Project Management Tools as Boundary Objects in Agile Software Development

In agile software development (ASD) teams, it is essential to overcome knowledge boundaries to prevent product delays. The theory of boundary objects suggests that using the objects can help bridging knowledge boundaries within ASD teams in collaborations. Although prior research has reported that the use of boundary objects within traditional software development (TSD) teams is helpful, this topic in agile background still needs more exploration. Additionally, findings on the effects of boundary objects in bridging knowledge gaps are mixed. In this in-progress study, we conceptually explored the role of project management tools as boundary objects in ASD teams. Empirical study was conducted by using eight student teams, each consisting of four to five team members, which were asked to deliver a software using project management tools. Preliminary data analysis showed that PMTs indeed have positive influence in agile context

Correlation between Project Management Processes

This paper explains the correlation between all Project Management Processes i.e. Project Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring, Controlling & Closing. This paper gives the introduction to the key concept in the project management field; it summarizes the processes, inputs & outputs that are considered good practices on most of the projects most of the times. The project management is application of knowledge, skills, tools & techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. The process is set of interrelated actions & activities performed to achieve a pre-specified product, result, or service. Project management processes are grouped in to five categories known as Project management Process Groups or Process Group. In this paper, live case studies taken for explaining the relation between all the project management processes. Successful completion of the project depends on the successful completion of all the project management processes, and all these project management processes are interrelated to each other. In this paper all the relationships and output of each process are discussed in details. “Everything becomes simple when it reduce to fundamentals” is basis of Project management Processes

Scientific Computing Meets Big Data Technology: An Astronomy Use Case

Scientific analyses commonly compose multiple single-process programs into a dataflow. An end-to-end dataflow of single-process programs is known as a many-task application. Typically, tools from the HPC software stack are used to parallelize these analyses. In this work, we investigate an alternate approach that uses Apache Spark -- a modern big data platform -- to parallelize many-task applications. We present Kira, a flexible and distributed astronomy image processing toolkit using Apache Spark. We then use the Kira toolkit to implement a Source Extractor application for astronomy images, called Kira SE. With Kira SE as the use case, we study the programming flexibility, dataflow richness, scheduling capacity and performance of Apache Spark running on the EC2 cloud. By exploiting data locality, Kira SE achieves a 2.5x speedup over an equivalent C program when analyzing a 1TB dataset using 512 cores on the Amazon EC2 cloud. Furthermore, we show that by leveraging software originally designed for big data infrastructure, Kira SE achieves competitive performance to the C implementation running on the NERSC Edison supercomputer. Our experience with Kira indicates that emerging Big Data platforms such as Apache Spark are a performant alternative for many-task scientific applications

Data Science and Ebola

Data Science---Today, everybody and everything produces data. People produce large amounts of data in social networks and in commercial transactions. Medical, corporate, and government databases continue to grow. Sensors continue to get cheaper and are increasingly connected, creating an Internet of Things, and generating even more data. In every discipline, large, diverse, and rich data sets are emerging, from astrophysics, to the life sciences, to the behavioral sciences, to finance and commerce, to the humanities and to the arts. In every discipline people want to organize, analyze, optimize and understand their data to answer questions and to deepen insights. The science that is transforming this ocean of data into a sea of knowledge is called data science. This lecture will discuss how data science has changed the way in which one of the most visible challenges to public health is handled, the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.Comment: Inaugural lecture Leiden Universit

The Fuzzy Project Scheduling Problem with Minimal Generalized Precedence Relations

In scheduling, estimations are affected by the imprecision of limited information on future events, and the reduction in the number and level of detail of activities. Overlapping of processes and activities requires the study of their continuity, along with analysis of the risks associated with imprecision. In this line, this paper proposes a fuzzy heuristic model for the Project Scheduling Problem with flows and minimal feeding, time and work Generalized Precedence Relations with a realistic approach to overlapping, in which the continuity of processes and activities is allowed in a discretionary way. This fuzzy algorithm handles the balance of process flows, and computes the optimal fragmentation of tasks, avoiding the interruption of the critical path and reverse criticality. The goodness of this approach is tested on several problems found in the literature; furthermore, an example of a 15-story building was used to compare the better performance of the algorithm implemented in Visual Basic for Applications (Excel) over that same example input in Primavera© P6 Professional V8.2.0, using five different scenarios.This research was supported by the FAPA program of Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia. The authors would like to thank the research group of Construction Engineering and Management (INgeco) of Universidad de Los Andes, and the five anonymous referees for their helpful and constructive suggestions.Ponz Tienda, JL.; Pellicer Armiñana, E.; Benlloch Marco, J.; Andrés Romano, C. (2015). The Fuzzy Project Scheduling Problem with Minimal Generalized Precedence Relations. Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering. 30(11):872-891. doi:10.1111/mice.12166S8728913011Adeli, H., & Park, H. S. (1995). Optimization of space structures by neural dynamics. 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Examining user acceptance and effectiveness of critical chain project management : a longitudinal case study

Bibliography: leaves 84-90

PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR TAILORING AGILE-BASED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED COMPANIES

High risks are involved as well as a large number of resources are required to construct the software development processes from scratch. Most of the software development companies follow ad-hoc approaches in informal ways to tailor an existing software development process according to their requirements. Instead of devising new tailoring strategies, these approaches describe and compare the similar tailoring operations at very superficial level and mainly focus on the large sized software development companies

Building Information Modelling: an explorative study

This research was driven by a desire to understand the use of 4D and 5D Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools in medium scale Design and Build (D&B) organisations in Australia. The utilisation of BIM tools in Australia is still in its infancy despite the reported advantages on the use of BIM methodologies for managing large scale projects. However, there is little information on the value of such methodologies for the management of D&B projects particularly with respect to medium scale construction companies. Furthermore, it was found that there lacked a consensus in the literature on the use of specific BIM tools, and which tools provided the most benefit to an organisation. Accordingly, the aim of this this research project is to examine the feasibility of utilising 4D and 5D BIM tools in managing and resolving key issues faced by medium scale D&B contractors. In order to pursue the above aim, semi-structured interviews and a multiple case study approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken as a means to validate the findings from the literature review. Interviews undertaken with the Construction Manager, Project Manager and CAD Manager of a medium scale D&B organisation demonstrated that the D&B method of contracting improves both budget and timeframe performance on projects. The constructability of designs however, is integral to the level of success achieved. The first case study for the project utilised a historical project in order to provide a first-hand understanding of the key issues and problems faced by medium scale D&B contractors. The results of the case study identified co-ordination between the design and construction teams are paramount to the D&B contractors’ performance. Revised designs on the project due to constructability concerns after the commencement of construction works was both costly and disruptive to the project. The ability to identify constructability concerns prior to commencing construction works ensures project success. Identifying the specific key concern on the project demonstrated the need for research into the use of 4D and 5D BIM for managing and resolving these issues. The use of a second case study enabled 4D and 5D BIM tools to be retrospectively implemented on the same historical project, enabling a comparative analysis of the performance of the project to be undertaken. The results of the case study demonstrated that the use of 4D BIM tools enables the identification of constructability concerns prior to the commencement of construction works onsite. Identifying these concerns improved the project schedules predicted performance with the use of 4D BIM tools by one week and one day. 5D BIM tools utilised the 3D BIM model to price the alternative designs on the project. Whilst the use of 5D BIM proved advantageous in pricing the design change in a reduced timeframe, the outcome of the case study indicated that the use of 5D BIM in managing and resolving key issues is feasible, when used in collaboration with a 4D BIM tool. Recommendations are provided to undertake further research on the use of 4D and 5D BIM tools on multiple medium sized D&B projects. The use of multiple projects would be used as a means to provide a consensus in the results, prior to recommending the implementation of 4D and 5D BIM tools in medium scale D&B organisations

Search based software engineering: Trends, techniques and applications

© ACM, 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version is available from the link below.In the past five years there has been a dramatic increase in work on Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE), an approach to Software Engineering (SE) in which Search-Based Optimization (SBO) algorithms are used to address problems in SE. SBSE has been applied to problems throughout the SE lifecycle, from requirements and project planning to maintenance and reengineering. The approach is attractive because it offers a suite of adaptive automated and semiautomated solutions in situations typified by large complex problem spaces with multiple competing and conflicting objectives. This article provides a review and classification of literature on SBSE. The work identifies research trends and relationships between the techniques applied and the applications to which they have been applied and highlights gaps in the literature and avenues for further research.EPSRC and E