Abstract not available

This project is a development and tracking system for graduate students in the Department of Computer Science of CSUSB. This project will cover front-end web site development, back-end database design and security. This website provides secure access to information about ideas for projects, status on on-going projects, and reports of finished projects using My SQL and Apache Tomcat.

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)

The construction industry has had difficulty adopting project management software effectively and in a widespread manner. This thesis seeks to uncover common problems preventing the adoption of new software for construction project management, and to find a method to design more successful software. Construction project managers working at universities in the state of Georgia were selected as the specific group to study. To better define the functions of project management software, as well as uncover benefits both realized and anticipated, research was conducted. A Situation Awareness based approach was selected to result in proposing a prototype application that would specifically match the mental model of the study group. To define the mental model, a Goal Directed Task Analysis method was used by way of an online survey and in-person verification. In order to collect the survey data, a web based Goal Directed Task Analysis application was created and tested as a part of this thesis. Using the survey data, a proposed design for a prototype application was proposed. The application design was specifically made to fulfill the needs of project managers like those in the study group. The GDTA method proved effective in producing a software design. Recommendations to create and test the proposed prototype application are provided as a next step.

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)

The purposes of this study were to design and to evaluate an online system designed to enhance communication skills and project tracking of computer software courses at Ball State University (BSU). Student Online Project Planning and Tracking System (SOPPTS) was designed and field tested to provide real-time feedback from faculty on student progress, offer online guidance for software project planning, produce tracking automation, and facilitate communication between faculty and students.SOPPTS technology was designed under the supervision of W. Zage and D. Zage, professors in the Computer Science Department at BSU.Participants in this study included six BSU undergraduate students, six BSU graduate students and seven BSU faculty members. Each participant was interviewed for one hour in an instructor's office in the BSU Computer Science Department. With the participants' permission, each interview was audio-taped and coded with a letter and number.Data evaluation consisted of narrative summaries of the interviews, an analysis of the evidence in terms of the research questions and the compilation of data to show both emerging themes and major trends.Analysis of the data showed that learning was definitely enhanced, and that faculty evaluations were also strongly enhanced. Participants recommended more SOPPTS applications, both industrial and academic. The emerging themes showed that faculty and students:1) Had more and easier access to information; students' work was better organized; student team spirit grew; students were more accurately evaluated by instructors;2) Had more efficient methods for report submission and record keeping; students interaction with teachers increased; students found SOPPTS better than email;3) Students and teachers could work from various locations, with greater access to record retrieval and submission of reports, so that documents submitted were available to all instead of getting lost;4) Students were motivated by the nature of online task assignment and tracking because of greater accountability; faculty members were happy to see students' project progress online; 5) Improved time and project management through greater awareness of milestones, deadlines and date/ time "stamping" of report submissions.Major trends show that improved access to information and communication facilitated learning, and that planning and tracking skills improved. / Department of Educational Leadership

Traditional planning and scheduling techniques have played an important role is system analysis over the last three decades. They provide construction planners with mathematical models to simulate the construction process as an aid in planning and control of complex projects. Although these techniques have been widely used by the construction industry, they possess many limitations. Researchers and practitioners in the construction industry have followed two directions to overcome most of the limitations of current planning techniques. The first direction has been concentrated on the utilization of state-of-the-art Computer Aided Design (CAD) and 3D computer modeling technology. The objective of their work is to interactively generate and visually simulate the construction process on graphics display. The second direction has been influenced by the potential capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to accomplish “Automated Planning”. This group has utilized knowledge-based and expert systems to automatically generate construction plans. The research proposed here presents a geometric-based reasoning system called KNOW-PLAN. The system integrates CAD and 3D computer modeling technology with AI technology to automatically generate and simulate construction plans. The system, therefore, can be classified as a third alternative in approaching the planning problem. The research seeks to utilize geometric data to provide a dynamic sequencing for project planning. The research utilizes object location and object interaction with other objects as the primary source of reasoning for the project plan. The interaction of objects is based on a classification of objects with relation to connection types among them, the zones in which the objects are located, and relationships between the classes with which the objects are associated. To accomplish the objectives of the research, an overall model called the KNOW-PLAN model has been formulated. This model is formulated to demonstrate theoretically the feasibility of implementing such a model in real-life. The implementation effort has been concentrated on the development of the crucial components of the KNOW-PLAN model using advanced computer applications. The implementation at this level is referred to as the KNOW-PLAN prototype system. / Ph. D.

The purpose of the project is to compare the managerial and administrative benefits of the Construction Project Management Information System (CPMIS) implemented at the San Bernardino County Medical Center Replacement Project (SBCMCRP) with the E-Government environment.

The purpose of this project is to design and create a system that can be used by a wide variety of groups who do projects. The system created has been specifically tailored for a medium-level company that has employees in different locations and levels, and also has customers for whom they do projects.

Background: The administrators, managers, and leaders of criminal justice organizations experience a plethora of processes that impact the strategic, tactical, and operational facets of their respective organizations. Sound processes are central to effectively and efficiently managing criminal justice organizations and for facilitating the optimal operations of the organization. Such management characteristics are necessary to render public services towards the goals of deterring crime and maintaining societal order. Administrating and managing criminal justice organizations involves paradigms that favor process improvement and quality of processes. Existing methods include the Compstat paradigm Total Quality Management, business process management, business process improvement, business process reengineering, standards, legislation, policy, and Six Sigma. However, such paradigms not approach process improvement from the unique perspective of process maturity as a foundational basis. Additionally, no solitary foundational basis exists that uniquely addresses organizational process improvement issues, regarding criminal justice entities, from the perspective of evolutionary process maturation through time. This research examines the potential of adapting the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMi) as a foundational process improvement framework among criminal justice organizations. Within the CMMi framework, process improvement begins from a state of random, ad hoc processes and culminates in a state of highly optimized processes. Through time, process maturation occurs through five primary stages sequentially: 1) random, 2) managed, 3) defined/specific, 4) quantitatively managed, and 5) optimized. This research explores the potential of leveraging the CMMi paradigm as a form of organizational process improvement within the criminal justice domain. Scope of the Study: This research investigated the potential for adapting the Capability Maturity Model (Integrated) (CMMi) within the criminal justice domain. A derivative maturity model framework, the Criminal Justice Maturity Model (CJMM), was crafted using the CMMi concept as its foundational premise. A Likert scale survey was implemented to investigate the perceptions of personnel regarding process improvement initiatives and their work settings. This study was constrained to the criminal justice domains of the states of Alabama and Mississippi. Data processing encompassed demographic descriptions of the survey instrument and the received responses, ANOVA, Chi-Square analysis, and the Cronbach Method. Stratifications involved separating the survey responses into classifications of Alabama versus Mississippi entities, urban versus rural entities, and management versus non-management entities. Findings and Conclusions: The conclusions of this research failed to show that all five levels of the maturity model framework appear to be separately perceived among the respondents. Therefore, per each individual stage of the maturity model framework, this research failed to show conclusively that the complete maturity model framework is adaptable among administrative settings in the criminal justice domain and that process maturity issues among respondent settings are addressed via a process maturity framework. Because this research failed to show the perceived characteristics of all five maturity levels of the maturity model framework separately, it is concluded that the criminal justice administrative settings of the respondents do not conform completely to the tenets of the CMMi paradigm. Future studies were recommended to pursue additional approaches of this research project. This study represents an initial starting point from which several future endeavors may be initiated. / Criminology and Security Science / D.Litt. et Phil. (Police Science)