A Survey of Boehm's Work on the Spiral Models and COCOMO II—Towards Software Development Process Quality Improvement

Successful engineering and evaluation of complex software depends on successfully completing all the stages of the Software Development Life Cycle. There have been many models which illustrate the stages Software Engineers have to go through to produce software. This paper investigates one of these—The Spiral Model (Sommerville 1997) with particular reference to recent enhancements to it, examines the interaction of COCOMO II (19xx) within the WinWin framework, and reports on a case study using the WinWin Spiral Model (Boehm et al. 1998) to develop software.     

TAPISTRY—A Software Process Improvement Approach Tailored for Small Enterprises

TAPISTRY is a tutored process improvement approach tailored for small enterprises. The approach was developed, used and validated in an ongoing ESSI Esprit project (No 24238), called “TAPISTRY.” The TAPISTRY project adopted a downscaled assessment model of the BOOTSTRAP assessment methodology, called BootCheck, and developed a workshop-based assessment and improvement method, to form together a process improvement approach for small-to-medium-sized enterprises. In TAPISTRY workshops the participants are tutored in self-assessment and improvement planning by software process improvement experts. The resulting TAPISTRY approach was validated through the experiments performed during the TAPISTRY project. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Process Enactment Tool Framework—Transformation of software process models to prepare enactment

Rich development process models contain information about structures for project organization and also for concrete outcomes of a project. However, rich processes are hard to implement. They often contain hundreds of pages of documentation. Development teams tend to be skeptical about rich processes in fear of additional effort, risking the benefits of rich tool support for enactment. Process enactment is a challenging task. There is no common methodology to quickly “implement” a development process in a tool or a set of tools. Often specialized tools are used to provide assistance during the project and it is the project manager’s task to consolidate the information with the rest of the team.The Process Enactment Tool Framework (PET) is a software tool that supports the transformation of a given formal development process into a format that project tools can work with. PET is an instrument to import processes based on a metamodel and provide exports for a specific project environment. PET takes an input software development process model and transforms it into an intermediate format that serves as the basis for a second transformation step into data formats of tools such as office suites or comprehensive ALM platforms. In this paper we present the tool framework and show how metamodel-based processes can be transformed into an environment that is ready to use for a project team. We show how PET is applied for the German V-Modell XT and for SPEM-based processes to generate, e.g., process templates for the Team Foundation Server or work product document templates.     

BOOTSTRAP 3.0—A SPICE1 Conformant Software Process Assessment Methodology

BOOTSTRAP methodology was initially developed in an ESPRIT project together with European industry. After February 1993, the methodology has been managed and further developed by a European Economic Interest Group, called BOOTSTRAP Institute. BOOTSTRAP methodology version 3.0 was released in September 1997. It is compliant with the ISO/IEC software engineering standard number 15504, the emerging standard on software process assessment. The core of the methodology consists of an assessment model and method. The assessment model of the methodology version 3.0 was updated to align with the ISO 12207 life-cycle and 15504 reference model requirements. In addition to the Process and Capability dimensions, it contains a Technology dimension. The Process dimension contains 33 different processes organised in six clusters: Organisation, Life Cycle Dependent, Management, Support, Customer-Supplier, and Process Related. The Capability dimension consists of six levels, each level consisting of one or more process attributes, adopted from ISO 15504. An assessment is conducted at SPU and project levels. The BOOTSTRAP Institute organises and co-ordinates assessor training and registration scheme. BOOTSTRAP methodology is being used in two European projects: SPAM and PROFES.     

TAUS：A File—Based Software Understanding Tool

A program called TAUS,a Tool for Analyzing and Understanding Software,was developed.It is designed to help the programmer analyze and understand the software interactively.Its aim is to reduce the dependence on human intelligence in software understanding and improve the programmer‘s understanding productivity.The design and implementation of TAUS and its applications are described.     

Call for Papers of Software Process Workshop 2005

The expanding role of software and information systems in the world has focused increasing attention upon the need for assurances that software systems can be developed at acceptable speed and cost, on a predictable schedule, and in such a way that resulting systems are of acceptably high quality and can be evolved surely and rapidly as usage contexts change. This sharpened focus is creating new challenges and opportunities for software process technology. The increasing pace of software system change requires more lightweight and adaptive processes, while the increasing mission-criticality of software system srequires more process predictability and control, as well as more explicit attention to business or mission values. A major goal of this workshop will be to suggest ways in which to integrate two complementary lines of research to create a rigorous, orderly discipline of software process engineering. This integration could suggest, for example, how high level process behaviors might be predicted, and modified, through lower level analyses and optimizations.     

Development of Software Engineering: A Research Perspective

In the past 40 years, software engineering has emerged as an important sub-field of computer science and has made significant contribution to the software industry. Now it is gradually becoming a new independent discipline. This paper presents a survey of software engineering development from a research perspective. Firstly, the history of software engineering is reviewed with focus on the driving forces of software technology, the software engineering framework and the milestones of software engineering development. Secondly, after reviewing the past academic efforts, the current research activities are surveyed and new challenges brought by Internet are analyzed. Software engineering researches and activities in China are also reviewed. The work in Peking University is described as a representative.     

Development and Experience of“Software Project Practice”Course for the Master of Software Engineering

Practice is an important phase in the teaching of software engineering.How to improve students' practical ability is a common problem for many software colleges.The course of Software Project Practice is proposed to enhance students' practical skills.In this course,the students participate in the whole process of software development practice and take the exercise of entrepreneurial project development in their learning stage.     

Requirements Engineering and Process Modelling in Software Quality Management— Towards a Generic Process Metamodel

This paper examines the concept of Quality in Software Engineering, its different contexts and its different meanings to various people. It begins with a commentary on quality issues for systems development and various stakeholders' involvement. It revisits aspects and concepts of systems development methods and highlights the relevance of quality issues to the choice of a process model. A summarised review of some families of methods is presented, where their application domain, lifecycle coverage, strengths and weaknesses are considered. Under the new development era the requirements of software development change; the role of methods and stakeholders change, too. The paper refers to the latest developments in the area of software engineering and emphasises the shift from traditional conceptual modelling to requirements engineering and process metamodelling principles. We provide support for an emerging discipline in the form of a software process metamodel to cover new issues for software quality and process improvement. The widening of the horizons of software engineering both as a communication tool and as a scientific discipline (and not as a craft) is needed in order to support both communicative and scientific quality systems properties. In general, we can consider such a discipline as a thinking tool for understanding the generic process and as the origin of combining intuition and quality engineering to transform requirements to adequate human-centred information systems. We conclude with a schematic representation of a Generic Process Metamodel (GPM) indicating facets contributed by Software Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Mathematics, Linguistics, Sociology and Anthropology. Ongoing research and development issues have provided evidence for influence from even more diverse disciplines.     

A Methodology for Development of Software Composite-Metrics for Program Control-Flow Structure

This paper reports on a pioneer effort for the establishment of a software composite metric withkey capability of distinguishing among different structures. As a part of this effort most of the previouslyproposed program control-flow complexity metrics are evaluated. It is observed that most of these metricsare inherently limited in distinguishing capability. However, the concept of composite metrics is potentiallyuseful for the development of a practical metrics. This paper presents a methodology for the develop-ment of a practical composite metric using statistical techniques. The proposed metric differs from allprevious metrics in 2 ways: (1) It is based on an overall structural analysis of a given program indeeper and broader context. It captures various structural measurements taken from all existingstructural levels; (2) It unifies a set of 19 important structural metrics. The compositing model of thesemetrics is based on statistical techniques rather than on an arbitrary method. Experinces with the pro-posed metric clearly indicate that it distinguishes different structures better than the previous metrics.     

A Methodology for Development of Software Composite-Metrics for Program Control-Flow Structure

is paper reports on a pioneer effort for the establishment of a software compostie-metric with key capability of distinguishing among different structrues.As a part of this effort most of the previously proposed program control-flow complexity metrics are evaluated.It is obseved that most of these metrics are inhrently limited in distinguishing capability.However,the concept of composite metrics in potentially useful for the development of a practical metrics.This paper presents a methology for the development of a practical composite metric using statistical techniques.The proposed metric differs from all previous metrics in 2 ways:(1)It is based on an overall structural analysis of a given program in deeper and broader context.It captures various structural measurements taken from all existing structural levels;(2)It unifies a set of 19 important structural metrics.The compositing model of these metrics in based on statistical techniques rather than on an arbitrary method.Experinces with the proposd metric clearly indicate that it distinguishes different structures better than the previous metrics.     

I—SATCHMORE：An Improvement of A—SATCHMORE

This paper presents an improvement of A-SATCHMORE (SATCHMORE with Availability).A-SATCHMORE incorporates relevancy testing and availability checking into SATCHMO to prune away irrelevant forward chaining.However ,considering every consequent atom of those non-Horn clauses being derivable,A-SATCHMORE may suffer from a potential explosion of the search space when some of such consequent atoms are actually underivable.This paper introduces a solution for this problem and shows its correctness.     

Formal Reduction of Interfaces to Large-scale Process Control Systems

A formal methodology is proposed to reduce the amount of information displayed to remote human operators at interfaces to large-scale process control plants of a certain type.The reduction proceeds in two stages.In the first stage,minimal reduced subsets of components,which give full information about the state of the whole system,are generated by determining functional dependencies between components.This is achieved by using a temporal logic proof obligation to check whether the state of all components can be inferred from the state of components in a subset in specified situations that the human operator needs to detect,with respect to a finite state machine model of the system and other human operator behavior.Generation of reduced subsets is automated with the help of a temporal logic model checker.The second stage determines the interconnections between components to be displayed in the reduced system so that the natural overall graphical structure of the system is maintained.A formal definition of an aesthetic for the required subgraph of a graph representation of the full system,containing the reduced subset of components,is given for this purpose. The methodology is demonstrated by a case study.     

Development of the wedding planner— Extension's way to reach a young audience

To reach engaged couples with Extension information, an interactive computer wedding planner was created and is now being marketed to Extension in other states. The completed program prints out a personalized task time table for both the bride and groom, makes a guest and gift record keeping database, and gives important information about weddings. The project consisted of these steps: (1) searching to see if a similar wedding project was available elsewhere; (2) gathering information; (3) critiquing spread sheets and database systems; (4) choosing one or the other; (5) explaining the project to a programmer; (6) editing; (7) packaging; (8) printing; (9) testing with brides and their mothers, and (10) marketing the package to Extension clientele both in and out of state.The wedding planner has been successful in reaching young people who had not previously known about the Extension Service.     

Gamification Solutions to Enhance Software User Engagement—A Systematic Review

Gamification is the use of video-game mechanics and elements in nongame contexts to enhance user engagement and performance. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review to have an in-depth investigation into the existing gamification solutions targeted at solving user engagement problems in different categories of software. We carried out this systematic review by proposing a framework of gamifying process, which is the basis for comparison of existing gamification solutions. In order to report the review, the primary studies are categorized according to the following: a) gamified software and their platforms; b) elements of the gamifying process; c) gamification solutions in each software type; d) gamification solutions for software user engagement problems; e) gamification solutions in general; and f) effects of gamification on software user engagement and performance. Based on the search procedure and criteria, a total of 78 primary studies were extracted. Most of the studies focused on educational and social software, which were developed for web or mobile platforms. We concluded that the number of studies on motivating users to use software content, solving problems in learning software, and using real identity is very limited. Furthermore, few studies have been carried out on gamifying the following software categories: productivity software, cloud storage, utility software, entertainment software, search engine software, tool software, fitness software, software engineering, information worker software, and health-care software. In addition, a large number of gamification solutions are relatively simple and require improvement. Thus, for future studies, researchers can work on the items discovered in this review; they can improve the quality of the current gamified systems by using a wide variety of game mechanics and interface elements, utilizing a combination of contextual types of rewards and giving users the ability to use received rewards “in-game” and “out-game.”     

Development of electric cart for improving walking ability — application of control theory to assistive technology

This paper explains the development of an electric cart that helps the elderly maintain or improve their physical strength. Unlike commercially available ones, it has a pedal unit that provides some exercise for a user in training his lower limbs. An impedance model describes the feeling of pushing the pedals. The largest pedal load is determined based on a pedaling experiment. An H _∞ controller is designed for each of the largest pedal load and virtually no load. A control law, which is based on the concept of dynamic parallel distributed compensation, is designed using the rating of perceived exertion of a driver as a criterion to choose a pedal load between the largest and almost zero. Five university students and twelve elderly people participated experiments to verify the system design and the validity of the system.     

Critical Success Factors to Improve the Game Development Process from a Developer’s Perspective

The growth of the software game development industry is enormous and is gaining importance day by day. This growth imposes severe pressure and a number of issues and challenges on the game development community. Game development is a complex process, and one important game development choice is to consider the developer’s perspective to produce good-quality software games by improving the game development process. The objective of this study is to provide a better understanding of the developer’s dimension as a factor in software game success. It focuses mainly on an empirical investigation of the effect of key developer’s factors on the software game development process and eventually on the quality of the resulting game. A quantitative survey was developed and conducted to identify key developer’s factors for an enhanced game development process. For this study, the developed survey was used to test the research model and hypotheses. The results provide evidence that game development organizations must deal with multiple key factors to remain competitive and to handle high pressure in the software game industry. The main contribution of this paper is to investigate empirically the influence of key developer’s factors on the game development process.     

Software project management education —experiences of training full-time professionals

The experiences gained from planning and implementing two evolutionary steps in a systematic training programme for young software project managers from a group of companies are presented, and the impacts of the programme on the growth of the participating companies in terms of turnover and number of staff are discussed. The basic ideas of planning were adopted from research carried out into curriculum design for systems analysts and continuing education for software engineers. In our experience the core topics of the courses should be taken from traditional software project management together with courses in leadership and the fundamentalsof software business and marketing. The course modules should be very short together with personal exercises that are closely tied to the day-to-day work of the participants. Commitment of the company to the training scheme can be ensured by using a careful analysis of its software process maturity when selecting the exercises.     

Development of a shape memory alloy actuator. Improvement of output performance by the introduction of a σ-mechanism

The driving-force-generating principle of an actuator made of shape memory alloy (SMA) is based on the thermal elastic martensitic transformation, a kind of elastic phenomenon. As a result, conventional SMA actuators which use a circular pulley have tended to exhibit undesirable characteristics such as the maximum generable torque being changed depending on the rotating angle when the robot joint was driven by rotating motion transformed from expansion/contraction of the SMA, so that the servo system to support the torque under a certain load could not have an operable range wide enough for practical application. This paper intends to clarify these problems of SMA actuators and proposes a new joint mechanism using a σ-shaped non-circular pulley, called the σ-mechanism, for joint linkage to overcome the problems. This design enables the maximum generated torque to be kept uniform at all times by reducing the torque-arm-length in inverse proportion when the SMA tension increases corresponding to the rotating angle of the joint. Subsequently, a specifically designing algorithm for the proposed σ-mechanism is discussed. The validity of the new mechanism is demonstrated by an experimental model using an SMA actuator with a σpulley.