Software Development Approach Research Articles

To what extent the medical device software regulations can be achieved with agile software development methods? XP—DSDM—Scrum

For medical device software development organizations, it is very challenging to maintain both conformance to the strict regulatory requirements enforced by the safety-critical nature of the domain and achieve efficiency in software development. Agile software development methods provide promising solutions to overcome the efficiency issues and the challenges of traditional software development approaches in the domain. Previously, we investigated to what extent the regulatory requirements defined in MDevSPICE® (the software process assessment framework for medical device software development) are met through using eXtreme Programming (XP) and Scrum and what additional practices have to be performed to ensure safety and regulatory compliance in the medical device software development domain. In this paper, we extended the research to include the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) which covers the whole software development life cycle. Here, we provide a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of XP’s and DSDM’s suitability for medical device software development and briefly discuss Scrum from the same perspective. We provide the coverage ratios of processes and practices defined in MDevSPICE® when these agile software development methods are implemented.

Effectual application development on digital platforms

The development of novel software applications on digital platforms differs radically from traditional software development. In this position paper, we posit that software development managers and teams face unique challenges in platform environments and require new development approaches to be successful. While traditional software development approaches have focused on achieving application-market match, platform-based applications must also achieve application-platform match, application-market match, value propositions exceeding platform’s core value propositions, and novelty. We argue that these desired properties support a new vision of the software development team as entrepreneurs. To support this positioning insight, we discuss the limitations of existing software development approaches and introduce an innovative approach for application development on digital platforms that is grounded in the theory of effectuation from the field of entrepreneurship. We investigate an existing application development environment (Apache Cordova) on digital platforms to see if the concepts of effectuation are present. The preliminary findings provide support for the promise of effectual development methods. We conclude with a call for innovative effectual methods of software development on digital platforms and an accompanying research agenda.

Agile architecture in the digital era: Trends and practices

The speed of response to change and fluidity are key preconditions for the next generation of IT solutions in the digital world. We are witnessing a rather unimaginable expansion of the use of technology in everyday life, on the one hand, and a continuous increase in the speed of software delivery, on the other, which significantly increased expectations and contributed to the adoption of agile methods and practices, shifting the pendulum of software architecture from traditional to agile methods and practices. Agile architecture, as a result of the transformation of a traditional and agile approach to software development, is a new approach that uses agile techniques to deliver a flexible architecture, adaptable to changing demands, tolerant to changes, which is the result of the iterative-incremental design of the agile process of software development. In recent years, there has been a shift in focus, in practice and research, from people and processes to integration technologies and application's hosting, which has led to the emergence of microservices and increased interest in software architecture and design. One consequence of this is the emergence and development of new approaches in the process of building Agile architecture, such as Continuous Architecting, Lean Architecting or Evolutionary Architecting, which essentially share the same goals. In this connection, in order to understand better the concept and the new role of Agile architecture in the digital era, it is necessary to study the genesis of Agile architecture, as a special approach in software development, to identify current trends and practices that are adapted to the contemporary digital environment (scalability, distribution, complexity). The results of conducted systematic literature review will help researchers and practitioners in better understanding of what Agile architecture is and its role, the current trends and directions of future development, and practices that are particularly useful in the development of complex software, with the aim of broadening the application and improvement of the agile software development process.

Model-Driven Integration Testingof Hypermedia Systems

The proper design of Representational State Transfer (REST) APIs is not trivial because developers have to deal with a flood of recommendations and best practices, especially the proper application of the hypermedia constraint requires some decent experience. Furthermore, testing RESTful APIs is a missing topic within literature. Especially hypermedia testing is not mentioned at all. Manual hypermedia testing is time-consuming and hard to maintain. Testing a hypermedia API requires many test cases that have similar structure, especially when different user roles and error cases are considered. In order to tackle this problem, we proposed a Model-Driven Testing (MDT) approach for hypermedia systems using the metamodel within our existing Model Driven Software Development (MDSD) approach. This work discusses challenges and results of hypermedia testing for RESTful APIs using MDT techniques that were discovered within our research. MDT allows white-box testing, hence covering complete program structure and behavior of the generated application. By doing this, we are able to achieve a high automated test coverage. Moreover, any runtime behavior deviated from the metamodel reveals bugs within the generators.

Multimodal Human-Robot Interface for Accessible Remote Robotic Interventions in Hazardous Environments

Human-Robot Interfaces have a key role in the design of secure and efficient robotic systems. Great effort has been put during the past decades on the design of advanced interfaces for domestic and industrial robots. However, robots for intervention in unplanned and hazardous scenarios still need further research, especially when the mission requires the use of multiple robotic systems, to obtain an acceptable level of usability and safety. This paper describes the design and the software engineering process behind the development of a modular and multimodal Human-Robot Interface for intervention with a cooperative team of robots, as well as its validation and commissioning, as it is being used in real operations at CERN's accelerators complex. The proposed Human-Robot Interface allows the control of a heterogeneous set of robots homogeneously, providing the operator, among other features, with live scripting functionalities which can be programmed and adapted in run-time, for example, to increase operator's multi-tasking in a multi-agent scenario. The operator is given the capability to enter in the control loop between the HRI and the robot and customize the control commands according to the operation. To provide such functionalities, well-defined software development approaches have been adopted, for guaranteeing the modularity and the safety of the system during its continuous development. The paper describes the modules offered by the HRI, such as the multimodality, multi-robot control, safety, operators training, and communications architecture, among others. The HRI and the CERN Robotic Framework where it belongs are designed in a modular manner, in order to be able to adapt both, software and hardware architecture in a short time, to the next planned mission. Results present the experience gained with the system, demonstrating a high level of usability, learnability and safety when operated by both, non-experts and qualified robotic operators. The multimodal user interface has demonstrated to be very accurate and secure, providing a unique system to control, in a teleoperated or supervised manner, both single and multiple heterogeneous mobile manipulators. At the moment of writing, the user interface has been successfully used in 100 real interventions in radioactive industrial environments. The presented HRI is a novel research contribution in terms of multimodality, adaptability and modularity for mobile manipulator robotic teams in radioactive environments, especially for its software architecture, as part of the CERN Robotic Framework.

A Modular Aspect-Oriented Programming Approach of Join Point Interfaces

This paper describes and analyzes the main differ-ences and advantages of the Join Point Interfaces (JPI) as an Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) approach for the modular software production concerning the standard aspect-oriented pro-gramming methodology for Java (AspectJ) to propose a structural modeling approach looking for modular software solutions. Using a Software Engineering point-of-view, we highlight the relevance of structural and conceptual design for JPI software applications. We model and implement a classic example of AOP using AspectJ and JPI as an application example to review their main difference and highlight the JPI consistency between products (models and code). Our proposal of UML JPI class diagrams allows the definition of oblivious classes which know about their JPI connections, an essential element to adapt and transform tradition like-AspectJ AOP solutions to their JPI version. Thus, for the modular software production and education, JPI seems an ideal software development approach.

Operational and Strategic Learning in Global Software Development - Implications from two Offshoring Case Studies in Small Enterprises

Small to medium-sized software enterprises (SME) increasingly participate in offshoring activities. Detecting market niches and deploying highly flexible software development approaches are seen as key competitive abilities of SME. Therefore, it is of major importance to learn how offshoring affects these capabilities which are closely related to organizational learning. We present case studies from two German companies that engage in offshoring of software development. By comparing the cases with each other, we highlight the different structures the companies chose for their development work and how these structures were enacted in practice. Furthermore, we show how related practices affect strategic and operational aspects of Argyris et al.’s (1985) conception of single- and double-loop learning. Our case studies show that organizational learning is a problem for SME engaged in offshoring and that an inability for double-loop learning can even lead to failures in case of organizational restructuring.

Tailoring Agile-Based Software Development Processes

Software development process tailoring is a standard and regular practice of software development companies. Without realizing it as a regular and well-defined standard approach, companies perform it on an ad-hoc basis. Due to which, process tailoring could not be developed into a formal process and approach to managing software development, processes and projects. Software development process paradigm shift from conventional software development approaches to the agile methodologies left many companies struggling with the reusability of the existing processes and defining new processes from scratch. Limited work on process tailoring and lack of a formal approach, particularly for overwhelmingly used agile methodologies, affected the acknowledgment of this process. Addressing this limitation, present research work formulates a process tailoring framework to tailor agile-based software development processes. The proposed framework recommends tailoring three key processes of agile methodologies based on the project state considering the client’s perspective and requirements. The existing literature have been reviewed to develop a theoretical framework which is verified and validated through structured interviews and case study of real projects. The framework provides a formal and a structured approach to tailor agile-based processes and methodologies.

Применение подхода Fuzzy-DEMATEL при анализе проблем мобильных приложений

In the current scenario, the popularity of smartphones has led to the emergence of an ample collection of mobile applications (apps). Mobile apps are dynamic in nature; therefore, classical software development approaches are not suitable. Individual needs of the customer, new technology, battery consumption, and many more issues force app developers regularly introduce new apps to the market. But due to the unavailability of any formal and customized practices of app development, various issues occur in mobile apps. These issues may adversely affect the application and user acceptance of the end product. In this paper, fifteen issues in mobile apps have been identified. Then we applied Fuzzy-DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) method to analyze the critical mobile issues (CMIs) and divide these issues into cause and effect groups. Firstly, multiple experts evaluate the direct relations of influential issues in mobile apps. The evaluation results are presented in triangular fuzzy numbers (TFN). Secondly, convert the linguistic terms into TFN. Thirdly, based on DEMATEL, the cause-effect classifications of issues are obtained. Finally, the issues in the cause category are identified as CMIs in mobile apps. The outcome of the research is compared with the other variants of DEMATEL like G-DEMATEL and E-DEMATEL and the comparative results suggest that fuzzy-DEMATEL is the most fitting method to analyze the interrelationship of different issues in mobile apps development. The outcome of this work definitely assists the mobile apps development industry to successful identification of the serious issues where professionals and project managers could really focus on.

Software project management approaches for global software development: a systematic mapping study

Global Software Development (GSD) is a well established field of software engineering with the benefits of a global environment. Software Project Management (SPM) plays a key role in the success of GSD. As a result, the need has arisen to study and evaluate the downsides of SPM for GSD, to thereby pave the way for the development of new methods, techniques, and tools with which to tackle them. This paper aims to identify and classify research on SPM approaches for GSD that are available in the literature, to identify their current weaknesses and strengths, and to analyze their applications in industry. We performed a Systematic Mapping Study (SMS) based on six classification criteria. Eighty-four papers were selected and analyzed. The results indicate that interest in SPM for GSD has been increasing since 2006. As a class of approaches, the most frequently reported methods (40%) are those used for coordination, planning, and monitoring, along with estimation techniques that can be used to better match a distributed project. SPM for GSD requires further investigation by researchers and practitioners, particularly with respect to cost and time estimations. These findings will help overcome the challenges that must to be considered in future SPM research for GSD, especially regarding collaboration and time-zone differences.

Information quality requirements engineering with STS-IQ

ContextInformation Quality (IQ) is particularly important for organizations: they depend on information for managing their daily tasks and relying on low-quality information may negatively influence their overall performance. Despite this, the literature shows that most software development approaches do not consider IQ requirements during the system design, which leaves the system open to different kinds of vulnerabilities. ObjectiveThe main objective of this research is proposing a framework for modeling and analyzing IQ requirements for Socio-Technical Systems (STS). MethodWe propose STS-IQ, a goal-oriented framework for modeling and analyzing IQ requirements in their social and organizational context since the early phases of the system design. The framework extends and refines our previous work, and it consists of: (i) a modeling language that provides concepts and constructs for modeling IQ requirements; (ii) a set of analysis techniques that support the verification of the correctness and consistency of the IQ requirements model; (iii) a mechanism for deriving the final IQ specifications in terms of IQ policies; (iv) a methodology to assist software engineers during the system design; and (v) a CASE tool, namely STS-IQ Tool. ResultWe demonstrated the applicability, usefulness, and scalability of the modeling and reasoning techniques within a stock market case study, and we also evaluated the usability and utility of the framework with end-users. ConclusionWe conclude that the STS-IQ framework supports the modeling and analysis of IQ requirements, and also the derivation of precise IQ specifications in terms of IQ policies. Therefore, we believe it has potential in practice.

An Approach for Software Development for the Management of an Assembly Line

An Approach for Software Development for the Management of an Assembly Line

REPEATABLE DEPLOYMENT OF AN OPEN STANDARDS, OPEN SOURCE AND OPEN DATA STACK FOR BUILDING A FEDERATED MARINE DATA MANAGEMENT AND DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract. The National Oceans and Coastal Information Management System (OCIMS) of South Africa is a large, integrated IT system for enhancing oceans, coastal and maritime governance, and supporting sustainable economic utilisation of ocean and coastal resources. This article is a case study, describing how a range of Free and Open Source Software are deployed to generate the Open Standards based core of this federated system for providing decision support applications in addition to data and information management, access and dissemination services. This article demonstrates the importance of modern software development and deployment approaches in constructing the OCIMS core and easing the integration process with other systems in the federation. Finally, this article discusses some lessons learned and reflects on the lineage of OCIMS architectural choices and how these approaches may need to adapt to changing computing environments.

User Involvement in Continuous Experimentation

Software product and service companies need capabilities to evaluate their development decisions and customer and user value. Continuous experimentation, as an experiment-driven development approach, may reduce such development risks by iteratively testing product and service assumptions that are critical to the success of the software. Experimentdriven development is gaining increasing attention by the practitioners, yet it is a novel research area to be investigated. Involving users and customers in the software development process and understanding their needs and behaviors are essential aspects when building successful software products and services. Continuous experimentation approach in software development comprises user involvement by its nature, however, due to novelty of the concept, there is no clear understanding of the user involvement practices. My doctoral project aims to investigate how software development organizations can involve the users in continuous experimentation. The contributions of the research are to a) find out how involve users in software companies that begin to adopt continuous experimentation approach, b) identify the barriers hindering involving the users in the approach, and c) investigate what kinds of strategies have been used for experimentation with different software product and services.

Literature review of flexibility attributes: A flexibility framework for software developing organization

AbstractSoftware developing organizations strive to achieve flexibility to maintain a competitive advantage. There is no common understanding of what characterize flexibility for a software organization beyond the scope of the software product. Without a common understanding, it is difficult to evaluate the degrees of flexibility of software development approaches. The aim of this literature review is to collect attributes that characterize flexibility. The collected attributes are consolidated into a flexibility framework with 3 main attributes: properties of change, flexibility perspectives, and flexibility enablers. The resulting flexibility framework is then used to evaluate Agile and Lean practices. The evaluation shows that Agile and Lean practices address many flexibility attributes. However, some attributes are not addressed, such as infrastructure flexibility and strategic flexibility. On the basis of our evaluation, the classifications of flexibility attributes that we present in this paper could be used to aid software organization flexibility evaluation.

ПРО ПОРЯДОК ВИКОРИСТАННЯ ЛІЦЕНЗОВАНОГО ПРОГРАМНОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ДЛЯ РОЗРОБЛЕННЯ МОДЕЛЕЙ КОМП’ЮТЕРНОЇ ГРАФІКИ В МЕДИЧНІЙ ОСВІТІ

The problems dealing with the use of physical models in medical education are investigated. There is presented the approach for software development with possibility of interactive design of anatomic structures. The used software is oriented to the licensed availability and deployment in medical universities.

Investigation of employers’ performance expectations for new IT graduates in individual and team work settings for software development

PurposeIn general, software development work environments involve many different tasks and have high demands on efficiency and quality of performance at both individual and team levels, which depend on the competencies of employees. However, the literature does not provide satisfactory evidence as for the characteristics and competencies of individuals. Especially, the employers’ expectations of new graduates have not been investigated in detail for different work environments. The purpose of this paper is to examine employers’ expectancies regarding technical, personal and educational competencies among IT-graduated employees to provide a comparison between individual and team work settings.Design/methodology/approachA survey approach was used for this purpose, and the research model was tested using multiple regression.FindingsThe results revealed that significant diversity exists in individual and team work settings regarding employers’ expectations for new graduates’ competencies in terms of adapting to new software development methods and approaches, using time effectively and experience gained in undergraduate projects.Originality/valueThe results of this study will yield insight to computer-related departments in curriculum development by providing a comparison between the varying competencies required in individual and team work settings from the employer’s perspective. In the long run, the aim is to meet employers’ demands of the new graduates’ competencies, resulting in better individual and team performances in information technology companies, thereby leading to successful software development.

Defects Prediction and Prevention Approaches for Quality Software Development

The demand for distributed and complex business applications in the enterprise requires error-free and high-quality application systems. Unfortunately, most of the developed software contains certain defects which cause failure of a system. Such failures are unacceptable for the development in the critical or sensitive applications. This makes the development of high quality and defect free software extremely important in software development. It is important to better understand and compute the association among software defects and its failures for the effective prediction and elimination of these defects to decline the failure and improve software quality. This paper presents a review of software defects prediction and its prevention approaches for the quality software development. It also focuses a review on the potential and constraints of those mechanisms in quality product development and maintenance.

Database Strategy in Development of Digital Ecosystem for Quality Control in Education

The purpose of this research in educational environment is to improve the quality of the educational process with the help of new information technologies. The paper examines practical issues of digital ecosystems implementation in education on the basis of relational databases, as, from the authors’ point of view, in the organization data are less subject to change in time than business processes. Therefore the strategy of information systems development where the database functions as a cornerstone provides the result, that is more stable than, for example, a functional approach in software development. Within the frames of this research information technologies of quality control in education are being created. They are intended for the exact and full representation of teaching materials as a system used as a source of information for the assessment of learning and teaching materials and creation of electronic resources on this platform. The structure of the created database, operation practices and topical issues of its introduction in more large-scale digital ecosystems are considered. As a result the database ready for use as a management solution for higher education institutions is created. This is important as information technologies provide additional opportunities for the development in the sphere of higher education, quality improvement of the educational process. The authors conclude that introduction of innovative information technologies in management system of higher education institution is relevant and perspective.

Implicit and Explicit Knowledge Mining of Crowdsourced Communities: Architectural and Technology Verdicts

The use of social media especially community Q&A Sites by software development community has been increased significantly in past few years. The ever mounting data on these Q&A Sites has open up new horizons for research in multiple dimensions. Stackoverflow is repository of large amount of data related to software engineering. Software architecture and technology selection verdicts in SE have enormous and ultimate influence on overall properties and performance of software system, and pose risks to change if once implemented. Most of the risks in Software Engineering projects are directly or indirectly coupled with Architectural and Technology decisions (ATD). Advance Architectural knowledge availability and its utilization are crucial for decision making. Existing architecture and technology knowledge management approaches using software repositories give a rich insight to support architects by offering a wide spectrum of architecture and technology verdicts. However, they are mostly insourced and still depend on manual generation and maintenance of the architectural knowledge. This paper compares various software development approaches and suggests crowdsourcing as knowledge ripped approach and brings into use the most popular online software development community/Crowdsourced (StackOverflow) as a rich source of knowledge for technology decisions to support architecture knowledge management with a more reliable method of data mining for knowledge capturing. This is an exploratory study that follows a qualitative and qualitative e-content analysis approach. Our proposed framework finds relationships among technology and architecture related posts in this community to identify architecture-relevant and technology-related knowledge through explicit and implicit knowledge mining, and performs classification and clustering for the purpose of knowledge structuring for future work.