The development of enterprise software is a complex activity that requires a diverse set of stakeholders to communicate and coordinate in order to achieve a successful outcome. In this dissertation I introduce a high-level physical architecture for a platform titled FeatureIT that has the goal of supporting the collaboration between stakeholders throughout the entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). FeatureIT is the result of unifying the theoretical foundations of the multi-disciplinary field of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) with the paradigm and associated technologies of Web 2.0. The architecture was borne out a study of literature in the fields of CSCW, Web 2.0 and software engineering, which facilitated the identification of functional and non-functional requirements necessary for the platform. The design science research methodology was employed to construct this architecture iteratively to satisfy the requirements while validating its efficacy against a comprehensive set of scenarios that typically occur in the SDLC. / Computing / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

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Considerando a necessidade de adaptar, para mão de obra local e não especializada, os dos ciclos de desenvolvimento de projeto baseado em desempenho do material, objetiva-se comparar processos de projeto de modelos form-making, algorítmico e formfinding, e assim avaliar seus desempenhos estruturais; produzir um material compósito polimérico com fibra natural e, por último, generalizar um ciclo de desenvolvimento de projeto que englobe fabricação com materiais compósitos de morfologias oriundas de processos digitais de projeto. Deste modo, a hipótese avaliada pela tese, e que trata tanto as discussões sobre processo de projeto bem como a adaptação da fabricação para a mão de obra local é: o processo digital performático deve definir o material, além de aferir seu desempenho, já nas fases iniciais do ciclo de desenvolvimento do projeto. Para tanto, procede-se à uma abordagem de pesquisa orientada por projeto conhecida como design research, além metodologia exploratória, experimental, descritiva e de aplicação. Desse modo observou-se que os modelos de formação baseada em desempenho simulados apresentaram resultados menores na deformação máxima e energia elástica de deformação que resultam em estruturas otimizadas que necessitam de menos material para serem produzidas. Isto permitiu concluir que o ciclo de desenvolvimento de projeto proposto pela pesquisa é capaz de viabilizar formas não convencionais geradas por processos digitais de projeto e fabricadas com materiais compósitos poliméricos. / Considering the need to adapt, for local and non-specialized hand labor, the design development cycle based on material performance, this thesis aims to compare design methods through form-making, algorithmic and form-finding models, and thus to evaluate their structural performances; to produce a polymeric composite material with natural fiber and; at last, to generalize a design development cycle that encompasses fabrication with composite materials of morphologies originated by digital design. Thus, the hypothesis evaluated by this thesis, which addresses both the discussions about the design process as well as the adaptation of the manufacturing to the local workforce, is: the digital performative design must define the material, as well as measure its performance, already in the early stages of the design development cycle. In this sense, the study relied on a design driven research approach, known as design research, in addition to an exploratory, application, descriptive and experimental methodology. In this way, it was observed that, the simulated performance-based models presented lower results in the maximum deformation and elastic energy of deformation that resulted in optimized structures that requires less material to be produced. This allowed to conclude, that the design development cycle proposed by this research is capable of enabling non-conventional forms generated by digital design and fabricated with polymer composites.

Conventional method of development which repeats phases of design, implementation and testing is not adequate for systems like intelligent agents for which complex behavior is required but specification is unclear at the beginning of development process. Incremental design of agent's model during simulation seems more suitable for it enables direct feedback in behavioral changes of a system. This interactivity speeds up development process and helps to uncover parts of a space of all models to designer - thanks to new knowledge acquired during simulation. This thesis aims to provide comparison of suitability of two agent architectures and respective platforms in context of SmallDEVS modeling and simulation framework for this methodology of development. First approach is reactive and decentralized subsumption architecture based on DEVS formalism and the second one is PNagent, framework realizing deliberative BDI architecture using Object Oriented Petri Nets.

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An employed individual will spend between a quarter and a third of his or her waking life at the workplace. An estimated 40% of those in South Africa who are employed full-time work in offices. With the amount of time spend in buildings, the physical conditions in the workplace are important determinants of satisfaction, comfort, well-being, and effectiveness and can even play a role in mental health. The physical environment in offices should therefore be carefully planned, designed, and managed. This qualitative study, sought to develop an inter-cultural office design framework for South Africa combining Eastern and Western design principles. Specifically, it sought to obtain a better insight into design principles which can enhance the well-being of office workers; inter-cultural, gender neutral and age neutral design principles which can be applied in a South African context. To be able to answer these questions an intensive literature review was undertaken investigating both the Eastern design principles as expressed in feng shui and Western design principles as expressed in Environmental Social Science. The design principles of these two traditions were compared and all aspects where the two traditions did not support each other were included in the in-depth interviews. Twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted By relying on various design cultures (e.g. Eastern and Western) an environment can be created which are pleasing and can enhance the well-being of the users. Underlying design principles are universal, but the symbolic expression thereof can differ from culture to culture. One of the conclusions from this study is that three quarters of design principles are v universal. There is no one size fits all solution and compromise is necessary from all involved. The compromise applies to the roughly a quarter of design aspects where subgroup differences have been detected. Any design should take individual and group difference into account. The only way to do this is to get proper input from all stakeholders at all stages of the design. It is critically important that the input starts before the design process commences. There are many design principles which can be implemented to improve the quality of work life of office workers in the South African context. Design can for example play a very important role in encouraging and facilitating formal and informal interaction in the workplace – bridging the gap between heterogeneous groups. Without forcing relationships, design can assist in naturally integrating heterogeneous groups. The physical environment must support the image and identity which needs to be communicated, facilitate communication and enable task accomplishment. Most of all it must become a place with which employees can identify and where they can develop a sense of place. From this study it can be concluded that not only form follows function but also that aesthetics follow function – a principle that design should be based on the primary purpose of the building, the workspace based on the needs of the stakeholders and from this starting point aesthetics will flow. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

An employed individual will spend between a quarter and a third of his or her waking life at the workplace. An estimated 40% of those in South Africa who are employed full-time work in offices. With the amount of time spend in buildings, the physical conditions in the workplace are important determinants of satisfaction, comfort, well-being, and effectiveness and can even play a role in mental health. The physical environment in offices should therefore be carefully planned, designed, and managed. This qualitative study, sought to develop an inter-cultural office design framework for South Africa combining Eastern and Western design principles. Specifically, it sought to obtain a better insight into design principles which can enhance the well-being of office workers; inter-cultural, gender neutral and age neutral design principles which can be applied in a South African context. To be able to answer these questions an intensive literature review was undertaken investigating both the Eastern design principles as expressed in feng shui and Western design principles as expressed in Environmental Social Science. The design principles of these two traditions were compared and all aspects where the two traditions did not support each other were included in the in-depth interviews. Twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted By relying on various design cultures (e.g. Eastern and Western) an environment can be created which are pleasing and can enhance the well-being of the users. Underlying design principles are universal, but the symbolic expression thereof can differ from culture to culture. One of the conclusions from this study is that three quarters of design principles are v universal. There is no one size fits all solution and compromise is necessary from all involved. The compromise applies to the roughly a quarter of design aspects where subgroup differences have been detected. Any design should take individual and group difference into account. The only way to do this is to get proper input from all stakeholders at all stages of the design. It is critically important that the input starts before the design process commences. There are many design principles which can be implemented to improve the quality of work life of office workers in the South African context. Design can for example play a very important role in encouraging and facilitating formal and informal interaction in the workplace – bridging the gap between heterogeneous groups. Without forcing relationships, design can assist in naturally integrating heterogeneous groups. The physical environment must support the image and identity which needs to be communicated, facilitate communication and enable task accomplishment. Most of all it must become a place with which employees can identify and where they can develop a sense of place. From this study it can be concluded that not only form follows function but also that aesthetics follow function – a principle that design should be based on the primary purpose of the building, the workspace based on the needs of the stakeholders and from this starting point aesthetics will flow. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

We have investigated the feasibility of using digital tabletop displays during design team meetings to improve access to design information. To achieve this goal, we have applied various design guidelines for tabletop interface design and requirements for digital meeting scenarios in order to implement design ideas (in a prototype named Mozaic) that specifically cater to design team meetings. Mozaic intends to improve information retrieval and browsing activities during meetings thereby improving information access through a tile based layout, pop-up menu control and filtered list. We have evaluated the features of Mozaic through an exploratory study on a tabletop display (in comparison to a commonly used desktop software tool, which was also used on the tabletop) to evaluate various design ideas and ferret out design ideas for future iterations of Mozaic. We present the result of this study as observations and user feedback and discuss them in the light of interface development for design meeting situations.