Technical Debt Prioritization: State of the Art. A Systematic Literature Review

Background. Software companies need to manage and refactor Technical Debt issues. Therefore, it is necessary to understand if and when refactoring Technical Debt should be prioritized with respect to developing features or fixing bugs. Objective. The goal of this study is to investigate the existing body of knowledge in software engineering to understand what Technical Debt prioritization approaches have been proposed in research and industry. Method. We conducted a Systematic Literature Review among 384 unique papers published until 2018, following a consolidated methodology applied in Software Engineering. We included 38 primary studies. Results. Different approaches have been proposed for Technical Debt prioritization, all having different goals and optimizing on different criteria. The proposed measures capture only a small part of the plethora of factors used to prioritize Technical Debt qualitatively in practice. We report an impact map of such factors. However, there is a lack of empirical and validated set of tools. Conclusion. We observed that technical Debt prioritization research is preliminary and there is no consensus on what are the important factors and how to measure them. Consequently, we cannot consider current research conclusive and in this paper, we outline different directions for necessary future investigations

Establishing Processing Priorities: Recommendations from a 2017 Study of Practices in US Repositories

Building upon archival scholarship and previous solutions addressing backlog collections, this study seeks to identify a comprehensive, integrated, and effective strategy to establish and maintain processing priorities. This study is based on supporting research, which includes the results of a survey of archivists and the findings of five focus group discussions about processing priorities. Using these findings, the authors (a) consider whether this focus on an old problem has motivated archivists to find innovative solutions; (b) determine whether archivists are using these tools; (c) consider whether and how archivists have changed processing priority practices and policies; and (d) seek to clarify current metrics to establish overall processing priorities

Addressing challenges to teach traditional and agile project management in academia

In order to prepare students for a professional IT career, most universities attempt to provide a current educational curriculum in the Project Management (PM) area to their students. This is usually based on the most promising methodologies used by the software industry. As instructors, we need to balance traditional methodologies focused on proven project planning and control processes leveraging widely accepted methods and tools along with the newer agile methodologies. Such new frameworks emphasize that software delivery should be done in a flexible and iterative manner and with significant collaboration with product owners and customers. In our experience agile methodologies have witnessed an exponential growth in many diverse software organizations, and the various agile PM tools and techniques will continue to see an increase in adoption in the software development sector. Reflecting on these changes, there is a critical need to accommodate best practices and current methodologies in our courses that deliver Project Management content. In this paper we analyse two of the most widely used methodologies for traditional and agile software development – the widely used ISO/PMBOK standard provided by the Project Management Institute and the well-accepted Scrum framework. We discuss how to overcome curriculum challenges and deliver a quality undergraduate PM course for a Computer Science and Information systems curricula. Based on our teaching experience in Europe and North America, we present a comprehensive comparison of the two approaches. Our research covers the main concepts, processes, and roles associated with the two PM frameworks and recommended learning outcomes. The paper should be of value to instructors who are keen to see their computing students graduate with a sound understanding of current PM methodologies and who can deliver real-world software products.Accepted manuscrip

Prioritizing Management and Research Actions against Invasive Reptiles in Florida: A Collaboration by an Expert Panel

Florida has more introduced animals than any other region of the U.S. and also ranks high in this respect globally. Given Florida\u27s climate, it is no coincidence that a large proportion of Florida’s invasive vertebrate species are reptiles and amphibians. Exotic snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles, and crocodilians are all breeding in Florida. The largest snakes in Florida are constrictors from other continents, and the five largest lizard species breeding in Florida are from Africa, South America, and Central America. Establishment of non-native reptiles and amphibians has been documented in Florida for over 135 years, and the rate of invasive reptile species establishment has been accelerating in the last half century. Florida currently has 16 native lizard species compared to 43 invasive species of lizard established and breeding in the state. Florida\u27s subtropical climate in the south, its major ports of entry for many wildlife species to the U.S. (both legal and illegal), its thriving captive wildlife industry, and its location in an area of destructive hurricanes that can release captive animals make the state particularly susceptible to the introduction and establishment of a wide range of species. Moreover, Florida is isolated from land with similar climates, resulting in the state\u27s vertebrates typically originating in the southeast U.S. at the southern extremes of their range. Invaders to Florida therefore find relatively fewer native species to contend with than in most tropical/subtropical locations

Prioritizing Opportunities to Reduce the Risk of Foodborne Illness: A Conceptual Framework

Determining the best use of food safety resources is a difficult task faced by public policymakers, regulatory agencies, state and local food safety and health agencies, as well as private firms. The Food Safety Research Consortium (FSRC) has developed a conceptual framework for priority setting and resource allocation for food safety that takes full account of the food system’s complexity and available data but is simple enough to be workable and of practical value to decisionmakers. The conceptual framework addresses the question of how societal resources, both public and private, can be used most effectively to reduce the public health burden of foodborne illness by quantitatively ranking risks and considering the availability, effectiveness, and cost of interventions to address these risks. We identify two types of priority-setting decisions: Purpose 1 priority setting that guides risk-based allocation of food safety resources, primarily by government food safety agencies, across a wide range of opportunities to reduce the public health impact of foodborne illness; and Purpose 2 priority setting that guides the choice of risk management actions and strategies with respect to particular hazards and commodities. It is essential that such a framework be grounded in a systems approach, multi-disciplinary in approach and integration of data, practical, flexible, and dynamic by including ongoing evaluation and continuous updating of risk rankings and other elements. The conceptual framework is a synthesis of ideas and information generated in connection with and during the three FSRC workshops convened under a project funded by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of USDA. Workshop materials are available on the project website: http://www.card.iastate.edu/food_safety/.

Technical Debt Prioritization: State of the Art. A Systematic Literature Review

Background. Software companies need to manage and refactor Technical Debt issues. Therefore, it is necessary to understand if and when refactoring of Technical Debt should be prioritized with respect to developing features or fixing bugs.Objective. The goal of this study is to investigate the existing body of knowledge in software engineering to understand what Technical Debt prioritization approaches have been proposed in research and industry. Method. We conducted a Systematic Literature Review of 557 unique papers published until 2019, following a consolidated methodology applied in software engineering. We included 44 primary studies.Results. Different approaches have been proposed for Technical Debt prioritization, all having different goals and proposing optimization regarding different criteria. The proposed measures capture only a small part of the plethora of factors used to prioritize Technical Debt qualitatively in practice. We present an impact map of such factors. However, there is a lack of empirical and validated set of tools.Conclusion. We observed that Technical Debt prioritization research is preliminary and there is no consensus on what the important factors are and how to measure them. Consequently, we cannot consider current research\ua0conclusive. In this paper, we therefore outline different directions for necessary future investigations

Prioritizing Management and Research Actions against Invasive Reptiles in Florida: A Collaboration by an Expert Panel

Florida has more introduced animals than any other region of the U.S. and also ranks high in this respect globally. Given Florida\u27s climate, it is no coincidence that a large proportion of Florida’s invasive vertebrate species are reptiles and amphibians. Exotic snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles, and crocodilians are all breeding in Florida. The largest snakes in Florida are constrictors from other continents, and the five largest lizard species breeding in Florida are from Africa, South America, and Central America. Establishment of non-native reptiles and amphibians has been documented in Florida for over 135 years, and the rate of invasive reptile species establishment has been accelerating in the last half century. Florida currently has 16 native lizard species compared to 43 invasive species of lizard established and breeding in the state. Florida\u27s subtropical climate in the south, its major ports of entry for many wildlife species to the U.S. (both legal and illegal), its thriving captive wildlife industry, and its location in an area of destructive hurricanes that can release captive animals make the state particularly susceptible to the introduction and establishment of a wide range of species. Moreover, Florida is isolated from land with similar climates, resulting in the state\u27s vertebrates typically originating in the southeast U.S. at the southern extremes of their range. Invaders to Florida therefore find relatively fewer native species to contend with than in most tropical/subtropical locations

FQPA IMPLEMENTATION TO REDUCE PESTICIDE RESIDUE RISKS: PART II: IMPLEMENTATION ALTERNATIVES AND STRATEGIES

Implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) is fraught with difficulty due to the divergent perspectives and demands of stakeholders in the process. In "Part I: Agricultural Producer Concerns," the authors reviewed the concerns of food producers about potential FQPA threats to farm profitability, international competitiveness, consumer perceptions, and the development of pest resistance to remaining pesticides. Fortunately, lessons from past environmental policy and economic theory offer useful principles for how to implement the FQPA. This paper, "Part II: Implementation Alternatives and Strategies" addresses ways to accommodate producer concerns while meeting the policy mandate of reducing risk from pesticide exposure, especially for infants and children. In so doing, the authors are neither advocating nor criticizing this FQPA policy mandate; rather, they are providing policy analysis of alternative implementation strategies.Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,