Variability Management in an unaware software product line company: An experience report

Software product line adoption is a challenging task in software development organisations. There are some reports in the literature of how software product line engineering has been adopted in several companies using di erent variabil-ity management techniques and patterns. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no empirical reports on how variability management is handled in companies that do not know about software product line methods and tools. In this paper we present an experience report observing variability management practices in a software development company that was unaware of software product line approaches. We brie y report how variability management is performed in di erent areas ranging from business architecture to software assets management. From the observation we report some open research opportunities for the future and foster further similar and more structured empirical studies on unaware software product line companies.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2012-32273Junta de Andalucía TIC-5906Junta de Andalucía P12-TIC-186

Configuration, Coordination, Learning And Foreign Market Entry: A Study Of Canadian Software Companies Entering The United States

This thesis examined strategic factors that affect the performance of Canadian software companies in the United States market. More specifically, this research tested a model suggesting that performance was significantly influenced by three variables. These variables were the interdependent nature of company working relationships, the configuration or entry strategy used for entry, and the learning of companies about the market over time.;The research was undertaken to identify practical applications that could help companies in the Canadian software industry improve their performance in the United States. This industry is a growth industry both in Canada and throughout the world. Practical applications stemming from the research could add to the international competitiveness of Canadian companies in the industry.;The research was also undertaken to test a research model developed from a synthesis of five theories related to foreign market entry. These theories were Porter\u27s (1990) theory of international configuration, Bartlett and Ghoshal\u27s (1989) theory of the transnational corporation, Tjosvold\u27s (1986) theory of goal interdependence, Johanson and Vahlne\u27s (1977) and Root\u27s (1987) theories of incremental foreign market entry, and Argyris and Schon\u27s (1987) theory of organizational learning. Hypotheses were developed from these theories about strategic factors that would affect entry performance. These hypotheses were tested in the thesis.;Following the development of the research model, a questionnaire was developed to measure the principal variables. The questionnaire was sent to the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the entire population of 176 larger Canadian software companies that do business in the United States.;Responses were received from seventy six companies. In addition, semi-structured follow up interviews were conducted with the CEOs of eight companies. These eight companies consisted of four pairs of higher and lower performing companies that had used four differing kinds of entry strategies.;The analysis provided support for the research model and for all hypotheses for which there was reliable data. Companies that hired Americans and linked their Canadian and American operations using cooperatively shared goals reinforced using control systems and interaction patterns had higher performance. Companies that used more mechanisms to acquire information about the United States, and perceived the United States as a less uncertain business environment had higher performance. Companies that established an international configuration of their product value chains also had higher performance. A product value chain is a set of activities that create value in products for customers, and these companies based some of these activities in Canada and some in the United States.;The product entry strategies used by companies seemed to evolve over time from a preference for export strategies to a preference for foreign direct investment (FDI) strategies. Products that used an FDI entry strategy had higher performance than products that used an export strategy.;Higher performing companies seemed to have had positive experiences in the United States and learned to value hiring American market experts and using cooperatively shared goals. Lower performing companies seemed to have had negative experiences and learned not to hire Americans or use cooperatively shared goals

Information technology in India

Includes bibliographical references.It was in my knowledge that India always possessed a large pool of technical talent within itself, which was comparable to world standards. A question that I always dwelled over was that, even though India was one of the giants in Software development, what were the underlying reasons for not implementing Software technology within it's own business settings? The engine behind the growth of the IT industry in India has been software exports. This industry has been growing at an annual rate of30% since 1988. There are no signs of abatement in that growth rate. There are an abundance of software programmers and skilled management personnel in India and this would attract more international companies to form tie-ups. Computers in India have a longer life period compared to developed countries. Due to the low cost of maintenance and high cost of new hardware, Indians tend to use computers for many years. The crucial advantage for India will be ability to leap frog over many intermediate technologies and use the latest. The high cost of hardware forces programmers to develop cost-effective and efficient programs that get the best out of the machines. Adaptability is an essential part of Indian culture; hence, there should not be any cultural factors that could inhibit the growth of information technology. Companies have been reluctant to pursue the massive domestic market, choosing instead to pursue established international markets for Information Technology. Another potential problem within the Indian software sector is the shift from an emphasis on programmers to a need for higher-level skilled personnel. There is a need for quality analysts able to understand and decide what a business is all about and how to best represent it in computing terms. Furthermore, it can be said that programming is incidental and routine and will soon be performed by computers using programming generators. Lastly, there seems to be an overemphasis on software product and an under-emphasis on the software development process, where primitive design and old production techniques are still being used. The current growth patterns of the industry are truly remarkable, and the industry's strengths by far outweigh its weaknesses. As long as software companies manage their growth effectively and apply their resources to further develop and nurture the developing domestic market, they may be poised to claim first place in the global software industry.B.S. (Bachelor of Science

Enhancing the employability of fashion students through the use of 3D CAD

The textile and apparel industry has one of the longest and most intricate supply chains within manufacturing. Advancement in technology has facilitated its globalisation, enabling companies to span geographical borders. This has led to new methods of communication using electronic data formats. Throughout the latter part of the 20th Century, 2D CAD technology established itself as an invaluable tool within design and product development. More recently 3D virtual simulation software has made small but significant steps within this market. The technological revolution has opened significant opportunities for those forward thinking companies that are beginning to utilise 3D software. This advanced technology requires designers with unique skill sets. This paper investigates the skills required by fashion graduates from an industry perspective. To reflect current industrial working practices, it is essential for educational establishments to incorporate technologies that will enhance the employability of graduates. This study developed an adapted action research model based on the work of Kurt Lewin, which reviewed the learning and teaching of 3D CAD within higher education. It encompassed the selection of 3D CAD software development, analysis of industry requirements, and the implementation of 3D CAD into the learning and teaching of a selection of fashion students over a three year period. Six interviews were undertaken with industrial design and product development specialists to determine: current working practices, opinions of virtual 3D software and graduate skill requirements. It was found that the companies had similar working practices independent of the software utilised within their product development process. The companies which employed 3D CAD software considered further developments were required before the technology could be fully integrated. Further to this it was concluded that it was beneficial for graduates to be furnished with knowledge of emerging technologies which reflect industry and enhance their employability skills

Why do commercial companies contribute to open source software?

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link belowMany researchers have pointed out that the opensource movement is an interesting phenomenon that is difficult to explain with conventional economic theories. However, while there is no shortage on research on individuals’ motivation for contributing to opensource, few have investigated the commercial companies’ motivations for doing the same. A case study was conducted at three different companies from the IT service industry, to investigate three possible drivers: sale of complimentary services, innovation and open sourcing (outsourcing). We offer three conclusions. First, we identified three main drivers for contributing to opensource, which are (a) selling complimentary services, (b) building greater innovative capability and (c) cost reduction through open sourcing to an external community. Second, while previous research has documented that the most important driver is selling complimentary services, we found that this picture is too simple. Our evidence points to a broader set of motivations, in the sense that all our cases exhibit combinations of the three drivers. Finally, our findings suggest that there might be a shift in how commercial companies view opensource software. The companies interviewed have all expressed a moral obligation to contribute to open source

DevOps in Practice -- A preliminary Analysis of two Multinational Companies

DevOps is a cultural movement that aims the collaboration of all the stakeholders involved in the development, deployment and operation of soft-ware to deliver a quality product or service in the shortest possible time. DevOps is relatively recent, and companies have developed their DevOps prac-tices largely from scratch. Our research aims to conduct an analysis on practic-ing DevOps in +20 software-intensive companies to provide patterns of DevOps practices and identify their benefits and barriers. This paper presents the preliminary analysis of an exploratory case study based on the interviews to relevant stakeholders of two (multinational) companies. The results show the benefits (software delivery performance) and barriers that these companies are dealing with, as well as DevOps team topology they approached during their DevOps transformation. This study aims to help practitioners and researchers to better understand DevOps transformations and the contexts where the practices worked. This, hopefully, will contribute to strengthening the evidence regarding DevOps and supporting practitioners in making better informed decisions about the return of investment when adopting DevOps.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, conferenc

Business Value Is not only Dollars - Results from Case Study Research on Agile Software Projects

Business value is a key concept in agile software development. This paper presents results of a case study on how business value and its creation is perceived in the context of agile projects. Our overall conclusion is that the project participants almost never use an explicit and structured approach to guide the value creation throughout the project. Still, the application of agile methods in the studied cases leads to satisfied clients. An interesting result of the study represents the fact that the agile process of many projects differs significantly from what is described in the agile practitioners’ books as best practices. The key implication for research and practice is that we have an incentive to pursue the study of value creation in agile projects and to complement it by providing guidelines for better client’s involvement, as well as by developing structured methods that will enhance the value-creation in a project

Risk across design domains

Design processes involve risk: to life and limb if the product is unsafe, to the financial health of the company if the product is late, unsuccessful or simply the wrong product, as well as to the emotions and careers of the designers. Many of the risks are shared universally by all designers, but each different industry and each different project faces its own spectrum of serious and minor risks. Different industries have put their methodological effort into finding ways to mitigate the risks they recognise as important. As part of the Across Design project exploring similarities and differences between design processes in different industries, this paper examines how risks are perceived and handled in different types of design process, and proposes that designers and managers can usefully look to other industries for ways to handle risks that are more central for those other industries

Time Series Data Mining: A Retail Application Using SAS Enterprise Miner

Modern technologies have allowed for the amassment of data at a rate never encountered before. Organizations are now able to routinely collect and process massive volumes of data. A plethora of regularly collected information can be ordered using an appropriate time interval. The data would thus be developed into a time series. With such data, analytical techniques can be employed to collect information pertaining to historical trends and seasonality. Time series data mining methodology allows users to identify commonalities between sets of time-ordered data. This technique is supported by a variety of algorithms, notably dynamic time warping (DTW). This mathematical technique supports the identification of similarities between numerous time series. The following research aims to provide a practical application of this methodology using SAS Enterprise Miner, an industry-leading software platform for business analytics. Due to the prevalence of time series data in retail settings, a realistic product sales transaction data set was analyzed. This information was provided by dunnhumbyUSA. Interpretations were drawn from output that was generated using “TS nodes” in SAS Enterprise Miner