626 research outputs found
Maturity Level Assessment in Software Testing in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of the State of Goiás
Get PDFSoftware testing is an important component that leads to quality software production. This paper presents the results of a framework for assessing the level of maturity in Software Testing application in the context of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) based on TMMi model. Our framework includes an evaluation questionnaire based on TMMi sub-practices, support tools with examples of artifacts required to ensure that the questionnaire is thoroughly completed, as well as an automated tool support for its application, enabling SMEs to carry out self-assessment. The framework was applied in ten companies and before the results presented, it can be concluded that the companies maturity in software testing is low and that the companies positively assessed the adequacy of the framework developed for the context of SMEs
Affective Image Content Analysis: Two Decades Review and New Perspectives
Get PDFImages can convey rich semantics and induce various emotions in viewers.
Recently, with the rapid advancement of emotional intelligence and the
explosive growth of visual data, extensive research efforts have been dedicated
to affective image content analysis (AICA). In this survey, we will
comprehensively review the development of AICA in the recent two decades,
especially focusing on the state-of-the-art methods with respect to three main
challenges -- the affective gap, perception subjectivity, and label noise and
absence. We begin with an introduction to the key emotion representation models
that have been widely employed in AICA and description of available datasets
for performing evaluation with quantitative comparison of label noise and
dataset bias. We then summarize and compare the representative approaches on
(1) emotion feature extraction, including both handcrafted and deep features,
(2) learning methods on dominant emotion recognition, personalized emotion
prediction, emotion distribution learning, and learning from noisy data or few
labels, and (3) AICA based applications. Finally, we discuss some challenges
and promising research directions in the future, such as image content and
context understanding, group emotion clustering, and viewer-image interaction.Comment: Accepted by IEEE TPAM
Analysis of the experience and stability project at Ford Motor Company : what does it take to change a culture and rebuild a technical organization?
Get PDFThesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2004."February 2004."Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-88).As Ford Motor Company celebrates its 100th anniversary; it finds itself in a crisis due to its lack of technical proficiency. The lack of technical depth within the workforce is the result of a deeply ingrained culture that encourages employees to change positions every 18-24 months to vastly diverse parts of the company. The problem is exacerbated by years of early retirements, company sell-offs and outsourcing of technical design work to full service suppliers. In reaction to the lack of technical competency, Ford has undergone one of the largest reorganizations in their history. The new organization is now centered on function with loose ties back to the many vehicle programs. In order to encourage a new corporate culture that values technical depth over being a generalist, Ford has also developed additional projects within the organization. One of the most prominent is the Employee Stability Project (ESP) and Technical Maturity Model (TMM) that focus in on developing a technical development plan for each individual engineer. This research analyzes the rollout of the ESP/TMM project within the Body Engineering function (with some comparisons to the Chassis Organization). Data was collected through two surveys conducted nine months apart and focus group sessions. The surveys encompassed the entire Body Engineering organization. In addition, the culture at Ford was compared with the culture developed at one of its main rivals, Toyota. The data for Toyota was collected through one-on-one interviews. The result of the data collected show that entire workforce recognizes that the lack of technical depth within the company is an issue.(cont.) In addition, the concepts and principles behind the ESP/TMM project are understood and deemed important to the company's success. However, there is still resistance to the adoption of the project and momentum behind the support of the ESP/TMM project appears to be stalling. The recommendations by the authors include reinforcing communication, recognition, and demonstration of appropriate technical behaviors at every level within the organization. Ford should also utilize the technical depth within the company (in the form of senior engineers and technical specialists) upfront in the development in new programs and as consultants at key technical milestones to maximize their effectiveness and teaching opportunities. There are also several recommendations around the Individual Technical Development Plan in order to encourage its adoption and ensure its usefulness to the technical development of the engineers. Finally, a vision of a fully functioning, highly technical organization is described to show how this organization can quickly adapt to future challenges that the company may face.by Candy S. Chatawanich and Timothy A. Rush.S.M
The effects of accountability on leniency reduction in self- and peer ratings on team-based performance appraisals
Get PDFThe purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of accountability on leniency reduction on self- and peer ratings on team-based performance appraisals when they were used for different purposes (developmental versus evaluative purposes). Accountability was operationalized as participants being told they would have to justify their self- and peer ratings of team behaviors to a local nuclear process control plant supervisor (lab study) or to their professors (field study). In the lab study, purpose was operationalized as participants being told that they would have to complete the Team Behaviors Form (TBF) to receive course credit. In the field study, purpose was operationalized as participants reading (on the TBF) that their ratings would count toward their own and peers\u27 final grade. The results provided partial support for the proposed hypothesis that accountability may help in reducing leniency in team-based performance appraisals and offers evidence for the potential effects of purpose in team performance appraisals. Implications of these results, limitations, and ideas for future research are discussed
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