MaRMI-III: a methodology for component-based development

This study, supported by the Korea Ministry of Information and Communication, contributed to advancing the paradigm of software component-based development by developing a detailed process, techniques, and guidelines for making the most of component technologies. The outcome was a new CBD methodology named Magic and Robust Methodology Integrated III (MaRMI-III). MaRMI-III is now considered as a standard development methodology for using component technologies in Korea. To date, more than 100 Korean software development companies have adopted the methodology developed in this study

Benchmarking in the Semantic Web

The Semantic Web technology needs to be thoroughly evaluated for providing objective results and obtaining massive improvement in its quality; thus, the transfer of this technology from research to industry will speed up. This chapter presents software benchmarking, a process that aims to improve the Semantic Web technology and to find the best practices. The chapter also describes a specific software benchmarking methodology and shows how this methodology has been used to benchmark the interoperability of ontology development tools, employing RDF(S) as the interchange language

A socio-technical-based process for questionnaire development in requirements elicitation via interviews

Software development is the process of building systems that solve users’ need and satisfy stakeholders’ objectives. Such needs are determined through requirements elicitation, which is considered an intensive, complex, and multi-disciplinary process. Traditional methods of elicitation often fail to uncover requirements that are critical for successful and wide-scale user adoption because these methods primarily focus on the technical aspects and constraints of the systems rather than considering a socio-technical perspective. The success of information system development involves the identification of the social, organizational and technical features of the systems, which in turn can result in a more acceptable system by users. In this paper, we propose a requirements elicitation process based on socio-technical (ST) systems theory. The process leverages ST system components to help identify a set of ST imbalances, which in turn help in requirements elicitation. The applicability of the process is demonstrated using empirical investigation with a randomized two-group experimental design, where the objective is to see the potential of the proposed process to enhance analysts’ understanding of socio-technical aspects of a domain, interview readiness, and questionnaire quality

Effective and Appropriate Use of Controlled Experimentation in Software Development Research

Although there is a large body of research and publication on software development, only a limited amount of this work includes empirical demonstration of its effectiveness. Yet, it is this empirical understanding which will help move software development from a craft to an engineering discipline. Of the empirical methods for research, controlled experiments are the most commonly thought of in scientific studies, and yet the least used to study software development. This thesis begins with a brief review of the different empirical methods commonly used to study software development. This review provides a quick introduction to each empirical method, compares the main advantages and weaknesses of each method, and provides a context for how controlled experimentation compares to other empirical methods for studying software development. Using empirical methods to study software development is not easy or straightforward. There are limitations which appear to be inherent in the nature of software and issues due to the improper understanding or application of empirical methods. These limitations and issues are identified, specifically for controlled experiments, and approaches for dealing with them are proposed. A controlled experiment was designed and conducted to demonstrate the method and explore the limitations and issues for empirical research in software development. This experiment and its results are presented. This example experiment demonstrates that conducting even a simple experiment in software development is challenging. Lessons learned from this experience are reported. Controlled experiments require that the researcher have a high degree of control over the environment where the experiment is carried out. This can be costly and difficult to achieve. This thesis concludes by discussing how controlled experiments can be used effectively in studies of software development

Monitorización del progreso en el aprendizaje. Marco teórico y evidencia empírica en la aplicación de teorías de evaluación y monitoreo de procesos en la creación de herramientas para monitorear el progreso en el aprendizaje en escenarios de e-learning.

La tesis "Monitorización del progreso en el aprendizaje" se desarrolla en el contexto de la educación y las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación. Si podemos aprovechar los beneficios que ofrecen las TIC para almacenar y gestionar información, es factible implementar modelos para monitorear y supervisar los procesos que tienen cabida en las áreas de la educación.El objetivo de la tesis, se centra en identificar y analizar los componentes relevantes y necesarios para el diseño, desarrollo e implementación de sistemas de supervisión y captura del progreso que tiene un estudiante durante su proceso de aprendizaje en diversos escenarios.La investigación se desarrolla en dos frentes: uno teórico-tecnológico y otro empírico. El primer frente intenta explorar todos los conceptos relacionados a la evaluación y a los sistemas de monitoreo para identificar los componentes conceptuales que fundamentan el diseño de herramientas de monitoreo del progreso. De la misma manera, es necesario estudiar las propuestas tecnológicas que soportan la implementación de herramientas en el ámbito del elearning.El segundo frente se concentra en diseñar, desarrollar e implementar herramientas que intentan registrar, almacenar, interpretar y representar aspectos del progreso que tiene un estudiante; realizar estudios para explorar el efecto de las herramientas en el proceso de aprendizaje; y sacar conclusiones sobre las pautas relevantes para la definición de un modelo de Monitoreo del Progreso en el Aprendizaje.La estrategia de investigación que se ha utilizado para llevar a cabo los estudios de campo es el Estudio de Caso. Se diseñaron estudios de caso para explorar el efecto que tienen las herramientas diseñadas sobre el proceso de aprendizaje y durante actividades asíncronas y actividades en tiempo real.El modelo propuesto como resultado de esta investigación intenta definir un sistema de monitoreo del progreso en el aprendizaje desde una perspectiva general de los sistemas de monitoreo. El modelo podría ser implementado en distintos entornos de aprendizaje, adaptarse a distintas modalidades de formación, con distintos modelos pedagógicos, a través de diversas plataformas de gestión del aprendizaje y empleando modalidades de comunicación en tiempo real y asíncronas.The thesis "Monitoring learning progress" takes place in the context of education and information technology and communication. If we can take advantage of the benefits offered by ICT to store and manage information, it is feasible to implement models to monitor and supervise the processes taking place in the areas of education.The aim of this thesis, is focused on identifying and analyzing the relevant and necessary components for the design, development and implementation of monitoring and capture the student's progress during the learning process in various scenarios.The investigation takes place on two fronts: a theoretical-technological and an empirical one. The first front tries to explore all the concepts related to the assessment and monitoring systems to identify components that underlie the conceptual design of progress monitoring tools. In the same way, it is necessary to study the technological proposals that support the implementation of tools in the ambit of e-learning. The second front focuses on design, develop and implement tools that try to record, store, interpret and represent aspects of the student's progress; on studies to explore the effect of the tools in the learning process; and draw conclusions about relevant patterns to define a Learning Progress Monitoring Model.The research strategy that has been used to carry out the field studies is the Case Study. Case studies were designed to explore the impact of tools on the learning process during asynchronous and real time activities. The model, proposed as a result of this research, attempts to define a system of learning progress monitoring from a general overview of the monitoring systems. The model could be implemented in different learning environments, adapted to different forms of training, with different models of education, through a variety of learning management platforms and using real time and asynchronous communication modalities.Postprint (published version

SUIT: a methodology and framework for Selection of User Interface development Tools

This thesis describes the findings of an industrial survey that identified the context of use for software development projects. This context of use is parameterised and combined with a categorisation of UIDT functionality to produce an extensible and tailorable reference model or framework for UIDT evaluation and selection. An accompanying methodology - which together with the framework is known as SUIT (Selection of User Interface Development Tools) - guides the use of the framework such that project-specific context of use can be modelled and thereafter systematically considered during UIDT selection. This thesis proposes that such focussed and documented consideration of context of use during UIDT selection increases the quality of a selection decision and therefore facilitates reuse of UIDT evaluation and selection results. An evaluative study is described which demonstrates the effectiveness and viability of the SUIT framework and methodology as a paper-based UIDT evaluation facility. The same study also identifies the need for a computer-based tool to support the management of UIDT evaluation data and to assist its comparison and analysis. Experiences with this study, the results of the industrial study, and the structure of the framework and methodology provided input into a set of requirements for a computer-based visualisation environment that supports the comparison and analysis of UIDT data. The SUIT data visualisation environment and its qualitative evaluation are described. The evaluation results identify the usefulness and practicability of the SUIT approach when supported by the visualisation environment. They also suggest a number of refinements and extensions to the tool. The results provide an initial corpus of knowledge regarding practical strategies used by evaluators to compare and analyse UIDT evaluation data. These strategies are modelled using a novel purpose-built graphical notation that focuses on sequencing, flexibility, and patterns of activity