Applied analytics for Cyber Physical Systems

From the National Institute of Science and Technology definition of a Cyber Physical System: “Cyber-Physical Systems or “smart” systems are co-engineered interacting networks of physical and computational components. These systems will provide the foundation of…


Systems that reason

It is commonplace for autonomous systems to be referred to as smart systems. These are characterised by features such as high availability, the ability to repair themselves and possessing intelligence to be able to manage…




The importance of analytics

Everybody is talking about analytics. Together with Artificial Intelligence or AI all of our business problems will be solved apparently. Analytics sounds like analysis, so it is natural to make the comparison to try and…



What is model checking?

As software systems become more complex, and we use rapidly developing technologies to connect systems together to achieve new objectives, the scope for the introduction of errors increases. Such errors may cost an organisation money…


Making manufacturing formal

If we take the `buzz’ around Industry 4.0, and the resurgence of interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI), add a sprinkling of imagination, and we end up with some fantastic possibilities for manufacturing systems of the…


Managing software complexity

The construction of software for an application is a complicated process. We employ Software Engineers to develop software in a way that helps us arrive at robust solutions, and it is the training and experience…


Dealing with IoT time

One factor that motivates industrial organisations to adopt Internet of Things (IoT) technologies is the potential to be able to monitor, control and coordinate processes remotely. This opens up new possibilities for collaboration across manufacturing…


diagram of NIST framework for Cyber Physical Systems

What is a Cyber Physical System?

As technology develops and becomes more accessible, people find new  ways of exploiting the technology to achieve new objectives. The manufacturing industry is a pertinent example of how technology can transform productivity and increase quality…


Branding in Higher Education

The question of branding is an interesting topic for higher education. What actually does it mean to ‘brand’ a department? In the commercial sector, we would expect a branding exercise to enable a product, product…


Coaching through barriers

“If you knew you couldn’t possibly fail, what would you try?” This is a favourite staple of executive coaches, and for good reason. It strips away everything that inhibits your achievement, and gets you to…



The manager as coach

Coaching is a popular topic, particularly in the world of business. Executive leaders employ personal coaches to have developmental conversations, to explore hypothetical scenarios, and to encourage self-awareness. It follows that the practice has expanded,…



Risky rapport

I’m chatting with an academic colleague about student engagement. He is struggling with one particular class. The students turn up frequently enough to avoid triggering attendance monitoring processes, and it’s creating havoc in the group…



What is coaching?

For a long time the practice of ‘coaching’ has been associated with sport, and more specifically it refers to a role whereby a ‘coach’ assists a ‘coachee’ to improve their competitive performance. The coach offers…