The cleanroom case study in the Software Engineering Laboratory: Project description and early analysis

This case study analyzes the application of the cleanroom software development methodology to the development of production software at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. The cleanroom methodology emphasizes human discipline in program verification to produce reliable software products that are right the first time. Preliminary analysis of the cleanroom case study shows that the method can be applied successfully in the FDD environment and may increase staff productivity and product quality. Compared to typical Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) activities, there is evidence of lower failure rates, a more complete and consistent set of inline code documentation, a different distribution of phase effort activity, and a different growth profile in terms of lines of code developed. The major goals of the study were to: (1) assess the process used in the SEL cleanroom model with respect to team structure, team activities, and effort distribution; (2) analyze the products of the SEL cleanroom model and determine the impact on measures of interest, including reliability, productivity, overall life-cycle cost, and software quality; and (3) analyze the residual products in the application of the SEL cleanroom model, such as fault distribution, error characteristics, system growth, and computer usage

Simplifying the construction of domain-specific automatic programming systems: The NASA automated software development workstation project

An overview is presented of the Automated Software Development Workstation Project, an effort to explore knowledge-based approaches to increasing software productivity. The project focuses on applying the concept of domain specific automatic programming systems (D-SAPSs) to application domains at NASA's Johnson Space Center. A version of a D-SAPS developed in Phase 1 of the project for the domain of space station momentum management is described. How problems encountered during its implementation led researchers to concentrate on simplifying the process of building and extending such systems is discussed. Researchers propose to do this by attacking three observed bottlenecks in the D-SAPS development process through the increased automation of the acquisition of programming knowledge and the use of an object oriented development methodology at all stages of the program design. How these ideas are being implemented in the Bauhaus, a prototype workstation for D-SAPS development is discussed

The impact of staff training and development on teachers’ productivity

Training and Development has always been a driving force for enhancing the teachers’ productivity and performance. A training and development program provided by the employer is a sincere effort to provide opportunities to the employees to be acquainted with the variety of skills, information, attitude and conduct. With the ever-growing needs of modern education system, the education industry has to become more techno savvy, dynamic and updated. There is always requirement of skillful and talented manpower to take up this education industry to the heights of international standards. The primary objective of this research paper is to investigate the impact of staff training and development on their productivity and performance in classroom teaching and in their administrative work as well. It can also be viewed as on their overall productivity. The data collected was through structured questionnaire. 58 teachers were interviewed through the questionnaire. Statistical Software (SPSS Version 16) was used for analyzing the data. The study concludes that there exist positive and strong relations between training and development and productivity of the teachers of Kurdistan. The study further concluded stating positive correlation between productivity and other independent factors like Skills, Expertise, Morale, Enhancement, Potential, Job Knowledge and Proficiency. Technical/Technology training is the most suitable training program for the teachers of this region.&nbsp

Robot hands and extravehicular activity

Extravehicular activity (EVA) is crucial to the success of both current and future space operations. As space operations have evolved in complexity so has the demand placed on the EVA crewman. In addition, some NASA requirements for human capabilities at remote or hazardous sites were identified. One of the keys to performing useful EVA tasks is the ability to manipulate objects accurately, quickly and without early or excessive fatigue. The current suit employs a glove which enables the crewman to perform grasping tasks, use tools, turn switches, and perform other tasks for short periods of time. However, the glove's bulk and resistance to motion ultimately causes fatigue. Due to this limitation it may not be possible to meet the productivity requirements that will be placed on the EVA crewman of the future with the current or developmental Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) hardware. In addition, this hardware will not meet the requirements for remote or hazardous operations. In an effort to develop ways for improving crew productivity, a contract was awarded to develop a prototype anthromorphic robotic hand (ARH) for use with an extravehicular space suit. The first step in this program was to perform a a design study which investigated the basic technology required for the development of an ARH to enhance crew performance and productivity. The design study phase of the contract and some additional development work is summarized

Optimal Training, Employee Preferences and Moral

We study an agency model with moral hazard, when the employer offers complementary training/development programs that will increase the productivity of the employee’s effort. Since it is costly for an employer to offer training and development opportunities and given that employees are not identical, how will an employer choose the quantity and allocation of such programs? Does the quantity and type of training offered, vary with the employee’s aversion to effort? Does more “sincerity ” necessarily translate into more employee development? Does more training in fact induce the employee to work harder? In theory the answer could go either way. On the one hand, an employer may wish to leverage the use of such programs to motivate a lazy employee to work harder. Conversely, especially because effort is unobservable, one can argue that she may be better off rewarding a sincere employee with more development opportunities. This work reaches a definite and perhaps unpredictable conclusion. We find that there is an inverse relationship between the optimal quantity of the training program and increased aversion to effort for both a relatively lazy and a relatively sincere employee. This is also true regardless of whether the program is relatively cheap or relatively expensive for the employer to offer. Perhaps surprisingly, there is no qualitative change in the comparative statics results, if the employer can monitor or observe effort

COSTMODL: An automated software development cost estimation tool

The cost of developing computer software continues to consume an increasing portion of many organizations' total budgets, both in the public and private sector. As this trend develops, the capability to produce reliable estimates of the effort and schedule required to develop a candidate software product takes on increasing importance. The COSTMODL program was developed to provide an in-house capability to perform development cost estimates for NASA software projects. COSTMODL is an automated software development cost estimation tool which incorporates five cost estimation algorithms including the latest models for the Ada language and incrementally developed products. The principal characteristic which sets COSTMODL apart from other software cost estimation programs is its capacity to be completely customized to a particular environment. The estimation equations can be recalibrated to reflect the programmer productivity characteristics demonstrated by the user's organization, and the set of significant factors which effect software development costs can be customized to reflect any unique properties of the user's development environment. Careful use of a capability such as COSTMODL can significantly reduce the risk of cost overruns and failed projects

HUBUNGAN PROGRAM PENGEMBANGAN USAHA AGRIBISNIS PERDESAAN (PUAP) TERHADAP KINERJA KELOMPOK TANI DI KECAMATAN SERAWAIKABUPATEN SINTANG

This research aim to analyse correlation program of Development Effort Agribisnis Countryside (PUAP) to Productivity Group Farmer in District Serawai and to know and analyse correlation program Development Effort Agribisnis Countryside (PUAP) to make-up of Productivity, Production, Revenue, Earnings and Cost of Farming in District  Serawai. Hypothesis the raised is Anticipated farmer which accept fund of PUAP, productivity, production, revenue, earnings and cost of farmer bigger than a farmer which do not accept fund of PUAP in District Serawai. Anticipated thecorrelation program of Development Effort Agribisnis Countryside (PUAP)  to make-up of farming production and earnings of farmer in District  Serawai. This Research use descriptive method with quantitative approach. Data collected by dividing kuesioner to responder and with interview to elite figure and responder. Research executed in Bedaha countryside and Tunas Harapan countryside in January to March 2013. Population which is taken in this research  four farmer group in Bedaha countryside and four farmer group in Tunas Harapan countryside. Taken Sampel by purposive counted 20 responder people each lot farmer. Amount of entirety sampel is 160 people. Conclusion, this research prove that farmer which accept fund of PUAP, productivity, production of farming and earnings of farmer bigger than a farmer which do not accept fund of PUAP in District Serawai. Raised by Suggestion is adjacent and tuition on an ongoing basis very expected by local farmer. Or courses training which must be passed to program receiver farmer, this is meant farmer to be able to exploit PUAP fund according to order.   Keyword: Productivity, Production, Revenue, Earnings, Cos

Research to support sustainable groundwater development and governance in Laos

Lao PDR (Laos) is a landlocked country of around seven million people situated in the heart of the Mekong region (Fig. 1). Listed amongst the 47 UN-designated Least Developed Countries, its level of socioeconomic development is comparable to that of neighboring Myanmar and Cambodia but significantly lower than China, Thailand and Vietnam. Subsistence farming is the primary means of food security and income for nearly 80% of all households. Poorly developed, water-rich countries such as Laos have historically paid most attention to surface water resources, with limited consideration to groundwater. The attention to groundwater in Laos received a much-needed boost through a four year research project (2012-2016) funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). The project, ‘Enhancing the Resilience and Productivity of Rainfed Dominated Systems in Lao PDR through Sustainable Groundwater Use’, was the first multi-disciplinary research effort focused on groundwater issues in the country. With the project completed (ACIAR 2016), this article examines its contributions in the areas of science, policy and capacity development and highlights the main lessons learnt during its implementation. These learnings may resonate with those actors already involved in, or considering involvement in applied groundwater research under similar conditions