JAD (Joint Application Development) is a meeting-centered methodology used to address the problem of getting users involved in the systems development process. Industry has used the JAD approach to develop systems for over a decade, predominantly for in-house software applications. Electronic Meeting Systems (EMS) are networked software systems that support meetings through a variety of software tools. The combination of the two--JAD and EMS--creates Electronic JAD (E-JAD). A field study was conducted to investigate whether applying EMS to JAD benefits the systems development process. The field study compared five traditional JAD sessions to six E-JAD sessions. All E-JAD sessions made use of the University of Arizona GroupSystems EMS. All sessions involved actual software development efforts conducted in a half dozen organizations and were all held in a face-to-face setting. There was some evidence that the E-JAD approach was beneficial as compared to traditional JAD techniques on the variables of efficiency and equalizing participation and influence. Traditional JAD sessions showed benefits over E-JAD in handling conflicts (particularly in resolving conflicts) and in enforcing a higher degree of structure. Neither of the approaches dominated on all criteria, hence an examination of E-JAD's weaknesses identifies two key areas for improvement: fit of GroupSystems tools to tasks (with discussion of divergence and convergence), and greater involvement of the session facilitator. Other constructs analyzed and discussed are: completeness, creativity, satisfaction, IS-user bonding, user expectations, users' mental models, JAD costs, group size, and planning activities.

This study looks at the usability of mobile Twitter applications running on Android and Blackberry operating systems. Usability is important for mobile Twitter applications, as 55% of active Twitter users access the social network service through their mobile devices. This study gathers empirical data that determines which mobile Twitter application is superior in terms of usability. The mobile Twitter applications evaluated and compared in this study are the official Twitter applications for Android and Blackberry and the third-party Twitter application: TweetCaster for Android and Blackberry. Data is gathered using the System Usability Scale and notes regarding time spent on tasks and the accuracy of task completion are kept, in order to measure satisfaction, efficiency, and effectiveness respectively. The findings of this study show that there is need for further studies and highlights further areas for improvement on mobile Twitter applications.

College campuses can be large, confusing, and intimidating for new students and visitors. Finding the campus may be easy using a GPS unit or Google Maps directions, but this is not the case when you are actually on the campus. There is no service that provides directional assistance for the campus itself. This thesis proposes a driver assistant application running on an Android platform that can direct drivers to different buildings and parking lots in the campus. The application's user interface lets the user select a user type, a campus, and a destination through use of drop down menus and buttons. Once the user submits the needed information, then the next portion of the application runs in the background. The app retrieves the Campus Map XML created by the mapping tool that was constructed for this project. The XML data containing all the map elements is then parsed and stored in a hierarchal data structure. The resulting objects are then used to construct a campus graph, on which an altered version of Dijkstra's Shortest Path algorithm is executed. When the path to the destination has been discovered, the campus map with the computed path overlaid is displayed on the user's device, showing the route to the desired destination. / by Iana Zankina. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Glenn R. Cook. Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-99). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering." Includes bibliographical references.

Information system development (ISD) projects have been associated with the "software crisis" for over three decades. A set of common "root causes" has often been cited in literature with corresponding "solutions". Yet the overall project success rate has remained low, resulting in a paradox of many solutions and little progress over the years. This study examines the management of application software acquisition from external suppliers in ISD projects. Three case studies are documented based on participant observation with complete membership roles. After within-case analyses highlighting issues in individual cases, crosscase analyses are conducted, first to identify a pattern of ISD project challenges and then to search for their explanations. Concepts from agency theory, contract theory and product development literature are used in the process of diagnosing root causes behind the observations. The proposed explanation is that the Traditional Systems Development Framework (TSDF), characterized by competitive-bidding-monopolized-development, underlies the identified root causes. Accordingly, competitive development is suggested as an alternative approach. Following the "Inference to the Best Explanation" (IBE) analytical strategy, the suggested approach is subject to two contrastive analyses, first with the prepackaged software development and then with the construction industry, to demonstrate that the suggestion is a "warranted inference". Further analogical analyses illustrate the feasibility of development competition for software product development. A Performance-Based Systems Development Framework (PBSDF) is outlined as a tentative implementation of the suggested competitive development approach for ISD projects supported by risk-sharing supplier contract and a relative product evaluation approach. A number of future research implications are described as a result of this study after summarizing the research contributions.

Thesis (M.S.E.)--University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-72).

Thesis (M.S.E.)--University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse, 2007 / Includes bibliographical references (p. 32).

Thesis (M.S.E.)--University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 24).

Thesis (B.S.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-44).