The agile manifesto has certainly changed the way software is produced in the Information Communications Technology (ICT) industry. However, many persistent challenges cripple agile software development. One challenge is that the constant change in technology makes the requirements hard to implement. Another is that issues of the agile requirements engineering (ARE) process are abundant and pervasive throughout software projects. The aim of this study is to determine common issues in agile requirements engineering in the South African software industry and identify tools and frameworks to mitigate risks emanating from such problems. This includes finding out how much value software practitioners put in the agile principles. This study was essentially quantitative, based on a cross-sectional survey. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect required data which was then subjected to exploratory data analysis using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), a tool for statistical analysis. The results show that software practitioners have a strong penchant for principles of the Agile Manifesto. Major issues in agile requirements engineering include lack of proper validation tools and techniques, scope problems, lack of proper documentation, issues of prioritisation, as well as unavailability of customer representative. A detailed baseline of issues in agile requirements engineering was created along with a set of recommended tools and techniques used in the software industry. As for the recommendation, it is suggested that companies invest more on validation tools and techniques and consider non-functional requirements integration during software development. / School of Computing / M. Sc. (Computing)

In den 80er und 90er Jahren hatten große Anwendungssysteme in Unternehmen einige hundert bis tausend Anwender. Der Software-Entwicklungsprozess für diese Anwendungen war innerhalb der Unternehmen relativ klar geregelt. Fachinformatiker und Fachabteilungen standen einander dabei gegenüber. Oft wurden auch externe Fachleute und Komponentenlieferanten integriert. Entwicklungsmethoden und Werkzeuge waren auf diese Situation ausgelegt. Seit dieser Zeit haben wesentliche Veränderungen stattgefunden. Internettechnologien haben neue Klassen von Applikationen ermöglicht, die wie folgt charakterisiert werden können: - Die Applikationen sind kooperativ (unternehmensübergreifend). Nicht selten sind 20-50 oder mehr Unternehmen z. B. bei Zulieferketten beteiligt. - Eine eigene Klasse bilden mandantenfähige Systeme sowie Business-to-Consumer Systeme (B2C) bei denen sehr große Nutzerzahlen konnektiert werden. - Die Entwicklungszeiten liegen im Bereich von Monaten statt Jahren für eine erste Bereitstellung einer Basislösung. - Die Systeme werden inkrementell unter starker Anwenderbeteiligung bis hin zur Endbenutzerbeteiligung weiterentwickelt. (...)

Requirements Engineering (RE) plays a vital role in Information Systems (IS) development. The collaboration of requirements engineers is at the core of RE activities and is typically supported by technology tools, with Jira being an example of such a tool. Since these technology tools, like Jira, are focused on the execution of traditional duties, the collaboration functionalities of these technology tools are unseen. Moreover, little research has been carried out to explore how requirements engineers’ collaboration is supported and the challenges are created by the technology tools. Interpretive qualitative research was conducted to understand the nature of requirements engineers’ collaboration in three IS development organisations in Sweden to better support it with technology tools. The empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews and observations and was analysed thematically to generate seven themes.  The findings revealed that the technology tools facilitate requirements engineers’ cooperation, communication among multiple collaborating parties in one platform, coordination of work activities and information sharing among other collaborating parties. Additionally, it discovered that the inability to support real-time communication, high configurability, limited sharing possibilities, compatibility, technicality and complexity challenge and interrupt the requirement engineers’ collaboration.  Moreover, the theoretical frame findings are discussed with the help of the theoretical framework, including the activity theory. Requirements engineers’ collaboration is presented as a purposeful interaction among them and other people with the support of technology tools to complete the process of RE in information systems development. Their interactions and the importance of the technology tools are underlined. Hence, the outcome of the master’s thesis research shows that the collaborative technology tools enable the requirement engineers’ collaboration through supporting and facilitating their effective communication, cooperation, coordination, information sharing, and through facilitating their awareness, allowing them in this way to drive the information systems projects and/or products development into successful completion. The extended collaboration model presented in this research in combination with activity theory is used to understand the transformation of the enabling collaboration of requirements engineers.

Requirements engineering remains an important discipline to reduce costs, development times and improve quality in software engineering projects. With Agile methods gaining prominence in a rapidly globalized world, many requirements engineering efforts are today made in distributed contexts, with both teams and stakeholders being separated by physical and organisational distances. At the same time, it is not well understood how agile methods for requirements engineering apply to distributed contexts. This thesis investigates the implementation and use of agile methods for requirements engineering in distributed software engineering contexts. Observations made over a three-month study of the CHAMP project, a joint IT and process development effort between major European truck manufacturers Scania and MAN, are used to assess how commonly practices agile methods perform when implemented over distances. The case study of the CHAMP study suggests that the implementation of agile methods is highly context-sensitive, with limited current opportunities to formulate general heuristics for successful applications. The results of the CHAMP study indicate that distributed contexts hamper team communications when compared to co-located efforts, making it more difficult to implement an overall agile project model. However, individual methods, particularly the use of work backlogs, are found to offer increased structural flexibility beneficial to distributed workflows. Additionally, the CHAMP observations suggest implementing agile methods in new contexts requires an organisational mandate, as agile workflows are less predictable than linear models and can expose the surrounding organisation to higher uncertainty. / Kravhantering är fortsatt ett viktigt verktyg för att reducera kostnader, utvecklingstider och öka leveranskvalitet i mjukvaruutveklingsprojekt. Då agila metoder har blivit allt vanligare i en snabbt globaliserad värld, genomförs idag många kravhanteringsprocesser i utspridda sammanhang, där både projektets personal och intressenter är separerade av fysiska och organisatoriska avstånd. Samtidigt är det inte väl förstått hur agila metoder för kravhantering applicerar i utspridda sammanhang. Detta examensarbete undersöker hur agila metoder han implementeras och användas för kravhanteringsprocesser i utspridda mjukvaruutvecklingsprocesser. Observationer insamlade under en tremånadersstudie av CHAMP-projektet, ett gemensamt IT- och affärsutvecklingsprojekt mellan de stora europeiska lastbilstillverkarna Scania och MAN, används för att bedöma hur vanligt förekommande agila metoder fungerar när de tillämpas i agila sammanhang. Fallstudien av CHAMP-projektet indikerar att den specifika kontexten kan kraftigt påverka implementationen ag agila metoder, vilket för närvarande begränsar möjligheten att formulera generella tumregler för hur de framgångsrikt kan lanseras. CHAMP-studiens resultat påvisar att utspridda projekt har svårare att kommunicera jämför med samlokaliserade grupper, vilket gör det svårare att implementera sammanhållet agila projektmodeller. Samtidigt kan enskilda agila metoder, särskilt användningen av backlogs, hjälpa till att öka flexibiliteten i projekt, vilket är värdefullt i utspridda arbetsprocesser. Slutligen påvisar observationerna från CHAMP-projektet att det är viktigt med ett organisatoriskt mandat vid implementationen av agila metoder, då de är mindre förutsägbara än linjära processer och kan utsätta omkringliggande organisationer för högre osäkerhet.

While several approaches exist for modeling goals and business processes in organizations, the relationships between these two views are often not well defined. This inhibits the effective reuse of available knowledge in models. This thesis aims to address this issue through the introduction of a Goal-oriented Pattern Family (GoPF) framework that helps constructing business process models from organization goals while expanding these goals, establishing traceability relationships between the goal and process views, and improving reusability. Methods for extracting domain knowledge as patterns, which are composed of goal model building blocks, process model building blocks, and their relationships, and for maintaining the patterns over time are also presented. The GoPF framework provides the infrastructure for defining pattern families, i.e., collections of related patterns for particular domains. The foundation of GoPF is formalized as a profile of the User Requirements Notation, a standard modeling language that supports goals, scenarios, and links between them. A method for the use of GoPF is defined and then illustrated through a case study that targets the improvement of patient safety in healthcare organizations. The framework and the extraction/maintenance methods are also validated against another case study involving aviation security in a regulatory environment. The GoPF framework is expected to have a positive impact on the scientific community through the formalization, evolution, and reuse of patterns in domain-specific business domains. From an industrial viewpoint, this framework will also help intermediary organizations (such as consulting firms) who are required to repeatedly create and document goal and process models for other organizations in their business domain.

In today’s society there is a growing awareness of where food is produced and there is a trend to use locally grown produce in restaurants. One way for restaurants to differentiate themselves is to grow the produce inside the restaurant. This thesis has the aim on identifying the problems and user needs for an indoor cultivation solution and developing a new indoor cultivation product that solves the identified problems and meet the user needs. To achieve this aim, a usercentered design approach was utilised and the following three research questions were answered: How can the needs of the user be translated into a product specification for indoor cultivation in restaurants? What are the functionality, usability, and construction requirements for an indoor cultivation product in a restaurant? What product concept can be designed to grow classic herbs in restaurants based on the needs of the user? To identify the needs interviews were performed with the users. The needs were then translated, together with the company’s needs, into a product specification. This was done in two steps, identifying the metrics and setting values. Some of the most important requirements are that a hydroponic system is used, that the product is easy to clean and is moveable. The product development process was iterative and included different ideation, development and evaluation methods. The users were involved in some of the evaluation methods to give input on the final design. Their opinion, together with evaluations based on the product specification, were used when choosing the final concept Lärad. Lärad uses a circulating hydroponic system and have three separate growing containers each containing 16 plants. The growing containers can be pulled out to enable easy access of the plants. Both the water system and the LED grow lights, that replaces natural sunlight, are controlled automatically to minimise the users’ involvement. To test the concept, to see how well the product specification is fulfilled, both a CAD model and a functional prototype were created. The results from the tests were, even at the concept stage, that 97% of all the tested requirements were fulfilled which shows that the concept is suitable for indoor cultivation in a restaurant environment. Some further work that includes refining the design and optimising for production will be needed to launch the product.

Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo de avaliação de desempenho de projetos a partir de uma estrutura multidimensional que engloba custo, prazo e qualidade do produto final do projeto. As fundações para o desenvolvimento desta abordagem multidimensional estão em um modelo que integra o conceito de Gerenciamento do Valor Agregado (EVM Earned Value Management) à Engenharia de Sistemas e ao Desdobramento da Função Qualidade (QFD Quality Funcion Deployment). A tradução de requisitos do cliente para requisitos técnicos é alicerçada no Desdobramento da Função Qualidade (QFD Quality Funcion Deployment), a alocação de requisitos técnicos em uma Estrutura Analítica de Projeto (WBS Work Breakdown Structure) é baseada em Engenharia de Sistemas e finalmente a integração desta base com as técnicas de planejamento e controle de projetos do Gerenciamento do Valor Agregado (EVM Earned Value Management) formam o Modelo Multidimensional de Desempenho de Projetos (MPPM - Multdidimensional Project Performance Model). Esta integração de disciplinas de qualidade, engenharia de sistemas e gerenciamento de projetos, que formam o MPPM, visa avaliar custo, prazo e qualidade do produto final de um projeto de forma integrada e simultânea. A parte empírica é realizada em duas etapas, sendo a primeira a simulação de uso do modelo a um projeto real já concluído e a segunda etapa estudo multicaso. A simulação da aplicação do modelo em um projeto real busca avaliar as dificuldades de aplicação, bem como avaliar as lacunas de desempenho do projeto a partir de uma visão multidimensional. Por fim, apresenta-se um estudo multicaso, realizado em seis empresas de grande porte de setores industriais distintos, que atuam no Brasil e desenvolvem projetos complexos. O objetivo desse estudo é fazer um levantamento das práticas de avaliação de desempenho em projetos, bem como avaliar se as empresas estudadas estariam prontas para a utilização do modelo multidimensional desenvolvido neste trabalho. O trabalho conclui que é possível a aplicação de um modelo multidimensional integrado como o MPPM para projetos com produtos complexos. Sua aplicação exige uma disciplina com a captura e desdobramento dos requisitos do cliente que não é usual nas práticas de gerenciamento de projetos das empresas pesquisadas. Por isso, a aplicação do modelo depende de uma considerável evolução da forma como as empresas gerenciam projetos e lidam com os requisitos de clientes para o produto do projeto. / This dissertation presents a study of project performance evaluation through the development of a multidimensional model that integrates the dimensions of cost, schedule and quality of the project end product. The foundation for the development of this multidimensional approach is a model that integrates the Earned Value Management (EVM) concept with Systems Engineering and the Quality Function Deployment (QFD). The customer requirements translation to technical requirements from the Quality Function Deployment (QFD), the allocation of technical requirements to a Systems Engineering based work breakdown structure (WBS) and finally the integration of this basis with the EVM techniques of planning and controlling projects along its lifecycle build the Multidimensional Project Performance Model (MPPM). This integration of quality, systems engineering and project management disciplines, that results in the MPPM, is capable of an integrated and simultaneous evaluation of cost, schedule and quality of the project end product. The empiric study is divided in two parts, the fist one simulates the application of the MPPM to a real known project, the second is a multicase study. The MPPM simulation with a real project shows the difficulties and barriers to the application of such model, as well as the gaps of a project performance evaluation based on a multidimensional vision. Finally a multi-case study of practices of project performance evaluation with six large companies of different industries segments dealing with complex projects in Brazil is developed. This multi-case study objective is to raise companies practices on project performance evaluation and also to evaluate if the studied companies are ready for the implementation of a multidimensional project performance model as the MPPM. The dissertation conclusion is that it is possible to apply a multidimensional project performance model such as the MPPM for projects with complex products. The model application requires discipline on the customer requirements elicitation and deployment. This discipline is not commonly found on studied companies practices of project management. The MPPM application depends on a considerable evolution of the companies project management methods, as well as the way these companies deal with customer requirements of the project end product.

Na engenharia de software há os modelos tradicionais e os modelos ágeis. Porém, não há um consenso sobre quais são as práticas necessárias para se obter sucesso em um projeto de engenharia de software. O presente trabalho propõe a análise do modelo SEMAT através de um estudo de caso usando esse modelo para a concepção e o levantamento de requisitos de um software para e-learning, na área de ensino de banco de dados. A partir desse estudo de caso foi possível verificar a aplicabilidade do modelo para a aplicação, além de demonstrar algumas restrições e adaptações necessárias para o uso nessa área específica. / In software engineering there are traditional and agile models. However, there is no consensus on what practices are required for a successful software engineering project. This work proposes to analyze the SEMAT model through a study case for the conception and requirements elicitation of an e-learning database education software. From this study case it was possible to verify the model applicability for the application, as well as to understand some restrictions and adjustments required for this specific area.

O início deste século foi marcado pela mudança de paradigma na economia e nos processos produtivos, migrando de uma orientação a bens materiais para uma orientação a serviço. Ao mesmo tempo, os processos de automação da manufatura e integração de sistemas estão sofrendo alteração, onde modelos clássicos orientados a produto estão sendo substituídos por modelos sustentados por sistemas de informação (eventualmente cognitivos). A tese central deste trabalho é que a abordagem orientada a serviço deve ser baseada na engenharia de sistemas, com sistemas de informação atuando como elementos integradores automatizados do processo de co-criação dos serviços. Neste trabalho são analisadas propostas de formalização e fundamentação (teórica e prática) do processo de design de sistemas de serviço que sigam esta nova tendência, resultando em elementos integradores automatizados. É apresentado um framework, chamado SoftDiss, para especificação de sistema de informação de serviço, orientado a modelos, que provê recursos para os processos de eliciação, modelagem e análise de requisitos, baseado em métodos semi-formais (UML e SOMF) e formais (SysML e Petri Nets), visando antecipar a formalização da especificação e contemplar os diversos viewpoints. O uso do SoftDiss mostra que a utilização de melhores práticas, ferramentas comerciais e métodos formais, tendo como objetivo co-criação de valor, neste caso, entre desenvolvedores humanos e os sistemas incluídos no processo de design, viabilizam antecipar a formalização e contemplar os diversos viewpoints de requisitos. O SoftDiss é aplicado a três casos com estrutura distinta: o primeiro onde a base tecnológica é um sistema Smart Grid urbano, o segundo associado a projetos desenvolvidos em laboratórios de pesquisa e desenvolvimento, e o terceiro dedicado aos serviços associados à agricultura de precisão. A diversidade de tipos de serviço deste conjunto mostra a exibilidade do SoftDiss que é associado ao conceito de serviço e não ao tipo, função ou nicho de aplicação. / The beginning of this century was marked by a paradigm shift in the modeling and design of processes, which moved from goods-dominant to a service-dominant approach. At the same time, manufacturing automation and integration are evolving, opening the possibility for classical models, oriented to products has being replaced by service models, supported by information systems (eventually cognitive). The thesis of this work is that the service oriented approach should be based on systems engineering, with information systems acting to integrate and automate service co-creation. First of all some proposals are considered to formalize and fundament (from a theoretical and practical point of view) the design process of these new service systems and how they turn in key elements for integration and automation. In the following we introduce an framework called SoftDiss for specifying information systems service, model oriented, that provides resources to the processes of elicitation, requirements analysis and modeling, based on semi-formal (SOMF and UML) and formal (SysML and Petri Nets) methods which can anticipate the formal specification, while addressing different viewpoints. The use of SoftDiss shows that using best practices, business tools and formal methods to co-create value - in this case involving human developers and machine systems included in the design process, will lead to the anticipation and a formal representation to requirements viewpoints. SoftDiss is applied to three distinct case studies: the first where the basic technology from an urban Smart Grid, the second associated with projects developed in research laboratories and development, and the third dedicated to services associated with precision agriculture. The diversity of service types shows the flexibility of SoftDiss which is associated with the concept of service and not to the kind, function or application domain.

Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo de avaliação de desempenho de projetos a partir de uma estrutura multidimensional que engloba custo, prazo e qualidade do produto final do projeto. As fundações para o desenvolvimento desta abordagem multidimensional estão em um modelo que integra o conceito de Gerenciamento do Valor Agregado (EVM Earned Value Management) à Engenharia de Sistemas e ao Desdobramento da Função Qualidade (QFD Quality Funcion Deployment). A tradução de requisitos do cliente para requisitos técnicos é alicerçada no Desdobramento da Função Qualidade (QFD Quality Funcion Deployment), a alocação de requisitos técnicos em uma Estrutura Analítica de Projeto (WBS Work Breakdown Structure) é baseada em Engenharia de Sistemas e finalmente a integração desta base com as técnicas de planejamento e controle de projetos do Gerenciamento do Valor Agregado (EVM Earned Value Management) formam o Modelo Multidimensional de Desempenho de Projetos (MPPM - Multdidimensional Project Performance Model). Esta integração de disciplinas de qualidade, engenharia de sistemas e gerenciamento de projetos, que formam o MPPM, visa avaliar custo, prazo e qualidade do produto final de um projeto de forma integrada e simultânea. A parte empírica é realizada em duas etapas, sendo a primeira a simulação de uso do modelo a um projeto real já concluído e a segunda etapa estudo multicaso. A simulação da aplicação do modelo em um projeto real busca avaliar as dificuldades de aplicação, bem como avaliar as lacunas de desempenho do projeto a partir de uma visão multidimensional. Por fim, apresenta-se um estudo multicaso, realizado em seis empresas de grande porte de setores industriais distintos, que atuam no Brasil e desenvolvem projetos complexos. O objetivo desse estudo é fazer um levantamento das práticas de avaliação de desempenho em projetos, bem como avaliar se as empresas estudadas estariam prontas para a utilização do modelo multidimensional desenvolvido neste trabalho. O trabalho conclui que é possível a aplicação de um modelo multidimensional integrado como o MPPM para projetos com produtos complexos. Sua aplicação exige uma disciplina com a captura e desdobramento dos requisitos do cliente que não é usual nas práticas de gerenciamento de projetos das empresas pesquisadas. Por isso, a aplicação do modelo depende de uma considerável evolução da forma como as empresas gerenciam projetos e lidam com os requisitos de clientes para o produto do projeto. / This dissertation presents a study of project performance evaluation through the development of a multidimensional model that integrates the dimensions of cost, schedule and quality of the project end product. The foundation for the development of this multidimensional approach is a model that integrates the Earned Value Management (EVM) concept with Systems Engineering and the Quality Function Deployment (QFD). The customer requirements translation to technical requirements from the Quality Function Deployment (QFD), the allocation of technical requirements to a Systems Engineering based work breakdown structure (WBS) and finally the integration of this basis with the EVM techniques of planning and controlling projects along its lifecycle build the Multidimensional Project Performance Model (MPPM). This integration of quality, systems engineering and project management disciplines, that results in the MPPM, is capable of an integrated and simultaneous evaluation of cost, schedule and quality of the project end product. The empiric study is divided in two parts, the fist one simulates the application of the MPPM to a real known project, the second is a multicase study. The MPPM simulation with a real project shows the difficulties and barriers to the application of such model, as well as the gaps of a project performance evaluation based on a multidimensional vision. Finally a multi-case study of practices of project performance evaluation with six large companies of different industries segments dealing with complex projects in Brazil is developed. This multi-case study objective is to raise companies practices on project performance evaluation and also to evaluate if the studied companies are ready for the implementation of a multidimensional project performance model as the MPPM. The dissertation conclusion is that it is possible to apply a multidimensional project performance model such as the MPPM for projects with complex products. The model application requires discipline on the customer requirements elicitation and deployment. This discipline is not commonly found on studied companies practices of project management. The MPPM application depends on a considerable evolution of the companies project management methods, as well as the way these companies deal with customer requirements of the project end product.