59 research outputs found

    A systematic survey of games used for software engineering education

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    Search and comparison of (epi)genomic feature patterns in multiple genome browser tracks

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    Background: Genome browsers are widely used for locating interesting genomic regions, but their interactive use is obviously limited to inspecting short genomic portions. An ideal interaction is to provide patterns of regions on the browser, and then extract other genomic regions over the whole genome where such patterns occur, ranked by similarity. Results: We developed SimSearch, an optimized pattern-search method and an open source plugin for the Integrated Genome Browser (IGB), to find genomic region sets that are similar to a given region pattern. It provides efficient visual genome-wide analytics computation in large datasets; the plugin supports intuitive user interactions for selecting an interesting pattern on IGB tracks and visualizing the computed occurrences of similar patterns along the entire genome. SimSearch also includes functions for the annotation and enrichment of results, and is enhanced with a Quickload repository including numerous epigenomic feature datasets from ENCODE and Roadmap Epigenomics. The paper also includes some use cases to show multiple genome-wide analyses of biological interest, which can be easily performed by taking advantage of the presented approach. Conclusions: The novel SimSearch method provides innovative support for effective genome-wide pattern search and visualization; its relevance and practical usefulness is demonstrated through a number of significant use cases of biological interest. The SimSearch IGB plugin, documentation, and code are freely available at https://deibgeco.github.io/simsearch-app/ and https://github.com/DEIB-GECO/simsearch-app/

    Scrum Game: An Agile Software Management Game

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    For the past few years, in their attempt to avoid the heavyweight bureaucracy of traditional project management methods such as the Waterfall model, companies have started incorporating agile methods (e.g. Extreme Programming, Scrum, Crystal) for their project development. These methods are characterised by their incremental and iterative delivery, their ability to incorporate change at any stage of the project lifecycle, as well as their small and co-located teams. Even though these methods are included in the syllabus of many software engineering modules at university level, many students currently feel more confident with traditional, rather than agile methods. Many employers find that recent graduates are not equipped with the desired skills of a software engineer because, even though they are knowledgeable in the different software engineering practices, they lack practical experience of these methods. The combination of these two factors show that the university’s approach to teaching software management methods is only theoretical and it does not give students the opportunity to apply them to their projects so they can get a better understanding of their use. The project developed the prototype of a computer game that simulates the use of the Scrum method within different projects, named Scrum Game. The game is supplementary material for a lecture course, and its purpose is to guide students through the Scrum lifecycle. Students can thereby get a small glimpse of the different phases of Scrum, the way that the different Scrum roles interact with each other, and the way that Scrum is used to implement real projects. In addition, the Scrum Game has an administrator mode enabling lecturers to view a log of the progress of all their students in the game. They can use this mode to create new projects or to alter existing ones by adding new tasks or problems, thereby adjusting the level of difficulty to the level of their students, or so that it fits their teaching. The web-based system was developed using PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX (jQuery) and Google Charts API. The system was thoroughly tested against the initial requirements and other system tests. The Scrum Game was evaluated by 22 peer colleagues reading for an MSc in Software Engineering at the University of Southampton, to identify whether the system achieved its goal of introducing students to the Scrum methodology and reaching a deeper understanding of its practical use during project implementation. The results of a questionnaire showed that little prior knowledge was assumed during the game, and that 86% of the participants felt that the game helped them learn more about Scrum. When asked, “Do you think that if this game was part of your Project Management module, would you get a better understanding about Scrum?” an impressive 95% (21 out of 22 participants) agreed that the game would be helpful, and rated the system 8 out of 10 on average

    Implementation of a risk management simulation tool

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    Risk management is an essential part of project management. Proactive management of risk in projects helps increase the success rate of projects and the reduction of potential costs. The paper presents a new tool for implementing the risk management process in projects. The tool allows participants to understand a project further, and to analyse risks in a project using various methods such as risk exposure and Monte Carlo method. From the results of the study, the tool helps in improving the understanding and implementation of risk management in projects. The tool implementation and results are discussed in this paper

    Shall we play a game?

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    In response to real and perceived short-comings in the quality and productivity of software engineering practices and projects, professionally-endorsed graduate and post-graduate curriculum guides have been developed to meet evolving technical developments and industry demands. Each of these curriculum guidelines identifies better software engineering management skills and soft, peopleware skills as critical for all graduating students, but they provide little guidance on how to achieve this. One possible way is to use a serious game — a game designed to educate players about some of the dynamic complexities of the field in a safe and inexpensive environment. This thesis presents the results of a qualitative research project that used a simple game of a software project to see if and how games could contribute to better software project management education; and if they could, then what features and attributes made them most efficacious. That is, shall we— should we— play games in software engineering management? The primary research tool for this project was a game called Simsoft. Physically, Simsoft comes in two pieces. There is an A0-sized printed game board around which the players gather to discuss the current state of their project and to consider their next move. The board shows the flow of the game while plastic counters are used to represent the staff of the project. Poker chips represent the team’s budget, with which they can purchase more staff, and from which certain game events may draw or reimburse amounts depending on decisions made during the course of the game. There is also a simple Java-based dashboard, through which the players can see the current and historical state of the project in a series of reports and messages; and they can adjust the project’s settings. The engine behind Simsoft is a system dynamics model which embodies the fundamental causal relationships of simple software development projects. In Simsoft game sessions, teams of students, and practicing project managers and software engineers managed a hypothetical software development project with the aim of completing the project on time and within budget (with poker chips left over). Based on the starting scenario of the game, information provided during the game, and their own real-world experience, the players made decisions about how to proceed— whether to hire more staff or reduce the number, what hours should be worked, and so on. After each decision set had been entered, the game was run for another next time period, (a week, a month, or a quarter). The game was now in a new state which the players had to interpret from the game board and decide how to proceed. The findings showed that games can contribute to better software engineering management education and help bridge the pedagogical gaps in current curriculum guidelines. However, they can’t do this by themselves and for best effect they should be used in conjunction with other pedagogical tools. The findings also showed that simple games and games in which the players are able to relate the game world to an external context are the most efficacious

    Panorama do Ensino de Engenharia de Software em Cursos de Graduação Focado em Teste de Software: Uma Proposta de Aprendizagem Baseada em Jogos

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    Este  trabalho apresenta um panorama do ensino de engenharia de software em cursos de graduação na área de computação com base nos currículos de referência da Sociedade Brasileira de Computação (SBC) e da  Association for Computing Machinery(ACM), focando no conteúdo referente ao tópico de teste de software. Com base neste panorama é apresentada uma proposta de aprendizagem baseada em jogos para apoio ao ensino-aprendizagem de estratégias de teste de software

    Los Alamos National Laboratory Science Education Programs. Quarterly progress report, April 1--June 30, 1995

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    Wind offshore energy in the Northern Aegean Sea islanding region

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    The Greek state estimated a potential of 1,500 MW wind offshore capacity, which can be exploited by 2020, while 943.15 MW are located in the Northern Aegean Sea islanding region. This study presents a techno-economic assessment of wind offshore energy in the Northern Aegean Sea. Different topologies are proposed, taking into account wind offshore and islands interconnections using HVDC and HVAC technology. Investment indicators are based on the expected power generated by the Weibull wind speed probability density function and the total investment cost required for wind offshore engineering. The results show that the two wind offshore farms can secure the complete electrification of the neighboring islands and supply approximately 3,379 GWh to the main consumption centers in northern and central Greece on an annual basis. A sensitivity analysis towards investment optimization has been performed, proposing different wind turbine technologies and interconnection scenarios
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