No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

There are currently no fully validated estimation approaches that can accurately predict the effort needed for developing a software system (Kitchenham, et al, 1995). Information gathered at the early stages of system development is not enough to provide precise effort estimates, even though similar software systems may have been developed in the past. Where similar systems have been developed, there are often inherent differences in the features of these systems and in the development process used. These differences are often sufficient to significantly reduce estimation accuracy. Historically, cost estimation focuses on project effort and duration. There are many estimation techniques, but none is consistently ‘best’ (Shepperd, 2003). Software project management has become a crucial field of research due to the increasing role of software in today’s world. Improving the functions of project management is a main concern in software development organisation. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a new model which incorporates cultural and leadership factors in the cost estimation model, and is based on Case-Based Reasoning. The thesis defines a new knowledge representation “ontology” to provide a common understanding of project parameters. The associated system uses a statistically simulated bootstrap method, which helps in tuning the analogy approach before application to real projects. This research also introduces a new application of Profile Theory, which takes a formal approach to the measurement of leadership capabilities. A pilot study was performed in order to understand the approaches used for cost estimation in the Gulf region. Based on this initial study, a questionnaire was further refined and tested. Consequently, further surveys were conducted in the United Arab Emirates. It was noticed that most of the software development projects failed in terms of cost estimate. This was due to the lack of a precise software estimation model. These studies also highlighted the importance of leadership and culture in software cost estimation. Effort was estimated using regression and analogy. The Bootstrap method was used to refine the estimate of effort based on analogy, with correction for bias. Due to the very different nature of the core and support systems, a separate model was developed for each of them. As a result of the study, a new model for identifying and analysing was developed. The model was then evaluated, and conclusions were drawn. These show the importance of the model and the factors of organisational culture and leadership in software project development and in cost estimation. Potential areas for future research were identified.

This practice-led research project investigates the key characteristics of the use and process of programming code when applied to a creative design environment. The research is motivated by personal practice and a desire to move beyond the boundaries of software, and is set against a contemporary background of designers exploring code as a key part of their creative work. The initial contextual study considers design practice in the context of contemporary digital technology, and identifies computational design as a distinct area, apart from software-centred design. Although not a formal term or grouping, the thesis highlights 'computational design' as an area of practice which has emerged out of dissatisfaction with the 'limitations' of software tools. The research establishes links between a range of contemporary design practitioners, whose work is motivated by a desire to understand and engage directly with the process and the 'material' of the computational environment. Using the Arts and Crafts movement as a case study, the contextual review discusses the ethos, process and material of software-centred and computational design alongside those of traditional design values. The research identifies the process and usage of computation as a distinct area of study for creative design which applies a traditional concern for the material and process of 'making' within the immaterial environment of the digital arena. The identification of computation as a type of raw ‘material’ for creative practice provides the focus for the rest of the research. Based on the findings of the contextual review, the practice explores the detail of the process of ‘making’ using code, by creating two major pieces of computationally generated work, based on the botanical, decorative aesthetic of William Morris wallpaper prints. Each key stage of the work is outlined using the headings 'code', 'visuals' and 'process', providing a Truth to Material: Moving from Software to Programming Code as a New Material for Digital Design Practice. 3 detailed account of the developing process and relationship between the designer and the computational material. The study reveals that key to the use of computation is an understanding and development of structural and visual flexibility, which is inbuilt into the architecture of the work as part of the design process. The research identifies three core phases, or ‘layers’ within the process: ‘concept’, ‘data structure’ and ‘data detail’, each of which contribute important elements to the flexibility and fluidity of the structure and visuals. The research adds to the understanding of the process and practice of computational work within a creative context, increasing knowledge regarding the use and application of the formal elements of code within a creative design workflow.

This thesis introduces a new reverse engineering tool development practice by presenting the development of PowerExcelRigi, a reverse engineering tool built by leveraging Rigi and two selected host tools, PowerPoint and Excel. PowerPoint and Excel, both components of the Microsoft Office Suite, were selected as the host tools for this project because of their large user base, excellent enduser programmability and strong visualization capabilities. The original Rigi reverse engineering tool is used as the backend data engine to make use of its graph computing capabilities. Using PowerExcelRigi, users appreciate the familiar user interface of Excel and PowerPoint and at the same time benefit from the efficiency of Rigi. A custom toolbar in Excel provides a means to perform several reverse engineering tasks. This toolbar follows the standard Office user interface design and seamlessly integrates reverse engineering tasks into the Office environment. Reverse engineering tasks implemented include reusing given program artifacts from Rigi format program fact files, analyzing the artifacts and visualization the analysis results by using Excel, and then reproducing Rigi graphs in PowerPoint. Some Rigi scripts demonstrating typical Rigi functionality have been executed entirely through the Office interface without noticeably using Rigi. Excel and Rigi use a loose, file-based data interchange method to interoperate with each other. In comparison to a new tool with a dedicated user interface, PowerExcelRigi offers users the benefit of the cognitive support derived from their familiarity with the host tool, which decreases the learning barrier to using the new tool. This approach will ... 111 help solve the low adoption problem suffered by many reverse engineering tools. At the same time, development cost is significantly reduced by reusing Rigi, Excel and Powerpoint as existing components. We believe this to be a promising direction for the development of lower-cost, more adoptable low reverse engineering tools.

Reverse engineering (RE) tools can help people extract and understand high level abstractions of subject systems to facilitate software maintenance. However, many of these tools suffer adoption problems in industrial practice. Based on the assumption that industrial users are more likely to accept tools built on top of their current working platforms, the ACRE project (Adoption Centric Reverse Engineering) aims to attack the adoption problem by extending some commonly used tool platforms to implement RE features, rather than writing RE applications from scratch. As part of the ACRE project, my research aims to find a solution for building RE tools on top of a particular Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) host product-Lotus NotesIDomino and validating feasibility of this approach. My hypothesis is that it is practical to build tools on top of Lotus NotesIDomino to provide RE functionality and to exploit selected features of the host product, such as CSCW (Computer Supported Collaborative Work) features, to facilitate RE tasks. In this thesis, I discuss the benefits and drawbacks of building tools with Lotus NotesIDomino. I propose a solution-the ACRENotes Framework consisting of three layers: Data, Control and Presentation. This framework provides a methodology for using Lotus NotesIDomino to store, manipulate and render RE data. It also offers a Notes template and reusable libraries as a starter kit. Based on this framework, I implemented the prototype application CREST (Collaborative Reverse Engineering Support Tool), which provides selected collaborative RE features. By comparing CREST with Rigi, a traditional stand-alone RE research tool, I discuss CREST'S advantages and disadvantages. Given this prototype tool and the lessons learned, I believe that building RE tools on top of the COTS product Lotus Notes/Domino is feasible and practical.

In this thesis, we present the design of a software defined radio (SDR) transceiver using Open Source SCA Implementation Embedded (OSSIE) as the software platform. Designing a SDR requires both an appreciation of the IEEE 802.11a (wireless Local Area Network at 5 GHz band) protocol standard as well as the understanding of the C++ and CORBA software tools available to implement the physical transmitter and receiver layers. For this work, the Incremental Development Model was chosen, which is comprised of three stages: Design, Develop and Verify. The advantage of this model is its incremental nature, which allows the developer to learn from earlier versions of the system. Implementing the IEEE 802.11a physical layer using OSSIE requires a total of 23 components, 12 different functionalities and 31 sequential input-output (I/O) processes for the transmitter, while the receiver is implemented with 18 components, 12 different functionalities and 20 sequential I/O processes. The completed transmitter and receiver layers are validated successfully according to test cases stipulated in the IEEE standard.

This work presents a conceptual structure for the behaviors of artificial intelligence agents, with emphasis on creating teamwork through individual behaviors. The goal is to set up a framework which enables teams of simulation agents to behave more realistically. Better team behavior can lend a higher fidelity of human behavior representation in a simulation, as well as provide opportunities to experiment with the factors that create teamwork. The framework divides agent behaviors into three categories: leadership, individual, and team-enabling. Leadership behaviors consist of planning, decision-making, and delegating. Individual behaviors consist of moving, shooting, environment-monitoring, and self-monitoring. Team-enabling behaviors consist of communicating, synchronizing actions, and team member monitoring. These team-enabling behaviors augment the leadership and individual behaviors at all phases of an agent's thought process, and create aggregate team behavior that is a hybrid of emergent and hierarchical teamwork. The net effect creates, for each agent, options and courses of action which are sub-optimal from the individual agent's standpoint, but which leverage the power of the team to accomplish objectives. The individual behaviors synergistically combine to create teamwork, allowing a group of agents to act in such a manner that their overall effectiveness is greater than the sum of their individual contributions. / US Army (USA) author.