Mercedes Ruiz

A simplified model of software project dynamics

Abstract The simulation of a dynamic model for software development projects (hereinafter SDPs) helps to investigate the impact of a technological change, of different management policies, and of maturity level of organisations over the whole project. In the beginning of the 1990s, with the appearance of the dynamic model for SDPs by Abdel-Hamid and Madnick [Software Project Dynamics: An Integrated Approach, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1991], a significant advance took place in the field of project management. From this work, several dynamic models have been developed in order to simulate the behaviour of these kinds of projects. From the comparison made between one of the best known empirical estimation models and dynamic estimation models, we have analysed the existing problems in dynamic models in order to make dynamic estimations at the early stages of software projects, when little information is available. We present the results obtained from a Reduced Dynamic Model developed to estimate and analyse the behaviour of SDPs in the early phases, in which there is not much information regarding the project. The modelling approach followed to obtain this simplified model has been determined by the simplification of Abdel-Hamid and Madnicks model using the works of Eberlein [Syst. Dyn. Rev. 1(5) (1989) 51] about understanding and simplification of models.

A systematic literature review on serious games evaluation

Training that future practitioners receive in software project management is a topic of great importance. The objective of this systematic literature review is to summarize the current state of the art of the different methods and procedures used to assess serious games. The review follows a predefined procedure that involves automatically searching well-known digital databases. 1199 papers were found by the automatic searches in the digital databases and 102 papers were selected as primary studies. The process was complemented with manual searches using author and backward snowballing techniques. Our systematic literature review identified the main methods followed to assess serious games, the application domains in which the assessments took place, the categories of serious games assessed, the main features considered to assess the educational effectiveness of serious games, the procedures followed for the assessments and the size of the population that participated in the assessments. The results are useful to researchers and practitioners willing to assess serious games in different fields, but specially to those interested in assessing serious games in the area of software project management. We present a systematic literature review on serious games (SG) evaluation.We summarize the different methods and procedures used to assess SG.We observe the application domains and the categories of SG assessed.We identify the main methods, features, procedures and size of population to assess SG.Results are intended to be applied in the area of SG in software project management.

A Dynamic Integrated Framework for Software Process Improvement

Current software process models (CMM, SPICE, etc.) strongly recommend the application of statistical control and measure guides to define, implement, and evaluate the effects of different process improvements. However, whilst quantitative modeling has been widely used in other fields, it has not been considered enough in the field of software process improvement. During the last decade software process simulation has been used to address a wide diversity of management problems. Some of these problems are related to strategic management, technology adoption, understanding, training and learning, and risk management, among others. In this work a dynamic integrated framework for software process improvement is presented. This framework combines traditional estimation models with an intensive utilization of dynamic simulation models of the software process. The aim of this framework is to support a qualitative and quantitative assessment for software process improvement and decision making to achieve a higher software development process capability according to the Capability Maturity Model. The concepts underlying this framework have been implemented in a software process improvement tool that has been used in a local software organization. The results obtained and the lessons learned are also presented in this paper.

Multiobjective simulation optimisation in software project management

Traditionally, simulation has been used by project managers in optimising decision making. However, current simulation packages only include simulation optimisation which considers a single objective (or multiple objectives combined into a single fitness function). This paper aims to describe an approach that consists of using multiobjective optimisation techniques via simulation in order to help software project managers find the best values for initial team size and schedule estimates for a given project so that cost, time and productivity are optimised. Using a System Dynamics (SD) simulation model of a software project, the sensitivity of the output variables regarding productivity, cost and schedule using different initial team size and schedule estimations is determined. The generated data is combined with a well-known multiobjective optimisation algorithm, NSGA-II, to find optimal solutions for the output variables. The NSGA-II algorithm was able to quickly converge to a set of optimal solutions composed of multiple and conflicting variables from a medium size software project simulation model. Multiobjective optimisation and SD simulation modeling are complementary techniques that can generate the Pareto front needed by project managers for decision making. Furthermore, visual representations of such solutions are intuitive and can help project managers in their decision making process.

Using dynamic modeling and simulation to improve the COTS software process

In the last several years, software industry has undergone a significant transition to the use of existing component products in building systems. Nowadays, more and more solutions are built by integrating Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products rather than building from scratch. This new approach for software development has specific features that add new factors that need to be taken into account to successfully face software development. In this paper, we present the first results of developing a dynamic simulation model to model and simulate the COTS-based software development process with the aim of helping to understand the specific features of this kind of software development, and design and evaluate software process improvements. An example of how to use these dynamic simulation models to study how the system integration starting point affects the main project variables is shown.

Coverage of ISO/IEC 12207 Software Lifecycle Process by a Simulation-Based Serious Game

Software process is a very important area of knowledge that supports software development. However, we can observe a lack of methods and tools that allow teaching software process in a highly practical way and attached to the software development learning. In this paper, we analyze the software lifecycle process groups of the ISO/IEC 12207 and the current application of serious games and gamification techniques within the software process education scope. Moreover, we propose a simulation-based serious game for software project management teaching that can be used, at the same time, to educate learners in software process. The paper also maps the stages of the game lifecycle to the software lifecycle processes of the ISO/IEC 12207. Ten experts from the educational field have evaluated the idea of using the proposed serious game for software process education concluding that it helps learners acquire practical knowledge not only in the project management area but in the software process scope.

Decision making support in CMMI process areas using multiparadigm simulation modeling

Estimates of task duration or the amount of resources needed in software projects are often very inaccurate. To avoid this problem, project management must be effective and dynamic, that is, being proactive rather than reactive. Among the tasks needed in this approach, reassigning resources, hiring new personnel or adapting estimates to new situations can be found. In this paper we propose to apply multiparadigm simulation modeling in the scope of two process areas of one of the most used software process maturity frameworks such as CMMI, with the aim of supporting decision making and determining the optimal values of cost and schedule according to the management needs. The paper describes the model built and a case study with the simulation outputs.

A System Dynamics Approach to Web Service Capacity Management

This paper presents a dynamic simulation model applied within the field of web services capacity management. The main purpose of the model is to help manage the web services capacity that providers assign their customers accordingly so as to ensure the fulfillment of the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) established.Therefore, the model allows for the analysis of the effects of different web services capacity management polices on the service performance and on the penalties to be assumed by providers for non-compliance with the response times agreed with their customers. The main aims of the sensitivity analysis carried out in the case study of this research paper are as follows: (1) to assess the fulfillment of the SLAs according to the web service capacity contracted by the customer, (2) to determine the lowest web service capacity and those capacity management parameters that ensure that the actual service performance is the one that has been agreed on (3) to evaluate the penalties that the web service provider should assume for non-compliance with response times.

Decision-making in IT service management

Simulation modeling is widely used to support decision-making in different business areas and management tasks. Given the growing importance for real-world organizations to improve Information Technology Service Management (ITSM), this paper focuses on the application of these techniques to support decision-making in this field. A review of published research articles that describe an application case has been conducted and it shows that different simulation approaches are extensively used to solve particular problems in the context of several processes. However, in these works there is no evidence of a systematic use of both ITSM frameworks and simulation model development methodologies. Given their importance to build valid simulation models, this paper proposes a novel decision-making framework whose main component is a specific methodology to systematically build simulation models that help solve real-world organization problems applying ITIL recommendations. To illustrate the usefulness of this framework, two application cases in the context of the ITIL capacity management and incident management processes are summarized. The model simulations provide information about the process results, performance and behavior with different process configurations. Moreover, optimization experiments allow managers to determine the optimal process configuration that meets the established objectives. A review of research papers that apply simulation modeling in an ITSM context is presented.A decision-making framework to improve ITSM focused on simulation modeling is proposed.The framework main component is a specific simulation model development methodology.Two application cases of the framework in the field of ITIL processes are presented.The ITIL processes analyzed are capacity management and incident management.

Integrating Dynamic Models for CMM-Based Software Process Improvement

During the last decade software process simulation has been used to address a wide diversity of management problems. Some of these problems are related to strategic management, technology adoption, understanding, training and learning, and risk management, among others. In this work a dynamic integrated framework for software process improvement is presented. This framework combines traditional estimation static models with an intensive utilization of dynamic simulation models of the software process. The aim of this framework is to support a qualitative and quantitative assessment for software process improvement and decision making to achieve a higher software development process capability according to the Capability Maturity Model. The paper describes the concepts underlying this framework, its implementation, the dynamic approach followed to systematically develop the dynamic modules, and an example of its potential use and benefits.