Context: Requirements change commonly occurs during the software development lifecycle. Requirements traceability is one of the important techniques to support requirement change management and analysis, ensure quality and keep requirements consistent during development. We find that existing research mentioned various issues and challenges during practicing requirements traceability, and the practitioners show certain obstacles on the subject. Major existing work of the area focuses on requirements traceability processes, frameworks, and techniques to address certain issues accordingly. And we want to focus on and investigate the existing challenges to practice requirements traceability systematically. Method: We investigate the requirements traceability and its challenges through a systematic literature review (SLR) of various concepts and existing challenges of requirements traceability, and a survey of 7 Chinese small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With 7 interviews, we studied different traceability practices and situations with the surveyed companies under the possible impact of requirement change, development processes, tools, and other factors. And then we conducted conventional qualitative content analysis to identify and classify the challenges in practicing requirements traceability. Results: With the systematic literature review, we classified 14 categories of academic identified challenges. Through the collected data of the survey, we identified and discussed 6 categories of the requirement traceability challenges, involving costs, tools, awareness, documentation, etc. And we compared and discussed the connections and differences of the survey results with the literature for validation of our survey results and possible extension to the existing work. Through research, we may help the practitioners to deal with requirements change with traceability practice better by recognizing and preventing the obstacles. Our research may provide researchers with more information on practical situations. And in the future, researchers may study the traceability models more effectively aiming at addressing the existing problems.

Resource constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) has been subject of extensive research in project management literature as RCPSP is one of the most challenging problems in the project management and is of great practical importance. In this thesis, resource allocation capabilities of Primavera Enterprise V.6.0-Project Management (P6) and MS Project 2007 (MS) were evaluated for solving overallocated problems in the RCPSP. Fourty-five resource overallocated instance projects were selected from the PSPLIB to evaluate performance of P6 and MS Project 2007. Three resource allocation priority rules of P6 and two resource allocation priority rules of MS were used for comparision. The best solutions of different priority rules for P6 and MS were compared by using t-test. Results of the P6 and MS were compared with the lower bounds and optimum solutions of the previous heuristic methods. The comparisions indicate that both P6 and MS has limited capabilities for solving overallocated problems in RCPSP. Especially for larger projects the widely used project management software packages can not provide optimum or near optimum solutions.

abstract / toc / Computer Science and Information Systems / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Online social interactions differ from face to face interactions and lack the non-verbal cues leading a learner to procrastinate, decreased motivation, feelings of isolation and high drop out rates. Existing research illustrates a need for social awareness information in online education, and this research studied the impact of the visual presence of social information on a learner's sense of connectedness and learning using Rovai's (2002) classroom community scale (CCS). Specifically, the study examined if a learners' sense of connectedness is improved with the exposure to others' social awareness information; and if and to what degree learning advanced due to the improved sense of connectedness. <br>Two, 5 X 1 between-subjects one-way analyses of covariances compared connectedness and learning scores of five social awareness information disclosure groups (appearance, educational, contact and personal information disclosure groups and control group). Although the study did not find evidence of exposure to social awareness information having an impact on learning, the findings confirm the claim that social awareness provides a sense of connectedness. The type of social information presented in the educational category (last degree earned, major and educational year) provided a strong relationship compared to other categories studied. <br>Educators, course designers and content management companies will benefit in recognizing that social awareness information positively impacts online educational participants by providing a sense of connectedness when presented with educational related materials. The development of social awareness support within a learning management system can improve an online learner's experience and enhance the quality of online education. This social awareness support in a learning management systems infrastructure is thus recommended. / School of Education / Instructional Technology (EdDIT) / EdD / Dissertation

The evidence of project management is known for centuries as can be observed from the construction of the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China. In the modern age, project-based approaches are increasingly being adopted in almost all areas of product development. Project management has emerged as a specialised discipline since the importance of completing projects within time, cost and quality constraints is crucial for organisations to continue to survive in the competitive world. Project Management, in general, has been developed under the assumption of economic, political, cultural and social rationality. Little is known about indigenous project management in developing countries. The concepts and principles put forward in Western/European countries have been applied to developing countries without much prior studies. Developing nations are struggling constantly to maintain their projects within the constraints of time, cost and quality. Software development companies have found it difficult to adopt methodologies/models/standards that have shown evidence of success in the developed world. This thesis comprises the study of software project management in developing countries. Mauritius, as an instance of developing countries, with problems related to social, economic, cultural and political conditions are discussed. However, these conditions differ from country to country. It is believed that adjustments are required in a software project management framework to fit the requirements of a country. An evolutionary software project management maturity model is proposed for managing software development in developing countries. This model adopts an evolutionary approach, whereby areas of interest (called key process areas) progressively attain maturity. Three levels of maturity are defined along with key process areas that are applicable over all the maturity levels (called the i continuous process improvement group of KPAs). The model is also applied to two software projects in Mauritius to test its effectiveness. Given the studies carried out and its successful application to the Mauritian context, this model for software project management is expected to contribute towards a higher software project success rate. Notwithstanding the application in the Mauritian context, it is plausible that other developing countries may also customise this model as similar problems occur across these countries. / Computing / D.Phil. (Computer Science)

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Business Information Systems in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / Event management is a very competitive field; therefore, event managers must work hard to distinguish themselves from other event management companies. One way of doing this is by using event management software to provide a holistic service which allows for better efficiency in the workplace. Technology is constantly changing; therefore it is imperative to keep abreast of trends in technology in order to improve one’s business and services. As an event manager, one should also consider what it takes in order to organise a successful event. The internationally accredited Event Management Body of Knowledge (EMBOK) has identified several areas that are crucial for an event manager to constantly control and manage in order to create an exceptional event, and these domain areas encompass a set of guidelines to ensure successful event projects. However, one should determine if the software is able to assist event managers with all the necessary features and functions required to organise a successful event as per the outline from EMBOK. The research aimed to analyse the software in terms of its capabilities and compare it to the EMBOK guidelines. The aim of the study was to further identify whether the software is able to complete all the tasks outlined by EMBOK and if not, what else would be needed to fill the gaps. The research also reviewed what impact the software has on events, that is, how it assists or improves tasks conducted or how it does not assist or becomes problematic in accomplishing the various phases and tasks. Qualitative research was selected as the appropriate method in order to gain an understanding of the events managers’ point of view with regards to the software. The research required detailed descriptions and narratives of the software as well as the experiences and opinions of the user. For this reason it was determined that qualitative research would best suit the needs of the research. In order to get detailed answers a semi-structured in-depth interview guide was used and the answers transcribed in order to analyse and get results. The software was selected based on its international usability and because of its use by South African government departments such as the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRC) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The Cape Town-based individuals from the software’s client list were contacted and selected to participate in the study. The research was conducted with five representatives with previous experience of the software in the events industry in Cape Town. The interview guides were compiled with Likert-scale questions and open-ended questions. The questions were carefully compiled to link the functionality of the software and the criteria as identified by EMBOK. The answers were recorded and transcribed to analyse and determine the opinions of the representatives on the functionality and comprehensiveness of the software to be used for event management. The interviews established that the move towards technology is preferable as it creates efficiency in the workplace. The software assists in alleviating the workload of event managers; however, the interviews also indicated that the software does not always fulfil the requirements for all the tasks. Several tasks required the use of combinations of software; in some instances, the manager preferred to do the task manually. It was concluded that the software does not provide the level of flexibility required in event management, which is a vital criterion, owing to the field’s changing nature.

Este trabalho propÃe o desenvolvimento de um modelo de avaliaÃÃo e apoio ao gerenciamento integrado de resÃduos sÃlidos urbanos, com base em indicadores ambientais, especificamente nas etapas do serviÃo de coleta, varriÃÃo, capina e roÃada e no planejamento de limpeza. Uma pesquisa de opiniÃo (MÃtodo Delphi) foi realizada para determinar a importÃncia de cada um dos 24 (vinte e quatro) indicadores na composiÃÃo do Ãndice de avaliaÃÃo do gerenciamento integrado de resÃduos sÃlidos urbanos (IGU). A anÃlise estatÃstica apontou a regressÃo logÃstica ordinal como modelo matemÃtico mais adequado aos dados dessa pesquisa, com nÃvel de significÃncia 0,05 para os indicadores, na equaÃÃo final e, 0,20 para os subindicadores. Assim, todos os indicadores/subindicadores sÃo estatisticamente significativos. A partir desse Ãndice, desenvolveu-se, utilizando um algoritmo, uma nova ferramenta computacional, o software de avaliaÃÃo do gerenciamento integrado de resÃduos sÃlidos urbanos (SMSW), a fim de criar um banco de dados dos sistemas pÃblicos de limpeza urbana para formar a base estatÃstica das informaÃÃes relatadas. O SMSW à software livre, desenvolvido em linguagem PHP, o que proporciona a sua divulgaÃÃo tecnolÃgica. Espera-se que, dados reais de municÃpios de pequeno e mÃdio portes, sejam usados no processo de simulaÃÃo do modelo, comprovando sua aplicabilidade, funcionalidade e viabilidade, podendo, portanto, ser utilizado nÃo sà em um municÃpio, como tambÃm em consÃrcios intermunicipais.Este trabalho propÃe o desenvolvimento de um modelo de avaliaÃÃo e apoio ao gerenciamento integrado de resÃduos sÃlidos urbanos, com base em indicadores ambientais, especificamente nas etapas do serviÃo de coleta, varriÃÃo, capina e roÃada e no planejamento de limpeza. Uma pesquisa de opiniÃo (MÃtodo Delphi) foi realizada para determinar a importÃncia de cada um dos 24 (vinte e quatro) indicadores na composiÃÃo do Ãndice de avaliaÃÃo do gerenciamento integrado de resÃduos sÃlidos urbanos (IGU). A anÃlise estatÃstica apontou a regressÃo logÃstica ordinal como modelo matemÃtico mais adequado aos dados dessa pesquisa, com nÃvel de significÃncia 0,05 para os indicadores, na equaÃÃo final e, 0,20 para os subindicadores. Assim, todos os indicadores/subindicadores sÃo estatisticamente significativos. A partir desse Ãndice, desenvolveu-se, utilizando um algoritmo, uma nova ferramenta computacional, o software de avaliaÃÃo do gerenciamento integrado de resÃduos sÃlidos urbanos (SMSW), a fim de criar um banco de dados dos sistemas pÃblicos de limpeza urbana para formar a base estatÃstica das informaÃÃes relatadas. O SMSW à software livre, desenvolvido em linguagem PHP, o que proporciona a sua divulgaÃÃo tecnolÃgica. Espera-se que, dados reais de municÃpios de pequeno e mÃdio portes, sejam usados no processo de simulaÃÃo do modelo, comprovando sua aplicabilidade, funcionalidade e viabilidade, podendo, portanto, ser utilizado nÃo sà em um municÃpio, como tambÃm em consÃrcios intermunicipais. / This paper proposes the development of an evaluation model and support the integrated management of municipal solid waste, based on environmental indicators, specifically on the steps of collection, sweeping, weeding and mowing service in planning and cleaning. An opinion poll (Delphi method) was performed to determine the importance of each of the 24 (twenty four) indicators in the index of evaluation of the integrated management of municipal solid waste (IGU). Statistical analysis showed the ordinal logistic regression is more appropriate to the data of this research, with significance level 0.05 for the indicators, the final equation and 0.20 for the sub mathematical model. Thus, all indicators / sub-indicators are statistically significant. From this index, developed using an algorithm, a new computational tool, the software evaluation of the integrated management of municipal solid (SMSW) waste in order to create a database of public urban sanitation systems to form statistical basis of the information reported. The SMSW is free software, developed in PHP language, which provides its technological dissemination. It is expected that actual data of municipalities small and medium, are used in the model simulation process, proving its applicability, functionality and viability, and can therefore be used not only in a municipality, as well as in municipal consortia. this paper proposes the development of an evaluation model and support the integrated management of municipal solid waste, based on environmental indicators, specifically on the steps of collection, sweeping, weeding and mowing service in planning and cleaning. An opinion poll (Delphi method) was performed to determine the importance of each of the 24 (twenty four) indicators in the index of evaluation of the integrated management of municipal solid waste (IGU). Statistical analysis showed the ordinal logistic regression is more appropriate to the data of this research, with significance level 0.05 for the indicators, the final equation and 0.20 for the sub mathematical model. Thus, all indicators / sub-indicators are statistically significant. From this index, developed using an algorithm, a new computational tool, the software evaluation of the integrated management of municipal solid (SMSW) waste in order to create a database of public urban sanitation systems to form statistical basis of the information reported. The SMSW is free software, developed in PHP language, which provides its technological dissemination. It is expected that actual data of municipalities small and medium, are used in the model simulation process, proving its applicability, functionality and viability, and can therefore be used not only in a municipality, as well as in municipal consortia.

Test management software is used to evaluate the permanence and functionality of technical systems. These systems also support documenting tests and evaluations. This thesis describes the implementation of a report template editing tool within an existing testing suite. The tool – TDR Template Editor (TDRTE) - was developed using SpringMVC, Hibernate, and PostgreSQL in Java, Javascript, JSP and JSTL. TDRTE provides a step-by-step editor for editing and creating complete report templates. A separate editor for calculating derived test values from measurement data was also developed.

Final thesis deals with functions and usage of software for project management in the specific conditions of project management background of organization. Introduction into project management software presents it's characteristics, usage and roles when providing support of project management activities and procedures. Models of organization's project management are defined by investigation of usage of software for project management in the specific conditions of organization. Based on detailed analysis of software functions we define functional spectra, which specify importance of functional areas of software for every model of organization's project management. Such concept of functinal spectra can be used when evaluating suitability of using existing software for project management in terms and conditions of concrete organization. Last chapter of the thesis gives example of usage of functional spectra concept for selection of the software which fits the best to the project management background of the company.

Las organizaciones que brindan servicios informáticos para el desarrollo de proyectos de investigación académica no están utilizando Enterprise Content Management (ECM), a pesar de la complejidad de la administración de documentos asociados a esta actividad. ECM permite para almacenar, entregar y gestionar contenido de forma más ágil y así poder brindar mejor servicio. En este trabajo se propone un modelo de gestión documental donde se presentan las fases que permiten implementar esta tecnología y con ello ganar capacidades nuevas en la organización. Para validar el modelo se implementó una herramienta en 2 empresas virtuales analizando los tiempos de respuesta a las solicitudes de servicio que se producían antes y después de la implementación. Además, se hizo una encuesta utilizando la escala de Likert para medirá la satisfacción de los stakeholders. / Organizations that provide computer services for the development of academic research projects are not using Enterprise Content Management (ECM), despite the complexity of document management associated with this activity. ECM allows to store, deliver and manage content more agile and thus be able to provide better service. In this paper, a document management model is proposed where the phases that allow implementing this technology are presented and thereby gain new capabilities in the organization. To validate the model, a tool was implemented in 2 virtual companies analyzing the response times to service requests that occurred before and after implementation. In addition, a survey was made using the Likert scale to measure stakeholder satisfaction. / Tesis