Identifying and modelling complex workflow requirements in web applications

Workflow plays a major role in nowadays business and therefore its requirement elicitation must be accurate and clear for achieving the solution closest to business's needs. Due to Web applications popularity, the Web is becoming the standard platform for implementing business workflows. In this context, Web applications and their workflows must be adapted to market demands in such a way that time and effort are minimize. As they get more popular, they must give support to different functional requirements but also they contain tangled and scattered behaviour. In this work we present a model-driven approach for modelling workflows using a Domain Specific Language for Web application requirement called WebSpec. We present an extension to WebSpec based on Pattern Specifications for modelling crosscutting workflow requirements identifying tangled and scattered behaviour and reducing inconsistencies early in the cycle.Publicado en Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (vol. 7387).Facultad de InformáticaLaboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

Approaches to Compute Workflow Complexity

During the last 20 years, complexity has been an interesting topic that has been investigated in many fields of science, such as biology, neurology, software engineering, chemistry, psychology, and economy. A survey of the various approaches to understand complexity has lead sometimes to a measurable quantity with a rigorous but narrow definition and other times as merely an ad hoc label. In this paper we investigate the complexity concept to avoid a vague use of the term `complexity\u27 in workflow designs. We present several complexity metrics that have been used for a number of years in adjacent fields of science and explain how they can be adapted and use to evaluate the complexity of workflows

Adaptive Workflow Design Based on Blockchain

Increasingly, organizational processes have become more complex. There is a need for the design of workflows to focus on how organizations adapt to emergent processes while balancing the need for decentralization and centralization goal. The advancement in new technologies especially blockchain provides organizations with the opportunity to achieve the goal. Using blockchain technology (i.e. smart contract and blocks of specified consensus for deferred action), we leverage the theory of deferred action and a coordination framework to conceptually design a workflow management system that addresses organizational emergence (e-WfMS). Our artifact helps managers to predict and store the impact of deferred actions. We evaluated the effectiveness of our system against a complex adaptive system for utility assessment

Identifying and modelling complex workflow requirements in web applications

Workflow plays a major role in nowadays business and therefore its requirement elicitation must be accurate and clear for achieving the solution closest to business's needs. Due to Web applications popularity, the Web is becoming the standard platform for implementing business workflows. In this context, Web applications and their workflows must be adapted to market demands in such a way that time and effort are minimize. As they get more popular, they must give support to different functional requirements but also they contain tangled and scattered behaviour. In this work we present a model-driven approach for modelling workflows using a Domain Specific Language for Web application requirement called WebSpec. We present an extension to WebSpec based on Pattern Specifications for modelling crosscutting workflow requirements identifying tangled and scattered behaviour and reducing inconsistencies early in the cycle.Publicado en Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (vol. 7387).Facultad de InformáticaLaboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

The Application of Activity Theory to Dynamic Workflow Adaptation Issues

Workflow Management Systems (WfMSs) are implemented to support the modelling, analysis and enactment of rigidly structured business processes. However, they typically have difficulty supporting unexpected or developmental change occurring in the work practices they model, and are unable to provide adequate support for exceptions, or deviations from the process model, even though such deviations are a common occurrence for almost all processes. These limitations mean a large subset of business practices do not easily translate to the inflexible modelling frameworks imposed by WfMSs, and so has inhibited their wider acceptance. Workflow modelling frameworks are usually based on software programming principles and proprietary formats, which may not be the most ideal base for the support of flexible work practices. A better approach may be to develop a WfMS based on accepted ideas of how people actually work. This paper derives a set of principles for work practice from a sound theoretical base called "Activity Theory". These grounded principles are then applied to a set of criteria that a WfMS must meet if it is to provide adequate support for flexible work methods. Commercial workflow products, and some research trends, are discussed in relation to the criteria specified

Distributed development of large-scale distributed systems: the case of the particle physics grid

Developing a Grid within High Energy Physics for the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator is characterised as a highly collaborative, distributed and dynamic systems development effort. This research examines the way this distributed Grid is developed, deployed and provided as a service to the thousands of physicists analysing data from the Large Hadron Collider. The particle physics community has always been at the forefront of computing with a tradition of working in large distributed collaborations, therefore providing a "distinctive" case of distributed systems development practice. The focus of concern is the collaborative systems development practices employed by particle physicists in their attempt to develop a usable Grid. The research aims to offer lessons and practical recommendations to those involved in globally distributed systems development and to inform the information systems development literature. Global software development presents unaddressed challenges to organisations and it is argued that there is an urgent need for new systems development practices and strategies to be created that can facilitate and embrace the rapid changes of the environment and the complexities involved in such projects. The contribution of the study, therefore, is a framework of guidance towards engendering what the author defines as "Hybrid Experimental Agile Distributed Systems Development Communities" revealing a set of dynamic collaborative practices for those organisational contexts engaged in distributed systems development. The framework will allow them to reflect on their own practice and perhaps foster a similarly dynamic flexible community in order to manage their global software development effort. The research is in the form of an interpretative qualitative exploratory case study, which draws upon Activity Theory, and frames the Grid's distributed development activity as a complex overarching networked activity system influenced by the context, the community's tools, rules, norms, culture, history, past experiences, shared visions and collaborative way of working. Tensions and contradictions throughout the development of this Grid are explored and surfaced, with the research focusing on how these are resolved in order for the activity system to achieve stability. Such stability leads to the construction of new knowledge and learning and the formation of new systems development practices. In studying this, practices are considered as an emergent property linked to improvisation, bricolage and dynamic competences that unfold as large-scale projects evolve

A Quality-Driven Approach to Enable Decision-Making in Self-Adaptive Software

Self-adaptive software systems are increasingly in demand. The driving forces are changes in the software “self” and “context”, particularly in distributed and pervasive applications. These systems provide self-* properties in order to keep requirements satisfied in different situations. Engineering self-adaptive software normally involves building the adaptable software and the adaptation manager. This PhD thesis focuses on the latter, especially on the design and implementation of the deciding process in an adaptation manager. For this purpose, a Quality-driven Framework for Engineering an Adaptation Manager (QFeam) is proposed, in which quality requirements play a key role as adaptation goals. Two major phases of QFeam are building the runtime adaptation model and designing the adaptation mechanism. The modeling phase investigates eliciting and specifying key entities of the adaptation problem space including goals, attributes, and actions. Three composition patterns are discussed to link these entities to build the adaptation model, namely: goal-centric, attribute-action-coupling, and hybrid patterns. In the second phase, the adaptation mechanism is designed according to the adopted pattern in the model. Therefore, three categories of mechanisms are discussed, in which the novel goal-ensemble mechanism is introduced. A concrete model and mechanism, the Goal-Attribute-Action Model (GAAM), is proposed based on the goal-centric pattern and the goal-ensemble mechanism. GAAM is implemented based on the StarMX framework for Java-based systems. Several considerations are taken into account in QFeam: i) the separation of adaptation knowledge from application knowledge, ii) highlighting the role of adaptation goals, and iii) modularity and reusability. Among these, emphasizing goals is the tenet of QFeam, especially in order to address the challenge of addressing several self- * properties in the adaptation manager. Furthermore, QFeam aims at embedding a model in the adaptation manager, particularly in the goal-centric and hybrid patterns. The proposed framework focuses on mission-critical systems including enterprise and service-oriented applications. Several empirical studies were conducted to put QFeam into practice, and also evaluate GAAM in comparison with other adaptation models and mechanisms. Three case studies were selected for this purpose: the TPC-W bookstore application, a news application, and the CC2 VoIP call controller. Several research questions were set for each case study, and findings indicate that the goal-ensemble mechanism and GAAM can outperform or work as well as a common rule-based approach. The notable difference is that the effort of building an adaptation manager based on a goal-centric pattern is less than building it using an attribute-action-coupling pattern. Moreover, representing goals explicitly leads to better scalability and understandability of the adaptation manager. Overall, the experience of working on these three systems show that QFeam improves the design and development process of the adaptation manager, particularly by highlighting the role of adaptation goals

TEACHING EXPERTISE AS A CULTURALLY-EMBEDDED PHENOMENON: A CASE STUDY OF ONE ESOL DEPARTMENT

ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: TEACHING EXPERTISE AS A CULTURALLY-EMBEDDED PHENOMENON: A CASE STUDY OF ONE ESOL DEPARTMENT Shannon Bramblett, Ph.D., 2004 Dissertation directed By: Assistant Professor Jacqueline Cossentino,Department of Education Policy and Leadership The United States has an unprecedented number of ELLs (English Language Learners) attending public schools. Research on programs for ELLs has not kept pace with the mushrooming growth of the programs themselves. The relative newness of programs for ELLs, the rapid growth of the ELL population in public schools, and the variety of programming available means that researchers know comparatively little about the culture of available programs or the types of teaching expertise teachers develop and use in them. In this dissertation I examine the phenomenon of culturally embedded expertise in one type of program for ELLs, an ESOL program, in a large, public comprehensive high school. The aim is twofold: 1) to identify and analyze less-frequently understood aspects of teaching expertise with culturally and linguistically diverse learners, and 2) to use this knowledge to improve the way researchers approach understanding teaching expertise. In this ethnographic case study I explore culture and expertise in one ESOL department in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Unlike most studies of teaching expertise, I broadened the scope of the study to include not only teacher interactions with students, but also teacher interactions with other teachers. In the dissertation I describe and analyze the teaching expertise of three ESOL teachers. I collected data primarily through interviews and observations. ESOL teacher expertise and culture were assessed through the lens of ritual (Bell 1992, 1997). Teaching expertise was not limited to effectively helping ELLs learn to speak English. Rather, ESOL culture members "coconstructed" a cultural value that was more broadly focused on the overall flourishing of ELLs. ESOL teachers strengthened their commitment to ELLs through ritualized interactions that included keeping the value of students in the foreground of their interactions. Teachers also cultivated personal relationships with other ESOL teachers; this fostered stronger professional relationships that led to sharing expert practices and collaboration. Expertise in the ESOL culture revolved around two cultural goals. The first entailed helping ELLs make a cultural transition to the ESOL classroom. The second involved helping ELLs prepare for life beyond the ESOL classroom. This study suggests that some aspects of teaching expertise are closely linked to the shared cultural values of ESOL teachers. Thus, it is important to consider the complexity of time, place, and culture when attempting to understand teaching expertise as it applies to ELLs

Collision of two communities: Developing higher education student teachers’ creativity in design through a social networking collaboration with professional designers

This study examines the activity of an online community in developing design creativity. This involved undergraduate Malaysian university students and their tutor from the School of Education, and professional designers in a private online community using the social network site - Facebook - to improve interface design (websites or interactive courseware). Two research processes adapted from different communities - the creative industries and the higher education communities - were applied in the collaboration. Each community embraces distinctive methods, objectives, instruments, rules and roles in producing design. Contradictions and tensions resulting from incorporating these two communities were analysed. In addition, the effect of social interactions on students’ performance, awareness, and perspectives were also investigated. A qualitative approach was utilized and data consisted of online semi-structured questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, field documentation on Facebook, and Facebook chat. The process of analysis is divided into two parts: initial analysis and substantive analysis of four case studies. Thematic (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and comprehensive data treatment (Silverman, 2010) approaches were used to analyse the initial data. Activity systems analysis (Engeström, 1999) was employed in the substantive analysis to explore the contradictions within the collaboration. The results indicate that contradictions occurred due to the new practice introduced by the community of practitioners (the designers). The collision of new practice positioned students in a disequilibrium stage but managed to also improve students’ design outcomes and promote awareness of the importance of producing purposeful design. However it also revealed the importance of both cognitive and emotional support during the process as the harsh nature of the feedback from designers could potentially hinder creativity. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding that the social-cultural process of creativity can be nurtured within higher education through the use of social network sites such as Facebook. It concludes that more research exploring online social interactions between a learning community and a community of practitioners is required in order to better understand the benefits it has to offer for creativity development

Collision of two communities: Developing higher education student teachers’ creativity in design through a social networking collaboration with professional designers

This study examines the activity of an online community in developing design creativity. This involved undergraduate Malaysian university students and their tutor from the School of Education, and professional designers in a private online community using the social network site - Facebook - to improve interface design (websites or interactive courseware). Two research processes adapted from different communities - the creative industries and the higher education communities - were applied in the collaboration. Each community embraces distinctive methods, objectives, instruments, rules and roles in producing design. Contradictions and tensions resulting from incorporating these two communities were analysed. In addition, the effect of social interactions on students’ performance, awareness, and perspectives were also investigated. A qualitative approach was utilized and data consisted of online semi-structured questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, field documentation on Facebook, and Facebook chat. The process of analysis is divided into two parts: initial analysis and substantive analysis of four case studies. Thematic (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and comprehensive data treatment (Silverman, 2010) approaches were used to analyse the initial data. Activity systems analysis (Engeström, 1999) was employed in the substantive analysis to explore the contradictions within the collaboration. The results indicate that contradictions occurred due to the new practice introduced by the community of practitioners (the designers). The collision of new practice positioned students in a disequilibrium stage but managed to also improve students’ design outcomes and promote awareness of the importance of producing purposeful design. However it also revealed the importance of both cognitive and emotional support during the process as the harsh nature of the feedback from designers could potentially hinder creativity. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding that the social-cultural process of creativity can be nurtured within higher education through the use of social network sites such as Facebook. It concludes that more research exploring online social interactions between a learning community and a community of practitioners is required in order to better understand the benefits it has to offer for creativity development