Design Quality Assessment Research Articles

Statistical Analysis of Process Monitoring Data for Software Process Improvement and Its Application

Software projects influenced by many human factors generate various risks. In order to develop highly quality software, it is important to respond to these risks reasonably and promptly. In addition, it is not easy for project managers to deal with these risks completely. Therefore, it is essential to manage the process quality by promoting activities of process monitoring and design quality assessment. In this paper, we discuss statistical data analysis for actual project management activities in process monitoring and design quality assessment, and analyze the effects for these software process improvement quantitatively by applying the methods of multivariate analysis. Then, we show how process factors affect the management measures of QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery) by applying the multiple regression analyses to observed process monitoring data. Further, we quantitatively evaluate the effect by performing design quality assessment based on the principal component analysis and the factor analysis. As a result of analysis, we show that the design quality assessment activities are so effective for software process improvement. Further, based on the result of quantitative project assessment, we discuss the usefulness of process monitoring progress assessment by using a software reliability growth model. This result may enable us to give a useful quantitative measure of product release determination.

Design Object Planning of Vehicle NVH Performance Improvement Based on HOQ

Basing on the system engineering 7D design planning model included the seven aspects of contents: design ideas, design environment, design objective, design step, design content, design method and design quality assessment. Combined the 7D design planning with House of Quality (HOQ), the model of design objective planning model was presented. In the model the satisfied degree of customer was the optimization object. The customer needs were satisfied with the engineering characteristics. The customer needs were analyzed with the analytic hierarchy process. The correlation among engineering characteristics was considered through the improvement relation matrix. At the same time, each customer need was insured to improve with the limited resource. Contrasted with the general optimization model this design objective planning model took the correlation of engineering characteristics into account. This optimization model was applied successfully in the NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) improvement design of vehicle. The HOQ of NVH planning was established according to the four customer needs. The six engineering characteristics were confirmed corresponding to the customer needs. The results showed that the customer need degree achieved 75.53％. If the satisfied degree wanted to be improved the cost should be increased. In this design objective planning model the resource and technology were configured in reason. It could help the technician make the reasonable judgment.

Improving building project performance: how buildability benchmarking can help

Although the buildability of building designs has not been commonly taken as an important parameter in design quality assessment, previous studies have linked buildability to time, cost, quality and safety performance in many ways. Based on this observation, the question arises of how buildability can be benchmarked and which aspects of project performance can be improved. After identifying available benchmarking tools, the relative correlations are investigated between different buildability attributes and construction performance in terms of time, cost, quality and safety. Based on a questionnaire survey, it was found that construction time performance has strong positive correlations with buildability in the design of external wall elements, simplicity of assembly and installation considerations, while other design attributes affect cost, quality and safety performance to varying degrees. With this understanding, it is postulated that best practice can be promoted among design teams for enhancing buildability, which would in turn raise project performance. Three experienced practitioners have been interviewed for verifying the practicality of buildability benchmarking. As an incentive to improve buildability, benchmarking would help construction stakeholders reap their desired benefits by focusing on the related design attributes in the pre‐construction stage, particularly for functionally oriented buildings.

Radiofrequency Neurotomy for Low Back Pain: Evidence-Based Procedural Guidelines

This review was undertaken to outline the procedural limitations of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of radiofrequency (RF) neurotomy for low back pain. Second, the literature related to patient selection, diagnostic testing, and the technique of performing lumbar spine RF neurotomy will be critically reviewed and analyzed. Based on these analyses, diagnostic and procedural guidelines will be proposed. A Medline and EMBASE search identified three RCTs and two systematic reviews of RF neurotomy for low back pain. A similar search identified pertinent literature related to the method of patient selection for a diagnostic block, the medial branch and L5 dorsal ramus comparative block, and the anatomical and technical parameters of lumbar spine RF neurotomy. Substantial procedural shortcomings were identified in all three RCTs. In the systematic reviews, these procedural limitations were not accounted for by the quality assessment of study design which resulted in an inaccurate estimate of clinical effectiveness. Analysis using likelihood ratios showed that screening criteria could increase the probability of zygapophysial joint pain before performing diagnostic blocks. Similar analysis showed that comparative medial branch blocks, rather than single blocks, must be used before RF neurotomy. Anatomical studies demonstrated that the shorter distal compared with the circumferential radius of the RF lesion necessitates placement of the electrode parallel to the course of the nerve along the base of the superior articular process. The evidence-based procedural guidelines provide consistent criteria for multisite studies that could enroll a sufficiently large homogenous study cohort.

Disciplinary challenges Critical perspectives

At the Research Seminar held at the riba on 9 September (see Report, pp13-15), Alan Penn presented the next rae exercise as a creative vehicle by which the diversity of research and architecture could be acknowledged and consolidated as a basis for self-understanding. In principle, this is a good idea. However, it implies something of a common disciplinary understanding, as against the previous regime, where schools pursued different approaches within the loose framework of the riba assessment of design quality.

Mathematical assessment of object-oriented design quality

A method of link analysis employed for retrieving information from the Web is extended in order to evaluate one aspect of quality in an object-oriented model. The principal eigenvectors of matrices derived from the adjacency matrix of a modified class diagram are used to identify and quantity heavily loaded portions of an object-oriented design that deviate from the principle of distributed responsibilities.

A hierarchical model for object-oriented design quality assessment

This paper describes an improved hierarchical model for the assessment of high-level design quality attributes in object-oriented designs. In this model, structural and behavioral design properties...

City urban design in a free market economy: The case of Ljubljana, Slovenia

A recent rapid political and economic changes in many eastern European countries demand corresponding changes in the town planning system, and especially in the development control and urban management process. For instance, at a present many historic city and town cores still remain relatively intact in their original form, but have become the target for development pressure. How should this pressure be channeled to achieve enhancement of the urban qualities of those areas (especially barracks and old factory sites), without jeopardising their competitiveness for attracting business and employment. This paper discusses the outcomes of research carried out at the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia from 1995 to 1998, on the development of appropriate methods for the appraisal and promotion of design quality in relation to economic viability in city development projects especially for an urban renewal. The elements for the assessment of urban design quality derive from the basic principles of good urban design such as identity, permeability, legibility visual appropriateness, robustness, visual and symbolic richness, amongst others. The simplified computerised model for assessing financial viability is based on building costs and market value of the investment, and shows the profitability of the development. It can be a useful tool in both assessing design viability, and for determining extra profit or ?planning gain? in the planning process negotiations such ?surplus? can be used for satisfying local needs (e.g. additional programs, design of public spaces). This method for appraisal and promotion of design quality in relation to economic viability has been examined through an assessment of the competition projects for the renewal of the Rog factory area in the city centre of Ljubljana. This case study has revealed the need for a clear strategy for future city development, with marketing guidance and policies for positive planning to achieve better vitality and viability for the city as a whole. Subsequently, the research examined successful initiatives for the promotion of urban design on a national and local level of the planning process identifying the most important issues affecting city design in the market economy, such as partnership arrangements, joint ventures and city-entrepreneurs. The paper briefly discusses: salient features of the current planning system in Slovenia and the on-going changes relating to the new approaches to town planning; the proposed method for appraisal and promotion of design quality and economic viability of urban environment; the results of the examination of this method applied to a case study - the renewal of an industrial site in the city centre of Ljubljana.

Applications of fuzzy‐based linguistic patterns for the assessment of computer screen design quality

The main objective of this study was to develop a modeling framework which would unify different aspects of computer screen design and result in a quantitative criterion for an optimized computer screen format. The fuzzy set‐based linguistic design patterns were utilized as a tool to build this model. The linguistic patterns are based on categories of expressions related closely to natural language and truth values, which are close to a human designer's intuition. The proposed framework is capable of assessing the quality of computer screen design based on existing knowledge in human‐computer interface domain using the fuzzy‐based linguistic pattern approach. Exemplary patterns for an optimal screen density, information grouping, and some aspects of screen layout are presented, along with a sequence of calculations based on the exemplary screen format. This study showed that it is possible to achieve a rational and relatively easy to interpret assessment of different screen designs in the form of the degrees of truth. Such an evaluation criterion reflects the compatibility of a given screen design with the optimal one based on the current knowledge in the field. It is believed that the proposed methodological framework for computer screen design should significantly augment the efforts of human designers.

Non destructive assessment of pavement design and new build quality : Ballard, G S Non-destructive Testing in Civil Engineering, Liverpool, (United Kingdom), 14–16 Apr 1993. Vol. 1, pp 391–404. Edited by J H Bungey. The British Institute of NDT (1993)

Pulsed Radio Echo Sounding (Ground Radar) is used to assess the structural composition of pavements and to provide information on thickness, bond and density for correlation with and correction of surface strength measurements. The construction of an experimental pavement, built to assess the benefits of tapered design in prolonging pavement life, is examined: continuous assessment by radar shows wide deviation from the design specification, and faults of bond and compaction in the pavement itself, both in the experimental tapered sections and the standard parallel layer sections. The effect of these defects on apparent pavement strength and projected life is considered, and the resultant effect on the pavement experiment itself. Assuming that these faults will be repeated in any standard production road, the use of continuous non-destructive pavement assessment is discussed, as a Quality Control tool to avoid costly early life repairs. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD 861706.

Measuring software design complexity

Architectural design complexity derives from two sources: structural (or intermodule) complexity and local (or intramodule) complexity. These complexity attributes can be defined in terms of functions of the number of I/O variables and fanout of the modules comprising the design. A complexity indicator based on these measures showed good agreement with a subjective assessment of design quality but even better agreement with an objective measure of software error rate. Although based on a study of only eight medium-scale scientific projects, the data strongly support the value of the proposed complexity measure in this context. Furthermore, graphic representations of the software designs demonstrate structural differences corresponding to the results of the numerical complexity analysis. The proposed complexity indicator seems likely to be a useful tool for evaluating design quality before committing the design to code.

Entropy metrics for software design evaluation

Several metrics for the quality assessment of a software system design are discussed. The metrics are based on the entropy function of communication information theory. The design of software systems is viewed as a trade-off between the information contained within a subsystem and the information shared among the subsystems of a given system. Since information can be shared in different ways by different system designs, we can compute the excess entropy and thereby rank different design alternatives. Consequently, the quality improvement due to reconfigurations can be determined by calculating the excess entropies for each reconfiguration.