Agile software development has become very popular around the world in recent years, with methods such as Scrum and Extreme Programming (XP). Literature suggests that functionality is the primary focus in Agile processes while non-functional requirements (NFR) are either ignored or ill-defined. However, for software to be of good quality both functional requirements (FR) and NFR need to be taken into consideration; lack of attention to NFR has been documented to be the cause of failure for many software projects. Hence special attention needs to be focused on NFR in Agile software development. By its very nature Agile processes require frequent changes but these changes are often not well documented. This is especially true of NFR in Agile processes. While functional requirements are carefully identified, NFR are often not properly elicited. Once NFR are identified they become the basis for reasoning and facilitation of design and development decisions. NFR also need to be validated through proper testing to ensure their quality attributes have been met in the final software product. This dissertation aimed at developing a methodology for addressing NFR in Agile processes. As such, the "NERV Methodology: Non-Functional Requirements Elicitation, Reasoning, and Validation in Agile Processes" was proposed. Several artifacts were created as part of this methodology and included: the NFR Elicitation Taxonomy, the NFR Reasoning Taxonomy, the NFR Quantification Taxonomy, and the Non-Functional Requirements User Story Companion (NFRusCOM) Card. Additionally the NERV Agility Index (NAI) was developed using the Agile Manifesto and its twelve principles. The NERV Methodology was validated using the 26 requirements of the European Union (EU) eProcurement Online System. Additionally the results obtained by the NORMAP Methodology in previous research, were used as baseline. Results show that the NERV Methodology was successful in identifying NFR, for 55 out of 57 requirements sentences that contained implicit NFR, compared to 50 for the baseline. This represented a 96.49% success rate compared to 87.71% for the baseline; an improvement of 8.78%. Furthermore the NERV Methodology was successful in eliciting 82 out of 88 NFR compared to 75 for the baseline. The elicitation success rate was 93.18% compared to 85.24% for the baseline; an improvement of 7.94%. Agility was validated using the same data set as above. Two experiments investigated project durations measured in 2-week sprint iterations, commonly used in Scrum. Results show that the first experiment, using the "FR and NFR Simultaneous Scheme" completed all FR and NFR scope in 24 sprints. The second experiment, using the "FR First Then NFR Scheme" consumed 26 sprints. The first agile scheduling scheme delivered all scope two sprints earlier than the second scheme; representing a saving of almost one month. Validation results showed that the NERV Methodology and its artifacts can potentially be beneficial for software development organizations for eliciting, reasoning about, and validating NFR in Agile processes.

信用卡結合票證功能、各式各樣的支付功能及優惠活動，已成為民眾生活中的必需品，藉由信用卡的消費資料，可使銀行對顧客有更深入的了解，所以各銀行都積極發展信用卡業務，惟全體流通卡數已逾3,800萬卡，顧客再申辦新的信用卡意願不高，除非該項信用卡產品有較佳的權益及活動，才能促使民眾付諸實際申辦該信用卡的行動。 聯名卡是結合銀行與聯名企業的資源，提供會員更好的優惠，持有聯名卡的會員，一般而言會享有較沒有持有聯名卡會員更多的優惠、權益、服務及獨家活動，會員們理應大量申辦聯名卡，但實際情況不然，大部分聯名卡發卡成效有待加強，發卡數超過100萬卡的聯名卡，更是少之又少。 本研究是以A銀行與C公司聯名卡為例，將實際做法以4C策略行銷架構來分析，剖析成功經營聯名卡的做法後，促使聯名卡的4C邁向良性循環，讓未來負責經營聯名卡的企劃人員，規劃出有效的行銷策略與執行方案。 / In conjunction with the use of EasyCard, various payment functions and other promotional activities, credit card has now become a necessity of life. Through credit card expense reports, the personal spending pattern is reflected, and the bank is able to better understand the customer’s needs. Many banks are actively developing their business focus on credit card. As the number of credit card in circulation has exceeded 38 million in the market, people have little desire for adding a new credit card. However, if the credit card is appealing with lots of better benefits and activities, people may be tempted to have their application put into action. Co-brand card is a credit card that combines resources for the bank and the joint partner to provide members with exclusive benefits and services. Comparing to the general credit cards, co-brand card should be very popular because the card holders enjoy better services and exclusive activities, but in reality, it is rather rare for the co-brand card providers to achieve more than 1 million as an overall number. In this paper, a co-brand card issued by the bank A and the joint partner C will be taken as an example for study. The actual operation will be analyzed based on the 4C strategic marketing framework. After understanding the reasons of success behind, it may help 4C to flow in a functional circle. Furthermore, the personnel in charge of co-brand card may work out effective marketing strategies and implementations for the project in the future.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

On April 7, 2009, IBM celebrated the mainframe’s 45th year. Drawing on its roots in punch-card tabulators, the machine has come a long way to become many customers’ preferred e-business solution. Throughout its lifetime, IBM’s strategy adapted the machine to the changing market. During the late 1960s, the introduction of the System/360 provided customers with compatibility and scalability across various computer lines. Popularity of the system began to suffer during the client/server era of the 1990s but it quickly recovered as the z Series server line was developed to support e-business solutions. IBM’s strategy made the mainframe successful but continued improvements are still necessary to ensure its future success. / text

我國自1974年發行第一張信用卡以來，產品已由導入期、成長期邁向成熟期。信用卡市場早已經歷許多次戰國時代。根據財政部金融局統計，至2004年2月底止，我國信用卡發卡張數約為7,387萬張，流通卡數約為3,831萬張。在2003年，全年簽帳金額為9,988億。各項數據從市場開始至今，每年皆以二位數字成長，顯示信用卡在國內的使用次數、金額佔消費支出比例逐漸提高。 信用卡發行初期，是希望導入無現金化的社會環境。在歷經發卡大戰、消費次數與金額的促銷，產品演變至今，持卡人已被高度競爭的發卡機構不斷進行信用擴張，曾幾何時，以往不太受銀行歡迎的中高危險族群，其無充足還款的能力，竟成為銀行競相爭取的要因，這群人就是循環信用使用者，於是銀行又進入另一個戰國時代：那就是循環信用餘額與無擔保信用貸款的利率戰爭。同時，另一場金卡升等白金卡與免年費之戰爭又起，市場又將經歷一場重新洗牌與重分配之效應，何種行銷策略可帶領發卡機構面對未來的挑戰，並且在競爭市場中勝出，將是本研究探討重點。 本研究採用質化行銷研究與量化統計方法，首先藉由蒐集期刊、論文、報紙及廣告資料，對信用卡的市場發展歷程有一系列的探討。並輔以發卡組織及發卡機構之信用卡相關研究資料與深度訪談，試圖從內、外在環境分析中，找出競爭市場成功的關鍵因素，以作為制定行銷策略之參考。本研究架構試圖先從外在環境分析著手，分析三個角度－分析信用卡近十年市場成長率變化、發卡機構的競爭市場歷次戰爭的始末及持卡人的消費行為等，藉由蒐集之數據與資訊瞭解行銷策略及產品演化過程。再以一個銀行為例進行討論，探討個案公司俱有的資源、能力及核心競爭力，並利用擁有的優勢創立品牌，進而鞏固企業在競爭市場上的地位，並持續保有企業本身的競爭優勢與不斷創造產品價值。接著在量化研究部分，利用統計方法對幾項主要指標如流通卡量、預借現金、簽帳金額及廣告量等進行迴歸分析與假設檢定。 最後探討未來信用卡市場之關鍵成功因素與如何找尋市場利基，綜合本研究結果提出綜合性看法，並根據結論提供在信用卡行銷策略及產品開發上的建議。

隨著IC卡的使用，它正深深地影響著我們的未來生活方式，其應用發展趨勢也是值得我們重視的課題。本研究主要從「IC智慧卡成為主流的資訊載具」、「我國內政部、衛生署、交通部及財政部等中央各部，對IC卡之應用發展各擁管轄範圍且各自發展」、「民間業者各自引進或發行電子現金儲值卡」等三方面，說明其可能造成的結果及相關重要課題，以作為本研究之動機。 本研究從我國IC卡應用發展相關文獻中，搜集和本研究主題較相關者，提出IC卡票證整合、IC卡安全整合機制及IC卡規模經濟等值得研究課題，以作為進行IC卡應用發展趨勢研究之參考。 對於IC卡目前應用發展現況，本研究主要說明政府推動國民卡的沿革、政府推動自然人憑證的沿革、政府推動健保IC卡沿革及交通IC票卡目前應用發展，以利了解我國IC卡目前應用發展現況。 針對交通IC票卡，本研究說明北、中、南各地區電子票證IC智慧卡應用發展，包括悠遊卡、台中ｅ卡通、Taiwan Money Card等，後續說明IC票卡規格發展及交通IC票卡系統架構發展，以更深入了解交通IC票卡目前應用發展現況。 本研究針對IC卡應用發展問題，進行更深入的分析，主要論述面向，包括技術面(IC卡規格、IC卡系統架構) 、法令面(IC卡法令規定)、經營管理面(含IC卡管理組織、發行、經營模式)等方面，以發掘問題，分析問題及提出解決策略。 本研究針對所提出之解決策略，予以聚焦，以提出更關鍵的解決策略，包括：(一)技術面：1.建立IC卡共同憑證。2.建立IC卡安全認證。3.建立IC卡整合架構。(二)法律面：1.修改銀行法及交通運輸相關法規中不合IC卡現有運作之規定。2.增訂電子票證法規。(三)經營管理面：1.建立規模經濟發卡量。2.建立IC卡發卡機構經營模式。 3.建立憑證認證機構公信力。4.建立IC卡資訊交換中心。 本研究針對三個構面，提出核心解決策略為「一卡通用」及其整體解決架構及實施步驟，且對整體解決策略之構想方案，提出IC卡卡片規格整合矩陣架構圖，以找出更為適當的IC卡規格方案，該矩陣架構圖，以「共同憑證一卡整合」及「多憑證一卡整合」二構面為縱軸，及「IC卡規格中不存放各類別資料」和「IC卡規格中存放各類別資料」二構面為橫軸，提出四種IC卡片規格整合架構，並列出其優缺點，經研析後，本研究建議初期以具有共同憑證及各類別憑證但不存放各類別資料之架構，作為一卡通用整合規格初期架構，稱為「IC卡共同多憑證不存放各類別資料一卡整合」，最後本研究提出長期一卡通用願景，以「IC卡共同憑證不存放各類別資料一卡整合」為目標。 本研究之結論為：1.我國各類別IC卡規格各行其道，未有整合前瞻性。2.各產業IC卡系統運作架構未整合，導致我們卡滿為患。3.IC卡應用發展於法律面應積極訂定「交通運輸業電子票證法」。4.「非銀行不得發行現金儲值卡」已超越母法規定應修法。5.IC票卡發行機構透過銀行發卡可享有發卡權利金等商機。6.建立IC票卡資訊中心作為全台IC票卡整合運作中心。7.IC票卡業者透過整合可增加發卡量，共創雙贏。8.IC卡於技術面應發展整合技術，以達成一卡通用目標。9.IC卡一卡通用宜建立IC卡資訊交換中心及憑證整合認證中心。10.IC卡一卡通用宜建立整體解決架構之實施步驟。11.IC卡一卡通用卡片規格整合可建立矩陣架構圖，以利分析。12.IC卡一卡通用共同憑證之運作於技術上為可行方案。 最後建議未來可持續探討之課題：1.IC卡一卡通用宜建立認證API(Application Programming Interface)程式介面及標準作業程序。2.IC卡一卡通用宜建立憑證整合認證中心及資訊中心之經營模式。3.IC卡一卡通用宜評估對IC卡產業及憑證認證產業之衝擊。 / A study of trends in the applications and developments of IC cards The IC card is being used widely and it will deeply affect our future living mode. Therefore, trends in its applications and developments have become important subjects of study. This research explores the possible outcome and related important subjects for the utilization of IC card, based on the following three propositions. 1. The IC card is one of the modern world’s primary information media. 2. Government units such as the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Ministry of Finance ROC, the Department of Health and the Executive Yuan ROC all have jurisdiction over the development and control of development and potential applications of the IC card. 3. Private enterprises have introduced or developed electronic cash-stored cards. The information related to the research subject was collected from the relevant literatures in regard to the applications and developments of IC card in Taiwan, presenting the current safety and integration mechanism of IC ticket cards and the economical magnitude of IC card use, which are both topics that should be taken into consideration in the study of the applications and developments of IC cards. Based on the current situation of the applications and developments for IC cards, the main purpose of this research is to show the evolution of IC cards promoted by the our government, including National Card, Citizen Digital Certificate IC Card, National Health Insurance IC Card, as well as current applications and developments of the Transportation IC Card, in order to help understand the current situation for the applications and developments for existing IC cards in Taiwan. In the Transportation sector, this research shows the applications and developments of various IC smart cards in north, central and south Taiwan, i.e. Easy Card, Taichung e-Cartoon Ticket Card and Taiwan Money Card. It also shows the development of the specification for IC Ticket Cards as well as the development of Transportation IC Cards’ systematic infrastructure, in order to help understand the present situation for the applications and developments of a Transportation IC Card. This research is an analysis of IC card’s applications and developments, covering technical issues (specification and systematic framework of IC card), legislation issues (laws and regulations for IC Card), management issues (operation and administration, release and business model for IC cards), so as to discover and analyze the possible problems as well as propose solutions. Focusing on strategies for finding solutions, presenting more critical strategies for IC Cards, consisting of: 1. Technical: (1) To establish a common certificate (2) To establish safety authentication (3) To establish integration infrastructure 2. Legislation: (1) To revise the Banking Law as well as the laws and regulations relating to public transportation, which are not suitable for the existing operations (2) To revise and augment the laws and regulations for electronic tickets 3. Management: (1) To establish an economic circulation of scale (2) To establish the management pattern for card-issuing organization (3) To establish public credibility for a certificate authentication organization (4) To establish information interchange center To consolidate the above-mentioned three areas, this research proposes a core strategic solution – the concept of “one card for common use (All-in-One Card)” along with integrated solution scheme and operation steps. In addition, for an overall solution strategic plan, in this research it also presents a matrix composition for the integration of specifications to discover a more applicable specification scheme for the IC card. The matrix composition is proposed in four types of framework of specification integration with a file of advantages/disadvantages, based on the concept of X, Y coordinate system – X axis being “One Card integrated with Common Certificate” and “One Card integrated with Multi-Certificates”, Y axis being “No data deposited in the IC card specification” and “All sorts of data deposited in the IC the card specification”. Through detailed research and analysis, it is suggested that at the primary stage, to create the “One card for common use” with an integration of “Common Certificate and Multi-Certificates but no data depositing in the IC card specification”, which is called “One card with common and multi-certificates but no any data deposited in the specification.” The long-term goal will be to achieve “One card with common certificate only and no data deposited in the card specification” for long-term use. Conclusions: 1. In this country, various IC cards have their own specifications and there is still no prospect for integration. 2. The IC card system being used by different industries is still not being integrated, so the market is full of different IC cards. 3. The enactment of the “law on electronic tickets” should be pursued more vigorously for the IC card applications and developments. 4. The stipulation of “A non-bank may not issue a stored value card” might have overtaken the stipulation of “Banking Act”. It should be amended. 5. So long as the IC Ticket Card agency issues IC cards through a bank, the agency will possess the business opportunity of charging the bank a card-issuing fee. 6. To establish an IC Ticket Card information center to integrate the operation of the many IC ticket cards using in Taiwan area. 7. It will be a win-win situation, if IC ticket card operations can be integrated, and this will increase card-issuing quantity as well. 8. On the technical front, integration technology for IC cards should be developed in order to achieve the goal of an “All-in-One Card”. 9. An “IC Card Information Interchange Center” and an “Authentication Center of Certificate Integration” for the “All-in-One Card” should be established. 10. A standardized operational procedure should be established for an overall solution to the “All-in-One IC Card”. 11. The integration of the specifications of the “All-in-One IC Card” can be done through a matrix composition to assist analysis. 12. Technically, an “All-in-One IC Card” with “Common Certificate” is a feasible plan. In the end, this research also offers suggestion on valuable topics that can be the subject of continued discussion in the future: 1. “All-in-One IC Cards” should have an authentication with API (Application Programming Interface) program as well as a standard operational procedure. 2. A business model for “IC Card Information Center” and “Authentication Center of Certificate Integration” should be established. 3. An evaluation of the impact on the IC card industry and the certificate authentication industry should be made.

<p>Detta dokument redogör för en användbarhetsundersökningav programmet Webb-MiniQ. Undersökningen innefattar eninledande fas med intervjuer och genomgångar. En fas med 6deltagare som deltog i användbarhetstest, kortsortering ochsvarade på enkätfrågor. Sista fasen utgörs av analys avresultatet samt produktion av designförslag. Analysen avmaterialet indikerade ett stort antal problem (22 unika plusaspekter som framträdde under genomgångarna) medanvändbarheten, designförslagen syftar till att komma tillrättamed majoriteten av dessa.Detta dokument redogör för en användbarhetsundersökningav programmet Webb-MiniQ. Undersökningen innefattar eninledande fas med intervjuer och genomgångar. En fas med 6deltagare som deltog i användbarhetstest, kortsortering ochsvarade på enkätfrågor. Sista fasen utgörs av analys avresultatet samt produktion av designförslag. Analysen avmaterialet indikerade ett stort antal problem (22 unika plusaspekter som framträdde under genomgångarna) medanvändbarheten, designförslagen syftar till att komma tillrättamed majoriteten av dessa.</p>

Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements for Masters Degree in Technology in the Department of Electrical Engineering (Light Current, Technikon Natal, 2000. / The computational analysis of eukaryotic promoters are among the most important and complex research domains that may contribute to complete gene identification. The current methods for promoter recognition are not sufficiently developed. Eukaryotic promoters contain a number of short motifs that may be used in promoter recognition. Having good computational models for these motifs can be crucial for increased efficiency of promoter recognition programs. This study proposes a combined statistical and LVQ neural network system as a computational model of the TAT A box motif of eukaryotic promoters. The methodology used is universal and applicable to any short functional motif in DNA. The statistical analysis of the core TAT A motif hexamer and its neighboring haxamers show strong regularities that can be used in motif recognition. Moreover, the positional distribution of the TAT A motif in terms of its distance from the transcription start site is very regular and is used in the statistical modeling. Furthermore, the matching score of the position weight matrix for the motif was used as a part of the model. Based on these statistical properties. a novel LV Q classifier for TAT A motif recognition is developed. The characteristics of the method are that the genetic algorithm was used for finding good initial weights of the LV Q system, while fine tuning of two LVQ networks was done by the lvq? algorithm. The final computational model is developed for a recognition level of 67.8o/c correct recognition on the test set with less than 1% false recognition. This model is evaluated in the task of promoter recognition on an independent test set. The results in promoter recognition outperform three other promoter recognition programs. It is shown that the recognition of promoters based on the recognition of the TAT A motifs using this new model is superior to the recognition based on the currently used position weight matrix description of this motif. / M

Viewshed refers to the calculation and visualisation of what part of a terrain isvisible from a given observer point. It is used within many fields, such as militaryplanning or telecommunication tower placement. So far, no general fast methodsexist for calculating the viewshed for multiple observers that may for instancerepresent a road within the terrain. Additionally, if the terrain contains over-lapping structures such as man-made constructions like bridges, most currentviewshed algorithms fail. This report describes two novel methods for viewshedcalculation using multiple observers for terrain that may contain overlappingstructures. The methods have been developed at Vricon in Linköping as a Mas-ter’s Thesis project. Both methods are implemented using the graphics program-ming unit and the OpenGL graphics library, using a computer graphics approach.Results are presented in the form of figures and images, as well as running timetables using two different test setups. Lastly, future possible improvements arealso discussed. The results show that the first method is a viable real-time solu-tion and that the second method requires some additional work.

Deficits in executive function are commonly reported following Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and are important for establishing functional impairments. Understanding the nature of executive dysfunction following TBI is often complicated by secondary factors that can impact measured ability. This study sought to clarify the persistent effects of TBI on executive function, as measured by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), while accounting for effort given during testing, as measured by the Portland Digit Recognition Test. Results suggested a dose-response relationship between TBI severity and subsequent WCST deficits. Mild TBI patients who provided good effort during testing showed no observable differences from locally matched controls on WCST performance. Effort during testing was found to have a larger overall effect on WCST performance than moderate-to-severe TBI or dementia. The present study highlights the need to account for secondary factors, such as effort during testing, to accurately measure cognitive dysfunction following compensable injuries.