Gregor Polančič

An empirical examination of application frameworks success based on technology acceptance model

Framework-based development is currently regarded as one of the most promising software development approaches when it comes to improvements in lead time, productivity and quality. However, many frameworks and projects based on frameworks still report failures, which indicate that there are problems related to both frameworks technology and frameworks usage. The objective of our research was to examine the major drivers that have an impact on a frameworks acceptance and a frameworks success. We used the technology acceptance model (TAM) and Seddons information systems success model as our underlying theory. Data collected from an online survey of 389 active framework users was used to test hypothesized models. Data analysis was performed via structural equation modeling. Our findings support the post-adoption version of TAM and the relationship between continuous use and the successful use of systems, where more use also means more net benefits. We found that the successful use of frameworks is mainly dependent on two factors: continuous framework usage intention and the perceived usefulness of the framework. Several practical and theoretical implications can be foreseen including advances in framework development guidelines and insight into the relationship between the acceptance and success of frameworks.

Comparative assessment of open source software using easy accessible data

Open source (usually free of charge) software has become increasingly prominent in last few years. Previous research of software being developed under open source license has showed, that some open source products can reach qualitative and popularity level of commercial (usually closed-source) counterparts. However, a lot of open source software do not attain maturity. This shows that their projects have problems and that the quality of projects outcomes (software) can vary. Therefore an assessment model is necessary which could filter out only suitable (qualitative) products. This paper presents a quantitative basis for evaluating an open source product based on multiple criteria of software quality. In contrary to other software assessment models, which are time-consuming and expensive, the proposed model uses easy accessible quantitative data, specific for open source projects. A set of measurements for evaluating open source software together with proposed model and a practical example is presented

Factors impacting the acceptance of mobile data services - A systematic literature review

The acceptance of mobile services was analysed using systematic literature review.TAM model and transactional mobile services demonstrated as being most common.A causal relation can behave differently depending on the mobile service category.Mobile services categories-based generic acceptance models were proposed.Beside TAM/TAM2, enjoyment plays a significant role in mobile services acceptance. This research aims to explore the field of mobile data services and discover factors that influence their adoption. It constitutes a systematic literature review of 80 primary studies, with the goal of researching the field of acceptance of mobile data services. The review focuses on a broad field of mobile services to ensure the most valid results. In addition, it also focuses on the main mobile service categories to discover which of the acceptance models and factors are most suited for the analysis of each services category. It provides an aggregation of the most used factors, with their definitions and the extent of their usage. Furthermore, it tries to establish a basis for future works by aggregating the relations between factors and providing the rate of their significance. Additionally, it analyses the relation behaviour between different mobile service categories and tries to extract factors, that could be limited to certain mobile services. Finally, based on the data retrieved from the literature, the review tries to propose a generic model for each of the mobile service categories in order to help researchers in future mobile services research.

Business process model and notation: The current state of affairs

Context: With business process modelling, companies and organizations can gain explicit control over their processes. Currently, there are many notations in the area of business process modelling, where Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is denoted as the de facto standard. Aims: The aim of this research is to provide the state-of-the-art results addressing the acceptance of BPMN, while also examining the purposes of its usage. Furthermore, the advantages, disadvantages and other interests related to BPMN were also investigated. Method: To achieve these objectives, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and a semantic examination of articles’ citations was conducted. Results: After completing SLR, out of a total of 852 articles, 31 were deemed relevant. The majority of the articles analyzed the notation and compared it with other modelling techniques. The remainder evaluated general aspects of the notation, e.g. history and versions of the standard, usage of the notation or tools. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that there are empirical insights about the level of BPMN acceptance. They suggest that BPMN is still widely perceived as the de facto standard in the process modelling domain and its usage is everincreasing. However, many studies report that only a limited set of elements are commonly used and to this end, several extensions were proposed. The main purpose of BPMN remains the description of business processes.

An empirical investigation of intuitive understandability of process diagrams

ContextBusiness process modeling is an activity that includes several different roles, e.g. business analysts, technical analysts and software developers. The resulting process diagrams can be either simple or complex. Nonetheless, they must be understandable to everyone, even those without the necessary knowledge of process modeling notations. ObjectiveThe goal of our research was to evaluate intuitive understandability of diagrams, modeled in different process modeling notations, with regard to diagram complexity. MethodAn empirical research was conducted, including 103 students with the goal to empirically validate the intuitiveness of the diagrams, modeled in most commonly used process modeling notations, i.e. Unified Modeling Language 2.0 Activity Diagram (UML AD), Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) and Event Driven Process Chain (EPC). Results were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, together with the Mann-Whitney post hoc tests with Bonferroni correction. ResultsIn the case of processes with lesser complexity, participants using BPMN diagrams were significantly outperformed by those using either EPC or UML AD ones. However, when complexity of processes was higher, participants using EPC diagrams performed significantly worse than those using the UML AD and BPMN counterparts. Moreover, participants that used UML AD diagrams were not significantly outperformed by users of diagrams in other process modeling notations, regardless of their complexity. Thus, UML AD was recognized as being the most versatile notation. ConclusionSince the existing studies do not offer a holistic overview of the intuitive understandability of process diagrams with different complexity, modeled in different process modeling notations, our research can help decide which notation to use when representing processes that have to be understandable by all stakeholders. Lower complexity BPMN diagrams were outperformed by EPC or UML AD ones.Higher complexity EPC diagrams were outperformed by BPMN or UML AD ones.UML AD was recognized as being the most versatile notation.Our study can help decide which notation to use when representing processes.

Introduction to Social Business Process Management

Technologies and concepts of Web 2.0 are strongly present in everyday life and also in business environments, where they are increasingly involved into business activities which constitute business processes. Combining the management of Web 2.0 and business processes resulted in social BPM, which is one of the most promising fields in the software industry. Social BPM tries to create knowledge in business environments and manage it efficiently. In this contribution, some key features are presented. We particularly exposed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of social BPM.

An experimental investigation comparing individual and collaborative work productivity when using desktop and cloud modeling tools

Successful modeling tools need to effectively support individual as well as team-based work (collaboration) within colocated and virtual environments. In the past, achieving this has been challenging, since traditional modeling tools are desktop-based and thus suitable for individual and colocated work only. However, with the rise of web-based architectures and the cloud paradigm, desktop modeling tools now have rivals in their web-based counterparts that are especially suited for online collaboration (e-collaboration). The objective of our research was to probe the question as to ‘which type of modeling tools (desktop or cloud-based) performs better in cases of individual work and e-collaboration’, and to obtain insights into the sources of the strengths and weaknesses regarding both types of modeling tools. A controlled experiment was performed in which we addressed two types of modeling tools—desktop and cloud-based, in respect to two types of work—individual and e-collaboration. Within these treatments, we observed the productivity of 129 undergraduate IT students, who performed different types of modeling activities. The experimental participants reported no statistical significant differences between self-reported expertise with the investigated tools as well as their overall characteristics. However, they did finish individual and e-collaborative activities faster when using cloud modeling tool, where significant differences in favor of the cloud modeling tool were detected during e-collaboration. If we aggregate the results, we can argue that cloud modeling tools are comparable with desktop modeling tools during individual activities and outperform them during e-collaboration. Our findings also correlate with the related research, stating that with the use of state-of-the-art Web technologies, cloud-based applications can achieve the user experience of desktop applications.

Application of Business Process Diagrams’ Complexity Management Technique Based on Highlights

The purpose of business process diagrams is mainly to make the communication between process-related stakeholders more effective. Currently, BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) is the leader and de-facto standard for business process modeling. However, the notation and their corresponding diagrams have been perceived as complex by many different researchers. Much work was already done in order to manage such complexity by changing or extending the existing BPMN notation. In this paper, we will propose a solution that aims to decrease the complexity of business process diagrams without changing the notation or existing approaches by introducing opacity-driven graphical highlights.

On the security of certain e-communication types: Risks, user awareness and recommendations

Electronic communication is nowadays ubiquitous, irreplaceable and powerful, but because of its significance, the impact on an individual, if something wrong happens, is negligible. A literature review was conducted with the aim of analyzing the term of electronic communication itself as well the aspect of its security. The analysis was performed only on certain popular e-communication types (e.g. e-mail, social media and smartphones). The objective was to review electronic communication in general and to determine if the public is aware of risks concerning it. As a result we concluded that electronic communication is mainly misunderstood and that the public is becoming aware of its security and privacy risk.

How Do Emotions Impact Mobile Services Acceptance? A Systematic Literature Review

Mobile data services have been rapidly developing and expanding in the recent years; therefore many studies focus on researching their acceptance and use in general or by observing different viewpoints. One of these is emotions, which influence our beliefs and attitudes that impact our decisions and actions. The objective of our research was therefore to explore the field of mobile data services acceptance in regard to emotional factors. We performed a systematic literature review of emotional concepts and their relationships, provided by 43 primary studies. Consequently, our study includes an aggregation of emotional factors obtained from related and reviewed literature, with their definitions and the extent of their usage. Furthermore, it analyses the proportion of emotional factors against all acceptance-related factors as well as the extent of their use through time. Our study tries to guide future work by aggregating the relations that include at least one emotional factor and by providing the rate of their significance. Finally, the study tends to determine the viability of the emotional factors by observing their direct influences on users’ intention and proposes a generic theoretical model for supporting future mobile services research.