Using Project Management Techniques to Design a PMP Mathematics Study App for the Windows Universal Platform

Background As a late comer to the smartphone market, Microsoft has fallen behind the Apple and Google app ecosystems in the quantity and quality of apps offered. To attract developer talent, Microsoft released the Universal Windows Platform which enables apps to run across Windows devices with few additional modifications. Although the Windows app ecosystem has realized an increased number of available apps, few apps related to project management are currently available. About the project This project will design a PMP Certification Mathematics Study App for the Universal Windows Platform which will serve as a reference and study aid for the PMP certification exam. The app will be available to mobile and PC users who are utilizing the Microsoft Windows 10 and Windows 8 operating systems. Features of the app will include project management formula lookup, formula flashcards, and practice problems. At the completion of the project, the app will be submitted to the Windows Store for review and publishing to the Windows 10 application ecosystem. Approach The project scope will include the design of the app from requirements gathering to completion. Project deliverables will be aligned with Windows store applications evaluation criteria for responsiveness, reliability, and style. This project will conclude with submission of a completed application design to the project sponsor.Title Page / Table of Contents / List of Exhibits / Abstract / Background / About the project / Approach / Keywords / Introduction / Project Purpose / Project Approach / Research and Analysis / Research Approach / Research Analysis / Application Design Rating Verification / Research Objective 1: Investigate the preferred learning style of potential users / Research Objective 1: Design Conclusions and Implications / Flashcards Module / Formula Builder Module / Formula Reference Module / Research Objective 2: Investigate the most important aspect of user satisfaction / Research Objective 2: Design Conclusions and Implications / Research Conclusions / Requirements Gathering / User Interface Design / Project Deliverable Design / ViTech CORE / Input Application Requirements / Identify Application Components / Identify Component Functions / Identify Use Cases and Test Activities / Project Deliverables / Application Design Documents / Application Hierarchy / Conclusions and Recommendations / ViTech CORE Software Con/ lusions / Graphing Capabilities / Diagnostics Capabilities / Requirements Mapping and Verification / Final Project Deliverables / Recommendations for Further Research and Development / Application Publishing / Further Development and Product Updates / User Feedback Collection / Application Update Opportunities / Application Expansion Opportunitie

Pattern-based software architecture for service-oriented software systems

Service-oriented architecture is a recent conceptual framework for service-oriented software platforms. Architectures are of great importance for the evolution of software systems. We present a modelling and transformation technique for service-centric distributed software systems. Architectural configurations, expressed through hierarchical architectural patterns, form the core of a specification and transformation technique. Patterns on different levels of abstraction form transformation invariants that structure and constrain the transformation process. We explore the role that patterns can play in architecture transformations in terms of functional properties, but also non-functional quality aspects

Relational Approach to Knowledge Engineering for POMDP-based Assistance Systems as a Translation of a Psychological Model

Assistive systems for persons with cognitive disabilities (e.g. dementia) are difficult to build due to the wide range of different approaches people can take to accomplishing the same task, and the significant uncertainties that arise from both the unpredictability of client's behaviours and from noise in sensor readings. Partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) models have been used successfully as the reasoning engine behind such assistive systems for small multi-step tasks such as hand washing. POMDP models are a powerful, yet flexible framework for modelling assistance that can deal with uncertainty and utility. Unfortunately, POMDPs usually require a very labour intensive, manual procedure for their definition and construction. Our previous work has described a knowledge driven method for automatically generating POMDP activity recognition and context sensitive prompting systems for complex tasks. We call the resulting POMDP a SNAP (SyNdetic Assistance Process). The spreadsheet-like result of the analysis does not correspond to the POMDP model directly and the translation to a formal POMDP representation is required. To date, this translation had to be performed manually by a trained POMDP expert. In this paper, we formalise and automate this translation process using a probabilistic relational model (PRM) encoded in a relational database. We demonstrate the method by eliciting three assistance tasks from non-experts. We validate the resulting POMDP models using case-based simulations to show that they are reasonable for the domains. We also show a complete case study of a designer specifying one database, including an evaluation in a real-life experiment with a human actor

Early aspects: aspect-oriented requirements engineering and architecture design

This paper reports on the third Early Aspects: Aspect-Oriented Requirements Engineering and Architecture Design Workshop, which has been held in Lancaster, UK, on March 21, 2004. The workshop included a presentation session and working sessions in which the particular topics on early aspects were discussed. The primary goal of the workshop was to focus on challenges to defining methodical software development processes for aspects from early on in the software life cycle and explore the potential of proposed methods and techniques to scale up to industrial applications

Using multimedia to enhance the accessibility of the learning environment for disabled students: reflections from the Skills for Access project

As educators' awareness of their responsibilities towards ensuring the accessibility of the learning environment to disabled students increases, significant debate surrounds the implications of accessibility requirements on educational multimedia. There would appear to be widespread concern that the fundamental principles of creating accessible web‐based materials seem at odds with the creative and innovative use of multimedia to support learning and teaching, as well as concerns over the time and cost of providing accessibility features that can hold back resource development and application. Yet, effective use of multimedia offers a way of enhancing the accessibility of the learning environment for many groups of disabled students. Using the development of ‘Skills for Access’, a web resource supporting the dual aims of creating optimally accessible multimedia for learning, as an example, the attitudinal, practical and technical challenges facing the effective use of multimedia as an accessibility aid in a learning environment will be explored. Reasons why a holistic approach to accessibility may be the most effective in ensuring that multimedia reaches its full potential in enabling and supporting students in learning, regardless of any disability they may have, will be outlined and discussed

Wikis supporting authentic, collaborative activities: lessons in usability

The Open University delivers distance learning to its students. Traditionally, its students work independently of each other. Looking to enhance their students learning, two postgraduate courses have introduced authentic, collaborative activities. This is easier to achieve now because of the availability of wikis: a lightweight, web-based collaborative authoring environment. This paper examines the effect of the wikis’ functionality on the students’ use of the tool, and the consequences for the students’ engagement with the activities and learning opportunities. This is a relatively large scale study involving 56 wikis produced by over 250 students. The data was drawn from the two courses using a variety of methods. A qualitative inductive analysis was used to look for emergent themes. These were validated by cross referencing, to match recorded comments with wiki content. We found that the limited functionality of wikis influenced how students engaged with the collaborative activities. While all groups were able to collaboratively author the documents required for assessment, they were not always produced in the way intended by the course teams. This meant the expected benefits of collaborative learning were not always realised. This paper will be of interest to academics aspiring to employ wikis on their courses and to practitioners who wish to realise the potential of wikis in facilitating information sharing and fostering collaboration within teams