Las Vegas: Engineering Jury Feedback

A document containing the evaluation and feedback of the Team Las Vegas project house (Sinatra Living) by the Engineering Jury. The Engineering Jury is responsible for determining the winners of the Engineering category for the 2017 Solar Decathlon

Short course on principles and applications of beach nourishment

Covers the engineering aspects of beach nourishment. (Document is 192 pages

Comprehension, Use Cases and Requirements

Within requirements engineering it is generally accepted that in writing specifications (or indeed any requirements phase document), one attempts to produce an artefact which will be simple to comprehend for the user. That is, whether the document is intended for customers to validate requirements, or engineers to understand what the design must deliver, comprehension is an important goal for the author. Indeed, advice on producing ‘readable’ or ‘understandable’ documents is often included in courses on requirements engineering. However, few researchers, particularly within the software engineering domain, have attempted either to define or to understand the nature of comprehension and it’s implications for guidance on the production of quality requirements. In contrast, this paper examines thoroughly the nature of textual comprehension, drawing heavily from research in discourse process, and suggests some implications for requirements (and other) software documentation. In essence, we find that the guidance on writing requirements, often prevalent within software engineering, may be based upon assumptions which are an oversimplification of the nature of comprehension. Furthermore, that these assumptions may lead to rules which detract from the quality of the requirements document and, thus, the understanding gained by the reader. Finally the paper suggests lessons learned which may be useful in formulating future guidance for the production of requirements documentation

Highly focused document retrieval in aerospace engineering : user interaction design and evaluation

Purpose – This paper seeks to describe the preliminary studies (on both users and data), the design and evaluation of the K-Search system for searching legacy documents in aerospace engineering. Real-world reports of jet engine maintenance challenge the current indexing practice, while real users’ tasks require retrieving the information in the proper context. K-Search is currently in use in Rolls-Royce plc and has evolved to include other tools for knowledge capture and management. Design/methodology/approach – Semantic Web techniques have been used to automatically extract information from the reports while maintaining the original context, allowing a more focused retrieval than with more traditional techniques. The paper combines semantic search with classical information retrieval to increase search effectiveness. An innovative user interface has been designed to take advantage of this hybrid search technique. The interface is designed to allow a flexible and personal approach to searching legacy data. Findings – The user evaluation showed that the system is effective and well received by users. It also shows that different people look at the same data in different ways and make different use of the same system depending on their individual needs, influenced by their job profile and personal attitude. Research limitations/implications – This study focuses on a specific case of an enterprise working in aerospace engineering. Although the findings are likely to be shared with other engineering domains (e.g. mechanical, electronic), the study does not expand the evaluation to different settings. Originality/value – The study shows how real context of use can provide new and unexpected challenges to researchers and how effective solutions can then be adopted and used in organizations.</p

Concept document of the repository-based software engineering program: A constructive appraisal

A constructive appraisal of the Concept Document of the Repository-Based Software Engineering Program is provided. The Concept Document is designed to provide an overview of the Repository-Based Software Engineering (RBSE) Program. The Document should be brief and provide the context for reading subsequent requirements and product specifications. That is, all requirements to be developed should be traceable to the Concept Document. Applied Expertise's analysis of the Document was directed toward assuring that: (1) the Executive Summary provides a clear, concise, and comprehensive overview of the Concept (rewrite as necessary); (2) the sections of the Document make best use of the NASA 'Data Item Description' for concept documents; (3) the information contained in the Document provides a foundation for subsequent requirements; and (4) the document adequately: identifies the problem being addressed; articulates RBSE's specific role; specifies the unique aspects of the program; and identifies the nature and extent of the program's users

Data collection procedures for the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) database

This document is a guidebook to collecting software engineering data on software development and maintenance efforts, as practiced in the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL). It supersedes the document entitled Data Collection Procedures for the Rehosted SEL Database, number SEL-87-008 in the SEL series, which was published in October 1987. It presents procedures to be followed on software development and maintenance projects in the Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for collecting data in support of SEL software engineering research activities. These procedures include detailed instructions for the completion and submission of SEL data collection forms

Topography Experiment (TOPEX) Software Document Series Volume 7: TOPEX Mission Radar Altimeter Engineering Assessment Report, February 1994

This document describes the GSFC/WFF analysis of the on-orbit engineering data from the TOPEX radar altimeter, to establish altimeter performance. In accordance with Project guidelines, neither surface truth nor precision orbital data are used for the engineering assessment of the altimeter. The use of such data would imply not only a more intensive and complete performance evaluation, but also a calibration. Such evaluations and.calibrations are outside the scope of this document and will be presented in a separate Verification Report

Systems of coding and their implementation

Engineering planning document surveys mechanics, utility, and potential improvements of codes which control noise-generated errors introduced into radio transmission of binary information. Chronological development of certain codes and a comprehensive bibliography are included

Mechanical properties of a degradable phosphate glass fibre reinforced polymer composite for internal fracture fixation

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Materials Science and Engineering. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Materials Science and Engineering, [VOL 30, ISSUE 7, (2010)] DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2010.04.017