Toward an integration of Web accessibility into testing processes

Proceedings of: 5th International Conference on Software Development and Technologies for Enhancing Accessibility and Fighting Info-exclusion, DSAI 2013. Took place in November 13-15, 2013, in Vigo, Spain. The event web site is http://dsai2013.utad.pt/The goal of this paper is to review the literature in order to understand the implications of accessibility testing processes with the objective to detect potential improvements and developments in the field. Thus, a brief review is presented of the fundamental test processes proposed by the International Software Testing Qualification Board (ISTQB) and the currently available literature about testing processes for evaluating the accessibility of web applications. The result of the review reflects an array of proposals to incorporate accessibility requirements and evaluation tools, but they do not describe a comprehensive testing process at each phase of the development lifecycle of accessible web applications.This research work is supported by the Research Network MAVIR (S2009/TIC-1542) and MULTIMEDICA project (TIN2010-20644-C03-01).Publicad

Aproximación holística a la integración de modelos SPI en entorno microempresa

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorEn todo el mundo, una abrumadora mayoría de las empresas son muy pequeñas o pequeñas. Es así que la industria del software no es la excepción. Aunque las pequeñas empresas de software juegan un papel importante en la mayoría de economías, especialmente en los países en desarrollo, tienen que trabajar duro para sobrevivir. Por lo general, les resulta difícil dedicar tiempo y esfuerzo a mejorar sus operaciones y procesos. Además, los conocimientos técnicos y las herramientas no son suficientes. Su capacidad para gestionar las cuestiones humanas es un aspecto importante y particularmente difícil que apenas se ha estudiado. Por lo tanto, es importante abordar tales necesidades mediante la introducción de un marco que especifique las maneras de hacer las cosas mientras que conscientemente les anima a mejorar su capacidad de mejorar. A pesar del hecho de que hay muchos enfoques de mejora de procesos de software, ninguno de ellos aborda los factores humanos de las pequeñas empresas de una manera integral y holística. En consecuencia, esta tesis se dirige a la definición de un marco para integrar los factores humanos en el trabajo cotidiano como una forma de abordar ese reto. La resolución del problema se ha abordado desde un punto de vista humano teniendo en cuenta aspectos que pertenecen a otras disciplinas tales como el pensamiento visual, la psicología y la gestión. La solución propuesta proporciona un marco, llamado Samay, para apoyar los factores humanos en las microempresas de software que pueda ser adaptado a la situación real y concreta de cada organización, y que proporciona técnicas adecuadas para mejorar los factores humanos envueltos en el desarrollo de software. Además, este estudio sugiere gestionar los factores humanos a partir del ciclo de vida del proceso de software. El objetivo es converger hacia una mejora continua por medio de mecanismos alternativos que afecten a las personas. Este marco fue desarrollado en base a las revisiones de normas relevantes (tales como ISO/IEC 29110, ISO 10018, OMG Essence e ISO/IEC 33014) y estudios publicados previamente en este campo. Este marco se compone de un núcleo, que corresponde a un proceso de desarrollo de software, y dos grupos de elementos llamados complemento y soporte. El primer grupo está directamente vinculado al proceso de desarrollo, el cual incluye: flujo de proceso de desarrollo de software, roles y responsabilidades, y competencias y niveles de competencia. El segundo grupo está intentando facilitar la adopción del marco por medio de dos componentes: la iniciación y la gestión del cambio. El desarrollo de esta tesis ha seguido una metodología de investigación consistente e integral que incluye una revisión sistemática de la literatura y métodos cualitativos como entrevistas y grupos focales. Además, una revisión de expertos y los hallazgos de validación respaldan la visión de que Samay podría apoyar a los profesionales cuando las pequeñas empresas de software quieren comenzar a mejorar sus formas de trabajo. En la última etapa de la metodología de investigación se ha realizado una validación empírica por medio de la implementación en un caso de estudio para verificar la aplicabilidad del marco. Los datos obtenidos de la validación indican que la aplicación del marco introduce un cambio positivo en la satisfacción laboral y la comunicación. Finalmente, se concluye que la satisfacción laboral y la comunicación en el desarrollo de software sigue siendo un desafío. Para reducir esta dificultad, esta tesis da luz sobre el tema proporcionando un marco para desencadenar los factores humanos diariamente.Around the world, an overwhelming majority of enterprises are very small or small. So that software Industry is not the exception. Although small software companies play a major role in most economies, particularly in developing countries, they have to work hard in order to survive. They usually find it challenging to spend time and effort on improving their operations and processes. Moreover, technical knowledge and tools are not enough. Their ability to manage human issues is an important and particularly challenging aspect which has been scarcely studied. Therefore, it is important to address such needs by the introduction of a framework that specifies ways of getting things done while consciously encourage them to enhance their ability to improve. In spite of the fact that there are many software process improvement approaches, none of them address the human factors of small companies in a comprehensive and holistic way. Consequently, this thesis is aimed at the definition of a framework to integrate human factors in the daily work as a way to deal with that challenge. The resolution of the problem has been approached from a human point of view taking in consideration aspects belonging to others disciplines such as visual thinking, psychology and management. The proposed solution provides a framework, called Samay, to support the human factors in software microenterprises that can be tailored to the actual and concrete situation of each organization, and that provides suitable techniques to enhance human factors involved in software development. Furthermore, this study suggests managing human factors but pointing out the software process life cycle. The purpose is to converge toward a continuous improvement by means of alternative mechanisms that impact on people. This framework was developed based upon reviews of relevant standards (such as ISO/IEC 29110, ISO 10018, OMG Essence and ISO/IEC 33014) and previously published studies in this field. This framework is composed of a kernel, corresponding to a software development process, and two groups of elements called complement and support. First group is directly linked to the development process which includes: software development process flow, roles and responsibilities, and competencies and competency levels. Second group is trying to facilitate the adoption of the framework by two components: initiation and change management. The development of this thesis has followed a consistent and integral research methodology that has included a systematic literature review and qualitative methods such as interviews and focus group. Moreover, an expert review and validation findings supported the view that Samay could support practitioners when small software companies want to start improving their ways of work. In the last phase of the research methodology an empirical validation has been performed through its implementation in one case study in order to verify the applicability of the framework. The data obtained from the validation indicate that the application of the framework introduces a positive change of the job satisfaction and communication. Finally, it is concluded that the job satisfaction and communication in software development remains a challenge. To reduce this difficulty, this thesis sheds some light on the topic by providing a framework to trigger human factors in daily basis.Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ciencia y Tecnología InformáticaPresidente: Gonzalo Cuevas Agustín.- Secretario: José A. Calvo-Manzano Villalón.- Vocal: Mirna Ariadna Muñoz Mat

Understanding the gap between software process practices and actual practice in very small companies

This paper reports on a grounded theory to study into software developers’ use of software development process in actual practice in the specific context of very small companies. This study was conducted in three very small software product companies located in Ecuador. The data collection was based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with software project managers, focus group with software developers and was supplemented by literature and documents studies. We interviewed two types of participants (managers and developers), so as to ensure that we elicited a holistic perspective of how they approached the software development process in actual practice. The goal was to study what practices are actually used and their opinion and attitude towards the potential adopting of an international standard (ISO/IEC 29110) specifically designed for very small companies. With the collected data we performed an analysis utilizing Grounded Theory coding techniques, as this methodology promotes the focus on uncovering the real concerns of the participants. This study highlighted three areas of concern: customer, software product and development tasks coordination and tracking. The findings in this study give an insight towards the work products as they relate to software development process practices in very small companies and the important factors that must be considered to assist project success

Towards a Gamification Framework for Software Process Improvement Initiatives: Construction and Validation

One of the main reasons for failure in Software Process Improvement (SPI) initiatives is the lack of motivation of the professionals involved. Therefore, motivation should be encouraged throughout the software process. Gamification allows us to define mechanisms that motivate people to develop specific tasks. A gamification framework was adapted to the particularities of an organization and software professionals to encourage motivation. Thus, it permitted to facilitate the adoption of SPI improvements and a higher success rate. The objective of this research was to validate the framework presented and increase the actual implementation of gamification in organizations. To achieve this goal, a qualitative research methodology was employed through interviews that involved a total of 29 experts in gamification and SPI. The results of this study confirm the validity of the framework presented, its relevance in the field of SPI and its alignment with the standard practices of gamification implementation within organizations