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The purpose of this paper is to present the application of Design of Experiments techniques for the analysis of operating parameters of an industrial oven for the heat treatment process of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle filaments.

The focus is on evaluating new ways of operating the transformation process. The main issue is to raise what are the variables interfering with the performance of the oven. The complete 2k factorial for three factors of control was used to analyze the behavior of these variables and their relationships in the specific response parameter for the process.

The results presented in this work allow the company to have greater knowledge about the operation of the equipment. The study showed possibilities of 14.8% energy reduction.

The heat treatment activity was characterized as a critical point in the production process, and techniques with empirical approaches, based on statistical techniques, was an opportunity that the company has to improve the execution of activities without major investments for the quality of the final product. The application of statistical quality techniques showed to be very promising.

The fact that the study was conducted using subjective quality performance makes this work different from others presented in the literature, showing the possibility to apply Design of Experiments using main control factors based on the opinion of experienced personnel involved in the process analyzed.

This work investigates the influence of the organizational life cycle (OLC) on the performance management system (PMS) design and the performance of projects in Brazilian industries of software development.

The study employed descriptive statistics and structural equations modeling on the data and information obtained from 115 Brazilian industries of software development with maturity in project management. Data collection was carried out through a survey applied to managers of the organizations mapped and certified by management maturity models Brazilian software process improvement (MPS-BR) or capability maturity model integration (CMMI).

Results revealed that OLC influences the PMS design dimensions (scope, aggregation and opportunity) and project performance. Regarding effects observed on the performance of projects, only the scope dimension's influence was validated by the analyses, and the other dimensions were not significant considering the investigated sample.

The paper shows evidence of how OLC can influence PMS design and project performance. The analyses can help managers to improve their actions in the PMS design, increasing confidence and generating more robust and sustainable results in the business model.

Performance measurement systems (PMSs) have long been used for monitoring and improving administrative performance. In parallel, organizational ambidexterity refers to firms that manage different organizational functions and various demands to generate performance. The purpose of this paper is to propose that three dimensions of PMS increase organizational ambidexterity and consequently they influence organizational performance. In this framework, organizational ambidexterity mediates the relationships between three dimensions of PMS and organizational performance.

The data were collected through a structured questionnaire sent to Brazilian software companies. Owners, directors, project managers and responsible for company strategy answered the questionnaire. The final sample was 227 Brazilian software firms that answered according to their PMSs and organizational ambidexterity.

The results provide four main findings. First, the three dimensions of PMS, namely—attention focus, legitimization and strategic decision-making—influenced organizational ambidexterity. Second, organizational ambidexterity had a major effect on organizational performance. Third, organizational ambidexterity mediated the indirect effects of attention focus, legitimization and strategic decision-making on organizational performance. Fourth, exploration and exploitation—two dimensions of organizational ambidexterity—mediated the indirect effect of the abovementioned PMS dimensions on organizational performance.

Although there are different dimensions of organizational ambidexterity, this paper is limited to two of the most used ones: exploitation and exploration. In addition, the results were limited to subjective—in contrast to objective—performance measures.

Software companies can use PMS for attention focus, legitimization of firm’s choices and strategic decision-making to increase their exploration and exploitation capabilities. Moreover, software companies can use strategic decision-making to control existing strategies and establish new strategies for legitimizing ambidextrous choices and thereby support their decision-making process.

The data showed that not only organizational ambidexterity mediates the effects of the three dimensions of PMS use on performance, but also exploration and exploitation.