Rapid Software Development Research Articles

Model for web system development and management -Najran University as a model

With the rapid development of software and applications, the World Wide Web has become an appropriate environment for software and application development because these applications deployed on websites continuously. There is a need to update websites continuously. Most organizations update their data without having developed according to the appropriate methods and quality standards. Website development includes multiple areas, such as computer science, hypertext, graphic design, document management and software engineering. Therefore, we need a team having knowledge in all areas of website development. As a result, the development of Web applications has become more complex and challenging to a large number of organizations because there are various methods and techniques for developing websites and the lack of acceptable methodology or procedures for the development of websites. Therefore, there is a need to adopt integrated methodology for developing websites. This research proposes a new model for the development of all types of web systems called the Object Relationships Model for Web System Management (ORMFWSM). The model consists of ten interrelated phases and each phase consists of a set of activities that should be checked. If the new model was applied at Najran University website, it would improve the methods of development and management for Najran University website and it is going to be an adequate model to develop all types of web-based systems.

HOUGH TRANSFORM GENERATED STRONG IMAGE HASHING SCHEME FOR COPY DETECTION

The rapid development of image editing software has resulted in widespread unauthorized duplication of original images. This has given rise to the need to develop robust image hashing technique which can easily identify duplicate copies of the original images apart from differentiating it from different images. In this paper, we have proposed an image hashing technique based on discrete wavelet transform and Hough transform, which is robust to large number of image processing attacks including shifting and shearing. The input image is initially pre-processed to remove any kind of minor effects. Discrete wavelet transform is then applied to the pre-processed image to produce different wavelet coefficients from which different edges are detected by using a canny edge detector. Hough transform is finally applied to the edge-detected image to generate an image hash which is used for image identification. Different experiments were conducted to show that the proposed hashing technique has better robustness and discrimination performance as compared to the state-of-the-art techniques. Normalized average mean value difference is also calculated to show the performance of the proposed technique towards various image processing attacks. The proposed copy detection scheme can perform copy detection over large databases and can be considered to be a prototype for developing online real-time copy detection system.

From Start to Finish: A Framework for the Production of Small Area Official Statistics

SummarySmall area estimation is a research area in official and survey statistics of great practical relevance for national statistical institutes and related organizations. Despite rapid developments in methodology and software, researchers and users would benefit from having practical guidelines for the process of small area estimation. We propose a general framework for the production of small area statistics that is governed by the principle of parsimony and is based on three broadly defined stages, namely specification, analysis and adaptation, and evaluation. Emphasis is given to the interaction between a user of small area statistics and the statistician in specifying the target geography and parameters in the light of the available data. Model-free and model-dependent methods are described with a focus on model selection and testing, model diagnostics and adaptations such as use of data transformations. Uncertainty measures and the use of model and design-based simulations for method evaluation are also at the centre of the paper. We illustrate the application of the proposed framework by using real data for the estimation of non-linear deprivation indicators. Linear statistics, e.g. averages, are included as special cases of the general framework.

Increasing product owners\u2019 cognition and decision-making capabilities by data analysis approach

In this paper, we focus on the innovative advanced data analysis dedicated for product owners in software development teams. The goal of our novel solutions is to increase cognition and decision making in rapid software development process. The major contribution of this work is the methodology and the tool that gathers the input raw data from the tools such as GitLab or SonarQube, and processes the data further (e.g., using Apache Kafka, Kibana, and Spark) to calculate and visualize more advanced metrics, product factors (e.g., in accordance to Quamoco model), and indicators, and to find correlations between them. Then, such high-level data are shown to product owners to increase their cognition, situational awareness, and decision-making capabilities. We have now implemented the proof-of-concept system which was positively validated by product owners using the real data from their projects.

USE OF SIMULATION MODELS FOR OPTIMIZATION OF THE CONTACT APPARATUS WORK IN THE SULFURIC ACID PRODUCTION

In the modern world, in connection with the rapid development of computer technology and software widely used A far of processes in chemical industry is continuous and a production lasts twenty-four-hour. The stop of such processes results in considerable economic losses. Realization of active experiment on a production is complicated (through the necessity of stop of productive process and risk of damage of industrial equipment a researcher). Realization of passive experiment often does not give to the researcher of sufficient information about the looked after object (through the very small rejections of entrance signals of object and impossibility of influence a researcher on every entrance signal separately). An attractive alternative in this case is creation of simulation model.The aim of the article is a publication of results of the use of simulation models for optimization of work of pin vehicle in the production of sulphuric acid.Creation of simulation model settles many problems. There is possibility to set any values of entrance signals independent of each other. There is possibility to design emergency situations. In the modern world, transients in chemical industry last during many hours. By means of computer simulation models information about a transient it is possible to get almost instantly (depending on the amount of calculations and power of the computing engineering).Of long duration continuous process the process of pin oxidization can exemplify in the production of sulphuric acid. Oxidization of sulphureous anhydride SO2 in sulfuric SO3 takes place in pin vehicles at the presence of vanadium catalyst. Into a vehicle there are four layers of pin mass. Pin mass is placed on grates. One of basic indexes of quality of work of pin vehicles there is a degree of contact xp, which is calculated on a formula.As evidently from the results of design, the identical values of middle temperatures (levels) are situated along direct. This surface can be used for development of the system of automatic control. Will set the problem to support such temperature condition at which a middle temperature would be in the second area (green area). Thus a management would be near to optimal and there would not be a risk of stop of reaction in case of sudden hit in the area of stop of reaction (white area).On the real object the system of automatic control supports the stationary temperatures of gas on an entrance to every layer of pin mass (catalyst). As a rule gas temperatures on entrances to every layer lie within the limits of 420-450 °C. A maximal temperature on an exit from the layer of catalyst folds close 600 °C. Decline of gas temperature to 400 °C and below given to the stop of reaction (and it is impermissible in a continuous production). Transients in a pin vehicle last a few hours. The new start of process stipulates the considerable losses of time (id est is a loss). Increase of temperature to 650 °C and higher results in the overheat of catalyst to his spoilage. In this case it is necessary to stop a process and replace a catalyst (and these are very considerable material charges). Realization of active experiment is simply impermissible clearly, that. A simulation model enables how pleasingly to influence on a temperature condition into a pin vehicle. There is possibility to investigate temperature conditions near to the emergency (at a temperature on an entrance to one of layers of catalyst close or to the temperature on an exit from one of layers of catalyst close 650 °C).For creation of simulation model it is necessary foremost to formalize an object. For the mathematical design of behavior of object (dynamics and statics) it comfortably to use the system of differential equalizations. Differential equalizations can be got analytically from material balances. It is also possible to get differential equalizations after treatment of results of passive or active experiment. On results the conducted imitation design it is possible to do next conclusions:1. An object is almost not sensible to short-term indignations. Id est there is not a necessity to design the system of automatic control with a high fast-acting. Recommended to steel of time for control system by a concentration and gas temperature approximately equal to 10 minutes.2. Most dangerous for the process of pin oxidization is an increase of concentration of SO2. A nominal concentration is 7,4 %. At the increase of concentration gas must be diluted by air (for normalization of concentration). At development of the system of automatic control it follows to take into account next limitations: maximal static rejection of concentration ± 0,1 %; maximal dynamic (short-term) rejection of concentration ± 1 %.3. Desirable (near to optimal) are tasks of temperature and concentrations within the limits of the second area. Dependence between an optimal temperature and concentration entrance.

Q-Rapids framework for advanced data analysis to improve rapid software development

The quality of software, in particular developed rapidly, is quite a challenge for businesses and IT-dependent societies. Therefore, the H2020 Q-Rapids project consortium develops processes and tools to meet this challenge and improve the quality of the software to meet end-users requirements and needs. In this paper, we focus on data analytics that helps software development companies evaluate the quality of the software. In fact, most software development teams use tools such as GitLab, SonarQube or JIRA (among others) to assess the basic characteristics and metrics of the developed software. In this paper, we propose the framework that gathers basic data from the mentioned tools, and processes the data further (e.g. using Apache Kafka, Kibana and Spark) to calculate more advanced metrics, product factors, indicators, and to find correlations between them. In this paper, we present the concept, the technical details, and the initial results of the advanced data analysis methodology. Furthermore, we provide discussion on how to use the system and show the future development directions. We have already implemented the system at software development SME and managed to find interesting characteristics and correlations about the software quality. The results, based on the real data, were interesting to the company product owners and team leaders, and more importantly helped them improve the software quality development process.

Structured Algorithm for Software Behavior Model based on Finite State Automaton

At present, with the rapid development of software, software security is very more and more serious. In order to solve the software security problem, it is necessary to monitor the software behavior. Therefore, this paper studies the differences between the running states of the software, and finds out and quantifies the differences, which further monitors the software behavior in software security. This paper analyzes the topology structure algorithm of software behavior model and proposes FSM Diff algorithm based on finite state automaton. FSM Diff algorithm is more effective to select the key state nodes. Besides, experiment shows that FSM Diff algorithm is effective to select the key state nodes in the software running state diagram.

Estimation of the tasks complexity for large-scale high-tech projects using Agile methodologies

The article describes the method of relative estimation of tasks which is used in Agile methodologies. The presented method is designed to reduce estimating time and requirements to developers. The article describes algorithms that provide the high accuracy to estimation of large projects with a relatively considerable number of tasks. The methodology advantages are in an error calculation of estimation and mathematical findings of the reference task which is necessary to tasks estimation. The algorithms can be automated which lowers time costs and requirements to the level of developers. These advantages are very important to implementation of the best Agile practices. This paper is intended for IT-project managers, analysts and practitioners involved in large digital projects, software developments, project management in the sphere of knowledge intensive projects implementation and execution. The approach described in this paper enables to review additional advantages for optimisation of time, cost and resource parameters of the projects especially in the up-to-date environment conditions taking into consideration rapid software development. The method proposed in the paper is based on the features of human perception of the tasks complexity.

Research on Method of Rapid Software Development Based on Component Design

Abstract This This article presents a quick way to develop your system with custom components in Delphi. Use the above method can minimize code duplication, improve work efficiency. In this paper, we apply this method to the development of information management system in a university based on the Data Snap three-tier architecture. Through practice, we find that the workload of the original three months, and we only need 20 days to complete. Therefore, adopting the rapid software development method based on component design proposed in this paper can not only shorten the programming time of management systems such as ERP and information management by more than two thirds, but also bring great advantages in system development.

HOUGH TRANSFORM GENERATED STRONG IMAGE HASHING SCHEME FOR COPY DETECTION

The rapid development of image editing software has resulted in widespread unauthorized duplication of original images. This has given rise to the need to develop robust image hashing technique which can easily identify duplicate copies of the original images apart from differentiating it from different images. In this paper, we have proposed an image hashing technique based on discrete wavelet transform and Hough transform, which is robust to large number of image processing attacks including shifting and shearing. The input image is initially pre-processed to remove any kind of minor effects. Discrete wavelet transform is then applied to the pre-processed image to produce different wavelet coefficients from which different edges are detected by using a canny edge detector. Hough transform is finally applied to the edge-detected image to generate an image hash which is used for image identification. Different experiments were conducted to show that the proposed hashing technique has better robustness and discrimination performance as compared to the state-of-the-art techniques. Normalized average mean value difference is also calculated to show the performance of the proposed technique towards various image processing attacks. The proposed copy detection scheme can perform copy detection over large databases and can be considered to be a prototype for developing online real-time copy detection system.

Recent progress of fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy technology and its application

In the past decade, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) has been widely used in biomedical research and other fields. As the fluorescence lifetime is unaffected by probe concentration, excitation intensity and photobleaching, the FLIM has the advantages of high specificity, high sensitivity and capability of quantitative measurement in monitoring microenvironment changes and reflecting the intermolecular interactions. Despite decades of technical development, the FLIM technology still faces some challenges in practical applications. For example, its resolution is still difficult to overcome the diffraction limit and the trade-off among imaging speed, image quality and lifetime accuracy needs to be considered. In recent years, a great advance in FLIM and its application has been made due to the rapid development of hardware and software and their integration with other optical technologies. In this review, we first introduce the principle and characteristics of FLIM technology based on time domain and frequency domain. We then summarize the latest progress of FLIM technology:1) imaging speed enhancement based on hardware improvement such as optimized time-correlated single photon counting module, single photon avalanche diode array detector, and acousto-optic deflector scanner; 2) lifetime measurement accuracy improvement by the proposed algorithms such as maximum likelihood estimate, Bayesian analysis and compressed sensing; 3) imaging quality enhancement and spatial resolution improvement by integrating FLIM with other optical technologies such as adaptive optics for correcting the aberration generated in the optical path, special illumination for equipping wide-field FLIM with optical sectioning ability, and super-resolution techniques for exceeding the resolution limit. We then highlight some recent applications in biomedical studies such as signal transduction or plant cell growth, disease diagnosis and treatment in cancers, Alzheimer's disease and skin diseases, assessment for toxicity and treatment efficiency of nanomaterials developed in the past few years. Finally, we present a short discussion on the current challenges and provide an outlook of the future development of enhanced imaging performance for FLIM technology. We hope that our summary on the state-of-the-art FLIM, our commentary on future challenges, and some proposed avenues for further advances will contribute to the development of FLIM technology and its applications in relevant fields.

Creating a 3D database of Svalbard’s historical sites: 3D inventory and virtual reconstruction of a mining building at Camp Asbestos, Wedel Jarlsberg Land, Svalbard

ABSTRACTMost of the historical sites of the Svalbard Archipelago comprise remains of whaling stations, trappers’ huts and mining activities. Although most parts of Svalbard lie within the boundaries of national parks, not all cultural remains have been thoroughly documented and catalogued. The rapid development of modelling software allows for (re-)creating the shapes of some of these historical objects in three-dimensional (3D) computer space, for use in research, education and cultural heritage conservation. Ideally, a database of 3D vector shapes representing various historical sites would be made available as an open-access resource. This article shows how such a database could be started. During the summer of 2015, a 3D inventory of the remains at some historical sites in north-western Wedel Jarlsberg Land, Svalbard, was performed with the use of a Leica C10 laser scanner. One was a mining building at a site known as Camp Asbestos, in Asbestodden, in inner Recherchefjorden. Later, data on its history...

Theoretical Aspects of the Use of Electronic Educational Resources in Professional Activity of Future Teachers of Technology

In this paper, we tried to determine the requirements for ESM, to study theoretical aspects of electronic educational resources in the professional activity of future teachers. The results created by the introduction of our course “Methodology development and use of electronic educational resources” for future teachers of technology ITOS in the process of professional specialty “Technology” in the educational process of higher educational institutions of Ukraine. The article states the rapid development of computer hardware and computer software, IT technologies have an opportunity to significantly develop the field of electronic educational resources. This is due to the emergence of global networks where information technologies have become the second paradigm, which is based on the current understanding of electronic educational resources. We determined that the dynamism inherent in information technology, enabling expectations of new approaches that will change the meaning of electronic educational resources

Gender Differences in Music Content Learning using a Virtual Platform in Secondary Education

Abstract Current education outlooks concur on the need to design effective learning settings adapted to the digital environment which students live in. The rapid development of software and computer tools has generated new teaching and learning spaces (Gamage, Tretiakov, & Crump, 2011). Leaving aside the issues derived from their implementation in the classroom ( Girvan & Savage, 2010 ), this study looks at the use of a virtual education platform for the subject of Music in Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO). The specific focus is to analyse how the music contents contemplated in Decree 38/2015 from May 22, which establishes the curriculum in Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) and the baccalaureate in Cantabria, can be covered in this space, as well as to examine gender differences in the attainment of these contents. To this end, we began with the current curriculum, following a mixed research design that on the one hand included a semi-structured interview with the teacher, and on the other, a questionnaire administered to 93 students of Year 1 of ESO in a public school of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria. The results obtained help justify the genesis and teaching purpose of the education platform, and at the same time present the perception and actual appropriateness of this setting for participants. The conclusions evidence that the gender differences found are the consequence of the attractive design of the activities, a circumstance that fosters greater motivation in the subject of Music in ESO.

Highly Maneuverable Low-Cost Underwater Glider: Design and Development

This letter presents the design and potential impact of the developed Research Oriented Underwater Glider for Hands-on Investigative Engineering (ROUGHIE). The ROUGHIE is an open-source, highly maneuverable, and low-cost vehicle that enables rapid development and testing of new hardware and software. ROUGHIE is an internally actuated glider capable of performing steady sawtooth glides in shallow water down to 3 m, tight turns with a minimum radius of 3 m, and a minimum endurance of 60 h. The novelty of this study is twofold: 1) a rail-based design to facilitate modularity and ease of assembly and 2) an effective internal rotary mass mechanism to increase maneuverability and perform tight turns. The ROUGHIE design strategically uses 3D printed plastic parts in low stress situations, which allows extreme design flexibility and enables tightly packed modules that can be easily customized.

Digital image modification detection using color information and its histograms

The rapid development of many open source and commercial image editing software makes the authenticity of the digital images questionable. Copy-move forgery is one of the most widely used tampering techniques to create desirable objects or conceal undesirable objects in a scene. Existing techniques reported in the literature to detect such tampering aim to improve the robustness of these methods against the use of JPEG compression, blurring, noise, or other types of post processing operations. These post processing operations are frequently used with the intention to conceal tampering and reduce tampering clues. A robust method based on the color moments and other five image descriptors is proposed in this paper. The method divides the image into fixed size overlapping blocks. Clustering operation divides entire search space into smaller pieces with similar color distribution. Blocks from the tampered regions will reside within the same cluster since both copied and moved regions have similar color distributions. Five image descriptors are used to extract block features, which makes the method more robust to post processing operations. An ensemble of deep compositional pattern-producing neural networks are trained with these extracted features. Similarity among feature vectors in clusters indicates possible forged regions. Experimental results show that the proposed method can detect copy-move forgery even if an image was distorted by gamma correction, addictive white Gaussian noise, JPEG compression, or blurring.

Efficient preparation and analysis of membrane and membrane protein systems

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have become a highly important technique to consider lipid membrane systems, and quite often they provide considerable added value to laboratory experiments. Rapid development of both software and hardware has enabled the increase of time and size scales reachable by MD simulations to match those attainable by several accurate experimental techniques. However, until recently, the quality and maturity of software tools available for building membrane models for simulations as well as analyzing the results of these simulations have seriously lagged behind.Here, we discuss the recent developments of such tools from the end-users' point of view. In particular, we review the software that can be employed to build lipid bilayers and other related structures with or without embedded membrane proteins to be employed in MD simulations. Additionally, we provide a brief critical insight into force fields and MD packages commonly used for membrane and membrane protein simulations. Finally, we list analysis tools that can be used to study the properties of membrane and membrane protein systems. In all these points we comment on the respective compatibility of the covered tools.We also share our opinion on the current state of the available software. We briefly discuss the most commonly employed tools and platforms on which new software can be built. We conclude the review by providing a few ideas and guidelines on how the development of tools can be further boosted to catch up with the rapid pace at which the field of membrane simulation progresses. This includes improving the compatibility between software tools and promoting the openness of the codes on which these applications rely.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Biosimulations edited by Ilpo Vattulainen and Tomasz Róg.

How leading companies practice software development and delivery to achieve a competitive edge

Purpose – Increasingly companies recognize that effective and rapid software development – from ideation to delivery – is crucial to achieving competitiveness. This article looks at how leading companies are establishing an enterprise capability for accelerated software delivery to differentiate themselves in the market. Design/methodology/approach – This research looks at how leading software organizations focus on software investments that efficiently and speedily deliver marketplace results. Findings – Successful companies build comprehensive skills in Agile and lean software development methods and for fostering extensive collaboration among business users, IT professionals and customers throughout the software development and delivery lifecycle. Practical implications – Advanced organizations are more likely to apply more mature development practices, such as service-oriented architecture (SOA) and Agile iterative development methods. Originality/value – Advanced organizations collaborate much more with customers and business partners to improve software development outcomes.

A Novel Machine Learning Approach for Bug Prediction

With the growing complexities of the software, the number of potential bugs is also increasing rapidly. These bugs hinder the rapid software development cycle. Bugs, if left unresolved, might cause problems in the long run. Also, without any prior knowledge about the location and the number of bugs, managers may not be able to allocate resources in an efficient way. In order to overcome this problem, researchers have devised numerous bug prediction approaches so far. The problem with the existing models is that the researchers have not been able to arrive at an optimized set of metrics. So, in this paper, we make an attempt to select the minimal number of best performing metrics, thereby keeping the model both simple and accurate at the same time. Most of the bug prediction models use regression for prediction and since regression is a technique to best approximate the training data set, the approximations don’t always fit well with the test data set. Keeping this in mind, we propose an algorithm to predict the bug proneness index using marginal R square values. Though regressions are performed as intermediary steps in this algorithm, the underlying logic is different in nature when compared with the models using regressions alone.

The Software behind Moore's Law

Moore's law describes exponential productivity in the semiconductor industry. It depends on rapid hardware and software development. Many hardware modules will be replaced in new products, while the total system software must remain consistent and high performing. This brings unique challenges, and this article discusses software development strategies.