Digitalization in Software Engineering and IT Business

Competition in industry of software production as well as in IT sector has special features. Understanding current trends and complex connections between software industry and world economic development gives new ideas about competition in the IT domain. One of the key trends is digital transformation. It is supported by software, but it also has a strong impact on the software development industry and provides the new opportunities in software production and IT business change management. The main idea of the paper is total automation and a focus on measurable processes that give a continual flow of digital data that should be used on different levels of a company's management, business development, production processes, and even client's perception of the software product. Management of those core activities, based on such digital data flows, is becoming sophisticated and more flexible, based on relevant and estimated indicators. In this article, there is a multifactor analysis of digitalization in software engineering and IT business management with a focus on change management. The main results of research are demonstrating how the influence of digitalization could be used in competition.

New Factors Affecting Productivity of the Software Factory

Productivity is very important because it allows organizations to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in their activities; however, it is affected by numerous factors. While these factors have been identified for over two decades, all of the previous works limited the software factory to the programming work unit and did not analyze other work units that are also relevant. 90% of a software factory's effort is absorbed by the software production component, 85% of which is concentrated in the efforts of the analysis and design, programming, and testing work units. The present work identifies three new factors that influence the software factory, demonstrating that the use of rules and events influences analysis & design, team heterogeneity negatively affects analysis and design and positively affects programming; and the osmotic communication affects programming. An empirical study on software factories in Peru, determined that 95% of the influence came from these factors, which corroborated as well that team size and trust within the team influences in software production.

A Model Based on Data Envelopment Analysis for the Measurement of Productivity in the Software Factory

Productivity in software factories is very important because it allows organizations to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in their activities. One of the pillars of competitiveness is productivity, and it is related to the effort required to accomplish the assigned tasks. However, there is no standard way to measure it, making it difficult to establish policies and strategies to improve the factory. In this work, a model based on data envelopment analysis is presented to evaluate the relative efficiency of the software factories and their projects, to measure the productivity in the software production component of the software factory through the activities that are carried out in their different work units. The proposed model consists of two phases in which the productivity of the software factory is evaluated and the productivity of the projects it conducts is assessed. Numerical tests on 6 software factories with 160 projects implemented show that the proposed model allows one to assess the software factories and the most efficient projects.

THE ROLE OF SHARING CREATIVE IDEAS: PROFESSIONAL DESIGNERS ABOUT THEIR WORK

A characteristic feature of the transition from industrial to post-industrial society is basing a significant part of production on the “intangible” value (software production, audiovisual production, advertising, design, cultural activities, etc.). The individual is perceived as the main actor in management processes where professional success depends on readiness for dialogue and exchange of owned capital (not only economically). It means a different definition of work, perceiving it as an element of shaping – understood in many dimensions – social, economic and cultural relations. Dematerialization of work means therefore giving primacy to the handling of information. This phenomenon can also be seen as a manifestation of cognitive capitalism characterized as a different accumulation system which is based on knowledge and creativity, in other words, on forms of intangible investment. Therefore, it seems that it would be particularly valuable to examine the potential of groups that have this knowledge capital as the basis of their activity. The article will discuss the theoretical concept of the exchange and sharing of creative ideas in the design field. It also presents original research devoted to this issue, conducted in the environment of Polish designers.

Hydrogeological modelling of Olkaria domes geothermal field to predict ground subsidence

Ground subsidence studies have been done on Olkaria geothermal field conventionally by comparing levels on benchmarks over years. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) systems have also been used to map surface deformation of small spatial extent. For the prediction of future dynamics of land subsidence in Olkaria due to geothermal resource exploitation, a hydrogeological conceptual model has been developed. In this model, hydrologic geothermal fluid properties are analysed and a relationship between the reservoir and geology of the wells established, subsidence is computed numerically. The model takes into account the hydrogeological condition of Olkaria geothermal field. Hydrological reservoir parameters are computed from well testing data. The study considers the Injectivity indices of the various wells under study as pre-computational indicator of the expected subsidence extents. Both two- and three-dimensional geological cross-sections are modelled with the rockworks software by inputting stratigraphic data for Olkaria domes. Geological simulations are used to study subsidence by assigning the ground formation with virtual material that deformed according to some essential relations in Rockworks computer software. Production zones are determined by a comparison between the well properties and corresponding well geology. Subsidence is then computed by the Tezarghi’s modified equation. Cumulative subsidence figures from the computation are in the range of 0.095-0.537m, without any reinjection. Computed values are then mapped in ArcGIS to develop a representative subsidence map. By application of these modelling and numerical computation methods, ground subsidence was effectively predicted using the five selected wells in Olkaria domes field. The hydrogeological model developed, and mapping is an important tool in the planning and development of a reinjection schedule and in subsidence mitigation. Subsidence prediction also is important in design of infrastructure which will be strong enough to resist the forces caused by subsidence.

Russian Experience in Organizing Fully Remote Software Development: an Industry Study of 2021

The pandemic and the COVID-economy continue to have a significant impact on the development of industries of the "new economy". We might see it in the acceleration of digitalization, visualization of work processes and the predominance of communications in electronic channels. The transition to fully remote development and support of software under the influence of the COVID factor not just changed the IT industry, but established a new standard of organization of the software production. This article presents the results of study that covered various aspects of fully remote software development in Russian companies, including VTB, Yandex, Sbertech, and others. More than 20 experts representing their development teams have identified the main approaches to ensuring the motivation and involvement of engineers and to ensuring favorable conditions for their professional growth. The study also identifies the prospects for the evolution of the fully remote software development as a new industry standard. The results of the study are accompanied by the brief conclusions, the main idea of which is the need to quickly understand a new trend in software development and the usage of this factor in the competitive struggle (hiring specialists, organizing teams, organizational development).

Implementation of statistical process control for quality control cycle in the various industry in Indonesia: A systematic literature review

A systematic literature review is a rigorous method of assessing and combining research results compared to the usual literature review, which consists of annotated bibliographies, a systematic review of the existing literature regarding specific research questions on a topic of interest. Statistical Process Control (SPC) is a well-established technique in a context that has recently been used in software production. Software production is not like manufacturing because it requires more human resources and machines, resulting in an item's one-time production. It is therefore essential to assess what SPC works in a software context. Thus, this consideration has motivated us to define and conduct an evaluation review to assess whether SPC is used effectively and genuinely Quality Control Cycle (QCC) in Indonesia's various industries. According to a systematic literature review process, an established protocol was revised and refined by the authors. This journal collection of journals has been used in various industries in Indonesia. We report our preliminary considerations and results in a systematic review on the SPC and find 30 journals collected as references for readers in making research journals related to SPC. Our products and first impressions are favorable. This journal collection can also make it easier for researchers to get the desired journal references.

The Role of Open Source Software in Mastering Technologies of an Information System and Its Implication to Technology Transfer

The philosophy and practice of open source software (OSS) affected not only software production but also implementation and use. However, little is known about the intricacies of implementation and use of domain-specific, frontend information systems compared to production. Especially, empirical studies that examine the learning mechanisms in OSS implementation in developing countries are scant. This paper fills the gap by investigating the implementation of an OSS in a resource-constrained setting. Drawing upon communities of practice and networks of practice theories, the paper examines the mechanisms of the OSS approach that enable knowledge circulation, technology transfer, innovation, and sustainability, and interrogates the technology transfer conceptualization in the light of the approach. It also highlights the measures practitioners and policymakers should take to benefit from OSS.