Pierre N. Robillard

The role of knowledge in software development

Key concepts have been developed by researchers in the cognitive sciences to account for the various aspects of knowledge processing. My goal here is to bridge the gaps between the viewpoints of cognitive scientists and software scientists and practitioners regarding knowledge and outline the characteristics of the related concepts in software methodologies and approaches. The benefits are twofold: a better understanding of the cognitive processes involved in software development and an additional scheme for developing new software practices, methods, and tools [1]. The mental processing and representation of knowledge are complex activities, and our understanding is still rudimentary and subject to debate [10]. A general concept for describing knowledge is as elusive as ever, though various key concepts been developed from specific viewpoints in the cognitive sciences. Some of them are derived from the content or structure of knowledge, others from its representation. Here, “knowledge” refers to a permanent structure of information stored in memory. “Knowledge representation” refers to a transitory construction built up in memory for the processing of a specific situation. Table 1 lists the viewpoint corresponding to each key knowledge concept in the cognitive sciences. There are many ways to define knowledge. One is to consider the way it is stored in human memory. Related studies have identified two types of knowledge—procedural and declarative—and their corresponding memory contents. Procedural knowledge, including psychomotor ability, is dynamic. Procedural memory stores all the information related to the skills developed to interact with Before the program can be written, humans have to describe and organize the knowledge it represents according to specific knowledge structures. the Role of Knowledge in software development

MODELING AND SIMULATION OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY SYSTEMS USING PETRI NETS: MODELING GOALS OF VARIOUS APPROACHES

Petri nets are a discrete event simulation approach developed for system representation, in particular for their concurrency and synchronization properties. Various extensions to the original theory of Petri nets have been used for modeling molecular biology systems and metabolic networks. These extensions are stochastic, colored, hybrid and functional. This paper carries out an initial review of the various modeling approaches based on Petri net found in the literature, and of the biological systems that have been successfully modeled with these approaches. Moreover, the modeling goals and possibilities of qualitative analysis and system simulation of each approach are discussed.

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.

Types of collaborative work in software engineering

Abstract This paper is an account on work distribution analyzed from the collaboration point of view. It presents a new classification of the collaborative work in software engineering project. Four types of collaborative work are defined derived from empirical measurements of activities. Mandatory collaborative works are formal scheduled meetings. Called collaborative work is defined when team members call a meeting to solve a problem, which is most often technical. Ad hoc collaborative work is defined when team members work on the same task at the same time and individual work occurs when a team member works on its own on a task related to the project. Data are extracted from the logbook filled out by four team members working on an industrial project that lasts 19 weeks. The characteristics of each type of collaborative activity are described and a quantitative breakdown of how people spend their time in collaboration within a single project is presented.

A software system evaluation framework

The objective of a software system evaluation framework is to assess the quality and sophistication of software from different points of view. The framework explicitly links process and product aspects with the ultimate utility of systems and it provides a basic set of attributes to characterize the important dimensions of software systems. We describe such a framework and its levels of categorization, and we analyze examples of project classifications. Then we draw some conclusions and present ideas for further research. This evaluation framework assesses a software systems quality by consolidating the viewpoints of producers, operators, users, managers, and stakeholders.

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.

Measuring cognitive activities in software engineering

This paper presents an approach to the study of cognitive activities in collaborative software development. This approach has been developed by a multidisciplinary team made up of software engineers and cognitive psychologists. The basis of this approach is to improve our understanding of software development by observing professionals at work. The goal is to derive lines of conduct or good practices based on observations and analyses of the processes that are naturally used by software engineers. The strategy involved is derived from a standard approach in cognitive science. It is based on the videotaping of the activities of software engineers, transcription of the videos, coding of the transcription, defining categories from the coded episodes and defining cognitive behaviors or dialogs from the categories. This project presents two original contributions that make this approach generic in software engineering. The first contribution is the introduction of a formal hierarchical coding scheme, which will enable comparison of various types of observations. The second is the merging of psychological and statistical analysis approaches to build a cognitive model. The details of this new approach are illustrated with the initial data obtained from the analysis of technical review meetings.

Petri net-based method for the analysis of the dynamics of signal propagation in signaling pathways

MOTIVATION Cellular signaling networks are dynamic systems that propagate and process information, and, ultimately, cause phenotypical responses. Understanding the circuitry of the information flow in cells is one of the keys to understanding complex cellular processes. The development of computational quantitative models is a promising avenue for attaining this goal. Not only does the analysis of the simulation data based on the concentration variations of biological compounds yields information about systemic state changes, but it is also very helpful for obtaining information about the dynamics of signal propagation. RESULTS This article introduces a new method for analyzing the dynamics of signal propagation in signaling pathways using Petri net theory. The method is demonstrated with the Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) regulation network. The results constitute temporal information about signal propagation in the network, a simplified graphical representation of the network and of the signal propagation dynamics and a characterization of some signaling routes as regulation motifs.

Profiling software through the use of metrics

This paper presents an approach to software assessment using a new software tool that integrates most of the known static metrics. A six‐step method shows how to use metrics to obtain a picture of the software project. The method is visual and each step provides graphical representations of the data. Successive integration of data results in normality profiles. Examples illustrate each step. The method is adaptable to various environments and specific applications.

Quantitative Measurements of the Influence of Participant Roles during Peer Review Meetings

Peer review meetings (PRMs) are formal meetings during which peers systematically analyze artifacts to improve their quality and report on non-conformities. This paper presents an approach based on protocol analysis for quantifying the influence of participant roles during PRMs. Three views are used to characterize the seven defined participant roles. The project view defines three roles: supervisor, procedure expert and developer. The meeting view defines two roles: author and reviewer, and the task view defines the roles reflecting direct and indirect interest in the artifact under review. The analysis, based on log-linear modeling, shows that review activities have different patterns, depending on their focus: form or content. The influence of each role is analyzed with respect to this focus. Interpretation of the quantitative data leads to the suggestion that PRMs could be improved by creating three different types of reviews, each of which collects together specific roles: form review, cognitive synchronization review and content review.