A graph based process model measurement framework using scheduling theory

Software development processes, as a means of ensuring software quality and productivity, have been widely accepted within the software development community; software process modeling, on the other hand, continues to be a subject of interest in the research community. Even with organizations that have achieved higher SEI maturity levels, processes are by and large described in documents and reinforced as guidelines or laws governing software development activities. The lack of industry-wide adaptation of software process modeling as part of development activities can be attributed to two major reasons: lack of forecast power in the (software) process modeling and lack of integration mechanism for the described process to seamlessly interact with daily development activities. This dissertation describes a research through which a framework has been established where processes can be manipulated, measured, and dynamically modified by interacting with project management techniques and activities in an integrated process modeling environment, thus closing the gap between process modeling and software development. In this research, processes are described using directed graphs, similar to the techniques with CPM. This way, the graphs can be manipulated visually while the properties of the graphs-can be used to check their validity. The partial ordering and the precedence relationship of the tasks in the graphs are similar to the one studied in other researches [Delcambre94] [Mills96]. Measurements of the effectiveness of the processes are added in this research. These measurements provide bases for the judgment when manipulating the graphs to produce or modify a process. Software development can be considered as activities related to three sets: a set of tasks (τ), a set of resources (ρ), and a set of constraints (y). The process, P, is then a function of all the sets interacting with each other: P = {τ, ρ, y). The interactions of these sets can be described in terms of different machine models using scheduling theory. While trying to produce an optimal solution satisfying a set of prescribed conditions using the analytical method would lead to a practically non-feasible formulation, many heuristic algorithms in scheduling theory combined with manual manipulation of the tasks can help to produce a reasonable good process, the effectiveness of which is reflected through a set of measurement criteria, in particular, the make-span, the float, and the bottlenecks. Through an integrated process modeling environment, these measurements can be obtained in real time, thus providing a feedback loop during the process execution. This feedback loop is essential for risk management and control

Helping student teachers to see into practice:The view from a teacher-education classroom

The aim of this study was to unlock, over the course of one academic year, the pedagogical knowledge in action of an experienced teacher educator engaged in teaching a cohort of fourteen postgraduate student teachers on a one-year, university-led, modern foreign languages course. From the context of a teacher-education classroom, the study focused on how, and with what underpinning rationale, a teacher educator helped her student teachers to see into practice with theoretical understanding. The study was based on a constructivist philosophy. To this end, there was a strong collaborative dimension to the research, which was particularly pronounced in the interactions between my ‘self’ as researcher and the teacher educator. The principal data-generation methods involved observing sixteen three-hour sessions taught by the teacher educator. Each session was followed by a debriefing interview to unpick the pedagogical processes just observed. Additionally, four semi-structured interviews were conducted with the teacher educator at different points in the year, and four focus groups were run with student teachers. The resulting empirical material was analysed using a framework for reflexive thematic analysis. The study shows how an integrative, symbiotic, and non-dichotomous relationship between theory and practice can be achieved in ways that result in theory being regarded by the student teachers as a guide, confidante, and friend – especially in adverse circumstances. The study also suggests ways in which modelling can be rendered more effective. Recommendations for practice include how careful attention needs to be given as to how experiences can be orchestrated and lived in a teacher-education classroom so as to possess the high levels of personal meaning and felt significance that can increase the reflective traction for seeing into practice. The study advocates that the desire to cover material should not come at the cost of deep understanding. Continuity with one’s students, and sufficient time away from the school classroom, are prerequisites for realising such an approach