Improvements In The Decision Making In Software Projects

The Simulators of Software Development Projects based on dynamic models have supposed a significant advance in front of the traditional techniques of estimate. These simulators enable to know the evolution of a project before, during and after the execution of the same one. But its use in the estimate of the project before beginning the execution, has been braked by the great number of attributes of the project that it is necessary to know previously. In this paper are presented the improvements that have been added to the simulator developed in our department to facilitate the use of them, and a new improvement obtained when using machine learning and fuzzy logic techniques with the databases generated by the simulator. In this last case, the project manager can know, in function of the decisions that he takes, the level of execution of the project objectives.Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT) TIC99_035

Review of Methods for Estimating the Economic Impact of Transportation Improvements

Transportation analysts and the public decision-makers they support are confronted with a broad range of analytical tools for estimating the economic impacts of improvements to trans- portation networks. Many of the available models operate at different scales and have distinctly different structures, making them more or less appropriate for analyzing the impacts of differ- ent types of projects. Here, we review several of the economic methods and models that have been developed for analyzing the impact of transportation improvements, giving special atten- tion to types of projects that add highway capacity in urban areas. We review project-based methods, including beneÞt-cost analysis and several analytical software tools developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for economic analysis of transportation investment. We then move on to aggregate and disaggregate-level econometric methods, including regional economic models, hedonic price functions, production functions and cliometric analyses. We also devote some attention to the role of induced demand in economic evaluation, since it is of- ten one of the most uncertain and confounding factors faced by those charged with conducting economic evaluation of transportation projects.Economic Impact, Benefit-Cost Analysis

A Systematic Review of Prerequisites for Constructability Implementation in Infrastructure Projects

Success in infrastructure projects requires success in all phases of the project, including design, construction, and operation. One of the necessary actions for developing countries to construct their economic infrastructures, is implementing infrastructure plans. This industry should focus more on the construction process and utilizing creative tools and new concepts for construction development. The reason of it is because of delivering the project with certain quality, in time and with the given budget. Contractors should have new strategies for construction to optimize project completion, and constructability. Accordingly, constructability improvements have become the concern of construction industry practitioners. Considering constructability issues in the early stages of the project enhances identifying design limitations that prevent capabilities of contractors to take part in planning and improving project performance. The purpose of this study is identifying the prerequisites of constructability to resolve the current problems of projects, including inappropriate plans without implementability, poor decision making in design, and lack of sufficient implementation experience in the design engineering team. This study provides a list of prerequisites for constructability implementation in infrastructure projects. Accordingly, it identifies the prerequisites, using Systematic Literature Review (SLR) technique. The NVivo software is used to facilitate the qualitative analyses

An integrated platform for design and numerical analysis of shield tunnelling processes on different levels of detail

Building and construction information modelling for decision making during the life cycle of infrastructure projects are vital tools for the analysis of complex, integrated, multi-disciplinary systems. The traditional design process is cumbersome and involves significant manual, time-consuming preparation and analysis as well as significant computational resources. To ensure a seamless workflow during the design and analysis and to minimise the computation time, we propose a novel concept of multi-level numerical simulations, enabling the modelling on different Levels of Detail (LoDs) for each physical component, process information, and analysis type. In this paper, we present SATBIM, an integrated platform for information modelling, structural analysis and visualisation of the mechanised tunnelling process for design support. Based on a multi-level integrated parametric Tunnel Information Model, numerical models for each component on different LoDs are developed, considering proper geometric as well as material representation, interfaces and the representation of the construction process. Our fully automatic modeller for arbitrary tunnel alignments provides a high degree of automation for the generation, the setup and the execution of the simulation model, connecting the multi-level information model with the open-source simulation software KRATOS. The software of SATBIM is organized in a modular way in order to offer high flexibility not only for further extensions, but also for adaptation to future improvements of the simulation software. The SATBIM platform enables practical, yet flexible and user-friendly generation of the tunnel structure for arbitrary alignments on different LoDs, supporting the design process and providing an insight into soil-structure interactions during construction

ICT-based reforms in local government decision-making in the gram panchayats of Kerala

The beneficial impact of computerisation can be felt in all elements that contribute to decision-making in panchayats in the state of Kerala. However, even though computerisation is bringing about immense improvements compared to traditional administrative practices, but scope still remains for further improvement. Instead of the 'as it is' computerisation that is mostly carried out a process based approach is needed

Learning Effective Changes for Software Projects

The primary motivation of much of software analytics is decision making. How to make these decisions? Should one make decisions based on lessons that arise from within a particular project? Or should one generate these decisions from across multiple projects? This work is an attempt to answer these questions. Our work was motivated by a realization that much of the current generation software analytics tools focus primarily on prediction. Indeed prediction is a useful task, but it is usually followed by "planning" about what actions need to be taken. This research seeks to address the planning task by seeking methods that support actionable analytics that offer clear guidance on what to do. Specifically, we propose XTREE and BELLTREE algorithms for generating a set of actionable plans within and across projects. Each of these plans, if followed will improve the quality of the software project.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. This a submission for ASE 2017 Doctoral Symposiu

Correlating Architecture Maturity and Enterprise Systems Usage Maturity to Improve Business/IT Alignment

This paper compares concepts of maturity models in the areas of Enterprise Architecture and Enterprise Systems Usage. We investigate whether these concepts correlate, overlap and explain each other. The two maturity models are applied in a case study. We conclude that although it is possible to fully relate constructs from both kinds of models, having a mature architecture function in a company does not imply a high Enterprise Systems Usage maturity

Information systems evaluation: Navigating through the problem domain

Information systems (IS) make it possible to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness, which can provide competitive advantage. There is, however, a great deal of difficulty reported in the normative literature when it comes to the evaluation of investments in IS, with companies often finding themselves unable to assess the full implications of their IS infrastructure. Although many of the savings resulting from IS are considered suitable for inclusion within traditional accountancy frameworks, it is the intangible and non-financial benefits, together with indirect project costs that complicate the justification process. In exploring this phenomenon, the paper reviews the normative literature in the area of IS evaluation, and then proposes a set of conjectures. These were tested within a case study to analyze the investment justification process of a manufacturing IS investment. The idiosyncrasies of the case study and problems experienced during its attempts to evaluate, implement, and realize the holistic implications of the IS investment are presented and critically analyzed. The paper concludes by identifying lessons learnt and thus, proposes a number of empirical findings for consideration by decisionmakers during the investment evaluation process