Automated conflict resolution between multiple clinical pathways:A technology report

Background The number of people in the UK with three or more long-term conditions continues to grow and the management of patients with co-morbidities is complex. In treating patients with multimorbidities, a fundamental problem is understanding and detecting points of conflict between different guidelines which to date has relied on individual clinicians collating disparate information. Objective We will develop a framework for modelling a diverse set of care pathways, and investigate how conflicts can be detected and resolved automatically. We will use this knowledge to develop a software tool for use by clinicians that can map guidelines, highlight root causes of conflict between these guidelines and suggest ways they might be resolved. Method Our work consists of three phases. First, we will accurately model clinical pathways for six of the most common chronic diseases; second, we will automatically identify and detect sources of conflict across the pathways and how they might be resolved. Third, we will present a case study to prove the validity of our approach using a team of clinicians to detect and resolve the conflicts in the treatment of a fictional patient with multiple common morbidities and compare their findings and recommendations with those derived automatically using our novel software. Discussion This paper describes the development of an important software-based method for identifying a conflict between clinical guidelines. Our findings will support clinicians treating patients with multimorbidity in both primary and secondary care settings

Approche orientée services pour la construction des environnements de modélisation

National audienceL'ingénierie des modèles considère tout artefact logiciel comme un modèle. La gestion de modèles regroupe tout un ensemble de fonctionnalités permettant de représenter, créer, stocker et manipuler les modèles. Actuellement les besoins des concepteurs en termes de gestion de processus et produits sont divers et les outils de modélisation ne sont pas complets car les besoins autour des modèles ne sont pas consensuels. Pour remédier à l'hétérogénéité et aux limitations fonctionnelles des outils de gestion de modèles, l'objectif de nos recherches, est de faciliter le travail des concepteurs de modèles et chef de projets en les aidant dans le choix de processus, des modèles et d'environnements de modélisation adaptés à leurs besoins spécifiques. Cet article détaille l'utilisation d'une approche orientée services pour la gestion de modèles, selon les besoins des concepteurs. Nos propositions portent sur trois niveaux d'abstraction: opérationnel, organisationnel et intentionnel. Le niveau opérationnel, permet de choisir l'ensemble d'outils appropriés, le niveau organisationnel facilite la sélection d'un processus et le niveau intentionnel permet d'expliciter les besoins des concepteurs en termes de gestion de modèles

A Quantitative SWOT-TOWS Analysis for the Adoption of Model-Based Software Engineering

Enterprises’ trend to low-code development revives model-based software engineering (MBSE) since several low-code platforms are based on the principles of model-based design, automatic code generation, and visual programming. Changes in an enterprise’s software development process, however, always require strategic planning. To find an appropriate strategy, we present an analytical tool for identifying and evaluating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats factors for the adoption of MBSE. This tool provides a SWOT-TOWS analysis supplemented by a quantitative evaluation of strategies based on a multiple-criteria decision technique drawing on the knowledge of industry experts. Our analytical tool is general so it can be used in the industrial context for making other strategic decisions.Fil: Escalona, María José. Universidad de Sevilla; EspañaFil: de Koch, Nora Parcus. Universidad de Sevilla; EspañaFil: Rossi, Gustavo Héctor. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Annual Report 2007 - Institute of Safety Research

The Institute of Safety Research (ISR) is one of the six Research Institutes of Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V. (FZD e.V.), which is a member institution of the Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (Leibniz Association). Together with the Institute of Radiochemistry, ISR implements the research programme Safety and Environment, which is one of the three scientific programmes of FZD. In the framework of this research programme, the institute is responsible for the programme areas Plant and Reactor Safety and Thermal Fluid Dynamics, respectively (see Table 1). By participating in the development and operation of a pulsed photo-neutron source at the radiation source ELBE (Electron linear accelerator for beams of high brilliance and low emittance), we also contribute to the project Neutron Induced Processes, which is part of the FZD programme dedicated to the structure of matter

Mise en correspondance et gestion de la cohérence de modèles hétérogènes évolutifs

To understand and manipulate a complex system, it is necessary to apply the separation of concerns and produce separate parts. In Model Driven Engineering (MDE), these parts are represented by models qualified as partial models. In this context of multi-modeling, these models are called heterogeneous when they are described in separate modeling languages dedicated to different business domains: DSML (Domain Specific Modeling Language). Global model creation requires identifying existing correspondences between the elements of the partial models. However, in practice these correspondences are either incompletely identified or not sufficiently formalized to be maintained when the partial models evolve. This restricts their use and does not allow to fully exploit them for building the global model or for treating partial models evolution. The contribution of this thesis is twofold. The first contribution deals with a process for creating a global view of the system by means of a composition based on partial models matching. Identified correspondences between models elements are based on types of relationship instantiated from a metamodel of correspondences. This latter is extensible, depending on the considered application domain, and allows supporting the concepts related to this domain. Correspondences are firstly identified between meta-elements belonging to metamodels of the respective partial models. Correspondences between model elements are then obtained by a refinement mechanism, supported by an ad hoc Semantic Expression language: SED (Semantic Expression DSL). The composition is called “virtual” since elements represented in a correspondence are only references to elements belonging to partial models. Therefore, models interconnected by this correspondences form a virtual global model. The second contribution relates the consistency of the global model. Indeed, as models evolve over time, changing one or several elements involved in a correspondence, may cause the inconsistency of the global model. To maintain its consistency, we propose a second process enabling to automatically identify the changes, classify them and treat their impacts on the involved model elements. Management of repercussions is performed semi-automatically by the expert by means of strategies and weights. This work has been implemented through a support tool named HMCS (Heterogeneous Matching and Consistency management Suite) based on the Eclipse Platform. The approach has been validated and illustrated through a case study related to the management of a Hospital Emergency Service. This work was led in collaboration with the “CHU of Montpellier”.Pour permettre la compréhension et la manipulation d’un système complexe, le découpage en parties séparées est nécessaire. En Ingénierie Dirigée par les Modèles (ou Model Driven Engineering), ces parties sont représentées par des modèles, que nous qualifions de modèles partiels, dans la mesure où ils sont focalisés sur des domaines métiers distincts. Dans ce contexte de multi-modélisation, ces modèles sont dits hétérogènes quand ils sont décrits dans des langages de modélisation distincts dédiés à différents domaines métiers : DSML (Domain Specific Modeling language). La compréhension et l’exploitation efficace des connaissances relatives à un tel système supposent la construction d’un modèle global représentant son fonctionnement. La création du modèle global requiert l’identification des correspondances existant entre les éléments des différents modèles partiels. Dans la pratique, ces correspondances sont soit incomplètement identifiées, soit insuffisamment formalisées pour être maintenues lorsque les modèles partiels évoluent. Ceci limite leur utilisation et ne permet pas de les exploiter pleinement lors de la construction du modèle global ou du traitement de l’évolution des modèles partiels. L’apport de cette thèse est double. La première contribution est celle d’un processus permettant la création d’une vue globale du système par l’intermédiaire d’une composition fondée sur la mise en correspondance des modèles partiels. Les correspondances identifiées entres les éléments des modèles se basent sur des types de relations instanciées à partir d’un métamodèle de correspondance. Ce dernier est extensible (selon les spécificités du domaine d’application considéré) et permet de supporter les concepts relatifs à ce domaine. Les correspondances sont d’abord identifiées entre les méta-éléments des métamodèles respectifs des modèles partiels. Les correspondances entre les éléments de modèles sont ensuite obtenues par un mécanisme de raffinement, supporté par un langage d’expression sémantique ad hoc : SED (Semantic Expression DSL). La composition est dite « virtuelle » dans la mesure où les éléments figurant dans une correspondance ne sont que des références aux éléments appartenant aux modèles partiels. De ce fait, les modèles interconnectés par ces correspondances forment un modèle global virtuel. La seconde contribution est relative au maintien de la cohérence des modèles partiels et du modèle global. En effet, les modèles évoluant dans le temps, le changement d’un élément ou de plusieurs éléments participant à l’expression des correspondances, peut entrainer l’incohérence du modèle global. Pour maintenir la cohérence du modèle global, nous proposons un second processus permettant tout d’abord d’identifier automatiquement les changements réalisés ainsi que leurs classifications et leurs répercussions sur les éléments de modèles concernés. Par la suite, les différents cycles sont gérés à l’aide de l’expert puis une liste de changements est générée en fonction de la stratégie choisie et des coefficients de pondération. Enfin, le traitement des changements est réalisé de façon semi-automatique. Ce travail a été concrétisé par le développement d’un outil support nommé HMCS (Heterogeneous Matching and Consistency management Suite), basé sur la plateforme Eclipse. L’approche a été validée et illustrée à travers un cas d’étude portant sur la gestion du Service d'Urgence d'un hôpital. Ce travail a été mené en collaboration avec le CHU de Montpellier

An empirical comparative evaluation of gestUI to include gesture-based interaction in user interfaces

[EN] Currently there are tools that support the customisation of users' gestures. In general, the inclusion of new gestures implies writing new lines of code that strongly depend on the target platform where the system is run. In order to avoid this platform dependency, gestUI was proposed as a model-driven method that permits (i) the definition of custom touch-based gestures, and (ii) the inclusion of the gesture-based interaction in existing user interfaces on desktop computing platforms. The objective of this work is to compare gestUI (a MDD method to deal with gestures) versus a code-centric method to include gesture-based interaction in user interfaces. In order to perform the comparison, we analyse usability through effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. Satisfaction can be measured using the subjects' perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and intention to use. The experiment was carried out by 21 subjects, who are computer science M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. We use a crossover design, where each subject applied both methods to perform the experiment. Subjects performed tasks related to custom gesture definition and modification of the source code of the user interface to include gesture-based interaction. The data was collected using questionnaires and analysed using non-parametric statistical tests. The results show that gestUI is more efficient and effective. Moreover, results conclude that gestUI is perceived as easier to use than the code-centric method. According to these results, gestUI is a promising method to define custom gestures and to include gesture-based interaction in existing user interfaces of desktop-computing software systems. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work has been supported by Department of Computer Science of the Universidad de Cuenca and SENESCYT of Ecuador, and received financial support from the Generalitat Valenciana under "Project IDEO (PROMETEOII/2014/039)" and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the "DataMe Project (TIN2016-80811-P)".Parra-González, LO.; España Cubillo, S.; Panach Navarrete, JI.; Pastor López, O. (2019). An empirical comparative evaluation of gestUI to include gesture-based interaction in user interfaces. Science of Computer Programming. 172:232-263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scico.2018.12.001S23226317

Testing Autonomous Cars for Feature Interaction Failures using Many-Objective Search

Complex systems such as autonomous cars are typically built as a composition of features that are independent units of functionality. Features tend to interact and impact one another’s behavior in unknown ways. A challenge is to detect and manage feature interactions, in particular, those that violate system requirements, hence leading to failures. In this paper, we propose a technique to detect feature interaction failures by casting our approach into a search-based test generation problem. We define a set of hybrid test objectives (distance functions) that combine traditional coverage-based heuristics with new heuristics specifically aimed at revealing feature interaction failures. We develop a new search-based test generation algorithm, called FITEST, that is guided by our hybrid test objectives. FITEST extends recently proposed many-objective evolutionary algorithms to reduce the time required to compute fitness values. We evaluate our approach using two versions of an industrial self-driving system. Our results show that our hybrid test objectives are able to identify more than twice as many feature interaction failures as two baseline test objectives used in the software testing literature (i.e., coverage-based and failure-based test objectives). Further, the feedback from domain experts indicates that the detected feature interaction failures represent real faults in their systems that were not previously identified based on analysis of the system features and their requirements

Evolution, testing and configuration of variability intensive systems

Tesis descargada desde ResearchGateOne of the key characteristics of software is its ability to be adapted and configured to different scenarios. Recently, software variability has been studied as a first-class concept in different domains ranging from software product lines to pervasive systems. Variability is the ability of a software product to vary depending on different circumstances. Variability intensive systems are those software products where variability management is a core engineering activity. The varying parts of those systems are commonly modeled by us- ing different variability model flavors, being feature modeling one of the most common ones. Feature models were first introduced by Kang et al. back in 1990 and are a compact representation of a set of configurations in a variability intensive system. The large number of configurations that a feature model can encode makes the manual analysis of feature models an error prone and costly task. Then, computer-aided mechanisms appeared as a solution to extract useful information from feature models. This process of extracting information from feature models is known as ¿Automated Analysis of Feature models¿ that has been one of the main areas of research in the last years where more than thirty analysis operations have been proposed.Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado U