Qualitative and semi-quantitative modelling and simulation of the software engineering processes

Software process modelling has been identified as being a vehicle for understanding development processes, controlling development costs, duration, and achieving product quality. In recent years, software process simulation has been becoming one of the essential techniques for effectively investigating and managing software development processes. Till now, most researches focus on the quantitative aspects of process simulation and modelling. Nevertheless, purely quantitative process modelling requires a very detailed understanding and accurate measurement of the software process, which relies on reliable and precise historical data. When such data are lacking or the quality is dubious, quantitative models have to impose severe constraints that restrict the model's value. Unfortunately, these data are not readily available in most cases, especially in the organisations at low process maturity levels. In addition, software development is a highly complex, human-centred endeavour, which involves many uncertain factors in the course of development process. Facing the inherent uncertainty and contingency, though quantitative modelling employs statistic techniques, its conditional capability and underlying assumptions limit its performance on large scale problems. As the alternatives of quantitative approaches, qualitative modelling can cope with a lack of complete knowledge, and predicts qualitative process behaviours. Furthermore, semi-quantitative modelling offers the capability of handling process uncertainty with limited knowledge, and achieves tradeoff between quantitative and qualitative approaches. However, most previous researches omitted these approaches, and the associated methods and applications are far from developed. The main contribution of this research lies in the pioneering work on the models, methods, and applications of qualitative and semi-quantitative software process modelling and simulation, and their relations with the conventional, quantitative modelling approaches. This dissertation produces its novelty from twofold research. Firstly, it explores methods and techniques to qualitatively and semi-quantitatively model and simulate software processes at different levels, i.e. project, portion of development process, and product evolution. Secondly, Some exclusive applications of these modelling approaches are also developed for aspects of software engineering practice. Moreover, a proposed framework integrates these approaches with typical quantitative paradigms to guide the adoption of process simulation modelling in software organisations. As a comprehensive reflection of state-of-the-art of software process simulation modelling, a systematic review is reported in this dissertation as well

24th International Conference on Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases

In the last three decades information modelling and knowledge bases have become essentially important subjects not only in academic communities related to information systems and computer science but also in the business area where information technology is applied. The series of European – Japanese Conference on Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases (EJC) originally started as a co-operation initiative between Japan and Finland in 1982. The practical operations were then organised by professor Ohsuga in Japan and professors Hannu Kangassalo and Hannu Jaakkola in Finland (Nordic countries). Geographical scope has expanded to cover Europe and also other countries. Workshop characteristic - discussion, enough time for presentations and limited number of participants (50) / papers (30) - is typical for the conference. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to: 1. Conceptual modelling: Modelling and specification languages; Domain-specific conceptual modelling; Concepts, concept theories and ontologies; Conceptual modelling of large and heterogeneous systems; Conceptual modelling of spatial, temporal and biological data; Methods for developing, validating and communicating conceptual models. 2. Knowledge and information modelling and discovery: Knowledge discovery, knowledge representation and knowledge management; Advanced data mining and analysis methods; Conceptions of knowledge and information; Modelling information requirements; Intelligent information systems; Information recognition and information modelling. 3. Linguistic modelling: Models of HCI; Information delivery to users; Intelligent informal querying; Linguistic foundation of information and knowledge; Fuzzy linguistic models; Philosophical and linguistic foundations of conceptual models. 4. Cross-cultural communication and social computing: Cross-cultural support systems; Integration, evolution and migration of systems; Collaborative societies; Multicultural web-based software systems; Intercultural collaboration and support systems; Social computing, behavioral modeling and prediction. 5. Environmental modelling and engineering: Environmental information systems (architecture); Spatial, temporal and observational information systems; Large-scale environmental systems; Collaborative knowledge base systems; Agent concepts and conceptualisation; Hazard prediction, prevention and steering systems. 6. Multimedia data modelling and systems: Modelling multimedia information and knowledge; Contentbased multimedia data management; Content-based multimedia retrieval; Privacy and context enhancing technologies; Semantics and pragmatics of multimedia data; Metadata for multimedia information systems. Overall we received 56 submissions. After careful evaluation, 16 papers have been selected as long paper, 17 papers as short papers, 5 papers as position papers, and 3 papers for presentation of perspective challenges. We thank all colleagues for their support of this issue of the EJC conference, especially the program committee, the organising committee, and the programme coordination team. The long and the short papers presented in the conference are revised after the conference and published in the Series of “Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence” by IOS Press (Amsterdam). The books “Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases” are edited by the Editing Committee of the conference. We believe that the conference will be productive and fruitful in the advance of research and application of information modelling and knowledge bases. Bernhard Thalheim Hannu Jaakkola Yasushi Kiyok

Optimal Sizing and Power Management Strategies of Islanded Microgrids for Remote Electrification Systems

Over the past few years, electrification of remote communities with an efficient utilization of on-site energy resources has entered a new phase of evolution. However, the planning tools and studies for the remote microgrids are considered inadequate. Moreover, the existing techniques have not taken into account the impact of reactive power on component sizes. Thus, this thesis concentrates on optimal sizing design of an islanded microgrid (IMG), which is composed of renewable energy resources (RERs), battery energy storage system (BESS), and diesel generation system (DGS), for the purpose of electrifying off-grid communities. Owing to the utilization of both BESS and DGS, four power management strategies (PMSs) are modeled upon analyzing the impacts of reactive power to chronologically simulate the IMG. In this work, two single-objective optimization (SOO) and two multiobjective optimization (MOO) approaches are developed for determining the optimal component sizes in an IMG. Chronological simulation and an enumeration-based search technique are adopted in the first SOO approach. Then, an accelerated SOO approach is proposed by adopting an improved piecewise aggregate approximation (IPAA)-based time series and a genetic algorithm (GA). Next, an adaptive weighted sum (AWS) method, in conjunction with an enumeration search technique, is adopted in a bi-objective optimization approach. Finally, an elitist non-dominated sorting GA-II (NSGA-II) technique is proposed for MOO of the IMG by introducing three objective functions. The enumeration-based SOO approach ensures a global optimum, determines the optimal sizes and PMSs simultaneously, and offers a realistic solution. The accelerated SOO approach significantly reduces the central processing unit (CPU) time without largely deviating the life cycle cost (LCC). The bi-objective optimal sizing approach generates a large number of evenly spread trade-off solutions both in regular and uneven regions upon adopting the LCC and renewable energy penetration (REP) as the objective functions. Using the MOO approach, one can produce a diversified set of Pareto optimal solutions, for both the component sizes and PMSs, at a reduced computational effort. The effectiveness of the proposed approaches is demonstrated by simulation studies in the MATLAB/Simulink software environment

Towards the realisation of a fully integrated Interactive Computer Music System (ICMS), adopting Transformative Expressive Dimensions

The principal aim of conducting this research project is to advance the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) in music through the inception of new and exciting ideas relating to the conceptual and aesthetic values and characteristics associated with interactive computer music system (ICMS) design, development and implementation. This exploratory investigation has been carried out through the continued development of a unique screen-based ICMS, ScreenPlay, which brings together aspects of many prominent, pre-existing system design models along with other novel inclusions, such as the capability of operating as both a multi-user-and-computer collaborative, improvisatory interactive performance system and a single-user-and-computer studio compositional tool for Ableton Live, and the implementation of Markovian generative and topic-theory-inspired transformative algorithms to provide new ways of breaking routine in collaborative improvisation and generating new musical ideas in composition, as well as providing new dimensions of expressivity. The intention being that the culmination of these efforts should be the establishment of a system design model that offers the user(s)/performer(s) a significantly more engaging, intuitive and complete interactive musical experience than that afforded by any currently available system. This is not an objective that should be perceived as being born of arrogance or ignorance; many established and commercially successful ICMSs provide users with amazing and unique experiences, and the value of their contribution to the field of HCI in music is not to be underestimated or taken for granted. However, for all the relative strengths and possibilities of interacting with these systems, there is potential for improvement and evolution in equal measure. This is largely due to the tendency of ICMS developers to focus (sometimes almost exclusively) on providing the best possible experience when engaging with a system only with regard to a single parameter/characteristic of the musical output at the expense of providing depth-in-control at any level over some or any of the many other parameters/characteristics available. It is necessary for all forms of technology and art to continually improve and evolve beyond what has already been achieved in order to avoid extinction, and nowhere is this more apparent than within an innovative and niche field of research such as HCI in music

Towards the realisation of a fully integrated InteractiveComputer Music System (ICMS), adoptingTransformative Expressive Dimensions

The principal aim of conducting this research project is to advance the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) in music through the inception of new and exciting ideas relating to the conceptual and aesthetic values and characteristics associated with interactive computer music system (ICMS) design, development and implementation. This exploratory investigation has been carried out through the continued development of a unique screen-based ICMS, ScreenPlay, which brings together aspects of many prominent, pre-existing system design models along with other novel inclusions, such as the capability of operating as both a multi-user-and-computer collaborative, improvisatory interactive performance system and a single-user-and-computer studio compositional tool for Ableton Live, and the implementation of Markovian generative and topic-theory-inspired transformative algorithms to provide new ways of breaking routine in collaborative improvisation and generating new musical ideas in composition, as well as providing new dimensions of expressivity. The intention being that the culmination of these efforts should be the establishment of a system design model that offers the user(s)/performer(s) a significantly more engaging, intuitive and complete interactive musical experience than that afforded by any currently available system.This is not an objective that should be perceived as being born of arrogance or ignorance; many established and commercially successful ICMSs provide users with amazing and unique experiences, and the value of their contribution to the field of HCI in music is not to be underestimated or taken for granted. However, for all the relative strengths and possibilities of interacting with these systems, there is potential for improvement and evolution in equal measure. This is largely due to the tendency of ICMS developers to focus (sometimes almost exclusively) on providing the best possible experience when engaging with a system only with regard to a single parameter/characteristic of the musical output at the expense of providing depth-in-control at any level over some or any of the many other parameters/characteristics available. It is necessary for all forms of technology and art to continually improve and evolve beyond what has already been achieved in order to avoid extinction, and nowhere is this more apparent than within an innovative and niche field of research such as HCI in music