Software Engineering Methods Research Articles

Integration of the software engineering theory and the quality function deployment methodology for supporting the measurement of the state of progress in software projects

A fundamental practice to fulfill the objectives in a software project, is to measure its state of progress so that corrective actions can be taken timely. Most of approaches supporting measurement processes are focused on describing techniques to deal with these measurements from a project management perspective. However, these approaches lack of strategies that facilitate an adequate integration, understanding and application by professionals in software development area. In addition, the lack of rigor of such proposals hinders the establishment of common practices and give rise to unreliable results. This paper is aimed at providing an approach that satisfy the need of using frameworks standardized and easily adopted in order to support the measurement in the software development. To do this, we use the elements provided by SEMAT (Software Engineering Method and Theory) and the procedures established by QFD (Quality Function Deployment) by generating a proposal which includes a representation standardized and a method to analyze the needs of measurement from customer perspective. Also, a mapping review and a study based on interviews intended to assure the reliability of the findings exhibited in this paper were done.

Онтология жизненного цикла разработки программного обеспечения

The article highlights the problem of presenting knowledge on the models of software life cycle, the importance of which can be explained by the rapid progress of software engineering methods, by the absence of a formally easily extensible knowledge model in this subject area, and by the fact that cycle time selection models and the proposed development methodology have a significant impact on the success of software projects. System analysis 
 of the main types of software development methodologies, life cycle models and their phases has been carried out. The results of studying the representation of software life cycle models in the form of ontologies are presented. The ontology “Software development life cycle” (SDLC) has been developed. It is designed to represent knowledge about various models of the software life cycle, phases (stages) of the life cycle inherent in different models, and the possibility of describing the recurrence of phases. The ontology allows describing models both within predictive development methodologies (waterfall, incremental) and within agile development methodologies (Scrum, Kanban). Classes, properties and axioms of the ontology are described, on the basis of which it is possible to produce a formal logical inference. The SDLC ontology is developed on top of the Semantic Web formats (in OWL language), published in the public domain and presents a developing, easily extensible project. This can probably be used in the field of software development for practical or research purposes. There is also introduced the idea of a software shell that uses the presented ontology, which will allow, according to the given parameters, to choose the most appropriate methodology for the project, which will simplify the development process, avoid errors and reduce development time.

UaiGuia: Enhancing tourist experiences in São João del-Rei, Brazil, through personalized route creation and cultural immersion

<p>Digital transformation is becoming increasingly essential for developing the global economy. Within this advancement framework lies the tourism industry, where the growing demand from travelers for new experiences drives the search for increasingly technological solutions. Among the many tourism segments are religious, natural, gastronomic, and cultural tourism. These, in turn, seek to offer travelers personalized options based on individual preferences and specific interests. Given the significant growth of Brazilian tourism in recent years, it seems coherent to enhance new technologies that can invigorate the sector. In this regard, this research proposes the development of a mobile application designed to assist users in creating personalized routes in the city of São João del-Rei (Brazil). The study employed design science research with software engineering methods to achieve the desired outcome. The result is the creation of the mobile application called UaiGuia, which provides a distinct approach to exploring the rich culture and tourist attractions in the city of São João del-Rei. The app’s main characteristic is allowing tourists to create routes based on their interests according to the local features. Moreover, access to cultural events, festivals, and other attractions via the application enhances the stay in the city even further, supporting a better immersion in the richness of the region’s heritage.<strong></strong></p>

Design and Implementation of Clinical LIS360 Laboratory Management System Based on AI Technology

In order to realize the automation, standardization, and informatization of clinical laboratory work, this research topic develops and accomplishes a set of laboratory information systems (LISs). According to the design methods of software engineering, we first understand user’s demand and the current work situation of clinical laboratory and establish the system case model using Unified Modeling Language (UML) modeling technique. During the system design period, we explain the key technology theories, network structure, system security policy and the connection scheme with hospital information system (HIS). During the system function design period, the system was designed with 6 modules, they are daily inspection work, inquire and statistics, quality control, data dictionary, system configuration, and other tools. Through establishing database model, we accomplish the system database structure design. After the system design, we perform system implementation and test, to show the interface of system implementation and test plan accordingly. The development and application of LIS360 laboratory information management system can greatly improve the management level of laboratory and promote the standardization, modernization, and science of laboratory management. This system has solved the traditional mode of sending test report sheet manually for many years in the laboratory and won valuable time for clinicians to know the patient's condition in time.

Machine Learning for Software Engineering: A Tertiary Study

Machine learning (ML) techniques increase the effectiveness of software engineering (SE) lifecycle activities. We systematically collected, quality-assessed, summarized, and categorized 83 reviews in ML for SE published between 2009 and 2022, covering 6,117 primary studies. The SE areas most tackled with ML are software quality and testing, while human-centered areas appear more challenging for ML. We propose a number of ML for SE research challenges and actions, including conducting further empirical validation and industrial studies on ML, reconsidering deficient SE methods, documenting and automating data collection and pipeline processes, reexamining how industrial practitioners distribute their proprietary data, and implementing incremental ML approaches.

Building a community‐centered archive for Cherokee language description, documentation, and reclamation

AbstractIn light of recent calls for decolonial approaches to Indigenous language learning, documentation, and reclamation, we describe the creation of a digital archive initiated and sustained by community collaboration. We work with members of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes to translate and analyze Cherokee texts. Cherokee speakers participate in the narrative commentary around these previously dormant texts. We find three ways in which a digital archive can be leveraged for language reclamation, description, and documentation, while being initiated and sustained by community collaboration: (a) by developing collaborative translation environments across communities of users, (b) by developing software engineering methods to build reliable infrastructure for the archive, and (c) by creating collaborative workflows that center community practices and design insights. Translating historically dormant texts for this archive creates a use‐inspired language act central to language description, documentation, and reclamation. The collective translation process of building this digital archive provides a sense of continuity that grounds language learning in use‐inspired practices. Going forward, we will continue to center speaker and community‐use‐inspired language practice as we expand the archive to support more types of community contributions and other languages.

Scrutinizing UML Teaching and Learning Modeling Tools

The purpose of this paper was to identify, synthesize, and analyze the modeling tools, especially those that support UML modeling and interactive learning methods for Software Engineering and Information Systems Design courses. The goals were to guide both professors and students to choose the proper modeling tools to support software engineering courses objectives. The research identified many successful modeling tools that can help students use what is suitable for learning UML modeling and contribute to engaging students in modeling. Moreover, this research used the meta-ethnography method for synthesizing qualitative results in the area of software engineering, especially modeling. Group of modelling tools have been chosen for this paper based on their usages popularity and successfulness in producing high quality design models.  The contribution of this paper is highlighting and defining the strengths, weakness, and limitations of each studied tool. &nbsp

Review of ways to apply machine learning methods in software engineering

This article reviews the integration of machine learning (ML) techniques into Software Engineering (SE) across various phases of the software development life cycle (SDLC). The purpose is to investigate the applications of ML in SE, analyze its methodologies, present findings, and draw conclusions regarding its impact. The study categorized ML applications in SE and assessed the performance of various ML algorithms. Authors identified ML applications in SDLC phases, including requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance. ML algorithms, such as supervised and unsupervised learning, are employed for tasks like software requirement identification, design pattern recognition, code generation, and automated testing. In summary, we find that ML-based techniques are experiencing a substantial surge in adoption within the field of software engineering. Nevertheless, it is evident that substantial endeavors are needed to establish thorough comparisons and synergies among these approaches, perform meaningful evaluations grounded in detailed real-world implementations that are applicable to industrial software development. Therefore, our key takeaway is the necessity for a shift in focus towards reproducible research, prioritizing this over isolated novel concepts. Failure to do so may result in the limited practical implementation of these promising applications.

Special issue on ‘Software Engineering and Formal Methods’

Special issue on ‘Software Engineering and Formal Methods’

Application of software engineering methods in computer software development

Application of software engineering methods in computer software development

Software assistants in software engineering: A systematic mapping study

AbstractThe increasing essential complexity of software systems makes current software engineering methods and practices fall short in many occasions. Software assistants have the ability to help humans achieve a variety of tasks, including the development of software. Such assistants, which show human‐like competences such as autonomy and intelligence, help software engineers do their job by empowering them with new knowledge. This article investigates the research efforts that have been conducted on the creation of assistants for software design, construction and maintenance paying special attention to the user‐assistant interactions. To this end, we followed the standard systematic mapping study method to identify and classify relevant works in the state of the art. Out of the 7580 articles resulting from the automatic search, we identified 112 primary studies that present works which qualify as software assistants. We provide all the resources needed to reproduce our study. We report on the trends and goals of the assistants, the tasks they perform, how they interact with users, the technologies and mechanisms they exploit to embed intelligence and provide knowledge, and their level of automation. We propose a classification of software assistants based on interactions and present an analysis of the different automation patterns. As outcomes of our study, we provide a classification of software assistants dealing with the design, construction and maintenance phases of software development, we discuss the results, identify open lines of work and challenges and call for new innovative and rigorous research efforts in this field.

Teaching Methods in Software Engineering: A Systematic Review

This study presents the results of a meta-analysis on teaching methods used in software engineering (SE) courses. The results summarize the most common teaching methods and can be used by both educators and practitioners in better alignment of SE courses with industry-relevant knowledge, tools, and practices.

Export Management Information System: Evidence from Willbes Global Purwadadi Inc.

The case study in this research is the export goods data report at Willbess Global Inc. The purpose of this research is to design an information system for managing data on export goods based on a website at Willbess Global Inc.. This can help the process of inputting export goods data. Willbess Global Inc. always strives to improve its business process services, especially in the field of exporting goods with more systematic data processing. The research method used is the Rational Unified Process (RUP) which is a software engineering method developed by collecting various best practices in the software development industry. RUP uses an object oriented concept, with activities that focus on model development using the Unified Model Language (UML). This research has produced information system functions contained in each process of functional requirements such as managing, deleting, and changing information data on export goods data, data on types of transportation equipment used and data for export goods travel documents.

Model-Driven Engineering of Process-Aware Information Systems

Enterprise information systems created with model-driven software engineering methods need to handle not only data but also business processes in an automated way. This paper shows how to engineer process-aware information systems following the model-driven and generative software engineering paradigms. Existing approaches realize either the generation of automated or manual activities but do not employ model-driven engineering of all system aspects through systematic language composition. A generative approach that additionally uses process modeling languages allows developers to evolve generated data-centric information systems into process-aware information systems. To be usable within our generation process, we have developed a textual BPMN version and a corresponding language tooling to check the soundness of the models. We have included these process models into the generation process of an information system together with other domain-specific modeling languages, e.g., for data structures, and generate an extendable, process-aware information system that is open for continuous regeneration and hand-written additions. This approach allows us to lift a generated data-centric information system to a process-aware information system. Agile development enabled through the opportunity to validate assumptions automatically and adapt changes efficiently, enhances the engineering process as well as the generated systems themselves.

Digital medicine: expectations and prospects

The purpose of the research is to systematize the problems of the branch, formulate goals and objectives, search for methods and software and organizational solutions for digital medicine. Applied systems analysis, software engineering and artificial intelligence methods are used as research methods. The result of the research is the digital platform “Health History”, an organizational and technical system, which is a working prototype of a system solution for the reorganization of processes. The conclusion is postulated about the need for fundamental organizational changes in medicine based on information technologies, which is the essence of the digital transformation of healthcare.

Agile MERODE: a model-driven software engineering method for user-centric and value-based development

Agile MERODE: a model-driven software engineering method for user-centric and value-based development

A Model-Based Approach for Common Representation and Description of Robotics Software Architectures

Unlike conventional software, robotic software suffers from a lack of methods and processes that could systematize and facilitate development. Thus, the application of software engineering techniques is at the heart of current issues in robotics. The work presented in this paper aims to facilitate the development of robotic software and to facilitate communication between experts in the field through the use of software engineering techniques and methods. It proposes RsaML (Robotic Software Architecture Modeling Language), a Domain Specific Modeling Language (DSML) dedicated to robotics, which takes into account the different categories of robotic software architectures and makes it possible to describe the latter independently from the implementation platform. The conceptual model defining the terminology and the hierarchy of concepts used for the description and representation of robotic software architectures in RsaML are presented in this article. RsaML is defined through a meta-model which represents the abstract syntax of the language. The real-time properties of robotic software architectures are identified and included in the meta-model. The use of RsaML is illustrated through several experimental scenarios of the language: the definition of a robotic system and the description of its software architecture, the verification of the semantics of a robotic software architecture, and the modeling of a robotic system whose software architecture does not belong to the usual categories. The support tool used for implementations and experimentation is Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF). The results of experimentation showed good working of the proposed solution and made it possible to validate the main concepts of the RsaML language.

Green Configuration: Can Artificial Intelligence Help Reduce Energy Consumption of Configurable Software Systems?

Reducing energy consumption of IT systems is fundamentally important for saving cost and reducing CO2 emissions. We explain the limits of pure artificial intelligence/machine learning (ML) methods when focusing on the source code and outline a conceptual framework for combining software engineering methods and ML to build white-box energy models.

UCLAONT: Ontology-Based UML Class Models Verification Tool

The software design model performs an important role in modern software engineering methods. Especially in Model-Driven Engineering (MDE), it is treated as an essential asset of software development; even programming language code is produced by the models. If the model has errors, then they can propagate into the code. Model verification tools check the presence of errors in the model. This paper shows how a UML class model verification tool has been built to support complex models and unsupported elements such as XOR constraints and dependency relationships. This tool uses ontology for verifying the UML class model. It takes a class model in XMI format and generates the OWL file. Performs verification of model in two steps: (1) uses the ontology-based algorithm to verify association multiplicity constraints; and (2) uses ontology reasoner for the verification of XOR constraints and dependency relationships. The results show the proposed tool improves the verification efficiency and supports the verification of UML class model elements that have not been supported by any existing tool.

A Software Development Lifecycle Case Study on: Diet Recommendation System based on User Activities

This paper focuses on the methods of software engineering which can be helpful to various people working on huge projects with teams. This paper considers diet application as a case study. The main aim of the proposed system (diet application) is to give its users a healthy and balanced diet. The application is made in Flutter to ensure it reaches most of the audience and maximum people can receive its benefits. This paper is mostly based on the process used to create the application and all the views, processes, and architecture of the same. Some of the methods which are mentioned in the paper are the implementation of product backlog for the proposed system in association with a planning poker activity. The paper also has various Unified Modelling Language (UML) views in order to explain the design, implementation, use case and deployment of the proposed system.