Comparison of simulation modeling and satellite techniques for monitoring ecological processes

In 1985 improvements were made in the world climatic data base for modeling and predictive mapping; in individual process models and the overall carbon-balance models; and in the interface software for mapping the simulation results. Statistical analysis of the data base was begun. In 1986 mapping was shifted to NASA-Goddard. The initial approach involving pattern comparisons was modified to a more statistical approach. A major accomplishment was the expansion and improvement of a global data base of measurements of biomass and primary production, to complement the simulation data. The main accomplishments during 1987 included: production of a master tape with all environmental and satellite data and model results for the 1600 sites; development of a complete mapping system used for the initial color maps comparing annual and monthly patterns of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), actual evapotranspiration, net primary productivity, gross primary productivity, and net ecosystem production; collection of more biosphere measurements for eventual improvement of the biological models; and development of some initial monthly models for primary productivity, based on satellite data

Happy software developers solve problems better: psychological measurements in empirical software engineering

For more than 30 years, it has been claimed that a way to improve software developers' productivity and software quality is to focus on people and to provide incentives to make developers satisfied and happy. This claim has rarely been verified in software engineering research, which faces an additional challenge in comparison to more traditional engineering fields: software development is an intellectual activity and is dominated by often-neglected human aspects. Among the skills required for software development, developers must possess high analytical problem-solving skills and creativity for the software construction process. According to psychology research, affects-emotions and moods-deeply influence the cognitive processing abilities and performance of workers, including creativity and analytical problem solving. Nonetheless, little research has investigated the correlation between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving performance of programmers. This article echoes the call to employ psychological measurements in software engineering research. We report a study with 42 participants to investigate the relationship between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving skills of software developers. The results offer support for the claim that happy developers are indeed better problem solvers in terms of their analytical abilities. The following contributions are made by this study: (1) providing a better understanding of the impact of affective states on the creativity and analytical problem-solving capacities of developers, (2) introducing and validating psychological measurements, theories, and concepts of affective states, creativity, and analytical-problem-solving skills in empirical software engineering, and (3) raising the need for studying the human factors of software engineering by employing a multidisciplinary viewpoint.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, published at Peer

Effective social productivity measurements during software development: an empirical study

Much of contemporary scientific discussion regarding factors that influence software development productivity is undertaken in various domains where there is an insufficient empirical basis for exploring socio-technical factors of productivity that are specific to a software development organization. The purpose of the study is to characterize the multidimensional nature of software development productivity and its social aspects as a set of latent constructs (i.e. variables that are not directly observed) for a medium-sized software company. To this end, we designed an exploratory in-depth field study based on the hypothesized productivity constructs, which were modeled by a set of factors identified from literature reviews, and later refined by industrial focus groups. In order to demonstrate the applicability of our approach, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis with the data attained from a questionnaire with 216 participants. To investigate factors of influence further, we analyzed the impact of selected team-based variables over the latent constructs of productivity. Taken together, our findings confirm that such an approach can be used to explore the quantifiable influence of socio-technical factors that would affect productivity of a particular software development organization. Ultimately, the resulting model provides guidance to explore the comparative importance of a set of firm-specific factors that may help to improve the productivity of the organization

Measures related to social and human factors that influence productivity in software development teams

Software companies need to measure their productivity. Measures are useful indicators to evaluate processes, projects, products, and people who are part of software development teams. The results of these measurements are used to make decisions, manage projects, and improve software development and project management processes. This research is based on selecting a set of measures related to social and human factors (SHF) that influence productivity in software development teams and therefore in project management. This research was performed in three steps. In the first step, there was performed a tertiary literature review aimed to identify measures related to productivity. Then, the identified measures were submitted for its evaluation to project management experts and finally, the measures selected by the experts were mapped to the SHF. A set of 13 measures was identified and defined as a key input for designing improvement strategies. The measures have been compared to SHF to evaluate the development team\u27s performance from a more human context and to establish indicators in productivity improvement strategies of software projects. Although the number of productivity measures related to SHF is limited, it was possible to identify the measures used in both traditional and agile contexts

Deducing software process improvement areas from a Cocomo II-based productivity measurement.

At the SMEF2006 conference, we presented our experiences with the set-up of a measurement environment using the COCOMO II-model for software development projects in a company in the banking and insurance area. The set-up was part of a larger research project on managing efficiency aspects of software factory systems. One year of measurements later, a database of 22 projects is obtained. In this paper we will present our conclusions and findings after these first measurement results. The effort multipliers in the COCOMO II-model represent the factors that have a linear influence on the amount of effort needed for a project. As such, they are a management instrument that gives an indication which parameters need attention within the company in order to improve the productivity. In this paper, we discuss a new kind of report we constructed in order to visualise the influence of the different effort multipliers. The goal of the report is two folded. Firstly, one can check whether the factors identified by the COCOMO II-model as effort multipliers indeed have an influence on the effort and therefore on the productivity of a project in this company. And secondly, one can check whether the amount of influence identified by the COCOMO II-model is comparable with the influence we detect in the company. As we will show, even though there was only data available of one year of measurement, useful interpretations could already be given to the results as well as indications about which areas of the software development process need to be focused on in order to improve the productivity.

Applying metrics to rule-based systems

Since the introduction of software measurement theory in the early seventies it has been accepted that in order to control software it must first be measured. Unambiguous and reproducible measurements are considered to be the most useful in controlling software productivity, costs and quality, and diverse sets of measurements are required to cover all aspects of software. This paper focuses on measures for rule-based language systems and also describes a process for developing measures for other non-standard 3GL development tools. This paper uses KEL as an example and the method allows the re-use of existing measures and indicates if and where new measures are required. As software engineering continues to generate more diverse methods of system development, it is important to continually update methods of measurement and contro

Piggybacking on an Autonomous Hauler: Business Models Enabling a System-of-Systems Approach to Mapping an Underground Mine

With ever-increasing productivity targets in mining operations, there is a growing interest in mining automation. In future mines, remote-controlled and autonomous haulers will operate underground guided by LiDAR sensors. We envision reusing LiDAR measurements to maintain accurate mine maps that would contribute to both safety and productivity. Extrapolating from a pilot project on reliable wireless communication in Boliden's Kankberg mine, we propose establishing a system-of-systems (SoS) with LIDAR-equipped haulers and existing mapping solutions as constituent systems. SoS requirements engineering inevitably adds a political layer, as independent actors are stakeholders both on the system and SoS levels. We present four SoS scenarios representing different business models, discussing how development and operations could be distributed among Boliden and external stakeholders, e.g., the vehicle suppliers, the hauling company, and the developers of the mapping software. Based on eight key variation points, we compare the four scenarios from both technical and business perspectives. Finally, we validate our findings in a seminar with participants from the relevant stakeholders. We conclude that to determine which scenario is the most promising for Boliden, trade-offs regarding control, costs, risks, and innovation must be carefully evaluated.Comment: Preprint of industry track paper accepted for the 25th IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering (RE'17

Capital Accumulation, Productivity and Growth

A consensus has emerged that the remarkable behavior of IT prices provides the key to the surge in US economic growth after 1995. The relentless decline in the prices of information technology equipment and software has steadily enhanced the role of IT investment. Productivity growth in IT-producing industries has risen in importance and a productivity revival is underway in the rest of the economy. The surge of IT investment in the United States after 1995 has counterparts in all other industrialized countries. It is essential to use comparable data and methodology in order to provide rigorous international comparisons. A crucial role is played by measurements of IT prices. The US national accounts have incorporated measures of IT prices that hold performance constant since 1985. Schreyer (2000) has extended these measures to other industrialized countries by constructing "internationally harmonized prices". The acceleration in the IT price decline in 1995 triggered a burst of IT investment in all of the G7 nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, as well as the US. These countries also experienced a rise in productivity growth in the IT-producing industries. However, differences in the relative importance of these industries have generated wide disparities in the impact of IT on economic growth. The role of the IT-producing industries is greatest in the US, which leads the G7 in output per capita.