15,573 research outputs found
Scope Management of Non-Functional Requirements
In order to meet commitments in software projects, a realistic assessment must be made of project scope. Such an assessment relies on the availability of knowledge on the user-defined project requirements and their effort estimates and priorities, as well as their risk. This knowledge enables analysts, managers and software engineers to identify the most significant requirements from the list of requirements initially defined by the user. In practice, this scope assessment is applied to the Functional Requirements (FRs) provided by users who are unaware of, or ignore, the Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs). This paper presents ongoing research which aims at managing NFRs during the software development process. Establishing the relative priority of each NFR, and obtaining a rough estimate of the effort and risk associated with it, is integral to the software development process and to resource management. Our work extends the taxonomy of the NFR framework by integrating the concept of the "hardgoal". A functional size measure of NFRs is applied to facilitate the effort estimation process. The functional size measurement method we have chosen is COSMICFFP, which is theoretically sound and the de facto standard in the software industry
Exploiting a Goal-Decomposition Technique to Prioritize Non-functional Requirements
Business stakeholders need to have clear and realistic goals if they want to meet commitments in application development. As a consequence, at early stages they prioritize requirements. However, requirements do change. The effect of change forces the stakeholders to balance alternatives and reprioritize requirements accordingly. In this paper we discuss the problem of priorities to non-functional requirements subjected to change. We, then, propose an approach to help smooth the impact of such changes. Our approach favors the translation of nonoperational specifications into operational definitions that can be evaluated once the system is developed. It uses the goal-question-metric method as the major support to decompose non-operational specifications into operational ones. We claim that the effort invested in operationalizing NFRs helps dealing with changing requirements during system development. Based on\ud
this transformation and in our experience, we provide guidelines to prioritize volatile non-functional requirements
The Impact of Human Error in the Use of Agricultural Tractors: A Case Study Research in Vineyard Cultivation in Italy
Recently, standards and regulations concerning occupational safety have become more and more rigorous. Nevertheless, the number of accidents and victims has not decreased significantly, as reported by official statistics. In Italy, the agricultural sector is certainly one of the most affected by this situation, especially taking into account the occurrence of serious injuries and fatalities related to the use of tractors. The main reasons for such a situation can be ascribed to the peculiarities of agricultural operations. Therefore, when analyzing the root causes of agricultural accidents, a user-centered approach is needed in order to make the development of health and safety interventions easier and more effective. Based on this, the present paper proposes a practical case study research focused on integrating the factor of human error into the risk assessment procedures of agricultural activities in vineyard cultivation. Such an approach allowed us to consider the impact of human errorwhile performing work activities (e.g., the use of a tractor)on hazards and related hazardous events in a thorough manner. The proposed approach represents a novelty in the sector of the safety assessment of agricultural activities, providing a first valuable basis for further analysis and implementation by researchers and practitioners
How Do Real Options Concepts Fit in Agile Requirements Engineering?
Agile requirements engineering is driven by creating business value for the client and heavily involves the client in decision-making under uncertainty. Real option thinking seems to be suitable in supporting the clientâs decision making process at inter-iteration time. This paper investigates the fit between real option thinking and agile requirements engineering. We first look into previously published experiences in the agile software engineering literature to identify (i) âexperience clustersâ suggesting the ways in which real option concepts fit into the agile requirements process and (ii) âexperience gapsâ and under-researched agile requirements decision-making topics which require further empirical studies. Furthermore, we conducted a cross-case study in eight agile development organizations and interviewed 11 practitioners about their decision-making process. The results suggest that options are almost always identified, reasoned about and acted upon. They are not expressed in quantitative terms, however, they are instead explicitly or implicitly taken\ud
into account during the decision-making process at interiteration time
Prioritization of fish communities with a view to conservation and restoration on a large scale European basin, the Loire (France)
The hierarchical organization of important sites for the conservation or the
restoration of fish communities is a great challenge for managers, especially because of
financial or time constraints. In this perspective, we developed a methodology, which is
easy to implement in different locations. Based on the fish assemblage characteristics of
the Loire basin (France), we created a synthetic conservation value index including the
rarity, the conservation status and the species origin. The relationship between this new
synthetic index and the Fish-Based Index allowed us to establish a classification protocol
of the sites along the Loire including fish assemblages to be restored or conserved. Sites
presenting disturbed fish assemblages, a low rarity index, few threatened species, and a
high proportion of non-native species were considered as important for the restoration of
fish biodiversity. These sites were found mainly in areas where the assemblages are
typical of the bream zone, e.g. with a higher number of eurytopic and limnophilic
species. On the contrary, important sites for conservation were defined as having an
important conservation potential (high RI, a lot of threatened species, and few nonnatives
fish species) and an undisturbed fish assemblage similar to the expected community
if habitats are undisturbed. Important sites for conservation were found in the
Loire basinâs medium reaches which host assemblages typical for the grayling and the
barbell zones, e.g. with a higher number of rheophilic species. The synthetic conservation value index could be adapted and completed with other criteria according to
management priorities and capacities
FARM CERTIFICATION AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HACCP IN AGRICULTURE: A COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS
This article aims to highlight the methodological bases and principles, sometimes implicit, that have served as support for the development of a referential similar to the one retained as part of the French decree on "Agriculture Raisonnée", namely the Quali'Terre referential. We show that the innovations introduced by this referential are of various natures: i) a change of perspective by taking a position at the level of the farming system and not of a given parcel of land or production, ii) use of the HACCP method for identification and most especially the prioritization of risks and the preventive measures to be implemented, iii) the introduction of the concept of continual improvement for the farmer. Even, if from an agronomic point of view, the application of this type of referential does not seem insurmountable, we show that, based on a study of about one hundred farms in Picardie, its global approach on farm management, unstead of just applying technical requirements, involves changes in farmer's practices that are more difficult than what was expected first.HACCP, methodology, cost/benefit analysis, farming system, risk assessment., Farm Management, Q16, Q20, M11, D21,
Public views on principles for health care priority setting: findings of a European cross-country study using Q methodology
International audienc
Complementing Measurements and Real Options Concepts to Support Inter-iteration Decision-Making in Agile Projects
Agile software projects are characterized by iterative and incremental development, accommodation of changes and active customer participation. The process is driven by creating business value for the client, assuming that the client (i) is aware of it, and (ii) is capable to estimate the business value, associated with the separate features of the system to be implemented. This paper is focused on the complementary use of measurement techniques and concepts of real-option-analysis to assist clients in assessing and comparing alternative sets of requirements. Our overall objective is to provide systematic support to clients for the decision-making process on what to implement in each iteration. The design of our approach is justified by using empirical data, published earlier by other authors
Spacecraft Systems Working Group report
Issues addressed include: definition of user/commercial/government needs by function; criteria for prioritization of needs; overall criteria for technology assessment; system configuration drivers (key trade studies); space infrastructure interface; and cost drivers (pros and cons of standardization, manufacturing, test, serviceability, and supportability)
An adaptive approach to Failure Modes and Effects Analysis for Computer-Aided Inspection Planning
In robust design, the principle is to improveproduct quality minimizing the impacts of variations.Variability depends strongly on the set of explicit andimplicit decisions taken during product design, selection ofmethods, processes and resources. This paper presents a newapproach to decision making for inspection planning. Theproposed approach requirements are then emphasized. Aswell the necessity of quality management tools integration indecision making is concluded. Literature review highlightsthat each already existent quality tools satisfies partiallythese requirements. Among these latter FMEA is consideredto be flexible and apt enough to be adapted to CAIP.Despite, improving points to FMEA are discussed andrequired modifications and future works are then proposed.International audienceIn robust design, the principle is to improveproduct quality minimizing the impacts of variations.Variability depends strongly on the set of explicit andimplicit decisions taken during product design, selection ofmethods, processes and resources. This paper presents a newapproach to decision making for inspection planning. Theproposed approach requirements are then emphasized. Aswell the necessity of quality management tools integration indecision making is concluded. Literature review highlightsthat each already existent quality tools satisfies partiallythese requirements. Among these latter FMEA is consideredto be flexible and apt enough to be adapted to CAIP.Despite, improving points to FMEA are discussed andrequired modifications and future works are then proposed
- âŠ