End-user documentation

The first and most basic problem with documentation is that the consumer of software applications does not want to use the documentation included with a software product for one or more reasons. Studies, and papers, have been done on the effect that documentation has on a user's satisfaction with a software application; its ease of use, how quickly a user can learn to use the application, and on how documentation should be standardized. The premise of this thesis is that an improvement to the software maintenance processes can be achieved by limiting maintenance requests to "actual” problems with software, versus "perceived" problems caused by inadequate end-user documentation. After analyzing the literature within the computer science communities on the software maintenance process, and the literature within the educational and psychological communities on learning, retention, and the effect of software documentation on the end-user, a modification to the Foster Model was conceived. This model incorporates the concept of an Interactive Documentation Program (IDP), which allows for the end-user to utilize end-user directed and task-based documentation to improve their skills with the operation of commercially available off-the-shelf "office application" software as well as in-house developed software of a similar nature. To ascertain the viability of this concept, a world-wide survey of end-users is concerning their needs, desires, expectations, and complaints concerning end-user documentation was conducted. Combining the statistical results of the analysis of this survey with the concept of the IDP resulted in a new visuaUy-based and task oriented documentation paradigm called hypervideo

An Empirical Investigation of the Key Factors for Refactoring Success in an Industrial Context

Refactoring is an increasingly practiced method in industrial software development. Stated simply, refactoring is an ongoing software improvement process that simplifies the internal structure of existing software, without changing its external behavior. The purpose is to improve the software and facilitate future maintenance and enhancement. Existing studies on refactoring mainly focus on its technical aspects and thus do not consider the team and human factors that influence its success. To identify the major facilitating factors for the success of refactoring, we interviewed 10 industrial software developers, and combined their responses with a study of the existing literature, formulated a model of refactoring success. The resulting conceptual model comprises both technical and non-technical factors. Technical factors include: level, testing and debugging, and tools, while the non-technical factors include: communication and coordination, support activities, individual capability/skills, and programmer participation. We propose to verify this model empirically through a survey of professional software developers (main body of refactoring practitioners). The survey design is provided

Survey on software maintenance profile and knowledge requirement in public higher learning institutions

Software maintenance (SM) environment is highly complex, knowledge-driven and collaborative. Therefore, Knowledge management (KM) is critical to provide an environment for sharing and sustaining knowledge. Issues such as inadequate knowledge and lack on information sharing are still regarded as major challenges in SM. This paper presents the results of a survey on KM of SM process in selected higher learning institutions (HLIs) in Malaysia. Based on the survey, several deficiencies are identified as common to HLIs. Domain knowledge is important but these are seldom stored in KMS or other electronic means. Maintainers also spent considerable efforts collaborating with other parties to obtain information. Therefore, resolving these issues should be given high priority

Empirical Investigation of Influencing Factors Regarding Offshore Outsourcing Decision of Application Maintenance

Global Software Development (GSD) has been an emerging trend in the development of software globally, for the last two decades. Information Technology (IT) outsourcing includes application development, application maintenance, infrastructure management and business process outsourcing. Software maintenance aims to keep the IT system operational and to fulfill the client requirements. The maintenance is considered the longest phase of software life cycle that consumes about 60-70% of the total software budget. Maintenance of software is not only time consuming but also requires a significant human resources' ratio. Mostly, software acquisition and maintenance consume a big portion of the total IT budget. The current study aims to evaluate the findings of the systematic literature review and to derive a list of critical success factors regarding offshore outsourcing decision of application maintenance. Thus, an empirical study is performed to validate the influencing factors that were identified by using systematic literature review. These factors are further validated by 93 outsourcing experts from 30 different countries. The collected data through online survey is analyzed based on variables such as respondents experience level, respondents' locations (continents), experts' positions. Similarly, the data is analysed based on Chi square test (linear by linear association) and Spearman Rank Correlation. Additionally, the identified factors through survey and systematic literature review are ranked by two different methods. Consequently, a project assessment model is proposed, based on the critical success factors for the sourcing decision of application maintenance.Qatar University [QUHI-CBE-21/22-1]

Why We Engage in FLOSS: Answers from Core Developers

The maintenance and evolution of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects demand the constant attraction of core developers. In this paper, we report the results of a survey with 52 developers, who recently became core contributors of popular GitHub projects. We reveal their motivations to assume a key role in FLOSS projects (e.g., improving the projects because they are also using it), the project characteristics that most helped in their engagement process (e.g., a friendly community), and the barriers faced by the surveyed core developers (e.g., lack of time of the project leaders). We also compare our results with related studies about others kinds of open source contributors (casual, one-time, and newcomers).Comment: Accepted at CHASE 2018: 11th International Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (8 pages

Analysis of deployment techniques for webbased applications in SMEs

The Internet is no longer just a source for accessing information; it has become a valuable medium for social networking and software services. Web-browsers can now access entire software systems available online to provide the user with a range of services. The concept of software as a service(SAAS) was born out of this. The number of development techniques and frameworks for such web-applications has grown rapidly and much research and development has been carried out on advancing the capability of web scripting languages and web browsers. However a key part of the life-cycle of web-applications that has not received adequate attention is deployment. The deployment techniques chosen to deploy a web application can have a serious affect on the cost of maintenance and the quality of service for the end user. A SAAS modelled web application attempts to emulate a desktop software package experience. If a deployment process affects the availability and quality of service of a web-application then the core concept of this model is broken. This dissertation identifies approaches to designing a deployment process and the aspects that influence the quality of a deployment technique. A survey was circulated to a number of Irish small to medium sized enterprises (SME) that develop web-based software. The survey shows an overview of multiple deployment processes used by these SMEs. Using this information, along with a review of the available literature and a detailed case study of a typical SME deploying SAAS based products, the dissertation provides a critical analysis and evaluation of the current deployment techniques being used

The Influence of product-specific determinants on software firms’ international entry mode choices

In an environment of globalization of software and IT services, providing software solutions in international markets has become a strategic necessity for many software firms. When setting up international business operations, software firms need to make a fundamental choice on the distribution arrangements for software and related services in foreign markets. Particularly, such arrangements may either involve contracting with local partners to distribute products and services or extending the firm abroad by establishing wholly-owned subsidiaries or deploying employees. This study focuses on analyzing such boundary choices of software product firms in international markets. Taking a knowledge-based perspective, a research model is developed that outlines the influence of software product and service characteristics on software firms’ international entry mode choices. The research model is tested using PLS based on survey data from internationally operating software firms. The study findings support the knowledge-based reasoning that unique knowledge inherent in a software product that may be required during the sales process can be more easily transferred within firm boundaries. Particularly, the results point out the need for software firms to enter foreign markets through company-owned channels (i.e., wholly-owned subsidiaries or employee deployment) if the business processes and the functionality reflected in software product are highly specific. Likewise, company-owned channels are chosen if a high share of complementary services (e.g., implementation, consulting, training, maintenance, and support) is provided along with the introduction of a software product in a foreign market. In contrast, if significant country-specific adaptations of software products need to be performed, in particular language localization, the required knowledge is most effectively integrated through cooperation with local sales partners

Recording, monitoring and managing the conservation of historic sites : a new application for BGS Sigma

Historic Environment Scotland (HES), a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment, is directly responsible for 335 sites of national significance, most of which are built from stone. Similar to other heritage organisations, HES needs a system that can store and present conservation and maintenance information for historic sites; ideally, the same system could be used to plan effective programmes of maintenance and repair. To meet this need, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has worked with HES to develop an integrated digital site assessment system that provides a refined survey process for stone-built (and other) historic sites. Based on the BGS System for Integrated Geoscience Mapping (BGS▪SIGMA)—an integrated workflow underpinned by a geo-spatial platform for data capture and interpretation—the system is built on top of ESRI’s ArcGIS software, and underpinned by a relational database. Users can populate custom-built data entry forms to record maintenance issues and repair specifications for architectural elements ranging from individual blocks of stone to entire building elevations. Photographs, sketches, and digital documents can be linked to architectural elements to enhance the usability of the data. Predetermined data fields and supporting dictionaries constrain the input parameters to ensure a high degree of consistency and facilitate data extraction and querying. Presenting the data within a GIS provides a versatile planning tool for scheduling works, specifying materials, identifying skills needed for repairs, and allocating resources. The overall condition of a site can be monitored accurately over time by repeating the survey at regular intervals (e.g. every 5 years). Other datasets can be linked to the database and other geospatially referenced datasets can be superimposed in GIS, adding considerably to the scope and utility of the system. The system can be applied to any geospatially referenced object in a wide range of situations thus providing many potential applications in conservation, archaeology and related fields

Next Generation Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Tool for Bridges in Iowa – Phase II - TR-795

To meet the requirements of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act of 2012, a life-cycle cost analysis management (LCCAM) tool was developed to manage the maintenance actions of the portion of National Highway System (NHS) for the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT). The LCCAM software that was developed with the cooperation of the Iowa DOT and the Bridge Engineering Center at Iowa State University has successfully integrated risk into the decision-making process of determining the maintenance of bridge decks in Iowa. This Phase II project was aimed at upgrading the current version of the LCCAM tool and providing a suitable ground for future developments. For this project, user cost calculations were added to the software. This was possible by following the roadmap published by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Three main parameters of user cost—travel delay time cost, vehicle operating cost, and crash cost—are calculated by the software based on data input from the user. A comprehensive survey of maintenance activities was also carried out that included different national bridge elements and bridge management elements. This survey followed the nomenclature of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and was aimed to create a consistent database of maintenance activities. The user interface of the LCCAM software was updated to provide a more user-friendly experience for users. The updated graphical user interface provides a more aesthetic environment with the capability of saving the output of the software as well as incorporation of user cost calculations. The software also allows users to skip to the user cost calculations directly. The upgraded software can be further improved by the addition of degradation curves for other bridge elements, which would make it more inclusive