A Study on Reuse-based Requirements Engineering by Utilizing Knowledge Pattern

Software development has become an essential part of many industries over the past decade. The use of software has become an essential element for the organization to support its operation and business. Some software has certain features in common, which allow its requirements to be used repetitively in the requirement engineering phase. This paper presents a study on knowledge patterns for reuse-based requirements engineering. Reuse-based requirements engineering is saving the effort to conduct the process and, at the same time maintaining the standard since reused requirements come with its properties as well.  Software development is an iterative process itself and so does the knowledge it holds in every iteration. When analysts perform many iterations of elicitation processes, it is often the case that a significant amount of requirements is recurring and similar software system will likely benefit from them. This research adopted a literature review method to investigate and to present current studies on knowledge pattern for the purpose of reuse. Knowledge reuse by utilizing knowledge pattern is becoming a significant method in software requirements engineering as it safes the effort of developing requirements from scratch. The study found that a specific pattern is required to develop good requirements specification. A proposed prototype to deploy reuse-based requirements engineering is also presented and evaluated. Experts’ judgment method is used for evaluation by adapting the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results showed that reusing knowledge pattern expedites the requirements elicitation process and improves the requirements quality.

-ilities Tradespace and Affordability Project – Phase 3

One of the key elements of the SERC’s research strategy is transforming the practice of systems engineering and associated management practices – “SE and Management Transformation (SEMT).” The Grand Challenge goal for SEMT is to transform the DoD community’s current systems engineering and management methods, processes, and tools (MPTs) and practices away from sequential, single stovepipe system, hardware-first, document-driven, point- solution, acquisition-oriented approaches; and toward concurrent, portfolio and enterprise- oriented, hardware-software-human engineered, model-driven, set-based, full life cycle approaches.This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract H98230-08- D-0171 (Task Order 0031, RT 046).This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract H98230-08- D-0171 (Task Order 0031, RT 046)

System Qualities Ontology, Tradespace and Affordability (SQOTA) Project Phase 5

Motivation and Context: One of the key elements of the SERC's research strategy is transforming the practice of systems engineering and associated management practices- "SE and Management Transformation (SEMT)." The Grand Challenge goal for SEMT is to transform the DoD community 's current systems engineering and management methods, processes, and tools (MPTs) and practices away from sequential, single stovepipe system, hardware-first ,document-driven, point- solution, acquisition-oriented approaches; and toward concurrent, portfolio and enterprise-oriented, hardware-software-human engineered, model-driven, set-based, full life cycle approaches.This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract H98230-08-D-0171 and HQ0034-13-D-0004 (TO 0060).This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract H98230-08-D-0171 and HQ0034-13-D-0004 (TO 0060)

Tradespace and Affordability – Phase 1

One of the key elements of the SERC’s research strategy is transforming the practice of systems engineering – “SE Transformation.” The Grand Challenge goal for SE Transformation is to transform the DoD community’s current systems engineering and management methods, processes, and tools (MPTs) and practices away from sequential, single stovepipe system, hardware-first, outside-in, document-driven, point-solution, acquisition-oriented approaches; and toward concurrent, portfolio and enterprise-oriented, hardware-software-human engineered, balanced outside-in and inside-out, model-driven, set-based, full life cycle approaches.This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract H98230-08- D-0171 (Task Order 0031, RT 046).This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract H98230-08- D-0171 (Task Order 0031, RT 046)

System Qualities Ontology, Tradespace and Affordability (SQOTA) Project – Phase 4

This task was proposed and established as a result of a pair of 2012 workshops sponsored by the DoD Engineered Resilient Systems technology priority area and by the SERC. The workshops focused on how best to strengthen DoD’s capabilities in dealing with its systems’ non-functional requirements, often also called system qualities, properties, levels of service, and –ilities. The term –ilities was often used during the workshops, and became the title of the resulting SERC research task: “ilities Tradespace and Affordability Project (iTAP).” As the project progressed, the term “ilities” often became a source of confusion, as in “Do your results include considerations of safety, security, resilience, etc., which don’t have “ility” in their names?” Also, as our ontology, methods, processes, and tools became of interest across the DoD and across international and standards communities, we found that the term “System Qualities” was most often used. As a result, we are changing the name of the project to “System Qualities Ontology, Tradespace, and Affordability (SQOTA).” Some of this year’s university reports still refer to the project as “iTAP.”This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract HQ0034-13-D-0004.This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract HQ0034-13-D-0004

Discussing Changes in Historical Human–Environmental Dynamics Through Ecosystem Services Interactions and Future Scenarios in a Rural-Mining Region of Central Appalachians

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate how recent processes of land-change induced by humans contributed to the shaping and alteration of the current landscape in a headwater system of Central Appalachians in West Virginia (US), to understand the interactions and tradeoffs among ecosystems services and address potential solutions for targeting more sustainable human-environment interactions in a region that is deeply grounded on extractive economies. The multitiered objective was addressed through different research phases in order to unfold and disentangle a series of complex problems that the study area presents. Three main phases were used; they corresponded to distinct chapters within this study. The first paper analyzed land-cover transitions, from 1976 to 2016, using Multi-Level Intensity Analysis and Difference Components methods. Two land cover classifications were derived explicitly for this study using remote sensing methods and obtained with segmentation analysis and machine learning algorithms from historical high-resolution aerial images (1-2 meters) and ancillary data. Results allowed the author to distinguish between surface mining areas produced before and after the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA, 1977), discuss differences among distinct socio-technical phases, and differentiate the main drivers and outcomes of landscape change processes in the area. The historical information and knowledge gained in the first step were used to inform the second chapter, whose objective was to analyze the interactions among ecosystem services and derive their bundles. Ecosystem services models were obtained using InVEST, and a custom model was explicitly defined to link water quality changes to freshwater ecosystem services. The results identified significant losses of carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and freshwater ecosystem services in areas subjected to Mountaintop Removal mining. The findings spatially located different ecosystem services bundles characterized by distinct human-environment relationships and complex anthropogenic drivers not limited to coal mining processes. The study identified the appropriate spatial scale for targeting specific management actions and implementing conservation, as well as development-restoration strategies, in areas characterized by similar social-ecological processes and deeply altered ecosystems. In the third essay, the identification of ecosystem services bundles allowed the author to delineate two distinct social-ecological systems characterized by surface coal extraction and reclamation processes produced during different historical phases. These areas were discussed as separate case studies within a time interval of seventy years, from the recent past (1976) to future scenarios (2045). The scenarios were based on a backcasting approach integrated by ecosystem services models and the analysis of functional changes within the two social-ecological units analyzed. The results highlighted differences in the flow of ecosystem services due to the intensity of mining and the different and incremental reclamation approaches used in the scenarios. The comparison of threats and opportunities within each scenario, identified, in the discussion section, a range of plausible hypotheses and solutions the stakeholders and communities of the region should face if they want to rehabilitate the social and ecological conditions to promote a more sustainable approach for the future of these places

Data standardization

With data rapidly becoming the lifeblood of the global economy, the ability to improve its use significantly affects both social and private welfare. Data standardization is key to facilitating and improving the use of data when data portability and interoperability are needed. Absent data standardization, a “Tower of Babel” of different databases may be created, limiting synergetic knowledge production. Based on interviews with data scientists, this Article identifies three main technological obstacles to data portability and interoperability: metadata uncertainties, data transfer obstacles, and missing data. It then explains how data standardization can remove at least some of these obstacles and lead to smoother data flows and better machine learning. The Article then identifies and analyzes additional effects of data standardization. As shown, data standardization has the potential to support a competitive and distributed data collection ecosystem and lead to easier policing in cases where rights are infringed or unjustified harms are created by data-fed algorithms. At the same time, increasing the scale and scope of data analysis can create negative externalities in the form of better profiling, increased harms to privacy, and cybersecurity harms. Standardization also has implications for investment and innovation, especially if lock-in to an inefficient standard occurs. The Article then explores whether market-led standardization initiatives can be relied upon to increase welfare, and the role governmental-facilitated data standardization should play, if at all

Sustainability in Construction: Using Lean Management Principles to Reduce Waste

The construction industry is facing many challenges. There are growing consumer demands for sustainable building. The construction industry generates a significant portion of the waste going into landfills. The construction industry has failed to keep pace with productivity in the manufacturing industry. Through adoption of Lean management principles, the construction industry can become more sustainable while increasing productivity. The literature was evaluated for three concepts: Lean management principles interaction with sustainability, the current state of sustainability in the construction industry, and the current state of Lean management principles in the construction industry. Lean management philosophies interactions with sustainability has been heavily studied in the manufacturing industry, but rarely so in the construction industry. The construction industry has been slow to adopt Lean philosophies, as construction presents unique challenges not present in manufacturing. There are emerging technologies in construction that enhance sustainability and Lean philosophies. Through analysis of the few case studies performed on Lean construction, an early model of Lean impacts has been proposed

SDG Implementation through Technology? Governing Food-Water-Technology Nexus Challenges in Urban Agriculture

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes the importance of technology as a pillar for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Technology innovation promises benefits especially for the implementation of SDG 2 to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. Contributing to current debates on SDG implementation, technology innovation, and cross-sectoral governance, we argue that technology innovation carries both the potential to contribute to global goal implementation and the risk of posing new governance challenges. Applying a food-water-technology nexus (FWTN) perspective, we conduct a case study on an emerging technology in urban agricultural production in Germany. The technology connects the wastewater treatment system and the agricultural production system and projects the transformation of a conventional sewage treatment plant into a ‘NEWtrient®-Center,’ which draws the essential resources for urban hydroponic plant cultivation from municipal wastewater. Building on qualitative and participatory research methods, the study provides deeper insights into the governance implications of FWTN issues stemming from the emerging technology. The analysis shows that this technology has the potential to facilitate SDG implementation, but simultaneously fuels new sector interlinkages between water and food and policy demands that substantiate the need for more integrated policymaking to ensure the smart use of technology to reach the SDGs