A prescriptive approach to qualify and quantify customer value for value-based requirements engineering

Recently, customer-based product development is becoming a popular paradigm. Customer expectations and needs can be identified and transformed into requirements for product design with the help of various methods and tools. However, in many cases, these models fail to focus on the perceived value that is crucial when customers make the decision of purchasing a product. In this paper, a prescriptive approach to support value-based requirements engineering (RE) is proposed, describing the foundations, procedures and initial applications in the context of RE for commercial aircraft. An integrated set of techniques, such as means-ends analysis, part-whole analysis and multi-attribute utility theory is introduced in order to understand customer values in depth and width. Technically, this enables identifying the implicit value, structuring logically collected statements of customer expectations and performing value modelling and simulation. Additionally, it helps to put in place a system to measure customer satisfaction that is derived from the proposed approach. The approach offers significant potential to develop effective value creation strategies for the development of new product

User needs elicitation via analytic hierarchy process (AHP). A case study on a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner

Background: The rigorous elicitation of user needs is a crucial step for both medical device design and purchasing. However, user needs elicitation is often based on qualitative methods whose findings can be difficult to integrate into medical decision-making. This paper describes the application of AHP to elicit user needs for a new CT scanner for use in a public hospital. Methods: AHP was used to design a hierarchy of 12 needs for a new CT scanner, grouped into 4 homogenous categories, and to prepare a paper questionnaire to investigate the relative priorities of these. The questionnaire was completed by 5 senior clinicians working in a variety of clinical specialisations and departments in the same Italian public hospital. Results: Although safety and performance were considered the most important issues, user needs changed according to clinical scenario. For elective surgery, the five most important needs were: spatial resolution, processing software, radiation dose, patient monitoring, and contrast medium. For emergency, the top five most important needs were: patient monitoring, radiation dose, contrast medium control, speed run, spatial resolution. Conclusions: AHP effectively supported user need elicitation, helping to develop an analytic and intelligible framework of decision-making. User needs varied according to working scenario (elective versus emergency medicine) more than clinical specialization. This method should be considered by practitioners involved in decisions about new medical technology, whether that be during device design or before deciding whether to allocate budgets for new medical devices according to clinical functions or according to hospital department

Research Article Software Component Selection Based on Quality Criteria Using the Analytic Network Process

Component based software development (CBSD) endeavors to deliver cost-effective and quality software systems through the selection and integration of commercially available software components. CBSD emphasizes the design and development of software systems using preexisting components. Software component reusability is an indispensable part of component based software development life cycle (CBSDLC),which consumes a significant amount of organization’s resources, that is, time and effort. It is convenient in component based software system (CBSS) to select the most suitable and appropriate software components that provide all the required functionalities. Selecting the most appropriate components is crucial for the success of the entire system. However, decisions regarding software component reusability are often made in an ad hoc manner, which ultimately results in schedule delay and lowers the entire quality system. In this paper, we have discussed the analytic network process (ANP) method for software component selection. The methodology is explained and assessed using a real life case study

Systematic Development of Trans-Theoretically Based Behavioral Risk Management Programs

The authors explain the development and use of a behavioral Risk management strategy. It is designed for developing interventions to change behaviors, e.g., to lower the Risk of AIDS. The advantage of their strategy is said to be its structure combined with flexibility. Intervenors are not restricted to a single model in determining factors most relevant to changing Risky behavior

Is it time to withdraw from china?

This research cross-employs the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and three major labor theories comprised of Maslow’s theory, Alderfer’s theory and Herzberg’s theory with Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) consisting of Factor Analysis (FA), Analytical Network Process (“ANP”), Fuzzy Analytical Network Process (FANP) and Grey Relation Analysis (GRA) to evaluate the four types of innovative investment strategies in China after the Domino Effect of the China’s Labor Revolution. The most contributed conclusion is that the “change of original business at the raising compensation policy” (CBRCP) is the best choice for Taiwanese manufacturers operating in China because it is the highest scores of three assessed measurements in the CBRCP. This conclusion further indicates that manufacturing enterprises have little leverage, in the interim, but to increase employment compensation and benefits to satisfy the demands from the ongoing Chinese labor revolution even though it brings about an incremental expenditure in their manufacturing costs. Therefore, the next step beyond this research is to collect additional empirical macroeconomic data to develop a more comprehensive evaluation model that takes into consideration a more in-depth vertical measurement and horizontal assessment methodologies for developing added comprehensive and effective managerial strategies for surviving in this momentous, dynamically-changing and lower-profit Chinese manufacturing market.China labor revolution; Maslow theory; Alderfer theory and Herzberg theory; Multiple criteria decision making

Stochastic make-to-stock inventory deployment problem: an endosymbiotic psychoclonal algorithm based approach

Integrated steel manufacturers (ISMs) have no specific product, they just produce finished product from the ore. This enhances the uncertainty prevailing in the ISM regarding the nature of the finished product and significant demand by customers. At present low cost mini-mills are giving firm competition to ISMs in terms of cost, and this has compelled the ISM industry to target customers who want exotic products and faster reliable deliveries. To meet this objective, ISMs are exploring the option of satisfying part of their demand by converting strategically placed products, this helps in increasing the variability of product produced by the ISM in a short lead time. In this paper the authors have proposed a new hybrid evolutionary algorithm named endosymbiotic-psychoclonal (ESPC) to decide what and how much to stock as a semi-product in inventory. In the proposed theory, the ability of previously proposed psychoclonal algorithms to exploit the search space has been increased by making antibodies and antigen more co-operative interacting species. The efficacy of the proposed algorithm has been tested on randomly generated datasets and the results compared with other evolutionary algorithms such as genetic algorithms (GA) and simulated annealing (SA). The comparison of ESPC with GA and SA proves the superiority of the proposed algorithm both in terms of quality of the solution obtained and convergence time required to reach the optimal/near optimal value of the solution

Governing Sustainable Food and Farming Production Futures using Integrated Risk Assessment Approaches

Nanofoods, 'functional foods' and biopharming are three production futures that are strongly developing despite being characterised by significant gaps in knowledge and understanding, and a peculiar scarcity of proactive processes with which to seize opportunities and minimise and manage potential risks and public concerns which could negatively impact on the industry. In order to better assess benefits and risks and to build public trust, the paper suggests the establishment of an integrated health/food and environmental risk assessment regime that also incorporates and is responsive to the ethical concerns, socio-economic realities and local demands of various stakeholders – right from the beginning of a development. In order to have a global as well as a national practical effect, the assessment regime needs to conform to national and accepted international regulations and observe fundamental principles in bioethics and public sector ethics, such as integrity, access, autonomy and choice. Such a pro-active approach might lead to improved collaborations, to constructive communication channels and to enriched and more mutually acceptable futures