WETICE 2004 Evaluating Collaborative Enterprises (ECE) Workshop - Final report

A summary of the fifth Evaluating Collaborative Enterprises (ECE) workshop which ran on June 14th at University of Modena, Italy. The overall theme of the workshop this year was evaluation within the software lifecyle rather than as a separate activity. Each of the five papers touched on this subject and the subsequent winner of Best Paper covered it thoroughly. Concerns about the level of interactivity within the workshop and WETICE itself prompted a format change to ``paired-paper'' sessions with plenty of discussion time. Several outstanding issus were identified during the discussion, including development of ``evaluation components'' alongside software components, the need to convince managers of the business case for evaluation and meta-evaluation of popular techniques with a view to avoiding studies that select inappropriate techniques or rely too heavily on one type of technique

WETICE 2004 ECE Workshop - Final Report

A summary of the fifth Evaluating Collaborative Enterprises (ECE) workshop which ran on June 14th at University of Modena, Italy. The overall theme of the workshop this year was evaluation within the software lifecyle rather than as a separate activity. Each of the five papers touched on this subject and the subsequent winner of Best Paper covered it thoroughly. Concerns about the level of interactivity within the workshop and WETICE itself prompted a format change to "paired-paper" sessions with plenty of discussion time. Several outstanding issus were identified during the discussion, including development of "evaluation components" alongside software components, the need to convince managers of the business case for evaluation and meta-evaluation of popular techniques with a view to avoiding studies that select inappropriate techniques or rely too heavily on one type of technique

Proceedings of the COST Action TU1403 : Adaptive Facades Network Final Conference

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

KINE[SIS]TEM'17 From Nature to Architectural Matter

Kine[SiS]tem – From Kinesis + System. Kinesis is a non-linear movement or activity of an organism in response to a stimulus. A system is a set of interacting and interdependent agents forming a complex whole, delineated by its spatial and temporal boundaries, influenced by its environment. How can architectural systems moderate the external environment to enhance comfort conditions in a simple, sustainable and smart way? This is the starting question for the Kine[SiS]tem’17 – From Nature to Architectural Matter International Conference. For decades, architectural design was developed despite (and not with) the climate, based on mechanical heating and cooling. Today, the argument for net zero energy buildings needs very effective strategies to reduce energy requirements. The challenge ahead requires design processes that are built upon consolidated knowledge, make use of advanced technologies and are inspired by nature. These design processes should lead to responsive smart systems that deliver the best performance in each specific design scenario. To control solar radiation is one key factor in low-energy thermal comfort. Computational-controlled sensor-based kinetic surfaces are one of the possible answers to control solar energy in an effective way, within the scope of contradictory objectives throughout the year.FC

Evolving Software Systems for Self-Adaptation

There is a strong synergy between the concepts of evolution and adaptation in software engineering: software adaptation refers to both the current software being adapted and to the evolution process that leads to the new adapted software. Evolution changes for the purpose of adaptation are usually made at development or compile time, and are meant to handle predictable situations in the form of software change requests. On the other hand, software may also change and adapt itself based on the changes in its environment. Such adaptive changes are usually dynamic, and are suitable for dealing with unpredictable or temporary changes in the software's operating environment. A promising solution for software adaptation is to develop self-adaptive software systems that can manage changes dynamically at runtime in a rapid and reliable way. One of the main advantages of self-adaptive software is its ability to manage the complexity that stems from highly dynamic and nondeterministic operating environments. If a self-adaptive software system has been engineered and used properly, it can greatly improve the cost-effectiveness of software change through its lifespan. However, in practice, many of the existing approaches towards self-adaptive software are rather expensive and may increase the overall system complexity, as well as subsequent future maintenance costs. This means that in many cases, self-adaptive software is not a good solution, because its development and maintenance costs are not paid off. The situation is even worse in the case of making current (legacy) systems adaptive. There are several factors that have an impact on the cost-effectiveness and usability of self-adaptive software; however the main objective of this thesis is to make a software system adaptive in a cost-effective way, while keeping the target adaptive software generic, usable, and evolvable, so as to support future changes. In order to effectively engineer and use self-adaptive software systems, in this thesis we propose a new conceptual model for identifying and specifying problem spaces in the context of self-adaptive software systems. Based on the foundations of this conceptual model, we propose a model-centric approach for engineering self-adaptive software by designing a generic adaptation framework and a supporting evolution process. This approach is particularly tailored to facilitate and simplify the process of evolving and adapting current (legacy) software towards runtime adaptivity. The conducted case studies reveal the applicability and effectiveness of this approach in bringing self-adaptive behaviour into non-adaptive applications that essentially demand adaptive behaviour to sustain

Developing shape change-based fashion prototyping strategies:Enhancing computational thinking in fashion practice and creativity

Emerging technologies enable fluid and versatile material forms of fashionable wearables and e-textiles, with experts in engineering and material science proposing numerous strategies for dynamic textile and garment structures to satisfy various needs. Nevertheless, a critical gap remains in developing practical fashion prototyping strategies that fuse with computational thinking to challenge current norms and envision the future of fashion. This study introduces shape change-based fashion prototyping as a design strategy for dynamic expressions and affordances to inspire fashion practitioners’ interdisciplinary endeavors. We present three studio-based practices as case studies to demonstrate how shape-changing mechanisms including servo motors, shape memory alloys, and pneumatics, spur new fashion construction skills and broaden the scope of potential applications. By doing so, this study contributes to material and conceptual innovation, creating pathways for the seamless integration of technologies from conceptualization, and implementation to envision. Our findings shed light on design possibilities and challenges and offer design recommendations that guide future endeavors. The implications of our research underscore the importance of adopting a relational approach to design variables, emphasize the value of fostering shared vocabulary between fashion and technical design, and highlight the transformative potential of shape-changing prototyping in reshaping the intricate body-material relationship.</p

The Role of Organizational Structure in Digital Transformation Outcomes

Rapid technological advances in an otherwise fast-changing environment accelerate market disruptions, pressuring firms to adapt and embed digital technologies within their core. Orchestrating a digital transformation process can be daunting, given that replacing or complementing existing processes is an act of self-altercation that, if prolonged or miscalculated, results in technological failures and economic loss. Previous studies have identified certain organizational aspects, such as technology assets and culture, as success factors in the digital transformation process, yet the influence of organizational structure remains unexplored, so far studied only as an outcome. Through a retrospective cross-sectional design of online panel data collected from top management professionals, this paper shows digital transformation success being amplified when starting from a higher point of organizational centralization, suggesting centralization helps with initial process coordination. However, a less centralized structure is associated with better outcomes as the process progresses