Zlatko Stapić

Methodologies for development of mobile applications

The paper presents the results of literature review performed in order to identify newly created methodologies targeting the development of mobile applications. As mobile development differs from development of other software systems we also discuss the challenges of such development and recon that methodological approach in development is necessary. However, there were no systematic studies identifying methodologies for mobile applications development. Systematic literature review we performed included more than 6700 initial studies, identified 49 (0.73%) potentially relevant studies, and after extracting data and applying quality check procedures 14 methodologies are identified. Only one of these methodologies is reported to be used in practice.

In search of an improved BoM and MRP algorithm

In facing the problem of building a complex yet fast and resource efficient Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Extended Resource Planning (XRP) system the first obstacle is the creation of a Bill of Materials (BoM) algorithm, which is used to calculate material needs according to the production plan. Taking into consideration different possibilities of BoM implementation, we compared linked lists, tree structure and matrix implementation in relation to algorithm complexity. As we came to the conclusion that none of them suits the needs of modern systems, we proposed a new BoM algorithm called multiple linked list implementation. It combines the advantages of other implementations with a new approach based on two complex data structures used to represent both the data and relationships between products, parts or components used in production.

Scrutinizing Systematic Literature Review Process in Software Engineering

Performing the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) in the turbulent field of Software Engineering (SE) brings different obstacles and uncertainties. The commonly used guidelines for performing the SLR in this field are adapted from health sciences and presented by Kitchenham and Charters in 2007. This paper follows the Kitchenham’s three-phases-review-process and fulfils it with the findings, observations and recommendations from other influential authors in the field. The process of SLR is observed from the perspective of appliance in the field of SE and supplemented by the important precautious measures that should be undertaken by the authors performing it. Thus, this paper aims to present the state-of-the-art in performing the SLR in SE.

Evaluation of security and privacy issues in integrated mobile telemedical system

Different modern information and communication technologies are emerging in all segments of our lives. The simplicity of using these high-tech and high-performance components enables us to build a wide range of enhanced and fast-in-reaction telemedical systems with the purpose of improving the quality of living. While building these systems it is easy to overlook or underestimate the need for data security and privacy protection. Telemedicine and e-health laws, regulations and standards, along with other telemedicine infrastructure components in the USA, Europe and Croatia are compared and discussed in this paper. After the common model for integrated mobile telemedical system is proposed with the example of heart-work monitoring system, all possible vulnerable and weak points in its architecture are identified and recommendations on design and implementation of similar systems are also discussed and given.

Evaluating Relevant UX Dimensions with Respect to IoT Ecosystem Intended for Students’ Activities Tracking and Success Prediction

The paper presents the results of research on user experience dimensions related to mobile application prototype which is a part of a complex IoT ecosystem. In the ongoing research we explore the possible use of IoT in ecosystem consisting of software, hardware and liveware employed in student’s activities tracking and success prediction. By carefully reviewing pertinent current studies in the field, we determined a finite set of items and attributes that constitute the anticipated UX in the context of IoT and employed them to design a measuring instrument in the form of a questionnaire. An empirical study was carried out with an objective to examine the psychometric features of the questionnaire. University students served as a representative sample of end users. During study, participants were asked to conduct predefined scenarios of interaction with IoT ecosystem prototype and then evaluate it by completing the questionnaire. Study findings helped us identify to what extent IoT ecosystem prototype has met requirements of relevant UX dimensions and which direction should we follow when considering its design.

User Experience Design and Architecture of IoT Ecosystem Employed in Students’ Activities Tracking

In this paper we present a model for user experience (UX) design and an architectural design of the IoT ecosystem employed in students’ activities tracking. It builds on an idea to apply IoT in the learning process of college students in order to provide better insight into the origin of their success, and possibly to improve it. The Ideation phase of the IoT ecosystem was conducted by using a questionnaire and focus group techniques to identify students’ needs, as well as UX research techniques to empathize with future users in order to deliver broad ideas for the future IoT ecosystem. System functionalities and requirements were determined in two iterations aiming to propose IoT ecosystem architecture during the IoT ecosystem design phase. Finally, UX design process included a design of wireframes and interactive prototype to deliver mobile application interface that would be used in evaluating anticipated user experience of the introduced IoT ecosystem.

Features and Quality of a Mobile Application Employed in a Speech-Language Therapy

This paper introduces mLogoped, a mobile application for delivering remote speech-language pathology (SLP) therapies. With an aim to examine quality of a mLogoped application, an empirical study was carried out. Participants in the study were parents of children diagnosed with SLP disorders. Data was collected with pre- and post-use questionnaire. Items in pre-use questionnaire were related to the participants’ computer literacy, their experience in using mobile devices and applications, and their preferences with respect to attending online SLP therapies. After spending a week using the application, the study participants examined its quality by means of user version of Mobile App Rating Scale (uMARS) post-use questionnaire adapted to SLP domain. An analysis of collected data revealed to what extent mLogoped has met one subjective (perceived quality) and four objective (engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information quality) facets of mobile quality.