Alain Abran

Usability Meanings and Interpretations in ISO Standards

The usability of a software product has recently become a key software quality factor. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed a variety of models to specify and measure software usability but these individual models do not support all usability aspects. Furthermore, they are not yet well integrated into current software engineering practices and lack tool support. The aim of this research is to survey the actual representation (meanings and interpretations) of usability in ISO standards, indicate some of existing limitations and address them by proposing an enhanced, normative model for the evaluation of software usability.

The guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge

Reporting on the SWEBOK project, the authors-who represent the projects editorial team-discuss the three-phase plan to characterize a body of knowledge, a vital step toward developing software engineering as a profession.

Function points analysis: an empirical study of its measurement processes

Function point analysis (FPA) was initially designed on the basis of expert judgments, without explicit reference to any theoretical foundation. From the point of view of the measurement scales used in its measurement process, FPA constitutes a potpourri of scales not admissible without the transformations imbedded in the implicit models of expert judgments. The results of this empirical study demonstrate that in a homogeneous environment not burdened with major differences in productivity factors there is a clear relationship between FPAs primary components and work-effort. This empirical study also indicates that there is such a relationship for each step of the FPA measurement process prior to the mixing of scales and the assignments of weights. Comparisons with FPA productivity models based on weights confirm, on the one hand, that the weights do not add information and, on the other, that the weights are fairly robust and can be used when little historical data is available. The full data set is provided for future studies.

Software Maintenance Maturity Model (SMmm): the software maintenance process model

SUMMARY We address the assessment and improvement of the software maintenance function by proposing improvements to the software maintenance standards and introducing a proposed maturity model for daily software maintenance activities: Software Maintenance Maturity Model (SM mm ). The software maintenance function suffers from a scarcity of management models to facilitate its evaluation, management, and continuous improvement. The SM mm addresses the unique activities of software maintenance while preserving a structure similar to that of the CMMi ©4 maturity model. It is designed to be used as a complement to this model. The SM mm is based on practitioners’ experience, international standards, and the seminal literature on software maintenance. We present the model’s purpose, scope, foundation, and architecture, followed by its initial validation. Copyright

A multidimensional performance model for consolidating balanced scorecards

A Balanced Scorecard (BSC) presents the quantitative goals selected from multiple perspectives for implementing the organizational strategy and vision. However, in most current BSC frameworks, including those developed for the Information and Communication Technology field, each perspective is handled separately. None of these perspectives is integrated automatically into a consolidated view, and so these frameworks do not tackle, either in relative or in absolute terms, the contribution of each goal to the whole BSC. Here, this issue is highlighted, candidate consolidation techniques are reviewed and the preferred technique, the QEST model, is selected; more specifically, three options are presented for incorporating the QEST model into a BSC framework.

The state of the art of mobile application usability evaluation

Mobile devices and applications provide significant advantages to their users, in terms of portability, location awareness, and accessibility. A number of studies have examined usability challenges in the mobile context, and proposed definitions of mobile application usability and methods to evaluate it. This paper presents the state of the art of the evaluation and measurement of mobile application usability.

Mapping the OO-Jacobson approach into function point analysis

Function point analysis measures user requested functionality independent of the technology used for implementation. Software applications are represented in an abstract model that contains the items that contribute to the functional size. When function point analysis is applied to object-oriented software, the concepts of the development method have to be mapped into that abstract model. The article proposes a mapping of the use case driven object-oriented software engineering method by Jacobson et al. (1992) into the abstract function point model. The mapping has been formulated as a small set of concise rules that support the actual measurement process. The work demonstrates the applicability of function point analysis as a measure of functional software size to the OO-Jacobson approach. This supports the thesis that function point analysis measures independent of the technology used for implementation and that it can be used in the object-oriented paradigm.

From software metrics to software measurement methods: a process model

Presents a process model for software measurement methods. The proposed model details the distinct steps from the design of a measurement method, to its application, then to the analysis of its measurement results, and lastly to the exploitation of these results in subsequent models, such as in quality and estimation models. From this model, a validation framework can be designed for analyzing whether or not a software metric could qualify as a measurement method. The model can also be used for analyzing the coverage of the validation methods proposed for software metrics.

Analysis of maintenance work categories through measurement

Empirical data from a two-year measurement effort in the software maintenance environment of a Canadian organization are presented. The findings reported are based on a daily data-collection process including 2152 work requests which required 11365 days to complete. This set of empirical data confirms some of the findings of the opinion surveys in terms of the stability of the overall workload distribution in the maintenance area, while the analysis of any subset of data indicates that this overall average hides significant differences. The authors include a discussion on the improved measurement program implemented, and illustrate how insights into the maintenance process are gained through various measurements.<<ETX>>

Function points: a study of their measurement processes and scale transformations

Abstract Function point metrics were initially designed through expert judgments. The underlying measurement model has not been clearly stated, and this has generated some confusion as to the true nature of these metrics and their usefulness in fields other than their initial Management Information System domain. When viewed without reference to implicit models hidden in the expert judgments, function points constitute a potpourri of measurement scales. This suggests that each step could represent a transcend the measurement scales and maintain or improve the desired relationship with development effort.