Barbara Begier

Users' involvement may help respect social and ethical values and improve software quality

Global informatization brings potential threats. It is possible to reduce them if software developers are aware of those threats and if customers insist on eliminating them. The survey described in the paper shows that future programmers are aware of numerous threats associated with global informatization. Many threats may be reduced by users’ involvement in the software process. Software developers should learn and develop cooperation with users, as emphasized in agile methodologies. It is a task for academic teachers to promote collaboration between software authors and users, to show how to organize it, and to convince programmers that it is valuable. Users’ involvement requires changes in the software life cycle and in the set of established processes. Such changes, in the form of additionally established processes and phases in the software development cycle, are identified in the paper. One recommended process is the software product assessment intended to elicit feedback from users. Users’ involvement may help to respect ethical and social values and to produce software adapted to user expectations.

Evolutionally Improved Quality of Intelligent Systems Following Their Users’ Point of View

Authors of various intelligent expert systems concentrate their efforts on innovative elements of the developed software. But they often ignore quality aspects especially concerning software usage and users’ comfort of work. The decision how to improve an expert system during its evolutional development requires an instrument to determine whether the installed software tool meets expectations of its users. One of the possible solutions, in line with agile methodologies, is to involve users in the software process. Users provide regular feedback on the considered product. In the described approach feedback is obtained in a survey by questionnaire. The guidelines are given on how to design and conduct it. Quality tree of an expert system reflects its users’ point of view. Specifications formulated on the basis of the feedback allow software designers to develop improved versions of the product. The reported empirical research refers to a software system applied in civil engineering. After six iterations of its assessment and then related improvements the level of users’ satisfaction from the product is currently much better than that at the beginning.

Feedback from Users on a Software Product to Improve Its Quality in Engineering Applications

Users’ involvement in a software process is one of strategies for achieving an improvement of software quality. The described research is referred to the software system applied in civil engineering. The continual feedback from users makes possible to learn the user’s point of view and to improve a product just according to her/his notes and expectations. The applied method based on a questionnaire survey has been presented — the layout of questionnaires is the original solution. Four iterations of the collaborative development, including software quality assessment, took place. The level of users’ satisfaction from a product is currently better than that at the beginning.

Effective cooperation with energy consumers: An example of an ethical approach to introduce an innovative solution

Purpose – Research described in this paper focuses on a need to consult inhabitants about a new technical solution introduced in a country-wide scale like it is in the case of a smart metering system – finally, all energy consumers will become its users. Its social acceptance is required. So it is a good example of an ethical approach to introduce an innovative solution in the society. The conducted research was intended to help developing strategy to build appropriate relationships with energy consumers during the planned exchange of energy meters and to prepare energy consumers to make use of all functionality of the installed meters. The course of the conducted research and its results are presented. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The described forms of cooperation with people are direct interviews in focus groups and a questionnaire survey involving representative social sample (surveys have been conducted during direct meetings and via internet). They are descri...