Evaluating management sentiment towards ISO/IEC 29110 in very small software development companies

This paper presents the results of a set of interviews with senior management in a series of very small software development companies, which were conducted to gauge their opinion, attitude and sentiment towards the of new standard, ISO/IEC 29110 Life Cycle Profiles for Very Small Entities (VSEs). This paper serves as a roadmap for both researchers wishing to understand the issues of process standards adoption by very small companies and also for the software process standards community

A market based approach for resolving resource constrained task allocation problems in a software development process

We consider software development as an economic activity, where goods and services can be modeled as a resource constrained task allocation problem. This paper introduces a market based mechanism to overcome task allocation issues in a software development process. It proposes a mechanism with a prescribed set of rules, where valuation is based on the behaviors of stakeholders such as biding for a task. A bid process ensures that a stakeholder, who values the resource most, will have it allocated for a limited number of times. To observe the bidders behaviors, we initiate an approach incorporated with a process simulation model. Our preliminary results support the idea that our model is useful for optimizing the value based task allocations, creating a market value for the project assets, and for achieving proper allocation of project resources specifically on large scale software projects

The association between goth subculture identification, depression, and self-harm

No abstract available

Understanding the perception of very small software companies towards the adoption of process standards

This paper is concerned with understanding the issues that affect the adoption of software process standards by Very Small Entities (VSEs), there needs from process standards and there willingness to engage with the new ISO/IEC 29110 standard in particular. In order to achieve this goal, a series of industry data collection studies were undertaken with a collection of VSEs. A twin track approach of a qualitative data collection (interviews and focus groups) and quantitative data collection (questionnaire), with data analysis being completed separately and finally results merged, using the coding mechanisms of grounded theory. This paper serves as a roadmap for both researchers wishing to understand the issues of process standards adoption by very small companies and also for the software process standards community

The relationship between entrapment and suicidal behavior through the lens of the integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behavior

Suicide and suicidal behavior are major public health concerns. As a result, a number of psychological models have been developed to better understand the emergence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. One such model is the integrated motivational–volitional model, a tri-partite model of suicidal behavior, which posits that entrapment is central to the final common pathway to suicide. In this review, we summarize the extant research evidence for the relationship between entrapment and suicidal ideation and behavior. Although there is robust evidence for the relationship between entrapment and suicidal ideation and behavior, there are gaps in our knowledge. We discuss the clinical implications and suggest key directions for future research

Developing software and systems engineering standards

There are a great many Software and Systems Engineering standards such as those supported by organizations like the ISO (International Organization for Standardization). It is often said that many of these have a poor reputation with many sections of academia and industry. Whilst there may be many publicized business advantages of using standards, standardization is an often-neglected route for exploiting academic and commercial research. Often researchers have little experience of standardization to plan, implement and exploit their research utilizing standards. Involvement with standards development organizations in your research can positively increase international recognition and highlight in a world stage your research and enhance your international reputation. This keynote address examined the benefits of being directly involved in the standards community for both industry and academia and specifically how standards can inform your research. Based upon personal experience as Ireland Head of Delegation to ISO's Software and Systems Engineering group and that of being an ISO standards editor, this keynote will examine the issues and benefits of becoming actively involved inside the standardization community and how this can be translated into your personal research agenda

A hierarchy of SPI activities for software SMEs: results from ISO/IEC 12207-based SPI assessments

In an assessment of software process improvement (SPI) in 15 software small- and –medium-sized enterprises (software SMEs), we applied the broad spectrum of software specific and system context processes in ISO/IEC 12207 to the task of examining SPI in practice. Using the data collected in the study, we developed a four-tiered pyramidal hierarchy of SPI for software SMEs, with processes in the higher tiers undergoing SPI in more companies than processes on lower level tiers. The development of the hierarchy of SPI activities for software SMEs can facilitate future evolutions of process maturity reference frameworks, such as ISO/IEC 15504, in better supporting software development in software SMEs. Furthermore, the findings extend our body of knowledge concerning the practice of SPI in software SMEs, a large and vital sector of the software development community that has largely avoided the implementation of established process maturity and software quality management standards

Managerial commitment towards SPI in small and very small enterprises

This paper compares and contrasts the results of two similar studies into the software process practices in Irish Small and Very Small Enterprises. The first study contains rich findings in relation to the role and influence of managerial experience and style, with particular respect to the company founder and software development managers in small to medium seized enterprises (SMEs), whilst the second study contains extensive findings in relation to people and management involvement / commitment and SPI goal planning in very small enterprises (VSEs). By combining these results of these two studies of Irish SMEs/VSEs we can develop a rich picture of managerial commitment towards SPI and in particular explore the similarities between Small and Very Small Enterprises

Software development process standards for very small companies

In recent times quality orientated process approaches and standards have matured and gained acceptance in many software development organizations. Standards emphasize communication and shared understanding more than anything. There are many potential benefits of using standards. In particular for small and very small companies, the benefits that certification can provide include: increased competitiveness, greater customer confidence and satisfaction, greater software product quality, increased sponsorship for process improvement, decreased development risk, facilitation of marketing, and higher potential to export. While good internal software management might help meet the first five claims; the last two can only be the benefits of using a widely recognized standard

The integrated motivational–volitional model of suicidal behaviour

Suicide is a major public health concern accounting for 800 000 deaths globally each year. Although there have been many advances in understanding suicide risk in recent decades, our ability to predict suicide is no better now than it was 50 years ago. There are many potential explanations for this lack of progress, but the absence, until recently, of comprehensive theoretical models that predict the emergence of suicidal ideation distinct from the transition between suicidal ideation and suicide attempts/suicide is key to this lack of progress. The current article presents the integrated motivational–volitional (IMV) model of suicidal behaviour, one such theoretical model. We propose that defeat and entrapment drive the emergence of suicidal ideation and that a group of factors, entitled volitional moderators (VMs), govern the transition from suicidal ideation to suicidal behaviour. According to the IMV model, VMs include access to the means of suicide, exposure to suicidal behaviour, capability for suicide (fearlessness about death and increased physical pain tolerance), planning, impulsivity, mental imagery and past suicidal behaviour. In this article, we describe the theoretical origins of the IMV model, the key premises underpinning the model, empirical tests of the model and future research directions