customers and the firm. This study aims to understand & characterize potential users of a software product-which is email systems- through idea sharing of users and to create a new product concept through developing the common features that users prefer most. During this product conceptualization stage, the customer ideas are included through a questionnaire study. The questionnaire has been prepared after some pre-studies; a focus study and pre-tests. The sample has been selected especially through innovative customers with lead-user characteristics. With this questionnaire, the target users and which functions and features theygive priority are investigated. The existing e-mail systems they use and their "ideal" e-mail system are compared. During this study, a new theory of TACVAS is generated from TAM, TRA, TPB and Meanend Chain models. Also hypotheses were created in order to understand the relationships between the characteristics of e-mails and they were tested by regression analyses. Accordingto the results, the effect of TAM variables of Ease of Use and Usefulness on the values of mean-end chain theory have been verified. Moreover, the effect of some characteristics like user interface, security, speed, flexibility and reachability on the values have also beenproved.
Implementation difficulties of hospital information systems: a case study in a private hospital in Turkey
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Sağıroğlu, Yaşar Özge.; Özturan, Meltem.
This thesis looks for potential sources of implementation difficulties of hospital information system in a private hospital in Turkey and provides recommendations toavoid these difficulties. Increasing cost of patient care delivery and the difficulties faced during the improvement studies of data quality and data access have increased the pressure for the use of information systems in healthcare organizations. However, due to complex workflows of hospitals, usage of information systems in healthcare brought some problems along with it. In this study, in order to find out the possible implementation difficulties, a survey was conducted in a private hospital in Turkey which was just in the stage of implementing a hospital information system.Techniques of interview, observation and questionnaire were applied for datacollection. Data was analyzed by using descriptive, factor and ANOVA analyses. The results of these analyses showed that the potential sources of hospital information system implementation difficulties were related to organizational issues,end user profile, integration of different systems, inconsistency among different workflows of different departments and training issues where as there was no major implementation problem related to software, hardware, planning, support, security and solution provider. Under the guidance of literature survey and the findings of thestudy, recommendations for achieving a successful, sufficient and efficient hospital information system implementation phase are given in terms of end user contribution, business process reengineering, hardware planning, integration of information systems, training and support.
A simulation based decision support system for supply chain management
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Sancar, Ayşe Ürün.; Erdem, Aslı.
This study focuses on the improvement of supply chain performance in one of the biggest commodity product manufacturers in Turkey. The aim is to generate a tool that runs as a Decision Support System (DSS) and procides an easy to use simulation environment for supply chain managers in decision-making. In the current supply chain system there is no demand information flow upwards in the chain and the manufacturer determines its manufacturing rate according to the orders faced in the last thirty days. On the other hand, the manufacturer offers a volume discount option if the orders placed by a distributor exceed a certain quota. In the "Monthly Quota" system, the distributors gain d discount for their unit-purchasing price, if they reach their quota at the end of the evaluation period. As an improvement of the current supply chain system, an information system is proposed to share the Point of Sale data among the members of the supply chain. Another improvement strategy may be applying the "Rolling Horizon" instead of "Monthly Quota" method where the quotas are checked every time a distributor places an order. Three simulation models are developed by using the software ARENA, a graphical user interface that uses MS-Excel as a database is generated and integrated into a DSS for the supply chain managers. The DSS environment is used to compare all three models with different performance measures.
WEB mining issues: topic finding and focused crawling evaluation
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Uluhan, Eray.; Badur, Bertan Yılmaz.
Web mining is defined as the process of using data mining techniques to automatically discover and extract information from semi-or unstructured Web documents and services. This study on Web mining consists of two sections, covering Web structure mining and Web content mining. In the first section, mostwidely accepted focused crawling algorithms and simple tree traversing algorithms are compared based on their page relevance, keyword predicate satisfaction and hitratio criteria. Using the URL tokens as an input resulted in higher performances for all criteria. In the second part, an automatic topic finding methodology through Web pages is proposed. Processing only list items on HTML pages returned from a search engine, it is expected to find related key concepts on a user-defined topic. The methodology is experimented using different parameters, such as number of pages, different keywords, stemming implementations, etc. The candidate concepts ordered in relevancy scores represent a high precision on user-defined topic.
Data mining for customer segmentation and profiling: a case study for a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Buruncuk, Gülçin.; Badur, Bertan Yılmaz.
Data mining is a process of extracting hidden information from largedatabases by analyzing data from different perspectives. Segmentation and profiling analyses are data mining applications used to detect valuable customers of companies. Determining discrete valuable customer segments allows companies tofocus on these groups and reallocate their limited sources to serve them.The aim of this study is to propose a base for the customer relationship management activities by using data mining tools and applications for a FMCG company. Customer master data and sales transactions of customers are converted tomeaningful information that can be used for customer relationship management activities. Customer segments and city segments are constructed using the buyingbehavior data of customers as the input. Nonhierarchical clustering algorithm is used to implement the segmentation analyses. Profiles of customer and city segments aredefined using the characteristics of customers included in these segments.Results of the customer and city segmentation analyses are combined bydeveloping a new reporting environment with OLAP functionalities. Meaningful information obtained at the end of the analyses will help company to developeffective customer relationship management activities focusing on the valuable customers and valuable cities which will result in increasing the long term profitability of the company.
Consumer behavior in electronic retailing and the critical success factors affecting consumer preferences and loyalty
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Nikbay, Ünsal Hakan.; Kımıloğlu (Türker), Hande Bahar.
E-tailing sales volume in Turkey has increased more than four times since 2003 with increasing popularity of online shopping. While the revenues continue togrow, the increasingly competitive market forces e-tailing companies to understand online consumer behavior and the factors influencing consumers for e-store choices. Internet environment lowers barriers for customers switching between e-stores; thusretaining existing customers as loyal is a key challenge for success. This study aimsto examine the relations between online consumer behavior and the critical success factors of e-tailing (including both visit and purchase factors); and also the relationbetween the priority of these critical success factors for consumers and online loyaltyincluding switching cost concept after an exploratory research. Data collected from258 online customers was analyzed by using descriptive, factor, correlation, and regression analyses. The results of analyses show that there are negative and positiverelations between the consumer characteristics; and Web traffic, the effectiveness ofadvertising tools for visit, and the critical success factors for purchase. Finally, thisstudy shows that loyalty and swithing cost have different critical success factors as leading inputs although they are positive correlated.
Organizational adoption of enterprise resource planning systems
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Kerimoğlu, Onur.; Başoğlu, A. Nuri.
Although Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are being used widelyall around the world, they bring along many problems as well as benefits. Most ofthese implementations are failures and inadequate adoption is just one of the failure factors. This study defines organizational adoption of ERP systems throughbuilding a framework. The model consists of core Technology Acceptance Model(TAM) variables (perceived ease of use of ERP system and perceived usefulness),satisfaction and common actors of an ERP project: technology, user, organization and project management. A survey was conducted after studying the literature andmaking qualitative studies. Results of the study revealed that organizational adoptioncan only be accomplished if the satisfaction with the ERP system is achieved bycompetency and flexibility of the technology along with the special efforts of project management during project implementation. Besides, interesting results were foundabout the characteristics of people who were satisfied by using the ERP system. Thisstudy not only handles problems of ERP from a new perspective, but also providesresearchers and managers with insight about adopting the ERP software across the organization.
A decision support system for workforce management in call centers
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Gedikoğlu, Burak.; Erdem, Aslı.
Shift design, workforce allocation and call allocation are the major problems in call center management. The aim of the call center manager is to allocate and dynamically update the workforce so that the incoming calls are answered in the shortest possible time, above certain service level measures. The software tools developed to aid decision making in these areas use models that are based on Erlang-C calculations. However, the strict assumptions of Erlang-C often lead to invaliddecisions. For this reason, especially at peak times during the day, dynamic updates in the applied design are inev itable. In this study, a framework for a decision supportsystem (DSS) is developed for designing the shifts and allocating the agent workforce to the shifts in a call center, so that target service levels are met. In theproposed system, shifts are designed by solving a linear optimization model. Using this solution as the input, a simulation model is developed to dynamically update theworkforce so that the minimum required service level is met at all times. The proposed DSS is applied to an existing call center system, alternative designs aregenerated and compared.
A framework for integrating knowledge management and decision support systems by using knowledge discovery techniques: a case study forecasting financial time series
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Gülser, Zarife Gonca.; Badur, Bertan Yılmaz.
In a typical decision support environment, the decision-making process deploys asmall portion of the needed information that exists on computers and the structures of thedecision models are highly generalized for each of the problems. However, knowledge in the minds of the decision makers, called tacit knowledge, is needed to give convenient decisions and to construct specific models for problems. This situation coerces the development of anew decision support concept that integrates knowledge management and decision support systems by using knowledge discovery techniques. The purpose of the study is to develop a framework that applies knowledge discovery techniques for various types of knowledge conversion and generates specific decision models by utilizing previously defined models asmuch as possible. In order to prove the applicability of the proposed framework, anexperimental study is designed. The chosen problem domain forecasts the Turkish financialand macroeconomic time series. In addition to its main purpose, the study suggests to increase the effectiveness of decision support systems, to enhance the knowledge in the decision making process and the reby to improve the decision-making process.
Information technology diffusion and managerial decision making
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2006., 2006.) Tanoğlu, İlda.; Başoğlu, A. Nuri.
In today's rapidly changing competitive environment, Information Technology (IT) within an organization is continuously improved, driven by the external push of technological advances and internal pull of increasing organizational needs. In order to achieve the greatest return on IT investment, the diffusion process of IT within the organization should be examined carefully. This study aims to explore the effects of organizational, social, individual and technological characteristics on the diffusion and infusion of different information technologies within organizations, and to discover the relationship between the diffusion and infusion of these technologies and the effectiveness, efficiency and productivity of managerial decision making processes. Based on a thorough review of theoretical background and prior empirical studies in the area, an integrated research framework concerning IT diffusion context has been developed and tested via a survey applied on individuals from different organizations. Findings suggest that the antecedents of the diffusion and infusion patterns vary for different types of information technologies.
Developing an information security management framework: case studies on registration office and computer center of a state university
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2007., 2007.) Ergen, Gökhan.; Kutlu, Birgül.
Information Technology (IT) provides a wide range of benefits for the companies as well as organizations and institutions. Obtaining fast, efficient and effective operations are among the main benefits. On the other hand, the workflow of business in companies, organizations and institutions are mainly handled via computers; the data are recorded, processed by state-of-art systems and distributed to individuals via fully integrated networks. However, since all data is electronically stored and transferred, maintaining the security of data has become a primary subject for the owners and users of the data. Security breaches, resulting in huge amounts of financial losses and eventually in enforcement of several regulations force information owners to build sound information security systems as well as IT infrastructures. Concurrently, the managerial aspects of these systems have also become one of the main topics for the top management. The aim of this study is to constitute a basic information security management framework based on the standards BS 7799/ ISO 17799 and to apply it via case studies. For the application of the framework, two case study subjects are selected; one registration office and one computer center of a state university. Based on the framework proposed, the information security practices of these two entities are evaluated.
Factors affecting the adoption of mobile services
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2007., 2007.) Kargın, Banu.; Başoğlu, A. Nuri.
Mobile technologies are gaining more popularity and diffusing into every aspect of our life. Value Added Services (VAS) has a huge impact on consumers’ usage patterns and has become a significant differentiator across the operators. These led to new opportunities in innovation of differentiating services. Better services will be best developed by understanding the requirements of the users. In this study, our intention is to shed some light on the process of mobile service adoption by investigating value added services especially for informative services. The study started with background research to identify factors determining the adoption of mobile services; then continued with qualitative studies; namely interviews, brainstorming sessions, and expert focus group. After these studies, an experimental study was conducted. During this experimental study, a conjoint analysis had been conducted. During conjoint analysis, product preference factors were explored. Service cost and service speed were seen as critical factors. In addition to these, according to results of regression analyses which are done to find the determinants of mobile service intention, attitude and usefulness were found to be significant factors parallel to literature. Personalization, mobility, user experience and content were identified as indirect determinants of attitude mediated through usefulness.
An aggregated information technology checklist for operational risk management
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2007., 2007.) Önal, Mehmet Zeki.; Onay, Ceylan.
This paper develops an aggregated information technology (IT) checklist in order to manage the operational risks in an organization, especially those caused by the information systems and technology infrastructure. The study addresses the issue of the IT Governance frameworks and standards (information control models) that respond to different levels of operational risks and need to be harmonized. The definition of risk, operational risk, and risk management are discussed, a requirement analysis regarding Basel II is conducted, a gap analysis between the information control models (ICMs) is performed, and the aggregated IT checklist for operational risk management (ORM) is proposed by mapping the control objectives in ICMs to the operational risk categories described in Basel II as loss event types. The validity and reliability of the study is based on the focus group assessment of the mappings. The managerial impacts of the checklist are discussed, considering the audit implications of the checklist.
Strategic aims and effectiveness of Turkish traditional companies implementing e-commerce: a comparative study
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2007., 2007.) Sipahi, Özlem.; Döğerlioğlu, Özgür.
Increase of competition in the local markets urges the companies of various sizes to implement new technologies in order not to be left behind the competition. E-commerce is one of the major types of these technologies, offering the companies a wide range of opportunities, so that they can find the most appropriate solution for their needs. However, as the technological solutions renew themselves with an amazing velocity, organizations have to consider about the rate of returns on their investments. They should analyze the effects of new technologies on their organizational effectiveness before making an investment, so that they can make the right selection. The aim of this study is to explore the factors affecting e-commerce in different sectors in Turkey, compare the sectors and measure the relations of these factors with the effectiveness of company objectives regarding e-commerce. In the scope of this research, Tourism, Finance and Textile sectors are selected as sample and a survey has been conducted to define major differences between these sectors. Hypotheses have been defined and tested using t tests and regression analysis in order to explore the factors influencing effectiveness of e-commerce in organizations.
Human computer interaction analysis and prototyping studies
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2007., 2007.) Şeneler, Çağla Özen.; Başoğlu, A. Nuri.
There is an increased interest in developing better user interfaces by means of different technologies because capabilities of user interface add a lot to the information technology (IT) adoption process. The purpose of the study is to develop a taxonomy for the characteristics of technology adoption process and a research framework that addresses how the product design features and various aspects of technology adoption process influence user preference and intention towards using a product. This study is based on a theoretical background review, prior empirical studies, previously defined technology acceptance models, and user satisfaction models. Proposed taxonomy and framework have been developed by series of observations: in-depth interviews, a brainstorming session, and an expert focus group. In order to test the proposed framework, an experimental study including a questionnaire was designed. The study’ results highlight the effects of product design features on user preferences and antecedents of user intention about using the product. The results will be important to developers who want to create interfaces that stimulate mental processes of users, improve an effective, efficient, and intelligent machine interaction, facilitate user acceptance, and assist product utilization.
The adoption and implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) activities in internet business in Turkey
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2007., 2007.) Zaralı, Hülya.; Kımıloğlu (Türker), Hande Bahar.
Integration of a simulation platform into a business process management tool
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2008., 2008.) Kanalıcı, İbrahim Halil.; Erdem, Aslı.
Information technology has already gone beyond being a supportive tool for businesses. Strong competition and increased costs force businesses act more efficiently and rapidly, so almost in every business, the operations are carried out in IT platforms where the processes are automated. These platforms are referred to as Business Process Management (BPM) Suites. With this motivation, most companies analyze and reengineer their workflows. At this point, it is vital to be able to monitor current or reengineered business processes with key performance indicators and keep the process flows under control. This introduces a challenge for the management to evaluate how any particular modification to any of the process workflows affects the performance measures. Therefore simulation becomes an essence in the contemporary management of businesses. In practice, major business process management softwares include some kind of simulation environment either as an embedded engine within the modeling component or through third-party integration. In this study a general purpose simulation platform is analyzed and a mapping algorithm is developed to integrate modeling capabilities of a BPM tool with this simulation environment.
Consumer attitudes toward and experiences with airline companies
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2008., 2008.) Uyanık, Hakan.; Nasır, Aslıhan.
The main purposes of this study can be summarized as a) to investigate consumers’ brand name and web address recall of airline companies, b) to determine consumers’ overall satisfaction level and to examine whether the three groups of customers differ in their overall satisfaction with the service provided by the current airline company, c) to investigate whether the groups differ in their loyalty behavior toward the company, d) to investigate the involvement of consumers in terms of interest during the purchase process and the importance of the service to the individual, e) to investigate online privacy concerns of consumers, f) to determine consumers’ satisfaction from online booking services of their primary airline company and g) to make comparisons about online and traditional booking systems. Data collected from an online survey was analyzed by using descriptive, factor, correlation and ANOVA analyses. The results show that the three customer groups significantly differ in terms to their overall satisfaction, involvement with and loyalty towards their current airline company. Further more there is a significant difference among the three customer groups about their attitude toward loyalty programs, satisfaction from online services of their primary airline companies. In addition, the three customer group respondents make different comparisons about online and traditional booking systems.
Developing an information system for credit risk rating using analytical hierarchy process (AHP)
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2008., 2008.) Tekin, Bahar.; Tükel, Ali.
Credit risk management is one of the main activities of banks, and credit risk ratings are an essential part of the process. In the rating process statistical models and judgmental systems can be employed. At the evaluation of larger exposures, however, judgmental systems are preferred more than statistical models, although they are more costly. Different parties in a bank participate through the rating process and since performance assessment criteria of these parties are totally different from each other, disagreements in the rating process are inevitable. This thesis aims to show the differences between the judgments of two departments through the credit risk rating process in one of the banks in Turkey. Additionally the effect of group decision making on the accuracy of credit risk ratings is aimed at. The information system developed for credit risk rating is based on a descriptive and structured model called the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP).
Experimental study for extending data mining standards
(Thesis (M.A.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2008., 2008.) Daylan, Ahmet.; Badur, Bertan Yılmaz.; Darcan, Osman Nuri.
Data mining is becoming a mainstream technology used in business intelligence solutions supporting various industries and lines of business. Although there are plenty of data mining products at the market, these products are difficult to integrate with user applications due to the lack of standardization protocols. Conforming to common standards facilitates development, implementation and maintenance of applications as well as communication among them. In addition, these standards enable data miners to develop data mining process easily. As being one of the wellestablished data mining standards, Java Data Mining (JDM) allows Java applications to communicate with data mining engines to build, test and apply mining models. First release of JDM supports the basic data mining functionalities; classification, regression, attribute importance, clustering, and association. Currently developing version (JDM 2.0) proposes the additional set of functionalities such as time series, feature extraction, text mining. In this study, we present the experimental framework developed to extend the JDM 2.0 by including ensembles methods such as boosting, bagging to improve the classification accuracy and bootstrap to assess accuracy. We have applied our extended JDM functionalities with two well known datasets that are iris dataset and Sales History (SH) dataset.

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