Software Development Strategies Research Articles

A survey of the state‐of‐the‐art approaches for evaluating trust in software ecosystems

AbstractThird‐party software has streamlined the software engineering process, allowed software engineers to focus on developing more advanced components, and reduced time and cost. This shift has led to software development strategies moving from competition to collaboration, resulting in the concept of software ecosystems, in which internal and external actors work together on shared platforms and place their trust in the ecosystem. However, the increase in shared components has also created challenges, especially in security, as the large dependency trees significantly enlarge a system's attack surface. The situation is made worse by the lack of effective ways to measure and ensure the trustworthiness of these components. In this article, we explore current approaches used to evaluate trust in software ecosystems, focusing on analyzing the specific techniques utilized, the primary factors in trust evaluation, the diverse formats for result presentation, as well as the software ecosystem entities considered in the approaches. Our goal is to provide the status of current trust evaluation approaches, including their limitations. We identify key challenges, including the limited coverage of software ecosystem entities; the objectivity, universality, and environmental impacts of the evaluation approaches; the risk assessment for the evaluation approaches; and the security attacks posed by trust evaluation in these approaches.

Research on an Unstructured Data Processing Strategy for Software Development

Research on an Unstructured Data Processing Strategy for Software Development

A Framework for Modeling and Detecting Security Vulnerabilities in Human-Machine Pair Programming

<p>To detect and mitigate security vulnerabilities early in the coding phase is an important strategy for secure software development. Existing solutions typically focus on finding certain vulnerabilities in certain computer systems without giving a systematic way of handling different types of vulnerabilities. In this paper, we present a framework for systematically modeling and detecting potential security vulnerabilities during the construction of programs using a particular programming paradigm known as Human-Machine Pair Programming. The framework provides designers with a general way of modeling a class of attacks in detail, and shows how programmers can discover and fix a vulnerability in a timely manner. Specifically, our framework advocates three primary steps: (1) generating an attack tree to model a given security threat, (2) constructing vulnerability-matching patterns based on the result of the attack tree analysis, and (3) detecting corresponding vulnerabilities based on the patterns during the program construction. We also present a case study to demonstrate how it works in practice.</p> <p> </p>

GronOR: Scalable and Accelerated Nonorthogonal Configuration Interaction for Molecular Fragment Wave Functions.

GronOR is a program package for nonorthogonal configuration interaction calculations. Electronic wave functions are constructed in terms of antisymmetrized products of multiconfiguration molecular fragment wave functions. The computational complexity of the nonorthogonal methodologies implemented in GronOR applied to large molecular assemblies requires a design that takes full advantage of massively parallel supercomputer architectures and accelerator technologies. This work describes the implementation strategy and resulting performance characteristics. In addition to parallelization and acceleration, the software development strategy includes aspects of fault resiliency and heterogeneous computing. The program was designed for large-scale supercomputers but also runs effectively on small clusters and workstations for small molecular systems. GronOR is available as open source to the scientific community.

An Agile Software Engineering Method to Design Blockchain Applications

Cryptocurrencies and its underlying technology, Blockchain, are transforming banking and economics by allowing trustworthy programs to exist without the requirement for a trusted counterpart. In recent years, the Blockchain and the programs that run on it, known as Smart Contracts, have seen increased use across all businesses that demand trust and verifiable credentials. Some have compared the "Blockchain revolution" to the early days of the Internet and the World Wide Web. As a result, all Blockchain-based software development is accelerating at a dizzying pace. Many software engineers argue that the widespread interest in Blockchain technology has resulted in haphazard and rushed software creation, a type of first-come, first-served competition that fails to assure software quality or take into consideration core software engineering ideas. This research tries to solve this issue by proposing a software development strategy for gathering requirements, assessing them, designing, creating, testing, and deploying Blockchain applications. Several Agile approaches are employed in the process, including User Stories and iterative and incremental development based on them. It does, however, employ more formal notations, such as UML diagrams that define the system's design, with improvements to express unique Blockchain concepts. The method is well discussed, including an example to illustrate how it works.

Intelligent Model Library for Nonferrous Metal Industry: Construction Method and Application

Nonferrous metal industry is the foundation of China’s substantial economy and plays a key role in national economy and defense construction. Industrial software is crucial for the high-quality development of the nonferrous metal industry and is associated with the in-depth implementation of national software development strategies. Currently, the industrial software development in the nonferrous metal industry is significantly restricted by the lack of knowledge models. Hence, we propose a method for constructing an intelligent model library for the nonferrous metal industry. Considering meta-model-driven engineering, we define the nonferrous metallurgical meta-model and its attributes, and propose a meta-modeling method based on the MODELING architecture. Additionally, we design an overall architecture for the intelligent model library based on industrial Internet, an agile model-development environment integrating multiple languages, and a meta-model encapsulation system based on multi-scenario black-box reuse. Moreover, a meta-model full lifecycle management platform is constructed based on a five-layer two-dimension classification standard and the domain knowledge graph. The intelligent model library for the nonferrous metal industry is developed based on the long-term accumulation of nonferrous metallurgy process mechanism, operating experiences, and intelligent methods. The good role of intelligent model library in improving the intelligent level in engineering applications is presented through the application of two typical nonferrous metallurgical scenarios. The intelligent model library of the nonferrous metal industry provides a core knowledge support for the development of industrial software and plays a fundamental role in promoting smart manufacturing and strengthening the nonferrous metal industry.

Cadxela: An educational tool for supporting the global software engineering education at undergraduate level

AbstractThe Global Software Development (GSD) strategy has introduced many benefits into the modern software industry, but it has also created many risks that can negatively affect the quality of the final product. Moreover, this approach is still in constant evolution and, therefore, diverse issues and challenges related to geographical, temporal, and sociocultural distances are also present. Therefore, many universities around the world are increasing their efforts in creating programs to prepare more skilled graduates to work in globally distributed environments. However, providing GSD courses among universities distributed in different locations is not so profitable and normally involves a high number of collaborations among various teachers and students that traditional teaching approaches cannot support. In this study, the Cadxela tool is presented to enable undergraduate students to acquire practical experience in GSD and improve their communication and teamwork skills. An empirical evaluation was conducted on Cadxela involving students and teachers from five universities in Mexico, Spain, Chile, Cuba, and Peru. The participants developed a total of 15 projects to experience different problems related to geographical, temporal, and sociocultural distances. The obtained results from pre and post‐evaluations showed that Cadxela can contribute to facilitating the development of practical projects on GSD undergraduate courses, while students develop their knowledge, social skills associated with this topic as well as teamwork and communication skills. Finally, the data collected on the teachers' perceptions suggested that Cadxela can also be a useful tool for introducing the GSD approach at the undergraduate level.

Utilizing Lean Software Methods To Improve Acceptance of Global eHealth Initiatives: Results From the Implementation of the Basic Emergency Care App.

BackgroundHealth systems in low- and middle-income countries face considerable challenges in providing high-quality accessible care. eHealth has had mounting interest as a possible solution given the unprecedented growth in mobile phone and internet technologies in these locations; however, few apps or software programs have, as of yet, gone beyond the testing phase, most downloads are never opened, and consistent use is extremely rare. This is believed to be due to a failure to engage and meet local stakeholder needs and the high costs of software development.ObjectiveWorld Health Organization Basic Emergency Care course participants requested a mobile point-of-care adjunct to the primary course material. Our team undertook the task of developing this solution through a community-based participatory model in an effort to meet trainees’ reported needs and avoid some of the abovementioned failings. We aimed to use the well-described Lean software development strategy—given our familiarity with its elements and its ubiquitous use in medicine, global health, and software development—to complete this task efficiently and with maximal stakeholder involvement.MethodsFrom September 2016 through January 2017, the Basic Emergency Care app was designed and developed at the University of California San Francisco. When a prototype was complete, it was piloted in Cape Town, South Africa and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania—World Health Organization Basic Emergency Care partner sites. Feedback from this pilot shaped continuous amendments to the app before subsequent user testing and study of the effect of use of the app on trainee retention of Basic Emergency Care course material.ResultsOur user-centered mobile app was developed with an iterative participatory approach with its first version available within 6 months and with high acceptance—95% of Basic Emergency Care Course participants felt that it was useful. Our solution had minimal direct costs and resulted in a robust infrastructure for subsequent assessment and maintenance and allows for efficient feedback and expansion.ConclusionsWe believe that utilizing Lean software development strategies may help global health advocates and researchers build eHealth solutions with a process that is familiar and with buy-in across stakeholders that is responsive, rapid to deploy, and sustainable.

Open to Your Rival: Competition between Open Source and Proprietary Software under Indirect Network Effects

ABSTRACT With the popularity of open source software (OSS) as an alternative to proprietary software (PS), proprietary-software firms such as IBM and Microsoft started to embrace this new paradigm during the past decades. We analyze how firms choose the software development strategy between OSS and PS, by constructing a duopoly model in which consumers sequentially purchase software and complementary services in a market that exhibits an indirect network effect. We show that a PS firm may benefit from the presence of an OSS firm, and the software market can be dominated by a single OSS if the indirect network effect is weak and the cost saving effect of OSS is negligible. We also show that the market can support two OSS if the cost saving effect of OSS is sizeable, and two PS if firms can provide fully compatible services to competitor’s PS. Building upon the existing works that investigate the competition between PS and OSS, this study improves our understanding of the role of OSS in firm’s software development strategy and market equilibrium.

A Digital Patient Portal for Patients With Multiple Sclerosis.

Background: Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that requires a complex, differential, and lifelong treatment strategy, which involves high monitoring efforts and the accumulation of numerous medical data. A fast and broad availability of care, as well as patient-relevant data and a stronger integration of patients and participating care providers into the complex treatment process is desirable. The aim of the ERDF-funded project “Integrated Care Portal Multiple Sclerosis” (IBMS) was to develop a pathway-based care model and a corresponding patient portal for MS patients and health care professionals (HCPs) as a digital tool to deliver the care model.Methods: The patient portal was created according to a patient-centered design approach which involves both the patients' and the professionals' view. Buurmann's five iterative phases were integrated into a design science research process. A problem analysis focusing on functions and user interfaces was conducted through surveys and workshops with MS patients and HCPs. Based on this, the patient portal was refined and a prototype of the portal was implemented using an agile software development strategy.Results: HCPs and patients already use digital hardware and are open to new technologies. Nevertheless, they desire improved (digital) communication and coordination between care providers. Both groups require a number of functions for the patient portal, which were implemented in the prototype. Usability tests with patients and HCPs are planned to consider whether the portal is deemed as usable, acceptable as well as functional to prepare for any needed ameliorations.Discussion: After testing the patient portal for usability, acceptability, and functionality, it will most likely be a useful and high-quality electronic health (eHealth) tool for patient management from day care to telerehabilitation. It implements clinical pathways in a manner which is comprehensible for patients. Future developments of the patient portal modules could include additional diseases, the integration of quality management and privacy management tools, and the use of artificial intelligence to personalize treatment strategies.

On Moderating Software Crowdsourcing Challenges

Crowdsourcing divides a task into small pieces that are carried out by the crowd. In Software Engineering, crowdsourcing divides the software development tasks of to be carried out online by the crow and is simply called Software Crowdsourcing (SW CS). Most SW CS platforms support this emerging software development strategy and operate within a framework of competition among the crowd. Competitive SW CS platforms intentionally minimize communication and collaboration among the parties involved (customer, platform, and crowd) while they compete in the software development tasks. The goal of this paper is to investigate platform moderators in SW CS challenges. Platform moderators are individuals who work for the SW CS platforms to mediate customer and crowd. A qualitative analysis of the content of the communication forums hosted on the TopCoder platform was performed to analyze the messages exchanged by the platform moderators and the crowd. Our empirical results indicate that co-pilots enforce and, at the same time, extend the limitations of the documentation associated with the tasks to support crowd members, provide technical help to crowd members during the competitions, and engage the crowd in the challenges. Co-pilots are organized, work diligently, worrying about being fair, and, at the same time, seeking to find a balance between autonomy and dependency on the customer. We conclude by providing insights to improve the design of software crowdsourcing platforms.

Towards Pattern-Based Change Verification Framework for Cloud-Enabled Healthcare Component-Based

To survive in the competitive environment, most organizations have adopted component-based software development strategies in the rapid technology advancement era and the proper utilization of cloud-based services. To facilitate the continuous configuration, reduce complexity, and faster system delivery for higher user satisfaction in dynamic scenarios. In cloud services, customers select services from web applications dynamically. Healthcare body sensors are commonly used for diagnosis and monitoring patients continuously for their emergency treatment. The healthcare devices are connected with mobile or laptop etc. on cloud environment with network and frequently change applications. Thus, organizations rely on regression testing during changes and implementation to validate the quality and reliability of the system after the alteration. However, for a large application with limited resources and frequently change component management activities in the cloud computing environment, component-based system verification is difficult and challenging due to irrelevant and redundant test cases and faults. In this study, proposed a test case selection and prioritization framework using a design pattern to increase the faults detection rate. First, we select test cases on frequently accessed components using observer patterns and, secondly, prioritize test cases on adopting some strategies. The proposed framework was validated by an experiment and compared with other techniques (previous faults based and random priority). Hence, experimental results show that the proposed framework successfully verified changes. Subsequently, the proposed framework increases the fault detection rate (i.e., more than 90%) than previous faults based and random priority (i.e., more than 80% respectively).

Enhanced regression testing technique for agile software development and continuous integration strategies

To survive in competitive marketplaces, most organizations have adopted agile methodologies to facilitate continuous integration and faster application delivery and rely on regression testing during application development to validate the quality and reliability of the software after changes have been made. Consequently, for large projects with cost and time constraints, it is extremely difficult to determine which test cases to run at the end of each release. In this paper, a test case prioritization and selection approach is proposed to improve the quality of releases. From existing literature, we analyzed prevailing problems and proposed solution relevant to regression testing in agile practices. The proposed approach is based on two phases. First, test cases are prioritized by clustering those test cases that frequently change. In case of a tie, test cases are prioritized based on their respective failure frequencies and coverage criteria. Second, test cases with a higher frequency of failure or coverage criteria are selected. The proposed technique was validated by an empirical study on three industrial subjects. The results show that the method successfully selects an optimal test suite and increases the fault detection rate (i.e., more than 90% in the case of proposed technique and less than 50% in other techniques), which reduces the number of irrelevant test cases and avoids detecting duplicate faults. The results of evaluation metrics illustrate that the proposed technique significantly outperform (i.e., between 91 and 97%) as compared to other existing regression testing techniques (i.e., between 52 and 68%). Therefore, our model enhances the test case prioritization and selection with the ability for earlier and high fault detection. Thus, pruning out irrelevant test cases and redundant faults and enhancing the regression testing process for agile applications.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ V-МОДЕЛІ ПРИ РОЗРОБЛЕННІ ТА ОЦІНЮВАННІ ЯКОСТІ ПРОГРАМНОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ЗАСОБІВ ВИМІРЮВАЛЬНОЇ ТЕХНІКИ

The research results of the features of the use of the V-model in the development and evaluation of the quality of software of measuring instruments (MI) were presented. The analysis of the possibility of using a cascade software development strategy and its application to assessing the quality of the software being developed was carried out. It is difficult to implement a classical cascade model in its pure form, therefore, variants of such a model with feedback between its separate stages was developed. The disadvantages and advantages of the V-model, which supports the cascade strategy of one-time execution of software development stages, are considered. The main purpose of the V-model is to provide planning testing software in the early stages of its development. V-model is aimed at simplifying the understanding of the complexity of software development. It is used to determine a single procedure for developing software, hardware and user interface. To reduce the shortcomings of the cascade strategy, a number of modifications of the V-model have been developed due to the type of feedback that provides the ability to modify the results of the previous stages of development. Specific guidelines and recommendations of international and regional organizations for legal metrology have been used to determine the components for quality assessment of MI software. The tasks of developing a MI software on the left side of the letter V begin with the definition of requirements to the MI itself, then to the MI software, and only then as a traditional software development. The V-model of the development and evaluation of the MI software quality is proposed, which allows you to adapt this model to a particular MI at the very beginning of the software development. It takes into account all the specific components of software testing for the MI. The degree of verification of the components of the MI software depends on the risk classes that are assigned to the software, depending on the MI for which it is created. The V-model of development and quality assessment of software of MI which takes into account all the specific components of the test are presented.

Juicing the game design process: towards a content centric framework for understanding and teaching game design in higher education

ABSTRACTThe aim of this article is to advance a framework for understanding and teaching game design in higher education, in order to address complexities inherent in teaching game design courses. Everyday teaching and learning game design often deviate from the standard textbook model of game design. In reality everyday teaching and learning operate with handling game design curriculum, how to think games, and how to organise the development process. The presented framework merge curriculum, thinking, and process guided by the game design concept of juiciness. The framework will be presented by dismantling the standard textbook model of game design into three; game design (curriculum), game design thinking (thinking), and game development (organisation). In this perspective game design is concerned with game mechanics, game design thinking preoccupied with paper prototyping, metaphor, and framing, while game developments addresses player experience including play and game testing. This article will coin vertical design as juiciness as opposed to horizontal design understood as expanding system layout. Juiciness will be placed as a guiding principle in the relationship between designers and designed content as an aspect of designer intentions and motivations. Lastly, the content centric framework will be presented by merging game design, game design thinking, game development, vertical design with selected aspects of accepted software development strategies as an approach to teaching and learning game design in higher education.

A flexible data acquisition system for storing the interactions on mashup user interfaces

Nowadays, mashups applications are growing in popularity. They are accessible by cross-device applications, supporting multiple forms of interaction in cloud environments. In general, mashups manage a huge amount of heterogeneous data from different sources and handle different kinds of users. In this respect, mashup User Interfaces are becoming one of the most important pieces in many kinds of current management systems, such as for certain geographic or environmental information systems working on the Internet. In this type of systems, the user interface plays a particular role due to the huge variety of components or apps that the users need to manage at the same time. However, currently, there has been scant attention paid to the management of the user’s interaction with mashups interfaces. This goal involves the need of having important, well-constructed tools and methods conducting the data acquisition process for managing properly: (a) the interaction over the mashup user interfaces, at the front-end side; (b) the storage of the interaction in relational databases; and (c) well-supported microservices structures handled in the cloud. The fact of having valuable and flexible data acquisition processes encourages the deployment of others important issues of the interaction management, i.e., data searching, data mining, marketing, security, accessibility, usability or traceability of interaction data, among others. In this article, we present a flexible Data Acquisition System capable of capturing the human-computer interactions performed by users over mashup (User) Interfaces with the aim of storing them in a relational database. Firstly, the morphology of traditional mashup applications, their specifications and the relevant information that surrounds an interaction have been studied. Thereupon, a data acquisition system that stores user interaction on mashup based on such specifications was constructed. To achieve that purpose, an architecture of microservices was also designed in the cloud to detect, acquire, and collect the interactions performed over this kind of interfaces. The whole process is ready for acquiring internal data of the information system as well as context information and location awareness. To validate the data acquisition system, some tests on empirical case studies have been developed. Efficiency and effectiveness have also been determined by evaluating the performance of the acquisition system during different load tests. Finally, in order to ensure the software quality, a continuous integration strategy for software development and an easy management of the code have been used, facilitating the software maintenance alongside the microservice architecture, where functionalities are well encapsulated.

Experiences of building a medical data acquisition system based on two-level modeling

Background and purposeCompared to traditional software development strategies, the two-level modeling approach is more flexible and applicable to build an information system in the medical domain. However, the standards of two-level modeling such as openEHR appear complex to medical professionals. This study aims to investigate, implement, and improve the two-level modeling approach, and discusses the experience of building a unified data acquisition system for four affiliated university hospitals based on this approach. MethodAfter the investigation, we simplified the approach of archetype modeling and developed a medical data acquisition system where medical experts can define the metadata for their own specialties by using a visual easy-to-use tool. ResultThe medical data acquisition system for multiple centers, clinical specialties, and diseases has been developed, and integrates the functions of metadata modeling, form design, and data acquisition. To date, 93,353 data items and 6,017 categories for 285 specific diseases have been created by medical experts, and over 25,000 patients’ information has been collected. Discussion and conclusionOpenEHR is an advanced two-level modeling method for medical data, but its idea to separate domain knowledge and technical concern is not easy to realize. Moreover, it is difficult to reach an agreement on archetype definition. Therefore, we adopted simpler metadata modeling, and employed What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) tools to further improve the usability of the system. Compared with the archetype definition, our approach lowers the difficulty. Nevertheless, to build such a system, every participant should have some knowledge in both medicine and information technology domains, as these interdisciplinary talents are necessary.

O MODELO ABERTO DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DE SOFTWARE EM PEQUENAS EMPRESAS BRASILEIRAS

Nas últimas décadas, o modelo aberto de desenvolvimento de software foi de passatempo de programadores, para inimigo de empresas de tecnologia e, mais recentemente, passou a ser uma estratégia destas. Sob o paradigma filosófico do Realismo Crítico, o estudo tem o objetivo de identificar os mecanismos envolvidos na decisão de adoção do modelo aberto de desenvolvimento de software por pequenas empresas brasileiras. Utilizando estudo de casos múltiplos, os dados contemplam quatro empresas brasileiras de tecnologia. O material qualitativo foi analisado utilizando técnicas indutivas e dedutivas, buscando evidências para suportar um modelo preliminar de pesquisa baseado na literatura e a identificação de novos fatores. O principal resultado do estudo foi a identificação de três fatores não endereçados pela literatura utilizada como base para o estudo, são eles: o receio de uso oportunista do código; o custo envolvido na adoção do modelo aberto de desenvolvimento; e, a instabilidade política. Aos gestores do mercado, permite a reavaliação de suas estratégias em relação ao desenvolvimento de software.

Dynamic software metric estimation (DSME): Tool using ArgoUML

Software cost estimation had been a challenge for the researchers. Due to various technologies and further researches in software development, the field of cost estimation gained an enormous scope for studies. Moreover, the growth of internet based technology and distribution made this problem quite popular. Component based software development strategies have been found to be advantages for software development companies. Cost estimation using static metric has been found to be helpful in pre decisions whereas dynamic metrics are helping for estimating cost of maintenance, system loads and suggests the improvement if required in the technology. The present paper proposes and provides an implementation of the DSME tool for evaluating the software metrics using dynamic metrics. For estimation of dynamic metrics current focus is on time sequence diagram processed using ArgoUML software tool.

Systematic literature review and empirical investigation of barriers to process improvement in global software development: Client–vendor perspective

ContextIncreasingly, software development organizations are adopting global software development (GSD) strategies, mainly because of the significant return on investment they produce. However, there are many challenges associated with GSD, particularly with regards to software process improvement (SPI). SPI can play a significant role in the successful execution of GSD projects. ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to identify barriers that can negatively affect SPI initiatives in GSD organizations from both client and vendor perspectives. MethodA systematic literature review (SLR) and survey questionnaire were used to identify and validate the barriers. ResultsTwenty-two barriers to successful SPI programs were identified. Results illustrate that the barriers identified using SLR and survey approaches have more similarities However, there were significant differences between the ranking of these barriers in the SLR and survey approaches, as indicated by the results of t-tests (for instance, t = 2.28, p = 0.011 < 0.05). Our findings demonstrate that there is a moderate positive correlation between the ranks obtained from the SLR and the empirical study (rs (22)= 0.567, p = 0.006). ConclusionsThe identified barriers can assist both client and vendor GSD organizations during initiation of an SPI program. Client-vendor classification was used to provide a broad picture of SPI programs, and their respective barriers. The top-ranked barriers can be used as a guide for GSD organizations prior to the initiation of an SPI program. We believe that the results of this study can be useful in tackling the problems associated with the implementation of SPI, which is vital to the success and progression of GSD organizations.