Low response time is an important factor for any interactive system. However, web-based applications suffer sometimes from bad response times. This fact is not always important but for services depending on a  high degree of interactivity it can be severe. This thesis attempts to give an answer to the question whichi s the requirements engineering for best response time on a highly interactive Web-based application? The research approach is deductive based on a single-case study and using qualitative method. The case system is a web-based system that supports an experimental technique called Wizard-of-Oz. To tackle the research question an extensive review of literature on requirements engineering was made, and, for the case study itself, system requirements documents and interviews were included. The results include information about the specific requirements engineering process for the case system, response time, and quality attributes.The conclusion indicates the importance of response time requirements, hardware and software requirements, testing, but also a demonstration phase for desired interactive behaviour including response time. The latter is not previously identified as a major step in the general literature on requirements engineering but should definitively be noted by researchers and practitioner alike.

[pt] A refatoração de código é uma transformação de código que visa aprimorar a estrutura interna do código. Uma refatoração isolada raramente é suficiente para remover completamente uma estrutura de código ruim, como uma anomalia de código. Os desenvolvedores então aplicam refatorações compostas para remover totalmente uma anomalia de código. Uma refatoração composta consiste em duas ou mais refatorações inter-relacionadas. Um refatoração composta é considerada completa quando elimina totalmente a anomalia de código alvo. Estudos relatam que os desenvolvedores geralmente falham em remover completamente as anomalias de código alvo por meio de refatorações compostas. Refatorações compostas concluídas podem não ser totalmente benéficas para a estrutura do código. Pois, estas podem induzir efeitos colaterais, como a introdução de anomalias de código ou a propagação de anomalias existentes. Há uma compreensão limitada sobre a completude das refatorações compostas e seus possíveis efeitos colaterais. Esta tese investiga como as refatorações compostas removem totalmente as anomalias de código sem induzir efeitos colaterais. Descobrimos que 64 por cento das refatorações compostas completas são formadas por tipos de refatoração não recomendados anteriormente. Dessa forma, derivamos um catálogo de recomendações para apoiar os desenvolvedores na aplicação de refatorações compostas. Na avaliação do catálogo, 85 por cento de 21 desenvolvedores relataram que usariam as recomendações do catálogo e que suas próprias soluções de refatoração teriam induzido efeitos colaterais. Também avaliamos qualitativamente três abordagens existentes para recomendar automaticamente refatorações compostas. Nesse estudo, a maioria (80 por cento) dos 10 desenvolvedores relatou que as abordagens existentes frequentemente induzem efeitos colaterais. No geral, as descobertas e o catálogo proposto podem ajudar os desenvolvedores a realizar refatorações compostas completas. / [en] Code refactoring is a code transformation that aims to enhance the internal code structure. A single refactoring is rarely sufficient to achieve the full removal of a poor code structure, such as a code smell. Developers then apply composite refactorings to fully remove a code smell. A composite refactoring (or, simply, composite) consists of two or more interrelated single refactorings. A composite is considered complete when it fully eliminates the target smell. However, studies report that developers often fail in completely removing target code smells through composites. Even when composite refactorings are complete they may still not be entirely beneficial to the code structure. They may induce side effects, such as the introduction of new smells or the propagation of existing ones. There is a limited understanding of the completeness of composite refactorings and their possible effects on structural quality. This thesis investigates whether and how composite refactorings fully remove smells without inducing side effects. We found that 64 per cent of complete composites in several software projects are formed of refactoring types not previously recommended in the literature. Based on this study, we derived a catalog of recommendations for supporting developers in applying composite refactorings. Out of twenty one developers evaluating our catalog, 85 per cent reported that they would use the catalog recommendations and that their own refactoring solutions would have induced side effects. We also qualitatively evaluated three existing approaches to automatically recommend composite refactorings. In our study with ten developers, most (80 per cent) developers reported that existing approaches frequently induce side effects. Overall, the findings and the proposed catalog can help developers to perform complete composite refactorings with better awareness of possible side effects.

No description available.

Den här uppsatsen behandlar skapandet och designen av en arkitektur över ett system för behandling av depression och andra psykiska sjukdomar via internet, kallat Melencolia. Ett av kraven för detta projekt är att skapa ett system som kan utökas i framtiden. Vi har härlett detta krav till begreppet modularitet och för att skapa en modulär arkitektur för Melencolia har vi undersökt vad begreppet innebär och härlett det till att vara ett kvalitetsdrag hos flera kvalitetsattribut däribland ”maintainability” och ”reusability”. Med hjälp av ”Attribute Driven Design” kan en arkitektur skapas som fokuserar kring en viss typ av kvalitetsattribut. Eftersom modularitet inte är ett kvalitetsattribut utan en kvalitetsegenskap har vi varit tvungna att ändra indata till denna metod, från kvalitetsattribut till kvalitetsegenskap. Vidare har vi härlett och lagt fram en ny metod för att mäta kvalitetsegenskaper i en mjukvaruarkikektur.Slutligen har vi använt vår metod för att mäta graden av modularitet i Melencolias arkitektur. / This thesis considers the problem of creating and designing an architecture for a software project that will result in a system for treatment of depression on the Internet. One of the requirements for this project, named by Melencolia, is to create a system which can be extended in the future. From this requirement we have derived the concept of modularity. In order to create a modular architecture we have concluded that modularity is a quality characteristic of multiple quality attributes such as "maintainability" and "reusability".We deploy Attribute-Driven Design (ADD) in this Melencolia project. By doing this, an architecture that is focused around modularity can be created. Since modularity is not a quality attribute, but rather a quality characteristic, we had to change the input to ADD from a quality attribute to a quality characteristic.Furthermore, we derive and propose a new method for quality characteristic evaluation of software architectures.Finally we apply our aforementioned method on the architecture of Melencolia and by doing this we get an indication on how well our proposed architecture satisfies modularity.

[pt] Mesmo com o processo de refatoração sendo investigado cada vez mais nos últimos anos, muitas de suas características se mantém pouco compreendidas. Refatoração de software é o processo de melhorar a manutenibilidade de um sistema por meio de mudanças estruturais que não alteram seu comportamento. Estudos recentes revelaram que projetos de software frequentemente recebem refatorações compostas. Em tais refatorações, desenvolvedores aplicam uma série de transformações únicas em conjunção e em um único commit, e se espera que estas refatorações tenham um efeito maior e mais positivo do que refatorações singulares. Porém, refatorações frequentemente causam mudanças que ou mantém a qualidade do software da mesma forma, ou causam a piora do mesmo, levando trabalhos recentes a procurar causas em potencial para este comportamento. Porém, o porquê da complexidade destas mudanças compostas frequentemente afetarem seus resultados de alguma forma positiva ou (inesperadamente) negativa continua não investigado. O mesmo ocorre com o potencial efeito das preocupações dos desenvolvedores durante a aplicação de refatorações. Sobre estas preocupações, alguns trabalhos anteriores foram desenvolvidos em torno da caracterização e detecção de discussões de desenvolvedores relacionadas a refatorações. Porém, não se sabe se e como estas preocupações de desenvolvedores com refatorações, tornando-se explícitas em tais discussões, podem influenciar os efeitos de refatorações em um sistema. Portanto, este trabalho apresenta dois estudos com o objetivo de preencher a lacuna no conhecimento de que causas levam aos efeitos não-positivos frequentemente encontrados em refatorações, procurando entender: (i) se refatorações mais complexas realmente são mais efetivas do que refatorações simples, como esperado; (ii) em que situações desenvolvedores tendem a explicitar suas preocupações com refatoração do código; e (iii) qual é o impacto de tais preocupações na efetividade de uma refatoração em melhorar a qualidade estrutural do código. Nós analisamos estas características e atingimos os seguintes resultados: Primeiro, conforme a complexidade das refatorações aumenta, a efetividade das mesmas aumenta conjuntamente. Segundo, há uma relação entre a efetividade de refatorações e preocupações explícitas com refatorações, onde a possibilidade de efeitos negativos é menor quando desenvolvedores estão explicitamente preocupados com refatoração. Finalmente, desenvolvedores tendem a explicitar mais frequentemente suas preocupações com o processo de refatoração quando deparados com tarefas de refatoração mais complexas. / [en] Even though the refactoring process has been increasingly investigated in the last years, many of its characteristics remain poorly understood. Software refactoring is the process of improving the maintainability of a system through structural changes that do not alter its behaviour. Recent studies revealed that software projects frequently have to undergo composite refactorings. In such refactorings, developers perform a series of single transformations in conjunction and in a single commit, which are expected to have a larger and more positive impact than single refactorings. However, refactorings frequently cause changes that either keep the software quality the same, or cause it to worsen, which lead recent works to look for potential causes of this behavior. However, the complexity of these composite changes often affecting their outcomes in some positive or (unexpectedly) negative way remains not investigated, much like the developers concerns while performing refactoring. For the latter, some previous work was performed around characterizing and detecting refactoring-related developer discussions. However, it is unknown whether and how developers refactoring concerns made explicit in such discussions can influence the refactorings effects on a system. Thus, this work reports two studies aimed at bridging some of those gaps in knowledge in which causes lead to the non-positive effects frequently found in refactoring, by understanding: (i) if more complex refactorings are indeed more effective than simple refactorings, as one would expect; (ii) in which situations developers tend to have explicit concerns while refactoring the code; and (iii) what is the impact of such concerns on the effectiveness of a refactoring to improve structural quality. We analyze these characteristics and reach the following results: First, as refactoring complexity increases, the effectiveness of such refactorings increases as well. Second, there is a relationship between refactoring effectiveness and explicit refactoring concerns, in which the possibility of negative effects is lower when developers are explicitly concerned about refactoring. Finally, developers tend to be more explicit about their concerns on the refactoring process when they are faced with more complex refactoring tasks.

[pt] Contexto: Várias mudanças de código aplicadas ao evoluir funcionalidades visam melhorar atributos internos de qualidade como coesão. Tais mudanças são as refatorações. Refatorações não dirigidas podem piorar, e não melhorar, atributos internos. Porém, o saber atual é insuficiente para gerir atributos internos durante a evolução do sistema. Objetivo: Nosso primeiro objetivo é entender como refatorações afetam atributos internos ao evoluir sistemas, mitigando limitações de escopo de estudos anteriores. Nosso segundo objetivo é atender uma carência por evidência quantitativa sobre como gerir atributos internos críticos via refatorações ao evoluir sistemas. Um atributo interno é crítico se sua medição assume valores anômalos. Baixa coesão é um exemplo de atributo crítico. Método: O primeiro estudo estende uma avaliação quantitativa da relação entre refatorações e cinco atributos internos: acoplamento, coesão, complexidade, herança e tamanho. Incluímos novas análises e resolvemos ameaças à validade da literatura. O segundo estudo contém estudos de caso qualitativos baseados em grupo focal. Em dois casos industriais, promovemos discussões sobre o quanto (e por que) atributos críticos são relevante ao evoluir funcionalidades. Por fim, cruzamos os achados dos dois estudos para discutir como gerir atributos críticos via refatoração ao evoluir funcionalidades. Resultados: Aproximadamente 64 por cento das refatorações melhoram ou não afetam os atributos internos. Desenvolvedores parecem refatorar até melhorar os atributos mais relevantes, ignorando outros atributos internos possivelmente críticos. Baixa coesão e alta complexidade são percebidos como relevantes e tornam mais difícil evoluir funcionalidades. Alto acoplamento, herança larga e tamanho largo são percebidos como irrelevantes ao implementar funcionalidades especialmente complexas, por exemplo. Ao cruzar dados entre estudos, discutimos como refatorações podem melhorar atributos internos, inclusive atributos críticos. Conclusões: Os achados dos nossos estudos podem apoiar a gestão de atributos críticos relevantes aos desenvolvedores, mas também preservar outros atributos que podem se tornar críticos. / [en] Context: Several software changes applied while evolving software features aim at improving internal quality attributes, e.g. cohesion. These changes are the refactorings. Non-assisted refactorings might worsen, rather than improve, internal attributes. However, current knowledge is insufficient for managing internal attributes during software evolution. Objective: Our first objective is assessing how refactorings affect internal attributes during software evolution by filling gaps of past work on study scope. Our second objective is filling gaps of qualitative evidence on how to manage critical internal attributes via refactorings while evolving features. An internal attribute is critical when its measurement has anomalous values. Low cohesion is an example of critical attribute. Method: Our first study extends a large quantitative assessment of the relationship between refactorings and five internal attributes: cohesion, complexity, coupling, inheritance, and size. We include a more detailed statistical analysis and address major threats to validity of past work. Our second study is a qualitative case study based on focus group. We selected two industry cases to promote discussions on how much (and why) critical attributes are relevant while evolving features. Finally, we crossed the findings from both conducted studies aimed at discussing how critical attributes can be addressed via refactoring when evolving features. Results: About 64 per cent of refactorings either improve or keep the internal attributes unaffected. Developers seem to perform refactorings until the most relevant internal attributes are improved, thereby neglecting other internal attributes that may be critical. Low cohesion and high complexity are perceived as relevant because they often make evolving features harder than usual. High coupling, large inheritance, and large size are perceived as irrelevant when developers implement especially complex features. By crossing the findings from both studies, we discuss how refactorings can improve internal attributes, especially the critical ones. Conclusions: The findings of our studies can support managing critical attributes that developers typically find relevant, while preserving other attributes that may become critical.

Roll compaction is a continuous process commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry for dry granulation of moisture and heat sensitive powder blends. It is intended to increase bulk density and improve flowability. Roll compaction is a complex process that depends on many factors, such as feed powder properties, processing conditions and system layout. Some of the variability in the process remains unexplained. Accordingly, modeling tools are needed to understand the properties and the interrelations between raw materials, process parameters and the quality of the product. It is important to look at the whole manufacturing chain from raw materials to tablet properties. The main objective of this thesis was to investigate the impact of raw materials, process parameters and system design variations on the quality of intermediate and final roll compaction products, as well as their interrelations. In order to do so, we have conducted a series of systematic experimental studies and utilized chemometric tools, such as design of experiments, latent variable models (i.e. PCA, OPLS and O2PLS) as well as mechanistic models based on the rolling theory of granular solids developed by Johanson (1965). More specifically, we have developed a modeling approach to elucidate the influence of different brittle filler qualities of mannitol and dicalcium phosphate and their physical properties (i.e. flowability, particle size and compactability) on intermediate and final product quality. This approach allows the possibility of introducing new fillers without additional experiments, provided that they are within the previously mapped design space. Additionally, this approach is generic and could be extended beyond fillers. Furthermore, in contrast to many other materials, the results revealed that some qualities of the investigated fillers demonstrated improved compactability following roll compaction. In one study, we identified the design space for a roll compaction process using a risk-based approach. The influence of process parameters (i.e. roll force, roll speed, roll gap and milling screen size) on different ribbon, granule and tablet properties was evaluated. In another study, we demonstrated the significant added value of the combination of near-infrared chemical imaging, texture analysis and multivariate methods in the quality assessment of the intermediate and final roll compaction products. Finally, we have also studied the roll compaction of an intermediate drug load formulation at different scales and using roll compactors with different feed screw mechanisms (i.e. horizontal and vertical). The horizontal feed screw roll compactor was also equipped with an instrumented roll technology allowing the measurement of normal stress on ribbon. Ribbon porosity was primarily found to be a function of normal stress, exhibiting a quadratic relationship. A similar quadratic relationship was also observed between roll force and ribbon porosity of the vertically fed roll compactor. A combination of design of experiments, latent variable and mechanistic models led to a better understanding of the critical process parameters and showed that scale up/transfer between equipment is feasible.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-12T19:18:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarcioGOS_TESE.pdf: 1110735 bytes, checksum: 819b218fddaa10cbb78767938fb399c0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-26 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This study aimed to assess the productivity, the cost of production and fruit quality of yellow melon culture with different species of plants for green manure, built or maintained on the ground in conventional and no-till systems, respectively. The test was conducted at Agrícola Famosa, municipality of Tibau/RN, in a split-plot, distributed in a randomized block design with four replications. The main plots received two tillage systems (direct and conventional) and the subplots received twelve combinations of plants for green manure (Crotalaria; Millet; Sunnhemp + millet, more braquiaria Corn, spontaneous vegetation + compound more polyethylene film, Solo maintained without vegetation ; spontaneous vegetation; Guandu; Guandu + millet; Pork Beans, Beans pig-+ millet and soil without removing the cover (natural vegetation) + corn + Braquiaria + polyethylene film), incorporated (conventional tillage) or maintained on the soil (tillage). In each subplot, the dry weight of biomass yield was evaluated, using a framework of 0.25 m². In the first stage of the experiment, using the data obtained from melon, we determined the number of fruits per plant; average fruit weight and total and commercial productivity for export, besides the remaining dry mass of plant ground covers (straw). In the second stage, we evaluated the quality characteristics of fruits of melon (number of fruits per plant, average mass of fruits, longitudinal and transverse lengths, pulp thickness, firmness, pH, soluble solids (SS), acidity total (AT) and soluble / total acidity solid ratio (SS/TA) and total sugars) cultivated with different incorporated green manures or maintained on the ground in conventional tillage systems and direct, respectively. In the third step, we assessed the cost of production of yellow melon in each combination of plants to incorporated green manure or maintained on the ground, in conventional and no-till systems. The cost for cultural practice were estimated from the technical coefficients (inputs and operations) recorded in the experiment and extrapolated to one hectare. We considered economically viable those cultural practices which obtained a favorable benefit/cost to 1.0. It was found that the highest production of dry straw was obtained in treatments with more braquiaria followed corn millet consortium + Crotalaria and the single millet, which also showed low rate of decomposition. There was no variation between green manures incorporated on the production of melons. The no-tillage system produced higher number of fruits per plant, however smaller. The conventional tillage system presented higher yield compared to tillage. In the second trial, it was found that no-till system kept most of the qualitative characteristics of melon fruit in comparison to conventional tillage and no variation between most of the qualitative characteristics of melon fruit recommended for the green manure. With regard to production costs, treatments at the till system showed lower cost compared to conventional tillage due to the cost of polyethylene film and plowing and harrowing operations and placing the film on conventional tillage. All cultural practices in both tillage systems were considered economically viable, because they have a favorable benefit/cost of more than 1.0. However, the treatments with the production of corn for the production of green ears, intercropped with Braquiaria, stood out the best benefit / cost ratio due to the increase of revenue from the sale of green ears, in both tillage systems. The best benefit/cost ratio was observed in the treatments with conventional tillage due to the lower productivity of melon at the till / O presente trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar a produtividade, o custo de produção e a qualidade dos frutos da cultura do melão amarelo com diferentes espécies de plantas destinadas à adubação verde, incorporadas ou mantidas sobre o solo nos sistemas de plantio convencional e direto, respectivamente. O ensaio foi conduzido na Fazenda Agrícola Famosa, município de Tibau/RN, no esquema de parcelas subdivididas, distribuídas no delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições. Nas parcelas, foram avaliados dois sistemas de plantio (direto e convencional) e nas subparcelas, doze combinações de plantas para adubação verde (Crotalária; Milheto; Crotalária + milheto; Milho mais braquiária; Vegetação espontânea + composto mais filme de polietileno; Solo mantido sem vegetação; Vegetação espontânea; Guandu; Guandu + milheto; Feijão de porco; Feijão-de-porco + milheto e Solo sem retirar a cobertura (vegetação natural) + milho + braquiária + filme de polietileno), incorporadas (plantio convencional) ou mantidas sobre o solo (plantio direto). Em cada subparcela, foi avaliado o rendimento de massa seca da parte aérea, utilizando-se um quadro de 0,25 m². Na primeira etapa do experimento, a partir dos dados obtidos com o melão, determinou-se o número de frutos por planta; peso médio de frutos e produtividade total e comercial para exportação, além da massa seca remanescente das plantas de coberturas do solo (palhada). Na segunda etapa, avaliaram-se as características qualitativas dos frutos de melão (número de frutos por planta, massa media dos frutos, comprimentos longitudinal e transversal; espessura de polpa; firmeza da polpa, pH, teor de sólidos solúveis (SS), acidez total (AT) e relação sólidos solúveis/acidez total (SS/AT) e açúcares totais) cultivado com diferentes adubos verdes incorporados ou mantidos sobre o solo nos sistemas de plantio convencional e direto, respectivamente. Na terceira etapa, avaliou-se o custo de produção do melão amarelo em cada combinação de plantas para adubação verde incorporadas ou mantidas sobre o solo, nos sistemas de plantio convencional e direto. Os custos por prática cultural foram estimados a partir dos coeficientes técnicos (insumos e operações) registrados no experimento e extrapolados para um hectare. Foram consideradas como viáveis economicamente aquelas práticas culturais que obtiveram relação benefício/custo superior a 1,0. Verificou-se que a maior produção de matéria seca de palhada foi obtida nos tratamentos com milho mais braquiária seguidos do consórcio milheto + crotalária e o milheto solteiro, que também apresentaram menor taxa de decomposição. Não houve variação entre os adubos verdes incorporados sobre a produção de melão. O sistema de plantio direto produziu maior número de frutos por planta, porém de menor tamanho. O sistema de plantio convencional apresentou maior produtividade em relação ao plantio direto. No segundo ensaio, verificou-se que o sistema de plantio direto manteve a maioria das características qualitativas dos frutos de melão em relação ao plantio convencional e não houve variação entre a maioria das características qualitativas dos frutos de melão para os adubos verdes avaliados. Com relação aos custos de produção, os tratamentos no sistema de plantio direto apresentaram menor custo em relação ao plantio convencional, em decorrência do custo do filme de polietileno e das operações de aração e gradagem e colocação do filme de polietileno no plantio convencional. Todas as práticas culturais nos dois sistemas de plantio foram consideradas viáveis economicamente, por apresentarem uma relação benefício/custo superior a 1,0, porém os tratamentos com a produção de milho, destinado à produção de espigas verdes, consorciado com braquiária, se destacaram pela melhor relação benefício/custo, em função do incremento da receita com a comercialização das espigas verdes, nos dois sistemas de plantio. A melhor relação benefício/custo foi verificada nos tratamentos com plantio convencional em razão da menor produtividade do melão no plantio direto

Denna studie har undersökt skillnader mellan Ryssland och Sverige i relation till kvaliteten avhållbarhetsrapporter inom energibranschen. Studien bygger på en komparativ tvärkulturelldesign där flera fall med ett antal observationer jämförs mellan varandra och använder sig aven flermetodsforskning. Bland teorier har intressentteorin, legitimitetsteorin samt tidigareforskning används som hjälp för att analysera studiens empiri. Utifrån det empiriska materialetframkommer att de svenska bolagen har högre kvalitet när det gäller beskrivningar av produktensamt frågor som berör miljön och energi. Däremot har de ryska företagen högre kvalitet inomde sociala aspekterna av hållbarhetsredovisning. Inom resterande kategorier har både svenskaoch ryska företag presterat på samma nivå. / This study has examined differences between Russia and Sweden in relation to the quality ofsustainability reports in the energy industry. The study is based on a comparative cross-culturaldesign where several cases with a number of observations are compared with each other anduse a multi-method research. Among theories, the stakeholder theory, the legitimacy theory andprevious research have been used to help analyze the empirical data of the study. Based on theempirical material, it appears that the Swedish companies have a higher quality when it comesto descriptions of the product and issues concerning the environment and energy. On the otherhand, the Russian companies have higher quality in the social aspects of sustainabilityreporting. In the remaining categories, both Swedish and Russian companies have performedat the same level.

Les modèles conceptuels (MC) jouent un rôle crucial qui est celui de servir de base à l’ensemble du processus de développement d’un système d’information (SI) mais aussi de moyen de communication à la fois au sein de l’équipe de développement et avec les utilisateurs durant les premières étapes de validation. Leur qualité joue par conséquent un rôle déterminant dans le succès du système final. Des études ont montré que la majeure partie des changements que subit un SI concerne des manques ou des défaillances liés aux fonctionnalités attendues. Sachant que la définition de ses fonctionnalités incombe à la phase de l’analyse et conception dont les MC constituent les livrables, il apparaît indispensable pour une méthode de conception de veiller à la qualité des MC qu’elle produit. Notre approche vise les problèmes liés à la qualité de la modélisation conceptuelle en proposant une solution intégrée au processus de développement qui à l’avantage d’être complète puisqu’elle adresse à la fois la mesure de la qualité ainsi que son amélioration. La proposition couvre les aspects suivants: i. Formulation de critères de qualité en fédérant dans un premier temps les travaux existant sur la qualité des MC. En effet, un des manques constaté dans le domaine de la qualité des MC est l’absence de consensus sur les concepts et leurs définitions. Ce travail a été validé par une étude empirique. Ce travail a également permis d’identifier les parties non couverte par la littérature et de les compléter en proposant de nouveaux concepts ou en précisant ceux dont la définition n’était complète. ii. Définition d’un concept (pattern de qualité) permettant de capitaliser les bonnes pratiques dans le domaine de la mesure et de l’amélioration de la qualité des MC. Un pattern de qualité sert à aider un concepteur de SI dans l’identification des critères de qualité applicables à sa spécification, puis de le guider progressivement dans la mesure de la qualité ainsi que dans son amélioration. Sachant que la plupart des approches existantes s’intéresse à la mesure de la qualité et néglige les moyens de la corriger. La définition de ce concept est motivée par la difficulté et le degré d’expertise important qu’exige la gestion de la qualité surtout au niveau conceptuel où le logiciel fini n’est pas encore disponible et face à la diversité des concepts de qualité (critères et métriques) pouvant s’appliquer. iii. Formulation d’une méthode orientée qualité incluant à la fois des concepts, des guides et des techniques permettant de définir les concepts de qualité souhaités, leur mesure et l’amélioration de la qualité des MC. Cette méthode propose comme point d’entrée le besoin de qualité que doit formuler le concepteur. Il est ensuite guidée de manière flexible dans le choix des critères de qualité adaptés jusqu’à la mesure et la proposition de recommandations aidant à l’amélioration de la qualité du MC initial conformément au besoin formulé. iv. Développement d'un prototype "CM-Quality". Notre prototype met en œuvre la méthode proposée et offre ainsi une aide outillé à son application. Nous avons enfin mené deux expérimentations ; la première avait comme objectif de valider les concepts de qualité utilisés et de les retenir. La deuxième visait à valider la méthode de conception guidée par la qualité proposée / Conceptual models (CM) serve as the blueprints of information systems and their quality plays decisive role in the success of the end system. It has been witnessed that majority of the IS change-requests result due to deficient functionalities in the information systems. Therefore, a good analysis and design method should ensure that CM are correct and complete, as they are the communicating mediator between the users and the development team. Our approach targets the problems related to conceptual modeling quality by proposing a comprehensive solution. We designed multiple artifacts for different aspects of CM quality. These artifacts include the following: i. Formulation of comprehensive quality criteria (quality attributes, metrics, etc.) by federating the existing quality frameworks and identifying the quality criteria for gray areas. Most of the existing literature on CM quality evaluation represents disparate and autonomous quality frameworks proposing non-converging solutions. Thus, we synthesized (existing concepts proposed by researchers) and added the new concepts to formulate a comprehensive quality approach for conceptual models that also resulted in federating the existing quality frameworks. ii. Formulation of quality patterns to encapsulate past-experiences and good practices as the selection of relevant quality criteria (including quality attributes and metrics) with respect to a particular requirement (or goal) remains trickier for a non-expert user. These quality patterns encapsulate valuable knowledge in the form of established and better solutions to resolve quality problems in CM. iii. Designing of the guided quality driven process encompassing methods and techniques to evaluate and improve the conceptual models with respect to a specific user requirement or goal. Our process guides the user in formulating the desired quality goal, helps him/her in identifying the relevant quality patterns or quality attributes with respect to the quality goal and finally the process helps in evaluating the quality of the model and propose relevant recommendations for improvement. iv. Development of a software prototype “CM-Quality”. Our prototype implements all the above mentioned artifacts and proposes a workflow enabling its users to evaluate and improve CMs efficiently and effectively. We conducted a survey to validate the selection of the quality attributes through the above mentioned federating activity and also conducted three step detailed experiment to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of our overall approach and proposed artifacts.