Using quality models in software package selection

The growing importance of commercial off-the-shelf software packages requires adapting some software engineering practices, such as requirements elicitation and testing, to this emergent framework. Also, some specific new activities arise, among which selection of software packages plays a prominent role. All the methodologies that have been proposed recently for choosing software packages compare user requirements with the packages' capabilities. There are different types of requirements, such as managerial, political, and, of course, quality requirements. Quality requirements are often difficult to check. This is partly due to their nature, but there is another reason that can be mitigated, namely the lack of structured and widespread descriptions of package domains (that is, categories of software packages such as ERP systems, graphical or data structure libraries, and so on). This absence hampers the accurate description of software packages and the precise statement of quality requirements, and consequently overall package selection and confidence in the result of the process. Our methodology for building structured quality models helps solve this drawback.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A framework for selecting workflow tools in the context of composite information systems

When an organization faces the need of integrating some workflow-related activities in its information system, it becomes necessary to have at hand some well-defined informational model to be used as a framework for determining the selection criteria onto which the requirements of the organization can be mapped. Some proposals exist that provide such a framework, remarkably the WfMC reference model, but they are designed to be appl icable when workflow tools are selected independently from other software, and departing from a set of well-known requirements. Often this is not the case: workflow facilities are needed as a part of the procurement of a larger, composite information syste m and therefore the general goals of the system have to be analyzed, assigned to its individual components and further detailed. We propose in this paper the MULTSEC method in charge of analyzing the initial goals of the system, determining the types of components that form the system architecture, building quality models for each type and then mapping the goals into detailed requirements which can be measured using quality criteria. We develop in some detail the quality model (compliant with the ISO/IEC 9126-1 quality standard) for the workflow type of tools; we show how the quality model can be used to refine and clarify the requirements in order to guarantee a highly reliable selection result; and we use it to evaluate two particular workflow solutions a- ailable in the market (kept anonymous in the paper). We develop our proposal using a particular selection experience we have recently been involved in, namely the procurement of a document management subsystem to be integrated in an academic data management information system for our university.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Building sound COTS products taxonomies

The acquisition of process of COTS products requires the identification of the suitable products. The evaluation of COTS products varies from type to type, e.g. a DBMS has to be evaluated differently from a web browser. The techniques used to integrate the COTS products are strongly dependent on the type of products. The same applies to the architectural patterns and style used to build COTS-based systems. So it is important to be able to classify COTS products into homogeneous classes. Taxonomies are a tool to perform such a classification.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Unsolved Tricky Issues on COTS Selection and Evaluation

Component Based Software Engineering (CBSE) approach is based on the idea to develop software systems by selecting appropriate components and then to assemble them with a well-defined software architecture. (CBSE) offers developers the twin benefits of reduced software life cycles, shorter development times , saving cost and less effort as compare to build own component. However the success of the component based paradigm depends on the quality of the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components purchased and integrated into the existing software systems. It is need of the time to present a quality model that can be used by software programmer to evaluate the quality of software components before integrating them into legacy systems. The evaluation and selection of the COTS components are the most critical process. These evaluation and selection method cannot be resolved by the IT professionals itself. In this study the author tried to compare the twenty three available systematic methods for best evaluation and selection of COTS components

A structural model of information system quality: an empirical research

Assessing the quality of a delivered system has been one of the major challenges for researchers as well as for the practitioners (organizations). There is the need of a multidimensional instrument capable of measuring the quality of an information system, that instrument would provide valid information that helps an organization to take decisions in order to improve and assure the quality of its information systems. On the other hand, the majority of IS researchers are still not sufficient validating their instruments and there is the need of empirical findings. This research-in-progress paper proposes a model to measure the quality of an information system and uses the statistical approach Partial Least Squares (PLS) for its validation

Teknik AHP dengan Kriteria SQM: Studi Kasus Pemilihan Software Pustaka Digital

Untuk menunjang kegiatan penyelenggaraan pendidikan di perguruan tinggi, khususnya pengelolaan bahan pustaka diperlukan sebuah alat bantu berupa software pustaka digital. Software jenis ini sudah banyak beredar di pasaran, baik bersifat free open sources maupun proprietary. Ketersediaan berbagai macam pilihan alternatif memunculkan pertanyaan yakni, alternatif mana yang paling ideal untuk perguruan tinggi dengan studi kasus di AKN Pacitan. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan ini, tim peneliti melakukan evaluasi dan perangkingan menggunakan teknik Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Dalam proses AHP, tim peneliti menggunakan kriteria-kriteria yang telah dirumuskan dalam Software Quality Model. Data diperoleh melalui teknik survei dengan instrumen kuisioner yang disebar kepada seluruh sivitas akademika AKN Pacitan. Hasil dari penelitian ini diperoleh bahwa Dspace merupakan software pustaka digital yang paling ideal untuk AKN Pacitan

Análisis de los métodos de selección de componentes COTS desde una perspectiva ágil

Los métodos ágiles de construcción de software como eXtreme Programming y Scrum conciben el proceso de construcción como un ejercicio de desarrollo de software a medida. Sin embargo en la actualidad, muchos sistemas software están compuestos parcial o incluso totalmente por componentes COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf), debidamente personalizados e integrados. En este tipo de sistemas, el énfasis se desplaza de las actividades propias del desarrollo a medida, a los procesos de selección e integración de COTS. Existen diferentes propuestas basadas en la selección de COTS (pocas tratan de integración), y en este artículo estudiamos cómo se comportan desde un punto de vista ágil. Concretamente, introducimos los principios ágiles en el contexto de selección de COTS y analizamos bajo esta perspectiva algunas de las propuestas de selección de COTS más aceptadas. Como resultado, identificamos algunas prácticas que pueden dotar de mayor agilidad a los procesos de selección de COTS.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Extending Software Quality Models - A Sample In The Semantic Technologies Domain

In order to correctly evaluate semantic technologies,which have become widely adopted in recent years, we need to put evaluations under the scope of a unique software quality model.This paper presents a quality model for semantic technologies. First, some well-known software quality models are described,together with methods for extending them. Afterwards, a new method for extending quality models is proposed and it is then used to define a quality model for semantic technologies by extending the ISO 9126 quality model. Finally, the proposed model is validated by analyzing existing semantic technology evaluations

A Model for Choosing the Right ERP System

This work presents a model for the evaluation and selection of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Although these systems are used more and more there have been reports of different kind of problems, underlining the need of having models for their evaluation. Evaluation also permits the possibility, for the prospective user, of being able to establish its own requirements and compare different systems to assess which is the one that better adapts to the user’s needs. The model we present here is based on the Logic Score of Preference (LSP) method. An overview of the LSP method is also given.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

A Model for Choosing the Right ERP System

This work presents a model for the evaluation and selection of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Although these systems are used more and more there have been reports of different kind of problems, underlining the need of having models for their evaluation. Evaluation also permits the possibility, for the prospective user, of being able to establish its own requirements and compare different systems to assess which is the one that better adapts to the user’s needs. The model we present here is based on the Logic Score of Preference (LSP) method. An overview of the LSP method is also given.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ