Software Reliability in Semantic Web Service Composition Applications

Web Service Composition allows the development of easily reconfigurable applications that can be quickly adapted to business changes. Due to the shift in paradigm from traditional systems, new approaches are needed in order to evaluate the reliability of web service composition applications. In this paper we present an approach based on intelligent agents for semiautomatic composition as well as methods for assessing reliability. Abstract web services, corresponding to a group of services that accomplishes a specific functionality are used as a mean of assuring better system reliability. The model can be extended with other Quality of Services – QoS attributes.Software Reliability, Web Service Composition, Intelligent Agents

Software Reliability in Semantic Web Service Composition Applications

Web Service Composition allows the development of easily reconfigurable applications that can be quickly adapted to business changes. Due to the shift in paradigm from traditional systems, new approaches are needed in order to evaluate the reliability of web service composition applications. In this paper we present an approach based on intelligent agents for semiautomatic composition as well as methods for assessing reliability. Abstract web services, corresponding to a group of services that accomplishes a specific functionality are used as a mean of assuring better system reliability. The model can be extended with other Quality of Services – QoS attributes

Mapping Agile Practices to CMMI-DEV Level 3 in Web Development Environments

Agile approaches formally appeared ten years ago and nowadays they are a valid alternative for organizations developing software. Agile methodologies are especially interesting to those developing Web environments applications, as they can fit properly the special characteristics of this type of developments. In addition, maturity models like CMMI-DEV (Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development) focus on assessing the maturity level of organizations developing or acquiring software. These models are well established and can increment quality of development process to enhance costumers’ satisfaction. CMMI-DEV level 3 provides a good compromise on maturity gained and effort needed. The feasibility of reaching it through a combination of Agile methods can be very useful to organizations developing systems in Web environments, as they can keep the adaptability of Agile together with a more mature development process. This paper proposes a set of Agile methods so as to reach all CMMI-DEV maturity level 3 generic and specific goals. Based on this analysis, the paper proposes further research lines

Impact of quality strategies on hospital outputs

Context: This study was part of the Methods of Assessing Response to Quality Improvement Strategies (MARQuIS) research project on patients crossing borders, a study to investigate quality improvement strategies in healthcare systems across the European Union (EU). Aim: To explore the association between the implementation of quality improvement strategies in hospitals and hospitals' success in meeting defined quality requirements that are considered intermediate outputs of the care process. Methods: Data regarding the implementation of seven quality improvement strategies (accreditation, organisational quality management programmes, audit and internal assessment of clinical standards, patient safety systems, clinical practice guidelines, performance indicators and systems for obtaining patients' views) and four dimensions of outputs (clinical, safety, patient-centredness and cross-border patient-centredness) were collected from 389 acute care hospitals in eight EU countries using a web-based questionnaire. In a second phase, 89 of these hospitals participated in an on-site audit by independent surveyors. Pearson correlation and linear regression models were used to explore associations and relations between quality improvement strategies and achievement of outputs. Results: Positive associations were found between six internal quality improvement strategies and hospital outputs. The quality improvement strategies could be reasonably subsumed under one latent index which explained about half of their variation. The analysis of outputs concluded that the outputs can also be considered part of a single construct. The findings indicate that the implementation of internal as well as external quality improvement strategies in hospitals has beneficial effects on the hospital outputs studied here. Conclusion: The implementation of internal quality improvement strategies as well as external assessment systems should be promoted

Web based distance education in chemical industrial plants

The development of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) and their application in Engineering Education (in a knowledge-centered world) is one of the axes of an ongoing educative transformation. In particular, when the objective is updating professionals and training the industrial plant personnel at the work place, the use of Distance Education tools is of utmost importance. The employment of “Web Based” technologies allows using an expert’s know-how, without requiring his/her presence within the plant, which implies a methodological transformation in the learning and teaching process. The challenge to this transformation process is to acknowledge the resources to be used and measure their weak and strong points. This quality evaluation is complex, since it should encompass both technological aspects and learning and teaching pedagogical mechanisms. An analysis of the issues to be considered in assessing Web-based Distance Education Systems for the staff of industrial plants is presented. The axes for such evaluation are discussed, together with the presentation of different experiences in chemical industrial plants, for preparing technical personnel. Finally, the application of a specific environment for Distance Education (Web-Info), developed in La Plata University, is also discussed.IV Workshop de Tecnología Informática Aplicada en Educación (WTIAE)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Differentiating between hospitals according to the “maturity” of quality improvement systems: a new classification scheme in a sample of European hospitals

Aim: This study, part of the Methods of Assessing Response to Quality Improvement Strategies (MARQuIS) research project focusing on cross-border patients in Europe, investigated quality policies and improvement in healthcare systems across the European Union (EU). The aim was to develop a classification scheme for the level of quality improvement (maturity) in EU hospitals, in order to evaluate hospitals according to the maturity of their quality improvement activities. Methods: A web-based questionnaire survey designed to measure quality improvement in EU hospitals was used as the basis for the classification scheme. Items included for the development of an evaluation tool-the maturity index-were considered important contributors to quality improvement. The four-stage quality cycle (plan, do, check and act) was used to determine the level of maturity of the various items. Psychometric properties of the classification scheme were assessed, and validation analyses were performed. Results: A total of 389 hospitals participated in a questionnaire survey; response rates varied by country. For a final sample of 349 hospitals, it was possible to construct a quality improvement maturity index which consisted of seven domains and 113 items. The results of independent analyses sustained the validity of the index, which was useful in differentiating between hospitals in the research sample according to the maturity of their quality improvement system (defined as the total of all quality improvement activities). Discussion: Further research is recommended to develop an instrument which for use in the future as a practical tool to evaluate the maturity of hospital quality improvement systems

Analisis dan Perancangan Aplikasi Kepuasan Klien Berdasarkan Model Servqual (Studi Kasus: PT. Longvin Indonesia)

This research aims to analyze and develop service quality information systems on client satisfaction at PT. Longvin. This is because of PT. Longvin in processing service evaluations, assessing and distributing questionnaires which were still carried out manually so that in general it allowed for limitations and shortcomings such as piling up of files, incomplete questionnaire data filling, slow data processing, and could result in inaccurate decisions.The process of developing information systems using the waterfall model includes requirements analysis, system analysis, system modeling through defining context diagrams, data flow diagrams and entity relationship diagram. At the implementation stage, the system is oriented to the web environment using the programming languages PHP and MySQL as database management. For the analysis of service quality measurement using the servqual model. In the system, testing is carried out using BlackBox testing, while end-user testing is based on the results of questionnaire data processing using the Likert scale model.Based on the observation that the system can display the results of service quality calculations quickly and depicted through detailed graphs, total tables, average tables, and automatic suggestions. The results of system testing on end users show that the application built is very good with a percentage of 82% giving an agreed assessment

Application of quality improvement strategies in 389 European hospitals: results of the MARQuIS project

Context: This study was part of the Methods of Assessing Response to Quality Improvement Strategies (MARQuIS) research project investigating the impact of quality improvement strategies on hospital care in various countries of the European Union (EU), in relation to specific needs of cross-border patients. Aim: This paper describes how EU hospitals have applied seven quality improvement strategies previously defined by the MARQuIS study: organisational quality management programmes; systems for obtaining patients' views; patient safety systems; audit and internal assessment of clinical standards; clinical and practice guidelines; performance indicators; and external assessment. Methods: A web-based questionnaire was used to survey acute care hospitals in eight EU countries. The reported findings were later validated via on-site survey and site visits in a sample of the participating hospitals. Data collection took place from April to August 2006. Results: 389 hospitals participated in the survey; response rates varied per country. All seven quality improvement strategies were widely used in European countries. Activities related to external assessment were the most broadly applied across Europe, and activities related to patient involvement were the least widely implemented. No one country implemented all quality strategies at all hospitals. There were no differences between participating hospitals in western and eastern European countries regarding the application of quality improvement strategies. Conclusions: Implementation varied per country and per quality improvement strategy, leaving considerable scope for progress in quality improvements. The results may contribute to benchmarking activities in European countries, and point to further areas of research to explore the relationship between the application of quality improvement strategies and actual hospital performanc

A Framework for Auditing Web-Based Information Systems

The last decade has seen an unprecedented rate of development of Web-Based Information System (WBIS). Enormous investment is currently being made in WBIS systems. There is a concern about whether the true capability of WBIS is being realized. As a consequence, growing attention is being paid to assessing the inherent contribution of WBIS. In this paper, we propose a WBIS audit methodology. The latter has two main features: 1) it structures the audit process as a hierarchical evaluation tree, using an Analytic Hierarchy Process model, 2) it allows the evaluation of a WBIS according to a specific set of criteria based on quality, security and readability requirements. Unlike past approaches, our methodology allows independent auditors, companies and users to minimize the time and effort needed to evaluate WBIS. It has been applied to a real-life example which is described in the paper, allowing us to validate our WBIS audit approach