Research Publication Trends and Topics in Computing in Civil Engineering

This paper provides a historical perspective on computing research in civil engineering, as reflected in the Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering (JCCE). The paper reports the results of a 17 year analysis of the Journal from 1987 through 2003. The main computing topical content as well as the origin and distribution of research sources and dissemination venues are summarized. The JCCE is intended to be of interest to researchers, professionals, and students in all civil engineering disciplines. This paper is intended to shed light on its content.     

User participation in the requirements engineering process: An empirical study

In the development of information systems, user participation in the requirements engineering (RE) process is hypothesised to be necessary for RE success. In this paper we develop a theoretical model which predicts that the interaction between user participation in the RE process and uncertainty has an impact on RE success. This theory is empirically tested using survey data. We develop instruments to measure user participation and uncertainty. An existing instrument for measuring RE success was used. This instrument covers two dimensions of RE success: (a) the quality of RE service, and (b) the quality of RE products. The results, indicate that as uncertainty increases, greater user participation alleviates the negative influence of uncertainty on the quality of RE service, and that as uncertainty decreases, the beneficial effects on the quality of RE service of increasing user participation diminish. Furthermore, we did not find that the interaction between user participation and uncertainty had an impact on the quality of RE products. Based on these results, we make recommendations for managing user participation in the RE process, and provide directions for future research.This work has been supported, in part, by the IT Macroscope Project and NSERC Canada.