Jelena Stojanov

Context dependent maintenance effort estimation: Case study in a small software company

This paper presents an approach to software maintenance effort estimation based on the analysis of software maintenance requests available in issue tracking system in a very small local software company. Over 1900 requests, collected during 19 months in 2010 and 2011, were selected for analysis. The approach takes into account: the frequency of submitted user requests for particular periods of time important for organizing work in the company, the existence of maintenance service agreement for clients, the number of programmers assigned to the task associated to each request, and the number of working hours required for requests solving. The approach calculates correlation and establishes linear regression between frequencies of submitted user requests and the average time required for completing requests. This approach estimates an average number of working hours for processing user requests in periods of time that are important for internal company organization. In the paper are also discussed implications for practice and research, and provided recommendations for adapting this approach to other small software companies.

Application of modified shortest path algorithm for project duration assessment

As one of the triple constraint of project management, project completion time is very important issue. This is considerable for wide range of projects, especially for the time-terminated ones. Beside standard network planning methods, such as CPM, PERT, PDM etc. there are variety of alternative methods, based on previous ones, which are used in order to obtain even better project duration evaluations. In these methods researchers includes simulation, fuzzy theory, genetic algorithms etc. This paper describes the approach in modification of shortest path search algorithms and their usage in project duration assessment. Presented modification of shortest path algorithms is focused on its conversion to finding longest path in the network diagram i.e. to finding critical path of the project.

Extending data-driven model of software with software change request service

ABSTRACT The dynamics of enterprise processes requires software systems that can easily change and adapt to new conditions. Effective maintenance of these software systems requires development of methods and tools for reducing maintenance costs and efforts, which increases the quality of software systems and efficiency of supported enterprise processes. In order to integrate maintenance support in existing software systems, a novel approach for extending a model of data-driven software systems with a software change request service is proposed. The approach includes modeling extensible software architecture with the focus on: data-driven organization of software, user interface that follows data structure, software change request service, and initial change impact set. The approach was verified through the implementation in a university environment. A qualitative exploratory study aimed at discovering advantages and disadvantages of the service, and identifying possible improvements was conducted with students. Despite identified advantages of integrated service, the authors are aware that the main limitation of the presented research is the lack of implementation in enterprise software systems. The challenges in implementing and validating the approach in enterprise software systems in the cases of developing new software systems or reengineering existing ones are outlined.

Knowledge discovery and systematization through thematic analysis in software process assessment project

Knowledge is recognized as an essential factor in successful and competitive software organizations. Software organizations acquire, create, systematize and use knowledge in their everyday activities. One of the most efficient ways for discovering, creating and systematizing knowledge is implementation of software process assessment activities. Assessment activities allow investigation of current practice and possible problems, but also discovery and systematization of knowledge stored within an organization. This paper presents an approach to knowledge discovery and systematization in a very small software company. The approach is implemented by using inductive thematic analysis as an additional set of activities within the assessment of software maintenance processes. The developed thematic framework outlines the main issues related to the maintenance activities in the company. This explicit knowledge is available to all employees in the company and forms the basis to be considered in planning future projects. Positive experiences in implementing thematic analysis for discovering and systematizing knowledge in the presented case study will be used for investigating other segments of the practice in similar software organizations.

Trends in software maintenance tasks distribution among programmers: A study in a micro software company

Software maintenance has been recognized by academicians and practitioners from industry as the most challenging and expensive part in software life cycle. The complexity and high costs of maintenance activities require systematic evidence of all maintenance activities and accurate models for planning and managing them. A common way for analyzing practice in software engineering is based on trend analysis of historical data related to activities and tasks implemented in the past. This paper presents a case study conducted in a micro software company aimed at introducing a schema for classifying maintenance tasks, and identifying trends in software maintenance tasks distribution among the programmers in the company. The discussion of results includes benefits for the company, limitations of the research and implications for academicians and practitioners in industry. The paper concludes with a few promising further research directions.

Exploring software maintenance process characteristics by using inductive thematic analysis

Software maintenance is the most costly part of software life cycle, deserving more attention of research community. Systematic consideration of software maintenance problems and challenges becomes even more important in small software companies that face several difficulties due to their constraints related to staff, resources and funding. This paper outlines a method for identifying and systematizing knowledge about practice in small organizations. The method is implemented in a micro software company for identifying characteristics of software maintenance processes. Thematic analysis enables identification and systematization of knowledge in a framework that is grounded in the empirical data collected in the company. This knowledge about the maintenance processes is available to the company staff for usage in everyday activities. The method can be easily tailored to other small organizations.

Project Duration Assessment Model Based on Modified Shortest Path Algorithm and Superposition

This paper presents project duration assessment model based on modification of shortest path algorithms and superposition. One of the shortest path algorithms, Dijkstra algorithm, is modified in order to find the longest path. This is used for critical path calculation, i.e. for resolving project duration assessment problem. Another modification of algorithm calculates sub critical path as the second longest one. These paths are used for superposition, because of stochastic nature of many research and development projects which can cause that at some point in time sub critical becomes critical path. Thus, sub critical path influence on project duration should be taken into account, and, in this case, superposition is used for that. Superposition used in the model is based on analytical method -- Clarks formulas. Presented model can be used for business process improvement and project management support.