Towards a Design Theory for Software Project Risk Management Systems.

This paper outlines the design principles for software project risk management systems. The artifact accounts for the interrelationships among factors belonging to four risk dimensions: project traits, undesirable events, management practices, and project outcomes. We conducted a case survey of 60 software projects and observed patterns of interplay among risk components. Four patterns were found: the multiplicative effect of project traits, the sequentiality effect of undesirable events, the presence of a third variable, and the tradeoff when implementing risk management practices. Those patterns were then used to derive three design principles for the IT-artifact – the association, the regulation, and the simulation principles. To validate those principles, we intend to prototype the IT-artifact and intervene in an organizational setting. If the artifact is judged to be useful, it presents a practical solution to project managers by providing a more accurate assessment of risk exposure than existing computational techniques

Specifying the Software Project Risk Construct

This paper conceptualizes software project risk in terms of risk exposure and defines it as an aggregate multidimensional construct comprised of four interrelated dimensions: risk sources, risk events, risk management mechanisms, and expected outcomes. The paper also theorizes about relationships between the four dimensions. Furthermore, it argues that the risk factors identified in the literature could be systematically categorized using the proposed construct. The specification is derived from a review of 20 years of software project risk literature – from 1989 to 2009 and on a semantic decompositional analysis of software project risk definitions. The proposed construct conceptualization helps demarcate between the often intertwined behavioural factors and project attributes recognized risk factors in the literature pertaining to software project risk. By identifying the dimensions of risk and their interrelationships, the suggested specification should help improve the construct’s explanatory and predictive power

Solving ordinary differential equations application and performance

The purpose of this research project is to study performance of mathematical operations in software applications. Solving ordinary differential equations (ODE) is the main target to accomplish. Previous work in this field was done but there have not been intensive efforts to optimize performance. The research aims on designing an application that can solve general differential equations using certain algorithms (ODE solvers) and developing the system in different languages in order to find the best solution that maximizes the application's performance. The design is an object-oriented design (OOD) due to the possibility of future enhancements to the system. The application is developed in two different ways. One version of the application uses Java as the programming language. This version is fully implemented and tested. The other version, which can be part of the future work, uses Java (front-end), Java native interface (JNI), and C++ (back-end). Engineering Problem solver (EPS) is able to solve any differential equation using one of three algorithms that are build in to the system and plot the resulted solution as diagrams. During the development of the application performance is given great importance and is tested thoroughly. Certain changes are discussed to enhance this feature. The outcome of the research is a framework for mathematical applications, a useful system that solves ordinary differential equations, and a performance study of the application

Combining Sentiment Lexicons of Arabic Terms

Lexicons are dictionaries of sentiment words and their matching polarity. Some comprise words that are numerically scored based on the degree of positivity/negativity of the underlying sentiments. The ranges of scores differ since each lexicon has its own scoring process. Others use labelled words instead of scores with polarity tags (i.e., positive/negative/neutral). Lexicons are important in text mining and sentiment analysis which compels researchers to develop and publish them. Larger lexicons better train sentiment models thereby classifying sentiments in text more accurately. Hence, it is useful to combine the various available lexicons. Nevertheless, there exist many duplicates, overlaps and contradictions between these lexicons. In this paper, we define a method to combine different lexicons. We used the method to normalize and unify lexicon items and merge duplicated lexicon items from twelve lexicons for (in)formal Arabic. This resulted in a coherent Arabic sentiment lexicon with the largest number of terms

The Determinants of Student Effort at Learning ERP: A Cultural Perspective

This paper develops a research model based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT) and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to explore factors that influence student effort at learning Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) using LISREL was utilized to validate the proposed research model using a convenience sample of students at two universities in the USA. The results showed that while subjective norm and career relevance were positively associated with performance expectancy (PE), course structure and self-efficacy were positively associated with effort expectancy (EE). Performance expectancy and effort expectancy were positively associated with student attitude toward ERP. Student attitude toward ERP was positively associated with student effort at learning ERP. The results also revealed that power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity moderate the relationships between EE and PE on one side and attitude on the other side, between EE and PE, and between attitude and effort at learning ERP, respectively. Implications for educators and researchers are reported

The Impact of IS-Business Alignment Practices on Organizational Choice of IS-Business Alignment Strategies

This study utilizes a mixed method approach to examine the relationship between IS/Business alignment practices and organizational choice of IS/business alignment strategy. To this end, the significance of six maturity factors of IS/Business alignment – governance, partnership, scope and architecture, communication, value, and skills – from the Strategic Alignment Maturity model are examined against three alignment strategies (independent, sequential, and synchronous) adopted by different organizations. Governance and partnership were found to be the most significant factors towards the evolutive process of IS/business alignment regardless of the alignment strategy. Moreover, our data shows that organizations that are most mature in partnership have a higher tendency to implement sequential integration strategy (IS strategy formulation follows and supports business strategy formulation) and not synchronous – where IS strategy formulation and business strategy formulation are done simultaneously. Follow-up group discussions with senior managers were also conducted in an attempt to identify the top management practices that advance the IS/business alignment process. The discussions revealed three management practices that considerably contribute to the process of aligning IS and business strategies: (1) the formalization of a program management process, (2) the improvement of support for hierarchies of authority, and (3) the integration of collaboration values. Those findings are discussed and future avenues of research are offered

Individual Determinants of IT Occupational Outcomes

Extant research in information systems relies heavily on career anchor theory (CAS) as a lens to examine occupational choices and outcomes in information technology. Yet, the empirical results are inconclusive, and the power of the theory in predicting IT occupations is rather weak. With the growing demand for IT professionals, we need to examine other factors that can predict the IT occupational outcomes. In this paper, we draw on social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and examine self-efficacy as a complementary factor to career anchors in predicting whether seekers end up with technical, business, or managerial occupations in IT. Specifically, we propose and test a model that combines variables from both CAS and SCCT theories. We use multiple discriminant analysis to measure the extent to which variables from both theories discriminate the IT occupations. The results show that our model predicts occupations with an accuracy rate of 82.2 percent (compared to 75.2 percent for the original CAS model). Our results also show that individuals who hold a professional role that matches their profile are more satisfied than those who do not. Lastly, we discovered that, from individuals who hold a position that does not match their profile, business-IT professionals are most satisfied

Case Survey Studies in Software Engineering Research

Background: Given the social aspects of Software Engineering (SE), in the last twenty years, researchers from the field started using research methods common in social sciences such as case study, ethnography, and grounded theory. More recently, case survey, another imported research method, has seen its increasing use in SE studies. It is based on existing case studies reported in the literature and intends to harness the generalizability of survey and the depth of case study. However, little is known on how case survey has been applied in SE research, let alone guidelines on how to employ it properly. Aims: This article aims to provide a better understanding of how case survey has been applied in Software Engineering research. Method: To address this knowledge gap, we performed a systematic mapping study and analyzed 12 Software Engineering studies that used the case survey method. Results: Our findings show that these studies presented a heterogeneous understanding of the approach ranging from secondary studies to primary inquiries focused on a large number of instances of a research phenomenon. They have not applied the case survey method consistently as defined in the seminal methodological papers. Conclusions: We conclude that a set of clearly defined guidelines are needed on how to use case survey in SE research, to ensure the quality of the studies employing this approach and to provide a set of clearly defined criteria to evaluate such work.Comment: Accepted for presentation at ACM / IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement (ESEM) (ESEM '20

Impact of neuraminidase inhibitors on influenza A(H1N1)pdm09‐related pneumonia: an individual participant data meta‐analysis

BACKGROUND: The impact of neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) on influenza‐related pneumonia (IRP) is not established. Our objective was to investigate the association between NAI treatment and IRP incidence and outcomes in patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection. METHODS: A worldwide meta‐analysis of individual participant data from 20 634 hospitalised patients with laboratory‐confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09 (n = 20 021) or clinically diagnosed (n = 613) ‘pandemic influenza’. The primary outcome was radiologically confirmed IRP. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated using generalised linear mixed modelling, adjusting for NAI treatment propensity, antibiotics and corticosteroids. RESULTS: Of 20 634 included participants, 5978 (29·0%) had IRP; conversely, 3349 (16·2%) had confirmed the absence of radiographic pneumonia (the comparator). Early NAI treatment (within 2 days of symptom onset) versus no NAI was not significantly associated with IRP [adj. OR 0·83 (95% CI 0·64–1·06; P = 0·136)]. Among the 5978 patients with IRP, early NAI treatment versus none did not impact on mortality [adj. OR = 0·72 (0·44–1·17; P = 0·180)] or likelihood of requiring ventilatory support [adj. OR = 1·17 (0·71–1·92; P = 0·537)], but early treatment versus later significantly reduced mortality [adj. OR = 0·70 (0·55–0·88; P = 0·003)] and likelihood of requiring ventilatory support [adj. OR = 0·68 (0·54–0·85; P = 0·001)]. CONCLUSIONS: Early NAI treatment of patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection versus no treatment did not reduce the likelihood of IRP. However, in patients who developed IRP, early NAI treatment versus later reduced the likelihood of mortality and needing ventilatory support

The moderating effect of individual differences on the acceptance and use of internet banking: A developing country perspective

This research examines factors influencing the acceptance of internet banking (IB) in Lebanon. It extends the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model by including trust as a proxy and then investigates the moderating effect of a set of socio-demographic variables (gender, age, experience) in shaping consumer perceptions towards using IB. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 408 IB consumers in Lebanon. Structural equation modelling was employed as the main method of analysis. The results show that behavioral intention (BI) was significantly influenced by performance expectancy (PE), social influence (SI), trust (TRU) and effort expectancy (EE) in their order of influencing power. Moreover, facilitating conditions (FC) and BI significantly influenced use behavior (UB). Gender moderated the relationship between PE_BI and SI_BI, age moderated the relationship between PE_BI, EE_BI, and FC_UB, and experience moderated the relationship between EE_BI and SI_BI. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed at the end of the article