54,184 research outputs found
Context for goal-level product line derivation
Product line engineering aims at developing a family of products and facilitating the derivation of product variants from it. Context can be a main factor in determining what products to derive. Yet, there is gap in incorporating context with variability models. We advocate that, in the first place, variability originates from human intentions and choices even before software systems are constructed, and context influences variability at this intentional level before the functional one. Thus, we propose to analyze variability at an early phase of analysis adopting the intentional ontology of goal models, and studying how context can influence such variability. Below we present a classification of variation points on goal models, analyze their relation with context, and show the process of constructing and maintaining the models. Our approach is illustrated with an example of a smarthome for people with dementia problems. 1
Playing Smart - Artificial Intelligence in Computer Games
Abstract: With this document we will present an overview of artificial intelligence in general and artificial intelligence in the context of its use in modern computer games in particular. To this end we will firstly provide an introduction to the terminology of artificial intelligence, followed by a brief history of this field of computer science and finally we will discuss the impact which this science has had on the development of computer games. This will be further illustrated by a number of case studies, looking at how artificially intelligent behaviour has been achieved in selected games
Affect and believability in game characters:a review of the use of affective computing in games
Virtual agents are important in many digital environments. Designing a character that highly engages users in terms of interaction is an intricate task constrained by many requirements. One aspect that has gained more attention recently is the effective dimension of the agent. Several studies have addressed the possibility of developing an affect-aware system for a better user experience. Particularly in games, including emotional and social features in NPCs adds depth to the characters, enriches interaction possibilities, and combined with the basic level of competence, creates a more appealing game. Design requirements for emotionally intelligent NPCs differ from general autonomous agents with the main goal being a stronger player-agent relationship as opposed to problem solving and goal assessment. Nevertheless, deploying an affective module into NPCs adds to the complexity of the architecture and constraints. In addition, using such composite NPC in games seems beyond current technology, despite some brave attempts. However, a MARPO-type modular architecture would seem a useful starting point for adding emotions
Double Whammy - How ICT Projects are Fooled by Randomness and Screwed by Political Intent
The cost-benefit analysis formulates the holy trinity of objectives of
project management - cost, schedule, and benefits. As our previous research has
shown, ICT projects deviate from their initial cost estimate by more than 10%
in 8 out of 10 cases. Academic research has argued that Optimism Bias and Black
Swan Blindness cause forecasts to fall short of actual costs. Firstly, optimism
bias has been linked to effects of deception and delusion, which is caused by
taking the inside-view and ignoring distributional information when making
decisions. Secondly, we argued before that Black Swan Blindness makes
decision-makers ignore outlying events even if decisions and judgements are
based on the outside view. Using a sample of 1,471 ICT projects with a total
value of USD 241 billion - we answer the question: Can we show the different
effects of Normal Performance, Delusion, and Deception? We calculated the
cumulative distribution function (CDF) of (actual-forecast)/forecast. Our
results show that the CDF changes at two tipping points - the first one
transforms an exponential function into a Gaussian bell curve. The second
tipping point transforms the bell curve into a power law distribution with the
power of 2. We argue that these results show that project performance up to the
first tipping point is politically motivated and project performance above the
second tipping point indicates that project managers and decision-makers are
fooled by random outliers, because they are blind to thick tails. We then show
that Black Swan ICT projects are a significant source of uncertainty to an
organisation and that management needs to be aware of
- …