Integrating automated support for a software management cycle into the TAME system

Software managers are interested in the quantitative management of software quality, cost and progress. An integrated software management methodology, which can be applied throughout the software life cycle for any number purposes, is required. The TAME (Tailoring A Measurement Environment) methodology is based on the improvement paradigm and the goal/question/metric (GQM) paradigm. This methodology helps generate a software engineering process and measurement environment based on the project characteristics. The SQMAR (software quality measurement and assurance technology) is a software quality metric system and methodology applied to the development processes. It is based on the feed forward control principle. Quality target setting is carried out before the plan-do-check-action activities are performed. These methodologies are integrated to realize goal oriented measurement, process control and visual management. A metric setting procedure based on the GQM paradigm, a management system called the software management cycle (SMC), and its application to a case study based on NASA/SEL data are discussed. The expected effects of SMC are quality improvement, managerial cost reduction, accumulation and reuse of experience, and a highly visual management reporting system

Goals/questions/metrics method and SAP implementation projects

During the last years some researchers have studied the critical success factors (CSFs) in ERP implementations. However, until now, no one has studied how these CSFs should be put in practice to help organizations achieve success in ERP implementations. This technical research report attempts to define the usage of Goals/Questions/Metrics (GQM) approach in the definition of a measurement system for ERP implementation projects. GQM approach is a mechanism for defining and interpreting operational, measurable goals. Lately, because of its intuitive nature the approach has gained widespread appeal. We present a metrics overview and a description of GQM approach. Then we provide an example of GQM application for monitoring sustained management support in ERP implementations. Sustained management support is the most cited critical success factor in ERP implementation projects.Postprint (published version

Software development: A paradigm for the future

A new paradigm for software development that treats software development as an experimental activity is presented. It provides built-in mechanisms for learning how to develop software better and reusing previous experience in the forms of knowledge, processes, and products. It uses models and measures to aid in the tasks of characterization, evaluation and motivation. An organization scheme is proposed for separating the project-specific focus from the organization's learning and reuse focuses of software development. The implications of this approach for corporations, research and education are discussed and some research activities currently underway at the University of Maryland that support this approach are presented

A Process Framework for Semantics-aware Tourism Information Systems

The growing sophistication of user requirements in tourism due to the advent of new technologies such as the Semantic Web and mobile computing has imposed new possibilities for improved intelligence in Tourism Information Systems (TIS). Traditional software engineering and web engineering approaches cannot suffice, hence the need to find new product development approaches that would sufficiently enable the next generation of TIS. The next generation of TIS are expected among other things to: enable semantics-based information processing, exhibit natural language capabilities, facilitate inter-organization exchange of information in a seamless way, and evolve proactively in tandem with dynamic user requirements. In this paper, a product development approach called Product Line for Ontology-based Semantics-Aware Tourism Information Systems (PLOSATIS) which is a novel hybridization of software product line engineering, and Semantic Web engineering concepts is proposed. PLOSATIS is presented as potentially effective, predictable and amenable to software process improvement initiatives

Quality-aware architectural model transformations in adaptive mashups user interfaces

The final publication is available at IOS Press through http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/FI-2016-0000Mashup user interfaces provides their functionality through the combination of different services. The integration of such services can be solved by using reusable and third-party components. Furthermore, these interfaces must be adapted to user preferences, context changes, user interactions and component availability. Model transformation is a useful mechanism to address this adaptation but normally these operations only focus on the functional requirements. In this sense, quality attributes should be included in the adaptation process to obtain the best adapted mashup user interface. This paper proposes a generic quality-aware transformation process to support the adaptation of software architectures. The transformation process has been applied in ENIA, a geographic information system, by constructing a specific quality model for the adaptation of mashup user interfaces. This model is taken into account for evaluating the different transformation alternatives and choosing the one that maximizes the quality assessments. The approach has been validated by a set of adaptation scenarios that are intended to maximize different quality factors and therefore apply distinct combinations of metrics.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A Systemic Approach to Evaluating the Organizational Agility in Large-Scale Companies

This paper presents action research to analyze an approach for assessment of the alleged agile transformation. This approach was implemented at AK Bars Digital Technologies, an IT spin-off of one of the largest banks in Russia using the Scaled Agile Framework. The approach is based on the Goal-Question-Metric approach, non-invasive measurement collection, and systemic analysis. It uses data from several different sources, including interviews, code repositories, user ratings in the play stores, and templates for agile assessment. The effectiveness of the approach is subjectively validated by the adoption of the proposed recommendations by the banks’ senior management. Details are provided on the approach, the required effort from the side of both those assessing and of the people being assessed and the results. The final part of the paper is devoted to the discussion of its generalizability and the plan for future experimentation and refinement

Laadunvalvontametodologian ja –järjestelmän käyttö teollisessa sovelluskehityksessä – Soveltuvuustutkimus

Ensuring software quality is important for achieving a competitive advantage in the market. Also, it is essential in critical systems, where a computer program cannot fail under any circumstances. In software projects, the best way to accomplish quality is to continuously monitor the state of the product and the development process. This means, that measurements on the software have to be done. However, as it is not adequate to measure everything, the relevant quality characteristics have to be defined. This is very context-specific and should thus be done for each project separately. In this thesis, the deployment of quality monitoring in software development projects was studied. This included defining a quality model and designing, deploying and using a quality monitoring program. These activities were facilitated by the U-QASAR methodology and platform that provide guidance and support for quality monitoring by measurement data integration. The study consisted of two parts: a multiple case study and constructive research. The case study was conducted to explore the case project members’ experiences on quality monitoring. Observations, interviews and questionnaires were used as research instruments. A constructive research method was used to evaluate the data integration in the U-QASAR platform. Data integration adapters were explored and developers were interviewed and finally a new adapter was implemented. In both parts, thematic analysis was used to process the data. The case study results showed that quality monitoring can be deployed even in small-scale software projects, but there are certain challenges. For example, it is difficult to connect objective software measurements to more abstract quality objectives. Moreover, practitioners’ knowledge on the terminology of software measurement and software quality is not something that can be assumed. However, it is important that the semantic structure is taken care of in order to achieve common understanding. The constructive research revealed needs for further development regarding the data integration architecture of the U-QASAR platform.Ohjelmistokehityksessä laadunvarmistus on tärkeää, sillä sen avulla voidaan saavuttaa parempi markkina-asema. Ohjelmiston laatu on tärkeää myös kriittisissä systeemeissä, joiden vikaantuminen voi johtaa esimerkiksi mittaviin taloudellisiin menetyksiin. Ohjelmistokehitysprojekteissa laadukas tuote voidaan parhaiten saavuttaa jatkuvasti tarkkailemalla projektin tilaa, mikä edellyttää mittauksia. Kaikkea ei kuitenkaan ole kustannustehokasta mitata, joten on tärkeää määrittää kyseiselle tuotteelle ja projektille tärkeät laatuominaisuudet. Tässä työssä tutkittiin laadunvalvonnan käyttöönottoa ohjelmistokehitysprojekteissa. Siihen liittyviä aktiviteetteja olivat laatumallin määrittely sekä laadunvalvontaohjelman suunnittelu, käyttöönotto ja käyttö. Toiminnot toteutettiin käyttäen U-QASAR-metodologiaa ja -alustaa, jotka tarjoavat ohjausta ja tukea mittausdataintegraatiolla toteutettavaan laaduntarkkailuun. Tutkimus koostui kahdesta osiosta: monitapaustutkimuksesta ja konstruktiivisesta tutkimuksesta. Tapaustutkimus tehtiin, jotta laadunvalvonnasta saatavia kokemuksia voitaisiin tutkia. Tutkimusinstrumentteina käytettiin havainnointia, haastatteluja sekä kyselyitä. Konstruktiivisessa tutkimuksessa kohteena oli U-QASAR-alustan dataintegraation toteutus. Jo kehitettyjen integraatioadaptereiden rakennetta tutkittiin ja kehittäjiä haastateltiin. Lopuksi uusi adapteri kehitettiin. Molemmissa tutkimusosioissa temaattista analyysiä käytettiin datan käsittelyyn. Työn tulokset osoittivat, että laadunvalvontaa voidaan tehdä pienissäkin ohjelmistoprojekteissa, mutta tietyt haasteet on otettava huomioon. Esimerkiksi objektiivisten mittausten yhdistäminen abstraktimpiin laatuominaisuuksiin todettiin vaikeaksi. Lisäksi havaittiin, että laatuterminologian ei voida olettaa olevan hallussa kaikilla projektin sidosryhmillä. On kuitenkin tärkeää, että semanttinen konsensus säilytetään yhteisen ymmärryksen takaamiseksi. Konstruktiivisen tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, että U-QASAR-alustan dataintegraatioarkkitehtuuri vaatii jatkokehitystä

Evaluation of software quality attributes for Vessel Tracking Management System (VTMS)

Software quality and assurance becomes inevitable as the non-functional requirements continue to gain more popularity than functional requirements. Even some system could resolve some problem, but if nonfunctional requirements been neglected, at that point the solution may be impractical.The system with least features and quality characteristics will lead to low demand and failed-to-market.The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality in use attributes for Vessel Tracking and Management System (VTMS) adopted from the latest ISO/IEC 25010 quality model in the perspective of users’ satisfaction.Five properties of quality in use are explicitly evaluated which are effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, freedom from risk and context coverage.A study was conducted through observation and survey to evaluate all five quality in use attributes of VTMS and to explore the relationship between each quality in use attribute to determine the overall users’ satisfaction.Generally, this study provides an early empirical evaluation of the practical value of case study method. Firstly, from the VTMS perspective, the system provide a great 100% in functions coverage (completeness) although there are two (2) functions need to take immediate action in terms of accuracy so make up total 98.4% for effectiveness.On the other hand, the efficiency which measure the response time for each VTMS main tasks was 92.83%.It is concluded that all five (5) quality in use attributes scores more than 75% which are above the MMEA’s minimum requirement on overall users’ satisfaction

Foundations of Empirical Software Engineering: The Legacy of Victor R. Basili

This book captures the main scientific contributions of Victor R. Basili, who has significantly shaped the field of empirical software engineering from its very start. He was the first to claim that software engineering needed to follow the model of other physical sciences and develop an experimental paradigm. By working on this postulate, he developed concepts that today are well known and widely used, including the Goal-Question-Metric method, the Quality-Improvement paradigm, and the Experience Factory. He is one of the few software pioneers who can aver that their research results are not just scientifically acclaimed but are also used as industry standards. On the occasion of his 65th birthday, celebrated with a symposium in his honor at the International Conference on Software Engineering in St. Louis, MO, USA in May 2005, Barry Boehm, Hans Dieter Rombach, and Marvin V. Zelkowitz, each a long-time collaborator of Victor R. Basili, selected the 20 most important research papers of their friend, and arranged these according to subject field. They then invited renowned researchers to write topical introductions. The result is this commented collection of timeless cornerstones of software engineering, hitherto available only in scattered publications