Browsing by Author "Spencer-Hicken, Scott"
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- ItemBlockchain feasibility assessment : a quantitative approach(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-08) Spencer-Hicken, Scott; Vlok, PJ; Schutte, Cornelius; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This masters thesis involves the development of a blockchain assessment framework that is used to assess the technical suitability, detail design, adoption approach, economical feasibility, and business value potential of a blockchain solution within an organization for a specific process. The main aim of the study is to assess these elements using an assessment framework, while remaining generic and providing outputs that enable better decision-making regarding blockchain implementation. Blockchain is a nascent technology that is capable of disrupting the foundations of multiple industries. Blockchain solutions possess many desirable functional characteristics such as transparency, immutability, and decentralization among others. These useful characteristics have surrounded blockchain with hype, which has consequently lead to people attempting to create blockchain solutions without fully understanding what the technology is capable of, resulting in extremely high project failure rates. Academic researchers have attempted to reduce these failure rates by creating a better understanding of blockchain and many researchers have created assessment approaches for assessing blockchain within different contexts. However, these assessment approaches are often specific to very narrow use cases or the assessment approach is not comprehensive and only assesses one particular aspect of blockchain. This highlights the need for a comprehensive and generic blockchain assessment approach to identify whether blockchain is a viable solution for an organization within a given context. The aim of this study is to address this need by creating an assessment framework that can be used to identify whether a blockchain solution is worth investing time, money and effort into. A literature review is completed which investigates blockchain technology, its operation and its typical components along with other fundamental concepts required to design the necessary framework. This literature review is used to identify the relevant design requirements for the assessment framework, which is then designed in full. The assessment framework is demonstrated with the use of a case study and is validated using expert analysis. This demonstration and validation are used to enhance the design of the framework and identify future areas of improvement. The value of the framework for the initial evaluation of blockchain solutions and for creating momentum for further blockchain exploration is proven through the validation efforts. The study concludes with the limitations of the research and recommendations for future research.