A Hybrid Approach Using RUP and Scrum as a Software Development Strategy

According to some researchers, a hybrid approach can help optimize the software development lifecycle by combining two or more methodologies. RUP and Scrum are two methodologies that successfully complement each other to improve the software development process. However, the literature has shown only few case studies on exactly how organizations are successfully applying this hybrid methodology and the benefits and issues found during the process. To help fill this literature gap, the main purpose of this thesis is to describe the development of the Lobbyist Registration and Tracking System for the City of Jacksonville case study where a hybrid approach, that integrates RUP and Scrum, was implemented to develop a major application to provide additional empirical evidence and enrich the knowledge in this under-investigated field. The objective of this research was fulfilled since the case study was described in detail with the specific processes implemented using RUP and Scrum within the context of the IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management Solution. The results may help researchers and practitioners who are looking for evidence about conducting a hybrid approach. However, more case studies that successfully combine RUP and Scrum need to be developed in order to have enough empirical evidence

Learning From the Case Studies, How Global Software Development Process is Executed in an Agile Method Environment

. The biggest challenge in Global Software Development (GSD) is the efficiency of time to develop. GSD provides a guidance to use the process along with up-front analysis method like unified process or waterfall method. Although, it gives a benefit through comprehensive documentation and its clearness, it gives inhibits the organization which wants use GSD but in a rush. Agile methods claim an efficient and the effective approach to software development. This paper reports on how organizations combine the GSD process with agile methods like eXtreme Programming (XP), Scrum, Agile Unified Process (Agile UP), Feature Driven Development (FDD), and Microsoft Solution Framework Agile (MSF Agile). The paper uses case study to get organization experiences and describe useful practices for the organization that want to implement GSD with an agile method.

Contribution to Software Development Method based on Generalized Requirement Approach

Requirements’ gathering is one of the first steps in the software development process. Gathering business requirements, when the final product requirements are dictated by a known client, can be a difficult process. Even if the client knows their own business best, often their idea about a new business product is obscure, and described by general terms that contribute very much to common misunderstandings among the participants. Business requirement verification when the requirements are gathered using text and graphics can be a slow, error-prone, and expensive process. Misunderstandings and omitted requirements cause the need for revisions and increase project costs and delays. This research work proposes a new approach to the business software development process and is focused on the client’s understanding of how the business software development process works as well as a demonstration of the business requirement practices during requirement negotiation process. While the current software development process validates the business requirement at the end of the development process, this method implementation enables business requirement validation during the requirement negotiation phase. The process of the business requirement negotiation is guided by a set of predefined questions. These questions are guidelines for specifying a sufficient level of requirement details for generating executable code that is able to demonstrate each requirement. Effective implementation of the proposed method requires employment of the GRA Framework. Besides providing guidelines for requirement specification, the Framework shall create executable and provide the test environment for a requirement demonstration. This dissertation implements an example framework that is built around a central repository. Stored within the repository is the data collected during the requirement negotiations process. Access to the repository is managed by a Web interface that enables a collaborative and paperless environment. The result is that the data is stored in one place and updates are reflected to the stakeholders immediately. The executable code is generated by the Generator, a module that provides general programming units that are able to create source code files, databases, SQL statements, classes and methods, navigation menus, and demo applications, all from the data stored in the data repository. The generated software can then be used for the business requirement demonstration. This method assumes that any further development process is built around the requirements repository, which can provide continuous tracking of implementation changes. Besides readily documenting, tracking, and validating the requirements, this method addresses multiple requirement management syndromes such as the insufficient requirements description details provision, the IKIWISI (“I’ll know it when I see it”) Syndrome, the Yes, But Syndrome (“That is not exactly what I mean”), and the Undiscovered Ruins Syndrome (“Now that I see it, I have another requirement to add”).

Human Factors in Agile Software Development

Through our four years experiments on students' Scrum based agile software development (ASD) process, we have gained deep understanding into the human factors of agile methodology. We designed an agile project management tool - the HASE collaboration development platform to support more than 400 students self-organized into 80 teams to practice ASD. In this thesis, Based on our experiments, simulations and analysis, we contributed a series of solutions and insights in this researches, including 1) a Goal Net based method to enhance goal and requirement management for ASD process, 2) a novel Simple Multi-Agent Real-Time (SMART) approach to enhance intelligent task allocation for ASD process, 3) a Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) based method to enhance emotion and morale management for ASD process, 4) the first large scale in-depth empirical insights on human factors in ASD process which have not yet been well studied by existing research, and 5) the first to identify ASD process as a human-computation system that exploit human efforts to perform tasks that computers are not good at solving. On the other hand, computers can assist human decision making in the ASD process.Comment: Book Draf

A Quality Framework for Software Development (QFSD)

INTRODUCTION. This research delivers a new complete and prescriptive software development framework, known as the Quality Framework for Software Development (QFSD) for immediate use by software development practitioners. Whilst there are a number of existing methodologies available, and many software development standards they fail to address the complete development lifecycle. A review of current literature supports this assertion. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES. The overall aim of the research is to create a new software development framework, applying it to a substantial number of real-world software projects in two different industrial software development environments and thereby demonstrating its effectiveness. METHODS. Based on a review of the available research approaches and strategies, the researcher selected 'pragmatism' as the most suitable for this research. This selection was driven by two contributory factors. The first was that in order to conduct the research the researcher would have active participation in the majority of the research activities. The second was that the deliverables from the research should be immediately useable for the benefit of software practitioners and hence not be regarded as a theoretical framework. The approach was further refined by adopting Action Research and Case Study strategies. The research was divided in to stages each of which was executed within separate companies. The companies were very different in terms of their business areas, culture and views on quality and specifically quality of software deliverables. RESULTS. The research findings provided a strong indication that a holistic software development framework does provide an improvement in software project deliverables quality and repeatability in terms of schedules and quality. In the case of Fisher–Rosemount it enabled them to attain ISO 9000/Ticket accreditation. In addition, by providing all processes and tools in a single web based environment the adoption by software developers, project managers and senior management was very high

Information Strategy

Tato diplomová práce je zaměřena na možnosti využití moderních přístupů k řízení informačních technologií, konkrétně se věnuje potřebám inovace řízení životního cyklu vývoje software. Teoretická část práce je zaměřena na metody využívané pro informační strategii. Na základě analytické části práce, ve které hodnotím stávající přístup k řízení služeb informačních technologií, navrhuji řešení ve formě zákaznicky orientované informační strategie firmy a přístupu k řízení vývoje software jako součásti životního cyklu služeb.This diploma thesis is focused on the possibility of using modern approaches to information technology management. Specifically, it concentrates on demands for innovation of software development lifecycle management. The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on methods used in information strategy. Based on results of the analytical part, where I evaluate current approach to information technologies service management, I suggest solutions in the form of customer oriented information strategy and approach to the management of software development as a part of service lifecycle.

Milestones in Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering History: A Comparative Review

We present a review of the historical evolution of software engineering, intertwining it with the history of knowledge engineering because “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This retrospective represents a further step forward to understanding the current state of both types of engineerings; history has also positive experiences; some of them we would like to remember and to repeat. Two types of engineerings had parallel and divergent evolutions but following a similar pattern. We also define a set of milestones that represent a convergence or divergence of the software development methodologies. These milestones do not appear at the same time in software engineering and knowledge engineering, so lessons learned in one discipline can help in the evolution of the other one