Agile Scrum Issues at Large-Scale Distributed Projects

The agile model is a very vast and popular model in use in the software industry currently. It changes the way software is developed. It was introduced in 2001 to overcome deficiencies of software development in a workshop arranged by researchers and practitioners who were involved with the agile concept. They introduced the complete agile manifesto. The agile model has main components that make it more viable for use in well-organized software development. One of these is scrum methodology. The reason for the agile-scrum popularity is its use for small-scale projects, making small teams and allows change requests at any stage of a project from the client. It works for client satisfaction. Instead of so much popularity and distinctive features, agile-scrum also has some limitations when used for large scale projects development that makes it less efficient for development. This article discusses the agile-scrum methodology and its limitations when using for large-scale project organization.

Understanding Stakeholder Synergies Through System Dynamics: Integrating Multi-Sectoral Stakeholder Narratives Into Quantitative Environmental Models

To reach the global aspiration of 17 ambitious SDGs, local realities must be integrated. Often, models are developed based on quantitative statistical data sources from databases on environmental indicators or economics to assess how a given SDG can be achieved. This process however removes the local realities from the equation. How can you best include stakeholders in this mathematical modelling processes distanced from their local realities, though, and ensure higher probability of future compliance with top-down global decisions that may have local consequences once implemented? When researching stakeholder involvement and their ability to form public policy, their opinions often get reported as a single assessment, like counting the fish in the ocean once and stating that as a permanent result. Too seldom do stakeholders get invited back and given the opportunity to validate results and allow researchers to adjust their models based on on-the-ground validation or change requests. We tested the full integration of stakeholders in the modelling process of environmental topics in six different case areas across Europe, with each area holding six sectoral and one inter-sectoral workshops. In these workshops, the scope of the issues relevant to the stakeholders was driven by first the sectoral priorities of the given sector, followed by a merging of issues. In this process, we were able to identify what the commonalities between different sectors were and where synergies lay in terms of governance paths. These results were then returned to the stakeholders in a mixed session where they were able to come with feedback and advice on the results researchers presented, so that the models reflected more closely the perceptions of the regional actors. We present these methods and reflect on the challenges and opportunities of using this deep-integration method to integrate qualitative data from stakeholder inclusion in a quantitative model.

GeoSPARQL 1.1: An Almost Decadal Update to the Most Important Geospatial LOD Standard

In 2012 the Open Geospatial Consortium published GeoSPARQL defining “an RDF/OWL ontology for [spatial] information”, “SPARQL extension functions” for performing spatial operations on RDF data and “RIF rules” defining entailments to be drawn from graph pattern matching. In the 8+ years since its publication, GeoSPARQL has become the most important spatial Semantic Web standard, as judged by references to it in other Semantic Web standards and its wide use for Semantic Web data. An update to GeoSPARQL was proposed in 2019 to deliver a version 1.1 with a charter to: handle outstanding change requests and source new ones from the user community and to “better present” the standard, that is to better link all the standard’s parts and better document & exemplify elements. Expected updates included new geometry representations, alignments to other ontologies, handling of new spatial referencing systems, and new artifact presentation. In this paper, we describe motivating change requests and actual resultant updates in the candidate version 1.1 of the standard alongside reference implementations and usage examples. We also describe the theory behind particular updates, initial implementations of many parts of the standard, and our expectations for GeoSPARQL 1.1’s use.

Comparing Change Management Processes for Requirements and Manufacturing: An Interview Based Study

The study presented in this paper compares requirement and manufacturing change management processes to determine if similar processes can be used for both types of changes. A literature review is used to identify prescribed process stages. Ten stages are identified for both requirements and manufacturing change management. A series of interviews are then conducted with three different population groups to determine the process stages actually used in the field. The resulting process models are compared with the process models from the literature. Further, a thematic analysis is performed on the interview findings. Ultimately, differences are found between the prescribed and practiced change management models for both types of changes. Formal documentation stages are more prevalent for the manufacturing domain, though documentation in practice is less than what is prescribed. This includes the issuance of change requests and change orders in manufacturing change management that are not present in requirement change management processes. Significant differences were also found between the two change types; namely, requirement changes deal with more abstract concepts and as such can afford more informal documentation, whereas manufacturing changes deal with existing artifacts and require solid documentation. Additional research thrusts are identified to help reconcile change management processes across the life cycle.

Change the World - How Hard Can that Be? On the Computational Complexity of Fixing Planning Models

Incorporating humans into AI planning is an important feature of flexible planning technology. Such human integration allows to incorporate previously unknown constraints, and is also an integral part of automated modeling assistance. As a foundation for integrating user requests, we study the computational complexity of determining the existence of changes to an existing model, such that the resulting model allows for specific user-provided solutions. We are provided with a planning problem modeled either in the classical (non-hierarchical) or hierarchical task network (HTN) planning formalism, as well as with a supposed-to-be solution plan, which is actually not a solution for the current model. Considering changing decomposition methods as well as preconditions and effects of actions, we show that most change requests are NP-complete though some turn out to be tractable.

Power to Gas Plant Design, Modelling and Control for Precise and Flexible Methane Production

Production of green electrical energy and green natural gas are the main goals of zero-carbon emission policy. Power to Gas plants (P2G) can be used to overcome difficulties with increase in intermittent renewable energy production, gas shortages and organic waste management. In this paper, a design, a model, and a control system for a Power to Gas plant is proposed. To achieve a high performance P2G plant, its design is based on biochar gasification and biological methanation processes. With the given mathematical models of electrolysis, gasification and methanation, calculation of needed feedstock and energy consumption as well as calculation of produced methane becomes easy obtainable. Proposed control system enables to precisely follow frequent operation change requests due to dynamical conditions in leaned electricity or gas grids. Simulation study of the automated plant operation using Matlab/Simulink has been done. This research gives all prerequisites for optimal sizing and planning of the P2G plant operation in dynamic technical and economic conditions.

Investigation of the Software Code Vulnerabilities' Impact on the Popularity of Open Source Software Projects

This paper has statically investigated the source code of open source software (OSS) projects to uncover the presence of vulnerabilities in the code. The conducted research emphasizes that the presence of vulnerabilities has adverse effects on the overall software quality. The authors found the increasing trends in the vulnerabilities as the lines of code (LOC) increases during the software evolution. This signifies the fact that the addition of new features or change requests into the OSS project may cause an increase in vulnerability. Further, the relation between software vulnerabilities and popularity is also examined. This research does not find the existence of any relationship among software vulnerabilities and popularity. This research will provide significant implications to the developers and project managers to better understand the present state of the software.

The Deming management method and digital partnering in a construction procurement contract

In this case study of a research and development facility construction project at a large biopharmaceutical organization, we explored how digital investments must be accompanied by a partnership approach and a transformation of the cultural values of an organization tied to operational principles. The project faced considerable challenges, including a highly constrained market environment, time and cost constraints, and a multiyear organization transformation with a diverse mix of stakeholder objectives. Despite these challenges, the project was brought in under budget and on schedule, achieving other objectives that often seem at odds with each other (best-in-class sustainability ratings, quality scores from customers, and with a remarkably low number of change requests). We found that significant stakeholder engagement early in the architect and contractor selection process leads to the right contract management process and ultimately successful outcomes. A key insight from this case involves the need for differentiated supplier relationship management for procurement-project team integration.