Software Development Research Articles

Exploring the Influence of Software Evolution on Mobile App Accessibility: Insights from User Reviews

Software systems constantly evolve to accommodate stakeholders' and environments' requirements that change over time. In this process, the frequent modifications can increase software complexity and negatively impact its global quality when conducted in an unstructured way. The evolutive nature of mobile environments led researchers to investigate how mobile app evolution impacts complexity, security, resource consumption, maintainability, usability, and accessibility. In particular, there has been limited research on the impact of app updates on mobile accessibility: most studies focused on tracking the number of accessibility violations found by automated tools across successive versions of a small set of applications. In a previous work, we made a contribution to this field by identifying accessibility reviews associated with app updates and prompting ChatGPT-4 to provide an overview of the main accessibility issues and enhancements perceived by users in the new releases of a mobile app. In this manuscript, we extend our previous work by adopting manual content analysis to delve deeper into our research questions and by adding new research questions associated with the identification of reviews linked to app updates, user characteristics, WCAG principles and guidelines, and user demands reported in accessibility reviews. Our results show that the accessibility barriers reported by users are mostly linked to the WCAG 2.2 Perceivable principle, and the Distinguishable and Adaptable guidelines, which includes poor color scheme, small font size, unlabeled elements, and lack of customization options. Accordingly, the consequences of the lack of accessibility is mainly connected to the difficult users experience to perceive elements of the interface (e.g. difficult to read and distinguish content, watch videos) and to use screen readers, in addition to feel discriminated against. The most common demand developers and organizations receive is to bring back some accessible feature or to fix accessibility bugs.

Who uses personas in requirements engineering: The practitioners’ perspective

Context:Personas are commonly employed in software projects to better understand end-users needs. Despite their frequent usage, there is a limited understanding of their practical application and effectiveness. Objective:This paper aims to investigate the current practices, methods, and challenges associated with using personas in software development. Methods:A two-step investigation was conducted, comprising interviews with 26 software developers, UI/UX designers, business analysts, and product managers, along with a survey of 203 practitioners. Results:The findings reveal variations in the frequency and effectiveness of personas across different software projects and IT companies. Additionally, the study highlights the challenges practitioners face when using personas and the reasons for not using them. Notably, the research shows that some human aspects (e.g., the needs of users with disabilities), often assumed to be a key feature of personas, are frequently not considered for various reasons in requirements engineering. Conclusions:The study provides actionable insights for practitioners to overcome challenges in using personas during the requirements engineering stages. Furthermore, it identifies areas for future research to enhance the effectiveness of personas in software development.

Nurses' experiences and teaching suggestions regarding electronic patient record systems: qualitative method study

AimThe study was conducted to determine nurses' experiences with electronic patient record systems and their suggestions for incorporating them into undergraduate nursing education. BackgroundThe integration of computers into healthcare represents one of the most significant developments of the 21st century. Understanding nursing professionals' experiences with electronic patient record systems and the innovations they seek in teaching can provide effective methods for training future users. DesignQualitative, cross-sectional, interpretive phenomenological design. MethodsThe study was conducted with 12 nurses. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using semi-structured interview questions and analysed using content analysis. ResultsNurses' experiences were categorised into two main themes: using and teaching the Electronic Patient Record System. Participants reported difficulties related to inadequate physical infrastructure and software issues in the clinical setting. On the other hand, nurses acknowledged that electronic patient record systems enabled them to collect accurate, complete and traceable data, improved the quality of care and saved time for care. It was identified that nurses required training on these systems during their undergraduate education, especially learning from their colleagues. Participants suggested that teaching should involve the development of demo software. ConclusionsUsing electronic recording systems in hospitals enhances care management and facilitates documentation. Nurses recommend that students and practising nurses receive theoretical and practical training to adapt effectively to hospital systems. The development of demo software was proposed as a valuable educational tool.

Development and application of software for designing axial fans in high-temperature environments

Abstract This paper presents the development of software specifically designed for designing axial fans operating in high-temperature environments. The software’s accuracy and reliability are validated under extreme conditions. Key features of the software include adjustments for air physical properties, calculations for blade aerodynamic performance, and geometric dimension design. Through various design examples and experimental validation, the results indicate that the airflow error of the software under high-temperature conditions is 9.1%, while the total pressure error is 4.8%, demonstrating its high accuracy and reliability. Additionally, this paper proposes improvements to models of air physical properties, blade surface roughness, multi-condition simulations, and optimization algorithms to further enhance the software’s performance and applicability. The findings suggest that this design software holds significant application value in the field of high-temperature fan design.

Bim-based Digital Twin development for university Campus management. Case study ETSICCP

Innovation and digitalization are outstanding topics acquiring each day more importance for local governments, especially in Facility Management sector. Moreover, during the COVID-19 situation, new management needs emerged, especially in large public buildings. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is considered as one of the emerging technologies used to reach a total digitalization of the infrastructure. Nevertheless, BIM implementation carries important barriers with itself like, high software and hardware investments, initial BIM skills training or low data interoperability. The objective of this project is to overpass those implementation barriers. For this purpose, the paper shows the creation of a BIM-based intelligent platform for infrastructure management that leads to the development of a Digital Twin (DT). To show the potential of the software developed, a real implementation in the Civil Engineering School at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid was carried out, obtaining significant results thanks to the actual feedback of infrastructure users and managers. The novelty of this project relies on the final results achieved, obtaining a complete DT for management functionalities like space reservation, live sensors data or assets management. All of it, linking BIM models with own software and hardware development using Internet of Things and cloud computing. A multidisciplinary work is compiled in this paper, providing the reader with the most relevant challenges detected in a real digitalization process.

A Requirements Model for AI Algorithms in Functional Safety-Critical Systems with an Explainable Self-Enforcing Network from a Developer Perspective

The requirements for ensuring functional safety have always been very high. The existing and expected standards and regulations for the use of AI methods in functional safety-related systems pose major challenges for embedded software development using AI methods. To assess compliance, a Self-Enforcing Network model is presented in which software developers can indicate the degree of fulfillment of the requirements. The result indicates the safety integrity level, which is supported by an explanatory feature.

Catálogo de directrices de sostenibilidad para soportar el desarrollo y operación de software sostenible desde la ingeniería de requisitos

Sustainability constitutes one of the major challenges of today's society, in particular the sustainability of ICTs and more specifically of software. Requirements engineers need guidelines to successfully address sustainability in software projects. With this goal in mind, the CRETS4DevOps method has been designed to manage requirements in DevOps environments while promoting sustainability, especially technical sustainability. CRETS4DevOps encompasses a catalog of sustainability requirements, which helps in the reuse of expert knowledge in order to address the management of software quality attributes that result in sustainability, namely: modularity, scalability, flexibility, reusability, maintainability, reliability, security, interoperability and efficiency. This catalog is intended to assist practitioners both in software development and operation as well as in a sustainability audit. A tool to support CRETS4DevOps is currently being developed as a plug in for Microsoft Azure DevOps.

Lack of Eye Gaze and its Effects on Spoken Interaction in Synchronous Online Communication

The importance of oral interaction in language learning is well recognised, and this paper examines the factors that hinder English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ active participation in online discussions during Synchronous Online Communication. Using focus groups with 51 Cypriot Greek-speaking students from three tertiary institutions in Cyprus, thematic analysis revealed that the perceived prominent factor inhibiting oral interaction in the online environment was the absence of eye gaze and its associated social functions. Specifically, eye gaze was identified as a signal for turn-taking, turn-yielding, and turn-denying, whose absence hindered learners’ ability to interpret their peers’ and teachers’ intentions and expectations. The paper concludes with pedagogical implications for technologists, software developers, students, language teachers, and language teacher educators.

Optimizing development and operations from the project success perspective using the analytic hierarchy process

By merging development and operation disciplines, the approach known as development and operations (DevOps) can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of software development. Despite its potential benefits, successfully implementing DevOps within traditional project management frameworks presents significant challenges. This study explores the critical factors influencing the implementation of DevOps practices from the project management perspective, specifically focusing on software development projects in the Ministry of Finance. This study utilizes the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritize the critical elements of project success criteria and DevOps factors necessary for effective implementation. The findings indicate that stakeholder satisfaction, quality, and value creation are the primary criteria for project success. Moreover, knowledge and skills, collaboration and communication, and robust infrastructure are pivotal factors for facilitating DevOps within project management. The study provides actionable insights for organizations aiming to improve their project outcomes by incorporating DevOps and offers a systematic approach to decision-making using AHP. This study recognizes limitations due to its focus on specific contexts and emphasizes the need for future research in diverse organizational environments to validate and expand these findings.

Research on the qualification of TQL-5 COTS Tools in airborne software reliability verification process based on DO-330

Abstract The rapid development of airborne software is inseparable from the help of tools, especially the TQL-5 (Tool Qualification Level 5 based on DO-330) COTS (commercial off-the-shelf tools) tool, which is the most widely used. It is worth noting that to ensure software reliability and safety, the tool also needs to be qualified. Based on the DO-330 standard, this paper introduces the qualification methods for COTS tools, TQL-5 tools, and TQL-5 COTS tools, focusing on how to qualify TQL-5 COTS tools and the objectives that tool developers and users need to meet. It plays a guiding role in the airworthiness of airborne software tool users and tool developers.

Ensuring the Correctness and Reliability of CBPS System Using Event‐B

ABSTRACTDuring the early phases of software system development, error detection can be challenging due to the complexity of both the requirements and the operating environments. This paper advocates for the utilization of formal modelling and verification throughout the first phases of systems development to promptly detect and correct errors. The formalism employed throughout is Event‐B, which is backed by the Rodin toolset. To conquer requirements complexity, the frameworks of set theory and first‐order logic are employed, which provide the necessary tools for formalizing and analysing the properties and behaviours associated with Event‐B. Also, we detail the way in which modelling may be used to achieve abstraction, as well as the way in which refinement can be used to manage complexity through layering. Furthermore, we emphasize the significance of model validation and verification in improving the precision of formal models and requirements in IoT communication systems. The model is exemplified using a Content‐Based Publish Subscribe System (CBPS), with a special emphasis on a fire alarm system as a motivating example.

Have You Done Any Interactive Work Today?: An Empirical Study on the Relationship Between Customer Interaction and Psychological Stress in German Software Developers

Have You Done Any Interactive Work Today?: An Empirical Study on the Relationship Between Customer Interaction and Psychological Stress in German Software Developers

Editorial para el número especial de la 12a Conferencia Internacional sobre Investigación e Innovación en Ingeniería de Software

Software Engineering is responsible for analyzing, designing, implementing, testing and maintaining software developments. It is currently a very important area since software is found everywhere in our lives, we are immersed in technological advances. Given the importance of Software Engineering, this special issue presents the research articles in Spanish from the 12th International Conference on Software Engineering Research and Innovation.

A study on an efficient OSS inspection scheme based on encrypted GML

The importance of Open Source Software (OSS) has increased in recent years. OSS is software that is jointly developed and maintained globally through open collaboration and knowledge sharing. OSS plays an important role, especially in the Information Technology (IT) field, by increasing the efficiency of software development and reducing costs. However, licensing issues, security issues, etc., may arise when using OSS. Some services analyze source code and provide OSS-related data to solve these problems, a representative example being Blackduck. Blackduck inspects the entiresource code within the project and provides OSS information and related data included in the whole project. Therefore, there are problems such as inefficiency due to full inspection of the source code and difficulty in determining the exact location where OSS is identified. This paper proposes a scheme to intuitively analyze source code through Graph Modelling Language (GML) conversion to solve these problems. Additionally, encryption is applied to GML to performsecure GML-based OSS inspection. The study explains the process of converting source code to GML and performing OSS inspection. Afterward, we compare the capacity and accuracy of text-based OSS inspection and GML-based OSS inspection. Signcryption is applied to performsafe, GML-based, efficient OSS inspection.

Reviewability and supportability: New complementary principles to empower research software practices

In today's scientific landscape, research software has evolved from being a supportive tool to becoming a fundamental driver of discovery, particularly in life sciences. Beyond its roots in software engineering, research software now plays a crucial role in facilitating efficient data analysis and enabling the exploration of complex natural phenomena. The advancements in simulations and modeling through research software have significantly accelerated the pace of scientific research while reducing associated costs. This growing reliance underscores the importance of software in ensuring reproducibility – a cornerstone of scientific rigor and trustworthiness. Although verifying reproducibility presents challenges, well-developed and openly accessible research software enhances transparency and aids in the early detection of errors. Although verifying reproducibility can be challenging, well-developed and accessible research software improves transparency and facilitates error detection. This mini-review examines the characteristics of research software and summarizes the key events that have shaped its development, alongside changes in requirements and guidelines. Moreover, we propose two additional principles – reviewability and supportability – complementing the widely accepted FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability). These new principles aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of software evaluation during the peer review process. Through this review, we aim to assist scientists, especially those without extensive software development expertise, in understanding best practices for developing research software and the underlying motivations driving these practices.

Migración de serverbox hacia un sistema de microservicios aplicando arquitectura vertical

Efficient data management is essential in public administration for the effective operation of municipal cadastral systems. In 2010, the Multifinality Cadastral Modernization Program was implemented, a partnership between the Puebla municipality government and Sistemas de Información Geográfica S.A. de C.V. (SIGSA), which included the ServerBox platform. Over time, the monolithic architecture of ServerBox showed limitations in maintenance, updates, and change deployment. This project hypothesizes that migrating ServerBox to a distributed microservices architecture, using a vertical approach, can overcome these challenges and improve operational areas of the system. The proposed design establishes a modular and scalable structure that facilitates system maintenance and evolution. The implementation includes the development of TagHelpers in ASP.NET Core to simplify HTML element creation and the use of snippets to streamline coding. Additionally, a JSON configuration file is defined to manage multiple deployment environments. This strategic approach to migrating ServerBox to a distributed and vertical architecture offers significant advantages in terms of scalability, maintenance, and software development efficiency, and can serve as a guide for similar projects in public administration.

SECEC Grammont Award 2024: The critical role of posture adjustment for range of motion simulation in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty preoperative planning.

The objective of this study was to compare simulated range of motion (ROM) for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) with and without adjustment for scapulothoracic orientation in a global reference system. We hypothesized that values for simulated ROM in preoperative planning software with and without adjustment for scapulothoracic orientation would be significantly different. A statistical shape model of the entire humerus and scapula was fitted into ten shoulder CT scans randomly selected from 162 patients who underwent rTSA. Six shoulder surgeons independently planned a rTSA in each model using prototype development software with the ability to adjust for scapulothoracic orientation, the starting position of the humerus, as well as kinematic planes in a global reference system simulating previously described posture types A, B, and C. ROM with and without posture adjustment was calculated and compared in all movement planes. All movement planes showed significant differences when comparing protocols with and without adjustment for posture. The largest mean difference was seen in external rotation, being 62° (SD 16°) without adjustment compared to 25° (SD 9°) with posture adjustment (p < 0.001), with the highest mean difference being 49° (SD 15°) in type C. Mean extension was 57° (SD 18°) without adjustment versus 24° (SD 11°) with adjustment (p < 0.001) and the highest mean difference of 47° (SD 18°) in type C. Mean abducted internal rotation was 69° (SD 11°) without adjustment versus 31° (SD 6°) with posture adjustment (p < 0.001), showing the highest mean difference of 51° (SD 11°) in type C. The present study demonstrates that accounting for scapulothoracic orientation has a significant impact on simulated ROM for rTSA in all motion planes, specifically rendering vastly lower values for external rotation, extension, and high internal rotation. The substantial differences observed in this study warrant a critical re-evaluation of all previously published studies that examined component choice and placement for optimized ROM in rTSA using conventional preoperative planning software.

Examining the Effectiveness of Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) Within SDLC Frameworks

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment frameworks have been a subject of significant discussion among numerous software development cycles however their impact on Software Development Life Cycles has not been investigated in detail in this research. With survey data collected from the subjects and interviews conducted on the pre-researched parameters of software quality, time-to-market of the product, and interteam collaboration, the study compares the firms that use CI/CD with those that use more conventional software development approaches. The study shows that CI/CD integration enhances software quality since defects are reduced from 1.5 to 0.5 per thousand lines of code. Furthermore, CI/CD teams have 10 releases per month against 3 of traditional and time-to-market that reduces from 6 weeks to 2 weeks. The improvement of collaboration is very visible, the CI/CD teams said that they had more meetings and their job satisfaction scores increased. As with any change, transitioning to CI/CD has potential drawbacks such as resistance to change, but these can be managed especially through training and what has been said in the article specific practices. Therefore, this research offers important insights to organisations aiming at improving their software development processes and preparedness in a relatively dynamic market environment

The Most In-Demand Soft Skills for QA Professionals in Brazil

Background: Software quality assurance (QA) is carried out in tandem with software development. Essentially, QA activities are conducted in hopes of assessing the extent to which a software product aligns with predefined requirements. Although QA includes highly technical tasks, much like software development, it remains largely a human-centered endeavor. Consequently, soft skills can play a significant role in contributing to the success of a project and product quality, as well as boosting the productivity of QA professionals. Aim: Our objective is to investigate: (i) the most sought-after soft skills for QA professionals, (ii) potential correlations among these in-demand soft skills, (iii) variations in soft skill requirements based on the seniority level of positions, and (iv) potential differences in soft skills expectations according to the size of the hiring companies. Our analysis is centered around organizations in Brazil. Method: We looked for soft skills in 2,164 job advertisements from Brazilian companies. Our data extraction process followed an inductive, data-driven approach that included both manual and automated steps. Results: approximately 91% of the job advertisements list at least one soft skill. We identified 32 soft skills in our study, with five soft skills standing out as the most sought-after among them: communication-related skills, planning, innovation, collaboration, and written communication. Notably, companies of various sizes consistently prioritize communication-related and planning skills, deeming them crucial for QA professionals. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the critical importance of five soft skills: communication-related skills, planning, innovation, collaboration, and written communication. The results of our study hold potential value for QA professionals in Brazil seeking to enhance their employability and provide insights to those tasked with staffing, curriculum design, and professional development.

Inovasi Parkir Cerdas: Prediksi Posisi Kendaraan dengan Teknologi RFID dan Arduino Mega 2560 R3

Urban parking management is an urgent challenge in an ever-increasing vehicle mobility era. This research develops an intelligent parking system that integrates RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) technology and Arduino Mega 2560 R3 to predict the vehicle's position in real time. The initial literature study identified various approaches to parking management, but none comprehensively combined RFID and Arduino Mega 2560 R3. Therefore, this study fills this gap. The research method involves literature study, system design, hardware and software development, and field testing. In the proposed system, vehicles are equipped with RFID cards, and the parking infrastructure is equipped with RFID readers. When the vehicle enters the parking area, the system reads the RFID card and predicts available parking positions. The results of field tests show an increase in the efficiency of parking space use of around 37% to 46%, and the accuracy of parking position prediction is above 90%. This research provides effective solutions for urban parking management, reducing traffic congestion and air pollution. This system also increases the driver's comfort in finding a suitable parking space. Thus, this research has the potential to support more sustainable urban development by optimizing the use of parking lots and reducing the negative impact of motorized vehicles in urban areas.