In today’s society, IT-Companies often have a hard time estimating changed requirements. This leads to that the clients’ confidence is negatively affected and is one of the main reasons why this has to be improved. The goal with this study was to find out what the most common problems regarding this issue are in IT-companies that works with agile software development. By analyzing one IT-company through a SWOT- and pareto-analysis the most common problems have been ascertained. The SWOT analysis have been created through interviews with selected employees to get a better understanding of the problems that the IT-company is facing. Furthermore was the pareto-analysis based on a survey that was sent out to many different employees to prioritize the problems. The reason why the survey was sent to different employees was to get a more objective input. The study showed that there was many different problems that needed attention. The most important problems was that the communication towards the client regarding requirements needed to be improved, better communication internally between different departments needed to be established, a method to quickly adapt and estimate change in requirements needed to be implemented and finally a method regarding witch key employees whom need to attend the planning of the program backlog. These problems have then been studied through interviews with other IT-companies and through a literature study. The conclusions that where drawn was that the client needs to be involved and updated through the whole project. Constant monitoring and communication regarding changed requirements needs to be processed and mediated. High standards needs to be set early towards the client in order to obtain as clear an image of the requirements as possible. Many different parties need to attend to the planning process for the program backlog before the start of the project. The client needs to be aware of that changed requirements will arise and that this will lead to that the first estimation may not necessarily be absolute. As long as the client is held up to date as well as participant through the whole project and problems are detected and mediated early, change in requirements should not be a huge problem. This is after all the purpose of being agile. / I dagens läge har IT-företag svårt med att estimera förändrade krav vilket medför att förtroendet hos beställaren påverkas negativt och är en av hu-vudanledningarna till att det måste förbättras. Målet med studien har varit att försöka ta reda på de vanligaste problemområdena inom agil systemut-veckling bland IT-företag med hjälp av en SWOT- och pareto-analys. SWOT-analys konstruerades av intervjuer med anställda på ett IT-företag och an-vändes för att ta reda på problemområden. Pareto-analysen användes med hjälp av en enkät som skickades ut till anställda på samma IT-företag för att prioritera problemområdena. Enkätens svar bygger på anställda från de flesta avdelningar, vilket resulterar i en objektivare syn på resultatet. Under-sökningen har visat att det finns många områden som kan förbättras. De huvudsakliga områdena som behövde förbättras var tydligare kommunikat-ion gällande kravhantering gentemot kunden, bättre kommunikation mellan avdelningarna internt i företaget, införa en metod för att snabbt estimera samt anpassa sig till förändrade krav behövde implementeras och slutligen skapa struktur gällande vilka personer som bör delta i planeringen inför program backlog. De fyra största problemområdena har sedan undersökts med hjälp av intervjuer med andra företag och genom en litteraturstudie. Slutsatsen som drogs var att kunden behöver vara involverad och uppdate-rad genom hela projektet. Konstant uppföljning och kommunikation gäl-lande förändrade krav behöver bearbetas och förmedlas. Höga krav måste sättas på kunden i början för att få en tydlig och genomarbetad förståelse för kravspecifikationen som möjligt. Många olika parter bör vara med på planeringen inför program backlog innan projektets uppstart. Kunden bör vara medveten om att förändrade krav kommer att uppstå och att detta kommer att leda till att den första estimeringen inte nödvändigtvis kommer vara absolut. Så länge kunden är uppdaterad och delaktig genom hela pro-jektet och problem upptäcks samt förmedlas tidigt bör förändrade krav inte vara ett stort problem. Det är syftet med att vara agil.

It is generally accepted that the association between leading indicators and stock prices is evidence that the market efficiently prices the contribution of the leading indicators to future earnings. In this study, I examine whether investors incorporate the implications of one leading indicator, order backlog, in an efficient manner when determining stock prices and earnings forecasts. Furthermore, I investigate whether there is a difference between how the sophisticated and unsophisticated investor values order backlog given the fact that consensus analysts’ forecasts correctly incorporate the information in backlog for future earnings. I find that the market is more efficient in pricing the implications of order backlog with regards to firms with a high percentage of sophisticated investors compared to those with a low percentage of sophisticated investors. Moreover my results imply that unsophisticated investors overly-fixate on order backlog information.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T16:00:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo6833_1.pdf: 3902838 bytes, checksum: 5f9917cd956026ff5be1ce69cbe06f27 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / No universo do entretenimento, os jogos digitais movimentam milhares de dólares todos os anos e, de fato, consistem num mercado promissor. No entanto, essa realidade no Brasil é bem diferente, tendo o país a parcela de 0,16% da renda mundial. Esta baixa representação do Brasil, no cenário mundial, indica que neste segmento, o país é pouco desenvolvido. Por outro lado, estatísticas recentes apontam o Brasil como mercado emergente, caracterizado pela população jovem e numerosa, pela estabilidade econômica e pela ascensão da classe média. Diante dessas evidências, para se ajustar ao difícil cenário instalado com pirataria, pouco incentivo e altas cargas tributárias e, galgando as possibilidades do mercado local, empresas focam-se no desenvolvimento de jogos de menor complexidade de produção. O presente estudo se desenvolve com base em duas considerações fundamentais: a primeira, assume que o processo de desenvolvimento de jogos digitais é composto por três fases distintas, sendo elas: briefing, concepção e produção; e a segunda, que entre as fases de concepção e produção há um universo pouco compreendido, que pode impactar no resultado do processo de desenvolvimento de jogos digitais, influenciando diretamente no percentual pouco representativo do Brasil. Sendo assim, o objetivo desta investigação foi responder como automatizar a integração entre as fases de concepção e produção de jogos; nesse norte, elencou-se e reestruturou-se as informações geradas na fase de concepção, propondo um mecanismo para melhor integrá-la com a fase de produção. Este mecanismo foi intitulado Concept Backlog e proporciona a importação das informações de conceito de jogo, em um software de desenvolvimento ágil, criando um fluxo estruturado entre a concepção e a produção. Por fim, a pesquisa almejou contribuir para o processo de desenvolvimento de jogos digitais no Brasil, tomando como escopo o arranjo produtivo local de Pernambuco

Submitted by Emanuel Varela Cardoso (emanuel.varela@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-09-10T20:31:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MIRKO BARBOSA PERKUSICH – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGCC) 2018.pdf: 3631770 bytes, checksum: 855cc4a180be90ee4d3788f2b18b6141 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-10T20:31:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MIRKO BARBOSA PERKUSICH – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGCC) 2018.pdf: 3631770 bytes, checksum: 855cc4a180be90ee4d3788f2b18b6141 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-05 / O aumento na utilização de métodos ágeis tem sido motivado pela necessidade de respostas rápidas a demandas de um mercado volátil na área de software. Em contraste com os tradicionais processos dirigidos a planos, métodos ágeis são focados nas pessoas, orientados à comunicação, flexíveis, rápidos, leves, responsivos e dirigidos à aprendizagem e melhoria contínua. Como consequência, fatores subjetivos tais como colaboração, comunicação e auto-organização são chaves para avaliar a maturidade do desenvolvimento de software ágil. O Scrum, focado no gerenciamento de projetos, é o método ágil mais popular. Ao ser adotado por uma equipe, a aplicação do Scrum deve ser melhorada continuamente sendo complementado com práticas e processos de desenvolvimento e gerenciamento ágeis. Apesar da Reunião de Retrospectiva, evento do Scrum, ser um período reservado ao final de cada sprint para a equipe refletir sobre a melhoria do método de desenvolvimento, não há procedimentos claros e específicos para a realização da mesma. Na literatura, há diversas propostas de soluções, embora nenhuma consolidada, para tal. Desta forma, o problema em questão é: como instrumentar o Scrum para auxiliar na melhoria contínua do método de desenvolvimento com foco na avaliação do processo de engenharia de requisitos, equipe de desenvolvimento e incrementos do produto? Nesta tese, propõe-se um processo sistemático baseado em redes bayesianas para auxiliar na avaliação da aplicação do Scrum em projetos de software, instrumentando o método para auxiliar na sua melhoria contínua com foco na avaliação do processo de engenharia de requisitos, equipe de desenvolvimento e incrementos do produto. A rede bayesiana foi construída por meio de um processo de Engenharia de Conhecimento de Redes Bayesianas. Uma base de dados, elicitada de dezoito projetos reais de uma empresa, foi coletada por meio de um questionário. Essa base de dados foi utilizada para avaliar a acurácia da predição da Rede Bayesiana. Como resultado, a previsão foi correta para quatorze projetos (acurácia de 78%). Dessa forma, conclui-se que o modelo é capaz de realizar previsões com acurácia satisfatória e, dessa forma, é útil para auxiliar nas tomadas de decisões de projetos Scrum. / The use of Agile Software Development (ASD) is increasing to satisfy the need to respond to fast moving market demand and gain market share. In contrast with traditional plan-driven processes, ASD are people and communication-oriented, flexible, fast, lightweight, responsive, driven for learning and continuous improvement. As consequence, subjective factors such as collaboration, communication and self-management are key to evaluate the maturity of agile adoption. Scrum, which is focused on project management, is the most popular agile method. Whenever adopted, the usage of Scrum must be continuously improved by complementing it with development and management practices and processes. Even though the Retrospective Meeting, a Scrum event, is a period at the end of each sprint for the team to assess the development method, there are no clear and specific procedures to conduct it. In literature, there are several, but no consolidated, proposed solutions to assist on ASD adoption and assessment. Therefore, the research problem is: how to instrument Scrum to assist on the continuous improvement of the development method focusing on the requirements engineering process, development team and product increment? In this thesis, we propose a Bayesian networks-based process to assist on the assessment of Scrum-based projects, instrumenting the software development method to assist on its continuous improvement focusing on the requirements engineering process, development team and product increments. We have built the Bayesian network using a Knowledge Engineering Bayesian Network (KEBN) process that calculates the customer satisfaction given factors of the software development method. To evaluate its prediction accuracy, we have collected data from 18 industry projects from one organization through a questionnaire. As a result, the prediction was correct for fourteen projects (78% accuracy). Therefore, we conclude that the model is capable of accurately predicting the customer satisfaction and is useful to assist on decision-support on Scrum projects.

The National Intellectual Property Institute (INPI - Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial) has been facing a chronic delay in patent application processing. The time for patent granting in Brazil increased four years in a decade, and it reached 10.8 years in 2013. The backlog (inventory of applications pending examination) reduces the effectiveness of the patent system since it leads to an environment of unreliability and legal uncertainty. Therefore, it distorts the main patent system purpose, namely, promoting the country´s economic and technological development. The herein presented study used the empirical and deductive method. The study was based on the doctrine, journals, scientific papers and management reports from INPI as well as from the world´s major patent offices (USPTO, EPO, and JPO) and jurisprudences. It was also based on the current legislation to trace the evolutionary framework of patent application pending examinations at INPI from 2010 to 2013. Thus, the current study aims to seek alternatives to be used by the Brazilian office to reduce patents´ backlog, as well as to discuss the appropriate legal solution to protect the applicants´ right during the patent granting procedure. Several operational and structural actions have been adopted by the National Industrial Property Institutes (INPIs) as alternatives to cope with the patent backlog at international level, namely: constant training, electronic tools development, new examiners´ hiring, outsourcing and international technical cooperation. As for the national context, the study aims to provide new priority examination services for micro and small businesses, universities and for venture businesses. The venture businesses proposal was inspired by the Japanese Office. The study also suggested using the procedure for short-life-cycle technology cases, since this category is undoubtedly sensitive to delays. Adopting the Preliminary Opinion on Patentability instrument on a mandatory basis and having the ad hoc scientists previously registered by INPI performing the procedure in partnership with the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) was the proposal suggested to backlog reduction without demanding big investments by INPI. Such a measure would not only reduce the legal uncertainty generated by the extensive time lapse pending without any action by the examiner, but it would also lead to the withdrawal of manifestly unfounded and no-quality requests, thus relieving the examiners´ workload and reducing the analysis time by up to three years. Finally, the mandamus showed to be the appropriate legal solution to protect the applicant´s right during the patent examination procedure. / O INPI tem assistido a um atraso crônico no processamento de pedidos de patentes. O tempo de concessão de patentes no Brasil saltou quatro anos em uma década, atingindo 10,8 anos em 2013. O backlog (estoque de pedidos com exames pendentes) reduz a eficácia de um sistema de patentes ao provocar um ambiente de incerteza e insegurança jurídica, desvirtuando a finalidade precípua do sistema patentário, qual seja, a promoção do desenvolvimento econômico e tecnológico do País. O trabalho se utilizou do método empírico e dedutivo. Pautado na doutrina, periódicos, trabalhos científicos, relatórios de gestão do INPI e principais escritórios de patentes do mundo (USPTO, EPO, JPO), jurisprudência e legislação em vigor, objetivou traçar o quadro evolutivo de pedidos de patentes com análise pendente no INPI no período de 2010 a 2013, buscar alternativas que poderão ser utilizadas pelo escritório brasileiro para a diminuição do backlog de patentes bem como discutir a solução jurídica adequada para a defesa do direito do depositante à razoável duração do procedimento de outorga de privilégio. Como alternativas para o enfrentamento do backlog de patentes, no âmbito internacional, foram observadas diversas ações operacionais e estruturais adotadas pelos Institutos Nacionais de Propriedade Industrial (INAPIs), tais como: a capacitação constante, o desenvolvimento de ferramentas eletrônicas, a contratação de novos examinadores, a terceirização e a cooperação técnica internacional. No âmbito nacional, a pesquisa propôs a oferta de novos serviços de exame prioritário para micro e pequenas empresas, universidades e empresas de risco (venture businesses), sendo esta última proposta inspirada no escritório japonês. Propôs ainda a utilização do procedimento quando se tratar de tecnologia com ciclo de vida curto, categoria esta que indubitavelmente é sensível ao atraso. Como proposta para redução do backlog sem que haja grandes investimentos por parte do INPI, sugeriu-se a adoção do instrumento de Opinião Preliminar sobre a Patenteabilidade de forma obrigatória e realizado por cientistas ad hoc, previamente cadastrados no INPI, em convênio com o CNPq. Tal medida não só reduziria a insegurança jurídica criada pelo extenso lapso temporal de pendência sem qualquer ação por parte do examinador, mas também provocaria a retirada de pedidos sem qualidade e manifestamente improcedentes, aliviando assim a carga de trabalho dos examinadores e diminuindo o tempo de análise em até três anos. Por fim, verificou-se que a impetração do Mandado de Segurança se revela como a solução jurídica adequada para a defesa do direito do depositante à razoável duração do procedimento de análise da patente.

Despite the relative successes of the post-apartheid South African Government, government’s failure to adequately deliver basic services has led to recent national public unrest over the problem of poor service delivery. The aim of this study was to investigate satisfaction level pertaining the service delivery in Matjhabeng Local Municipality. Municipalities are mandated by the Constitution to provide basic services to its community such as potable water supply, electricity, refuse collection roads and sanitation. The analysis is mainly on the basis of service delivery experienced in different areas such as formal and informal townships, study amongst municipal employees, as well as middle and high suburb areas within Matjhabeng LM. The realistic evidence has revealed that communities are unhappy because of, among other things, the cadre deployment to the municipality, the poor service delivery, corrupt councillors, uncommitted employees, communication between municipality and its residents and interference of politicians which have impacted negatively on service delivery. The results showed that although many respondents are unhappy with the basic services besides the municipality making an effort to provide basic services. Furthermore, it is evident from the results that while being unhappy with services more than residents who receive monthly bills are willing to pay for services rendered. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Despite the relative successes of the post-apartheid South African Government, government’s failure to adequately deliver basic services has led to recent national public unrest over the problem of poor service delivery. The aim of this study was to investigate satisfaction level pertaining the service delivery in Matjhabeng Local Municipality. Municipalities are mandated by the Constitution to provide basic services to its community such as potable water supply, electricity, refuse collection roads and sanitation. The analysis is mainly on the basis of service delivery experienced in different areas such as formal and informal townships, study amongst municipal employees, as well as middle and high suburb areas within Matjhabeng LM. The realistic evidence has revealed that communities are unhappy because of, among other things, the cadre deployment to the municipality, the poor service delivery, corrupt councillors, uncommitted employees, communication between municipality and its residents and interference of politicians which have impacted negatively on service delivery. The results showed that although many respondents are unhappy with the basic services besides the municipality making an effort to provide basic services. Furthermore, it is evident from the results that while being unhappy with services more than residents who receive monthly bills are willing to pay for services rendered. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Informal settlements are more than just a collection of corrugated iron units. They are not a building type but an urban phenomenon that is prevalent in South Africa due to reasons such as housing backlog (Huchzermeyer, 2010:132) and the need for livelihood (Huchzermeyer, 2011:33). It offers choice, it gives people what they want and it is affordable (Mills, 2012:1). “Informalization is a process where the poor evade rules to produce outcomes that they need, but that are otherwise too controlled for them to reach” (Cross, 2005:3). Urbanisation in South Africa is increasing every day (Mills, 2012:1) and the poor in shacks continue to deliver housing to themselves using informal mechanisms (Cross, 2005:2). There is a need to recognise and appreciate the economic, social and environmental benefits that informal settlements can bring to the urbanisation process (Mills 2012, pp1). Informal housing exists due to the gap in the market where the poor are unable to afford the available kind of housing (Cross, 2005:3). One must understand that formalising the informal does not always have to be through eradication of existing slums according to MDG seven Target 11 (Huchzermeyer, 2011:16) and it can also take place as an in situ upgrading (Huchzermeyer, 2011:30). It can sometimes be an “invisible” form of development of the community which leads to a self-sustaining future upgrade such as project that Nabeel Hamdi pioneered namely ‘the Buffalo Project’ (Hamdi, 2010:106). Sometimes the existing abandoned structures such as a community hall can be reactivated, resulting in an improvement of an area in terms of addressing the needs of the community for a market space (Hamdi, 2010:109) or changing the appearance of an informal settlement resulting in a change in people’s perceptions of the area (Feireiss, 2011:114). In this way the “small change” can grow over time and result in the development of an entire settlement by its own residents. This dissertation explores the importance of the architectural facilitator as the “missing” profession amongst other professionals who are involved with upgrading projects such as architects, engineers, NGOs, government entities, private stakeholders and many more (Hamdi, 2010:96). The architectural facilitator will be able to accommodate the gaps that have been challenging the Upgrade of the informal settlements in South Africa by creating an understanding between the issues that exist in an informal settlement, prioritising the needs and selecting interventions that address the most pressing needs in an informal settlement. The aim is to create a universal understanding of how one can approach the issue of upgrading informal settlements in order to derive a strategic framework that will lead to a long-term sustainable development. A revised toolkit is introduced to guide the decision-makers such as the Architects, government entities or anyone with an understanding of Architecture, to be able to organise their findings in a prioritised manner and implement interventions according to what the priority needs in the context are. The important thing to highlight in this paper is the theoretical importance of livelihoods to the understanding of poverty in the urban context and the implication of these theories in practice (Hamdi, 2010:185). Therefore, designing an upgrade plan and intervention which will be a long-term project, accepted by the community and accommodating the community’s need for livelihood. Topics such as ownership through tenure security and identifying existing nodes of energy are the main focus of this thesis document. / Dissertation (MSc (Applied Science) )--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Architecture / unrestricted

The Florida District Courts of Appeal have undergone many changes over the last three years, including the adoption of video conferencing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the creation of a brand-new district for the first time since 1979. Included in this series of changes was a new rule that moves most of the circuit court’s appellate jurisdiction into the jurisdiction the District Courts of Appeals (DCAs). This change has added to the systemic pressures of the Florida DCAs. While the creation of a new district is a step in the right direction to protect the effectiveness and perception of the state’s intermediate appellate courts, more needs to be done. Unfortunately getting data from the courts is difficult; thus, there is little way for the public to sense their effectiveness. While the integration of technology has been positive, the current resources available to the courts to dispose of its cases are in need of expansion. Finally, there is a general need for more support for judges and their staff. Overall, the way that Appellate Courts operate has significantly changed, and the stress they are under has in turn increased because of these reasons; the creation of a new district—while expensive— was an important step to preserving the integrity of the courts.

The research focuses on the effectiveness of the integrated development planning (IDP) as a tool to accelerated service delivery: A case study of Aganang Local Municipality. The main problem investigated in the research is that the community of Aganang Local municipality does not have adequate services. The objective of the research is to investigate the integrated development planning process's impact on service delivery, to investigate if the budget is aligned to the IDP and to make possible recommendations on how the IDP could accelerate and improve service delivery. The hypothesis of the research centres on the acceleration of service delivery by implementing the IDP. Change in integration and cooperation in municipalities can be met if the management, process, systems, culture and innovation are improved. Qualitative and quantitative data was used in this research; the primary sources include questionnaires and interviews while the secondary sources include books, journals and reports. The findings revealed that Aganang local municipality has limited capacity in terms of human and financial resources; the municipality should have a retention and succession policy to ensure that the skills in the municipality are retained. The research also revealed that most people in the municipal area are illiterate and have insufficient skills. The study also revealed that the sector departments do not ensure that municipal strategies take cognisance of provincial strategies during the strategic sessions. The study also revealed that the budgets are only done per financial year and not on a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTERF) basis (3-year plan) and are not properly aligned to the IDP. The research recommends that municipalities should strengthen the inter-governmental relations to ensure alignment and integration both horizontally and vertically. The research also recommends that the municipality should build capacity and develop skills in the community. The study also recommends adopt the cluster planning and implementation including forward planning to ensure that there is maximum resource allocation and shared functions. The study also recommends that the budget should be on a three-year basis to allow for proper project planning. / Thesis (M.Art. et Scien. (Town and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.