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)

Employment issues in South Africa (SA) are a significant problem. There are ongoing discussions revolving around the employability challenges facing South African graduates, particularly in the Information Technology (IT) sector. The preparedness of these IT graduates has been questioned with many looking towards skill sets and employability status while others have scrutinised the validity of the IT curriculum meeting industry needs. The research focuses on a case study of graduates from an accredited, private higher education institution in SA. The study followed a qualitative approach using questionnaires and interviews to understand the experiences of employers, employed graduates and recruitment personnel upon employment of the graduates. This study investigated, determined and confirmed recommendations to adapt the South African higher education IT curriculum to improve the productivity of IT graduates upon employment. / School of Computing / M. Sc. (Computing)

Model-driven software development (MDSD) and component-based software development are both paradigms for reducing complexity and for increasing abstraction and reuse in software development. In this thesis, we aim at combining the advantages of each by introducing methods from component-based development into MDSD. In MDSD, all artefacts that describe a software system are regarded as models of the system and are treated as the central development artefacts. To obtain a system implementation from such models, they are transformed and integrated until implementation code can be generated from them. Models in MDSD can have very different forms: they can be documents, diagrams, or textual specifications defined in different modelling languages. Integrating these models of different formats and abstraction in a consistent way is a central challenge in MDSD. We propose to tackle this challenge by explicitly separating the tasks of defining model components and composing model components, which is also known as distinguishing programming-in-the-small and programming-in-the-large. That is, we promote a separation of models into models for modelling-in-the-small (models that are components) and models for modelling-in-the-large (models that describe compositions of model components). To perform such component-based modelling, we introduce two architectural styles for developing systems with component-based MDSD (CB-MDSD). For CB-MDSD, we require a universal composition technique that can handle models defined in arbitrary modelling languages. A technique that can handle arbitrary textual languages is universal invasive software composition for code fragment composition. We extend this technique to universal invasive software composition for graph fragments (U-ISC/Graph) which can handle arbitrary models, including graphical and textual ones, as components. Such components are called graph fragments, because we treat each model as a typed graph and support reuse of partial models. To put the composition technique into practice, we developed the tool Reuseware that implements U-ISC/Graph. The tool is based on the Eclipse Modelling Framework and can therefore be integrated into existing MDSD development environments based on the framework. To evaluate the applicability of CB-MDSD, we realised for each of our two architectural styles a model-driven architecture with Reuseware. The first style, which we name ModelSoC, is based on the component-based development paradigm of multi-dimensional separation of concerns. The architecture we realised with that style shows how a system that involves multiple modelling languages can be developed with CB-MDSD. The second style, which we name ModelHiC, is based on hierarchical composition. With this style, we developed abstraction and reuse support for a large modelling language for telecommunication networks that implements the Common Information Model industry standard.

En trend i den teknologiska utvecklingen på senare tid har varit att skapa en ökad rörlighet hos användaren. En bidragande faktor till detta är den snabba förbättringstakten hos de smartphones som i större utsträckning har funktionalitet som tidigare endast datorer hade. Detta har i sin tur förändrat de förväntningar slutanvändarna har på tjänsters tillgänglighet, vilket har lett till att produktiva mobila applikationer, appar, har funnit sin plats i vardagen. Denna studie är genomförd på Scanias Fleet Management-avdelning som erbjuder en webbaserad tjänst där åkerier kan administrera, övervaka och följa upp sina fordonsflottor. Syftet med studien var att undersöka om en förlängning av Scanias existerande webbtjänst till den mobila sfären är rätt steg att ta och vilka organisatoriska och tekniska utmaningar en ingång inom apputveckling ger upphov till. För att bemöta denna problematik har en omfattande kvalitativ undersökning genomförts där tre huvudgrupper av respondenter har intervjuats: jämförbara företag som har ställts inför liknande utmaningar, apputvecklingsföretag som har förståelse för appområdet samt Fleet Management-tjänstens existerande användare. Dessutom har en undersökning av potentiella tekniska utmaningar vid apputveckling gjorts genom framtagning av en prototyp i form av en app. Den genomförda undersökningen har, i kombination med studiens teoretiska referensram, lett till rekommendationer om hur man bör bemöta steget till de mobila enheterna. Denna studie visar på att det är lämpligt att anamma denna teknologiska trend då de positiva effekterna av en app väger upp kostnaderna. Apputveckling kräver ett tillvägagångssätt som skiljer sig från klassisk mjukvaruutveckling då slutanvändarens roll är mycket viktig under hela utvecklingsprocessen samt att en teknisk specialistkompetens behövs. En starkt iterativ utvecklingsprocess förutsätts och en proaktiv utvecklingsfilosofi krävs då tekniska förändringar inom smartphone-världen sker med stormsteg. / A recent trend in the technological evolution has been to increase the mobility of the end-user. A contributing factor is the fast rate of improvement in the smartphone area. This, in turn, has changed the expectations end-users have on the availability of services, which has allowed mobile applications, apps, to find their place in everyday life. This study has been conducted at Scania’s Fleet Management department that offers a web-based service where haulage contractors can administer, monitor and follow up on their vehicle fleets. The purpose of this study was to investigate if Scania’s existing web service should be extended into the mobile area, and if so, what organizational and technical challenges app development imposes. To address this problem, a qualitative investigation was carried out with three main groups of respondents: comparable companies that have faced similar challenges, app development companies and the current users of the Fleet Management service. Additionally, a prototype application was developed to investigate the potential technical challenges that may occur. Combined with a theoretical framework the conducted research has led to recommendations on how to best take the step into the field of mobile devices. This study shows that it is advisable to adopt the mobile technological trend since the positive effects of an app outweigh the potential costs. The technical changes within the field of smartphones occur at a rapid rate, which requires special technical skills. The development also requires iterative development methods where the end-user is included throughout the whole process.

No description available.

The main purpose of this project is to develop new functionalities for the Solicitation Management System (SMS) to support the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization (OTTC), California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) and the Center for the Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT), San Diego State University (SDSU) for the 2008 solicitation, which opened on 28 Jan 2008. SMS is a system built to facilitate the processing of grant proposal solicitations. The SMS was first built in 2004 and was primarily used by the OTTC, CSUSB for its solicitation activities. The new version of the SMS is more user friendly, so that it is easier for users to use and comprehend. The purpose of this software is to aid the processing of a solicitation for organizations that conduct solicitations for grant proposals.

Det blir allt vanligare att arbeta i projekt och därmed finns alltfler mjukvaruutvecklingsmetoder eller ramverk att applicera till projektet. Det är dock fortfarande inte ovanligt att man arbetar metodlöst, vilket kan leda till att oberäknade problem uppstår. En arbetsmetod eller ett metodramverk formar projektet så att man på bästa skall kunna undvika problem samt vara medveten om problem som skulle kunna uppstå. Syftet med den här studien är att ta fram en modell som identifierar problem och dess orsaker och konsekvenser som uppstår i ett mjukvaruutvecklingsprojekt med hjälp av ramverk. Ramverken som används i den här studien är Essence – Kernel and Languages for Software Engineering Methods och Self-Governance Developer Framework. Målet är att den här modellen skall användas av personer inom mjukvaruutveckling för projekt eller forskning. Studien är av kvalitativ natur med induktiv ansats. Det utfördes ett mjukvaruprojekt där teamet arbetade metodlöst och identifierade problem från en uppföljning som gjordes aktivt under projektets arbetsgång. Resultatet av studien är en modell som innebär att man skall kunna hitta orsaker samt konsekvenser till uppstådda problem inom projektet. Modellen som har tagits fram heter Problem-Orsak-Konsekvens-modellen och förkortas POK-modellen. / It is becoming more common to work in projects and therefor there are more and more software development methods to apply for the project. However, it is still not unusual to be working ad hoc, which can lead to uncalculated problems. A method or a framework shapes the project so that problems can be avoided in best possible way. It also helps developers to be aware of the problem that could arise. Despite this, there is no compilation of “anticipated problems” when working ad hoc. The purpose of this study is to produce a model to identify problems, root cause of problems and consequences of the problems that can occur when working in a software development project with the help from frameworks. The frameworks used in this study are Essence – Kernel and Languages for Software Engineering Methods and Self- Governance Developer Framework. The goal is that the model is used in software development environments for projects or research. The study is of qualitative nature with inductive approach. A software project was performed where the team worked without a method and identified problems from a follow-up that was active during the workflow of the project. The result of the study is a model, which should be able to find the source to occurred problems as well as consequence within the project.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2006 / A multi-threaded, multi-agent image recognition software application called RecMaster has been developed specifically for the purpose of quality control in a production environment. This entails using the system as a monitor to identify invalid objects moving on a conveyor belt and to pass on the relevant information to an attached device, such as a robotic arm, which will remove the invalid object. The main purpose of developing this system was to prove that a desktop computer could run an image recognition system efficiently, without the need for high-end, high-cost, specialised computer hardware. The programme operates by assigning each agent a task in the recognition process and then waiting for resources to become available. Tasks related to edge detection, colour inversion, image binarisation and perimeter determination were assigned to individual agents. Each agent is loaded onto its own processing thread, with some of the agents delegating their subtasks to other processing threads. This enables the application to utilise the available system resources more efficiently. The application is very limited in its scope, as it requires a uniform image background as well as little to no variance in camera zoom levels and object to lens distance. This study focused solely on the development of the application software, and not on the setting up of the actual imaging hardware. The imaging device, on which the system was tested, was a web cam capable of a 640 x 480 resolution. As such, all image capture and processing was done on images with a horizontal resolution of 640 pixels and a vertical resolution of 480 pixels, so as not to distort image quality. The application locates objects on an image feed - which can be in the format of a still image, a video file or a camera feed - and compares these objects to a model of the object that was created previously. The coordinates of the object are calculated and translated into coordinates on the conveyor system. These coordinates are then passed on to an external recipient, such as a robotic arm, via a serial link. The system has been applied to the model of a DVD, and tested against a variety of similar and dissimilar objects to determine its accuracy. The tests were run on both an AMD- and Intel-based desktop computer system, with the results indicating that both systems are capable of efficiently running the application. On average, the AMD-based system tended to be 81% faster at matching objects in still images, and 100% faster at matching objects in moving images. The system made matches within an average time frame of 250 ms, making the process fast enough to be used on an actual conveyor system. On still images, the results showed an 87% success rate for the AMD-based system, and 73% for Intel. For moving images, however, both systems showed a 100% success rate.

This dissertation focuses on how requirements for a new software development system are elicited and what pitfalls could cause a software development project to fail if the said requirements are not captured correctly. A number of existing requirements elicitation methods, namely: JAD (Joint Application Design), RAD (Rapid Application Development), a Formal Specifications Language (Z), Natural Language, UML (Unified Modelling Language) and Prototyping are covered. The aforementioned techniques are then integrated into existing software development life cycle models, such as the Waterfall model, Rapid Prototyping model, Build and Fix model, Spiral model, Incremental model and the V-Process model. Differences in the domains (knowledge and experience of an environment) of a client and that of the software development team are highlighted and this is done diagrammatically using the language of Venn diagrams. The dissertation also refers to a case study highlighting a number of problems during the requirements elicitation process, amongst other the problem of tacit knowledge not surfacing during elicitation. Two new requirements elicitation methodologies are proposed namely: the SRE (Solitary Requirements Elicitation) and the DDI (Developer Domain Interaction) methodology. These two methods could potentially be more time consuming than other existing requirements elicitation methods, but the benefits could outweigh the cost of their implementation, since the new proposed methods have the potential to further facilitate the successful completion of a software development project. Following the introduction of the new requirements elicitation methods, they are then applied to the aforementioned case study and highlight just how the hidden domain of the client may become more visible, because the software development team has gained a deeper understanding of the client’s working environment. They have therefore increased their understanding of how the final product needs to function in order to fulfil the set out requirements correctly. Towards the end of the dissertation a summary and a conclusion as well as future work that could be undertaken in this area are provided. / Computer Science / M. Sc. (Computer Science)

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement of the Doctor of Technology degree in Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Research productivity is one of the core functions of a university and it plays a crucial role for a nation to develop and find its standing in our global world. This study examined the effect of ICT adoption and training on the research productivity of university academics. Much research has been done on using technology in research with a view to increase productivity. However, hardly any research could be found on the use of ICT combined with ICT training with a view to increase research productivity. This study addressed this gap in the literature. The study sought to design a model that can increase research productivity of academics while optimizing ICT adoption and training effects. The study was conducted at four public universities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, whilst the part of the study on ICT training was conducted at one of the four universities. This study was conducted both in the form of a survey of 103 university academics and in the form of experimental sessions, where the use of ICT (EndNote, NVivo, AMOS, SPSS, and Turnitin) with training was used for research, the use of ICT without training was used for research and, finally, a session where a manual system (without using research software/tools and training) was used for research. The overall aim of the study was to investigate and design a model for the increase in research productivity of academics in universities after having adopted ICTs. The final results of the research revealed that the use of ICT tools (EndNote, NVivo, AMOS, SPSS, and Turnitin) with training increases research productivity as compared to using ICT tools without training, and/or using a manual system (without using research software/tools and training). A statistically proven model is recommended with a view to increase research productivity of academics.