Evaluation Model to Assess the Effectiveness of Coordination Processes in Global Software Development Projects: A Roadmap

Research shows that software organizations are facing many challenges related to coordinate issues by adopting Global Software Development (GSD) approach. Coordination is a primary mechanism used in between collocated and distributed software development teams in GSD environment. A lack of coordination in GSD can decrease the productivity, complicate the process and delay the completion of tasks. Effective coordination is a crucial aspect in successful software projects. In order to coordinate the processes effectively, it need to be assessed. Research shows that there were less studies on assessing the effectiveness of the coordination processes. Hence, this study intends to identify the coordination processes, coordination strategies, indicators related to the identified coordination processes and coordination strategies used in GSDbase software development organization. This paper presents the roadmap to formulate the evaluation model for GSD coordination processes; made up of indicators for every coordination processes components. In general, project managers can utilise this model as it will serve as a guideline to assess the coordination processes effectively between collocated and distributed team in GSD environment

Preliminary Study of Malaysian Public Sector (MPS) Transformation Readiness through Enterprise Architecture (EA) Establishment

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a holistic approach that not only limited to Information Technology (IT) but also align with the business. EA is not just a tool to be used in a financially competitive world; it is a tool that can help to improve the efficiency of organisation and serves as an instrument for exposing the need for transformation. Consequently, interest in EA in the public sector is increasing in receiving attention. However, to success in EA practices in an organisation yet a concern. The primary aim of this research is to explore the readiness factors that influence the successful EA establishment in Malaysian Public Sector (MPS). Using qualitative approach, the exploration has been made through systematic review and semi-structured interview in with EA experts and practitioners. The data from purposeful and emergent sampling strategies have been analysed using Deductive Qualitative Analysis (DQA). The findings highlighted 17 readiness factors that can be categorised into four main s elements which are Enterprise Environment, Process, People and Technology. In the future, these readiness factors will be analysed on its suitability to be set of readiness assessment criteria towards successful EA establishment in MPS

Secure Software Development Practice Adoption Model: A Delphi Study

Developing secure software is a major concern in public service organizations as highly-sensitive and confidential data are transacted through online applications. A great number of departments around the public sectors depend on online services to ensure effective services delivery. The insecure software can lead to loss of revenue and damage to business reputation. Implementation of secure development practices throughout the software development lifecycle is influenced by many various factors such as organizational and people factor. Although numerous methods, models and standards in regards to secure software development has been established, implementation of the whole model is quite challenging as it involves cost, skill and time. On that account, this paper presents the results of the Delphi study conducted at the Malaysian Public Service Organization (MPS) with the aim to identify the factors which affect the implementation of secure software development practices. Identified factors are mapped to the security practices in order to establish a relationship between the factors and security practices. In the efforts to achieve this objective, 10 experts who were involved in software development from Malaysian Public Service Organization participated in the study

A Systematic Review of Coordination Approaches and Indicators in Global Software Development Projects

Every industry in this world is influenced by globalization especially software development industry which continues to experience a significant growth. The increased trend of globalization brings new challenges, specifically in the aspect of coordination. The aims of this study are to pin down the remaining coordination procedures that are currently in GSD projects, recognise the approaches that are related to the coordination procedures of GSD projects, and indicate the indicators for the identified approaches which are related to GSD projects. A Systematic Review (SR) was completed, 826 papers were recovered by a self-pursuit in 5 databases and 27 primary studies were at long last incorporated. Based on these investigations, 55.6% were from journal papers,40.7% were conference proceedings and 1% were commitment from workshop. Therefore, 10 coordination procedures, 31 approaches and 116 indicators were distinguished and investigated. The discoveries of this investigation propose that distinguished arrangement of coordination approaches and related indicators could be an advice for task supervisors to evaluate the coordination procedures viably in GSD ventures advancement towards its achievement

Secure software development practice adoption model: a Delphi study

Developing secure software is a major concern in public service organizations as highly-sensitive and confidential data are transacted through online applications. A great number of departments around the public sectors depend on online services to ensure effective services delivery. The insecure software can lead to loss of revenue and damage to business reputation. Implementation of secure development practices throughout the software development lifecycle is influenced by many various factors such as organizational and people factor. Although numerous methods, models and standards in regards to secure software development has been established, implementation of the whole model is quite challenging as it involves cost, skill and time. On that account, this paper presents the results of the Delphi study conducted at the Malaysian Public Service Organization (MPS) with the aim to identify the factors which affect the implementation of secure software development practices. Identified factors are mapped to the security practices in order to establish a relationship between the factors and security practices. In the efforts to achieve this objective, 10 experts who were involved in software development from Malaysian Public Service Organization participated in the study

Secured data partitioning through sequence based mapping and random order of data separation

Data partitioning using secret sharing is a popular technique for securing data outsourcing in cloud computing. However, its complexity in reconstructing while preserving confidentiality has limited it for practical use. The drawback of secret sharing on how effectively reconstruct the secret shares, especially when it involves big data has motivated us to propose a sequence based mapping. Furthermore, in the current practice, the generated shares are being sent and stored in the original order which they are being generated. Thus, this could expose them to various threats, if attackers or curious server learn and observe the orders. Therefore, we have presented random order data separation to generate the random order of generating shares. This technique allows data to be separated into multiple chunks, and distributed to cloud storage in random orders. For evaluation, the proposed techniques have been evaluated through a series of simulation using maximum 10000 data. The performance was evaluated based on the time taken to achieve data reconstruction. As a result, we proved that sequence based mapping technique has improved the performance of data reconstruction compared to the indexing technique. In conclusion, sequence based mapping and random order of separated data are the ideal combinations for improving performance and preserving the confidentiality of data in cloud computing

An evaluation of requirements management and traceability tools

Requirements management is critical to software delivery success and project lifecycle. Requirements management and their traceability provide assistance for many software engineering activities like impact analysis, coverage analysis, requirements validation and regression testing. In addition requirements traceability is the recognized component of many software process improvement initiatives. Requirements traceability also helps to control and manage evolution of a software system. This paper aims to provide an evaluation of current requirements management and traceability tools. Management and test managers require an appropriate tool for the software under test. We hope, evaluation identified here will help to select the efficient and effective tool

Leveraging enterprise architecture for digital transformation adaptation challenges in higher education institutions

The rapid proliferation and emergence of mobile, digital technologies, smartphone devices, big data, cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) have given rise to a new era of Digital Transformation (DT). DT is shifting not only technological advancements but also involves changes to business processes, organization structure, business models, managerial and culture. Higher Education Institution (HEI) are undergoing some forms of DT and is affected by these changes. Technology is changing the way many HEIs operate and to ensure survival, HEI needs to adapt to DT changes. However, HEIs are facing difficulties in adapting to DT. The main objective of this paper is to identify DT adaptation challenges in HEI based on literature review. Result from the literature review lists the HEI DT adaptation challenges and Enterprise Architecture(EA) is identified as a facilitator and enabler to support DT initiatives

Technological aspect factors of e-learning readiness in higher education institutions: Delphi technique

E-learning is an educational method which aims to provide educational or training programs for students or trainees at any time and at any place using information and communication technology (ICT). Increasing numbers of higher education institutions have adopted e-learning in order to take advantage of the opportunities that it offers. Through e-learning, learners can access resources and information from anywhere and at any time. However, the successful implementation of e-learning relies on the readiness to be able to initiate this system because, without proper readiness, the project will probably fail. E-learning readiness refers to the assessment of how ready an institution is to adopt and implement e-learning. E-learning readiness helps higher education institutions to measure their stages of readiness, identify any gaps, and then redesign its strategy in order to adopt the e-learning system. One of the most important aspects of e-learning readiness is the technological aspect, which plays an important role in implementing an effective and efficient e-learning system. There is a lack of agreement about the factors that shape the technological aspects of e-learning readiness; hence, a clear gap has been identified in the knowledge on the technological aspects of e-learning readiness. The aim of this paper is to review the technological factors of e-learning readiness by performing the Delphi technique, and develop an initial model for technological aspects of e-learning readiness in higher education institutions. It is anticipated that this model can help institutions of higher education to identify and understand the technological aspects that must be considered when assessing the readiness to apply an e-learning project