Dealing with Fuzzy Information in Software Design Methods

Software design methods incorporate a large set of heuristic rules that should result in stable software architecture of high quality. In general, clearly defined inputs are required to deliver the desired results. Unfortunately, especially in the early phases of software development, it is very difficult or even impossible to provide precisely defined information. Since methods cannot deal with imprecision, the designers need to make approximations which are generally not justifiable. In this paper, we will advocate an approach where the inputs for software design methods are modeled by using fuzzy sets. This approach renders the need for introduction of extra information for removal of inexactness obsolete

Software reliability and dependability: a roadmap

Shifting the focus from software reliability to user-centred measures of dependability in complete software-based systems. Influencing design practice to facilitate dependability assessment. Propagating awareness of dependability issues and the use of existing, useful methods. Injecting some rigour in the use of process-related evidence for dependability assessment. Better understanding issues of diversity and variation as drivers of dependability. Bev Littlewood is founder-Director of the Centre for Software Reliability, and Professor of Software Engineering at City University, London. Prof Littlewood has worked for many years on problems associated with the modelling and evaluation of the dependability of software-based systems; he has published many papers in international journals and conference proceedings and has edited several books. Much of this work has been carried out in collaborative projects, including the successful EC-funded projects SHIP, PDCS, PDCS2, DeVa. He has been employed as a consultant t

Report of the user requirements and web based access for eResearch workshops

The User Requirements and Web Based Access for eResearch Workshop, organized jointly by NeSC and NCeSS, was held on 19 May 2006. The aim was to identify lessons learned from e-Science projects that would contribute to our capacity to make Grid infrastructures and tools usable and accessible for diverse user communities. Its focus was on providing an opportunity for a pragmatic discussion between e-Science end users and tool builders in order to understand usability challenges, technological options, community-specific content and needs, and methodologies for design and development. We invited members of six UK e-Science projects and one US project, trying as far as possible to pair a user and developer from each project in order to discuss their contrasting perspectives and experiences. Three breakout group sessions covered the topics of user-developer relations, commodification, and functionality. There was also extensive post-meeting discussion, summarized here. Additional information on the workshop, including the agenda, participant list, and talk slides, can be found online at http://www.nesc.ac.uk/esi/events/685/ Reference: NeSC report UKeS-2006-07 available from http://www.nesc.ac.uk/technical_papers/UKeS-2006-07.pd

Measuring the Impact of Quality Improvement in a Software Company

The quality issue is not only a matter of developing and implementing a quality system. It mandatory this system to function precisely on a long term basis. The evaluation of quality impact as a consequence of its improvement is a scary thing the quality specialists prefer to be apart due to its complexity. That’s the reason why the article emphasize on: the need and justification of quality impact evaluation, particularities of quality in software domain generated by its specificity, what evaluation of economic effects means in the context of a quality improvement particularly in a software company, a proposed method to calculate the impact of quality (on the costs structure), a practical example of how the method should be used and the results interpreted based on two simulated case.quality improvement; quality management; software industry; quality impact evaluation; measure quality.

Business Method Patents in Europe and their Strategic Use - Evidence from Franking Device Manufacturers

There has been a wide-spread misconception based on the imprecise wording of Art. 52 of the European Patent Convention (EPC) that the protection of business methods by patents is prohibited in Europe. This paper investigates the legal framework set by patent laws with respect to the patentability of business methods, contrasting the situation in lege in Europe and the situation in the US. It is shown that in praxi business methods have never been excluded from patentability in Europe. In the empirical part of the paper, 1,901 European patent applications relating to business methods are identified and major patent indicators are computed. Further, a case study from the franking device industry which is characterized by strong competition for intellectual property rights is conducted. It contains evidence for the strategic use of business method patents leading to opposition rates against granted patents of 44%

Effective communication in requirements elicitation: A comparison of methodologies

The elicitation or communication of user requirements comprises an early and critical but highly error-prone stage in system development. Socially oriented methodologies provide more support for user involvement in design than the rigidity of more traditional methods, facilitating the degree of user-designer communication and the 'capture' of requirements. A more emergent and collaborative view of requirements elicitation and communication is required to encompass the user, contextual and organisational factors. From this accompanying literature in communication issues in requirements elicitation, a four-dimensional framework is outlined and used to appraise comparatively four different methodologies seeking to promote a closer working relationship between users and designers. The facilitation of communication between users and designers is subject to discussion of the ways in which communicative activities can be 'optimised' for successful requirements gathering, by making recommendations based on the four dimensions to provide fruitful considerations for system designers