Building the IDECi-UIB: the scientific spatial data infrastructure node for the Balearic Islands University

Technical and methodological enhancements in Information Technologies (IT) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) has permitted the growth in Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) performance. In this way, their uses and applications have grown very rapidly. In the scientific and educational working fields, different institutions and organisations have bet for its use enforcing information exchange that allows researchers to improve their studies as well as give a better dissemination within the scientific community. Therefore, the GIS and Remote Sensing Service (SSIGT) at the Balearic Islands University (UIB) has decided to build and launch its own SDI to serve scientific Geo-Information (GI) throughout the Balearic Islands society focussing on the university community. By these means it intends to boost the development of research and education focusing on the field of spatial information. This article tries to explain the background ideas that form the basic concept of the scientific SDI related to the concepts of e-Science and e-Research. Finally, it explains how these ideas are taken into practice into the new University Scientific SDI

Collaboration in Agile Software Development: Concept and Dimensions

One of the four values listed in the Agile Manifesto emphasizes customer collaboration over contract negotiation, yet the literature has not explained what constitutes customer collaboration and how to assess it. Little research has examined the nature and dimensions of collaboration in the context of agile software development. Based on a grounded theory methodology and using interview data collected from five software development outsourcing vendors in China, we explore the nature and key underlying dimensions of collaboration in agile software development. Five major dimensions of collaboration emerged from our analysis: mutual benefits, engagement, coordination, communication, and knowledge sharing. In turn, each dimension comprises key subdimensions that provide a comprehensive view of collaboration. By revealing the underlying nature and key dimensions, we provide a conceptual basis for operationalizing collaboration that one can employ in future quantitative studies on agility and other project outcomes. Our study results suggest that collaboration in agile software development is multifaceted and mutually occurring in both directions between the customer and the vendor rather than single dimensional as the term “customer collaboration” in the Agile Manifesto indicates

A new trajectory for spatial data infrastructure evolution in the developing world

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-113).Spatial Data is a key resource in the development of cities. There is a lot of socio-economic potential that is locked away in spatial data holdings and this potential is unlocked by making the datasets widely available for use. Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) have served this primary purpose; to make data accessible through the use of web based technologies. However, SDIs have not had their anticipated impact at local levels of governance. They have traditionally served as platforms that facilitate access to raw spatial datasets. They have not fully facilitated for the use of these datasets and therefore have attracted minimal attention from decision makers and users. This research suggests a new trajectory for SDI evolution; a trajectory that will allow them to evolve into more relevant platforms for confronting the urban crisis in developing nations and thereby ensuring that they have the societal impact that they are intended to. The research explores the characteristics of the mainstream efforts to counter urban crises in the developing world to determine how the new SDI should be re-conceptualised to more adequately assist in responding to the urban crisis. This leads to the incorporation of Evidence Based Practice (EBP) into SDI through the use of urban indicators and knowledge creation processes to reflect on the pressing societal issues. From the new SDI concept, an architectural design is implemented as a “proof of concept”. At the heart of this new concept is the SDIs ability to provide access to more than just raw spatial datasets but useful information products that are based on these data. This proves that EBP can be incorporated into SDI to make them more efficient in responding to the urban problems in developing nation and consequently more relevant Information Infrastructures for urban decision makers

Integrating big data into a sustainable mobility policy 2.0 planning support system

It is estimated that each of us, on a daily basis, produces a bit more than 1 GB of digital content through our mobile phone and social networks activities, bank card payments, location-based positioning information, online activities, etc. However, the implementation of these large data amounts in city assets planning systems still remains a rather abstract idea for several reasons, including the fact that practical examples are still very strongly services-oriented, and are a largely unexplored and interdisciplinary field; hence, missing the cross-cutting dimension. In this paper, we describe the Policy 2.0 concept and integrate user generated content into Policy 2.0 platform for sustainable mobility planning. By means of a real-life example, we demonstrate the applicability of such a big data integration approach to smart cities planning process. Observed benefits range from improved timeliness of the data and reduced duration of the planning cycle to more informed and agile decision making, on both the citizens and the city planners end. The integration of big data into the planning process, at this stage, does not have uniform impact across all levels of decision making and planning process, therefore it should be performed gradually and with full awareness of existing limitations

The 24-Hour Knowledge Factory Paradigm: The Evolving Model for Offshoring based on Strategic, Economic, Legal, Health, Technical, and Other Considerations

The 24-Hour Knowledge Factory paradigm involves 3 (or more) collaborating centers, each located in a different continent. Individuals at each center work from 9 am to 5 pm in that country, and then pass the work-in-progress to the next collaborating center to enable round-theclock performance in a manner somewhat akin to the deployment of three shifts in the manufacturing sector. The 24-Hour Knowledge Factory is relevant for structured and semi-structured applications in many knowledge-based industries including accounting, legal, design, and development. There is a growing array of examples from healthcare and other domains where off-site professionals have been able to provide better results than on-site professionals, thereby validating that many tasks can be more effectively performed using the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory approach. The gradual adoption of this paradigm is motivated by several considerations. In 2007, the World Health Organization concluded that working at night is a probable cause of breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Attempts by US state governments and even the federal government to discourage outsourcing are unlikely to succeed for multiple reasons, and the notion of “hybrid outsourcing” will gain momentum over time. Plus there are the advantages of developing products and services in a shorter timeframe; furthermore, these products and services can command broader appeal in the global marketplace. A detailed study was conducted at IBM to compare the performance of a co-located team and a distributed team, and the performance of the latter team exceeded initial expectations. The key results from this study will be discussed in this session

Collaborative method to maintain business process models updated

Business process models are often forgotten after their creation and its representation is not usually updated. This appears to be negative as processes evolve over time. This paper discusses the issue of business process models maintenance through the definition of a collaborative method that creates interaction contexts enabling business actors to discuss about business processes, sharing business knowledge. The collaboration method extends the discussion about existing process representations to all stakeholders promoting their update. This collaborative method contributes to improve business process models, allowing updates based in change proposals and discussions, using a groupware tool that was developed. Four case studies were developed in real organizational environment. We came to the conclusion that the defined method and the developed tool can help organizations to maintain a business process model updated based on the inputs and consequent discussions taken by the organizational actors who participate in the processes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A systematic review of knowledge sharing challenges and practices in global software development

Abstract not availableMansooreh Zahedia, Mojtaba Shahinb, Muhammad Ali Baba

Management Strategies for Adopting Agile Methods of Software Development in Distributed Teams

Between 2003 and 2015, more than 61% of U.S. software development teams failed to satisfy project requirements, budgets, or timelines. Failed projects cost the software industry an estimated 60 billion dollars. Lost opportunities and misused resources are often the result of software development leaders failing to implement appropriate methods for managing software projects. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies software development managers use in adopting Agile methodology in the context of distributed teams. The tenets of Agile approach are individual interaction over tools, working software over documentation, and collaboration over a contract. The conceptual framework for the study was adapting Agile development methodologies. The targeted population was software development managers of U.S.-based companies located in Northern California who had successfully adopted Agile methods for distributed teams. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 5 managers and a review of project-tracking documentation and tools. Data analysis included inductive coding of transcribed interviews and evaluation of secondary data to identify themes through methodological triangulation. Findings indicated that coaching and training of teams, incremental implementation of Agile processes, and proactive management of communication effectiveness are effective strategies for adopting Agile methodology in the context of distributed teams. Improving the efficacy of Agile adoption may translate to increased financial stability for software engineers across the world as well as accelerate the successful development of information systems, thereby enriching human lives