Problem: developers are increasingly adopting security practices in software projects in response to cyber threats. Despite the additional effort required to perform those practices, current cost ...models either do not consider security as an input or were not properly validated with empirical data. Hypothesis: increasing degrees of application of security practices and security features, motivated by security risks, lead to growing levels of added software development effort. Such an effort increase can be quantified through a parametric model that takes as input the usage degrees of security practices and requirements and outputs the additional software development effort. Contributions: the accurate prediction of secure software development effort will support the provision of a proper amount of resources to projects. We also expect that the quantification of the security effort will contribute to advance research on the cost-effectiveness of software security.
In the last few years, several organizations have been looking for strategies to meet the needs of users of Information Technology (IT). The decentralization of IT and the empowerment of ...nonprofessional users have been a viable option among these strategies. This study aimed to identify the End-User Development (EUD) strategies adopted by organizations. A systematic mapping was performed in order to provide for a structured body of knowledge and find potential research gaps. The results show that EUD methods and techniques are the most common strategies addressed in the literature. Also, most of the EUD strategies identified a focus either on EUD managerial issues, such as risk management, or on more technical elements, such as the implementation of components for EUD applications. The benefits and barriers to the adoption of EUD by organizations are also presented in this study. In general, defining EUD processes is a common gap in EUD surveys. We reinforce the need to carry out more research on the adoption of EUD in organizations, with a high level of evidence to validate the results.
Repaying all technical debt (TD) in a system may be unviable, as there is typically a shortage of resources allocated for TD repayment activities. Therefore, TD prioritization is essential to best ...allocate such limited resources. Fortunately, one can utilize a static code analysis tool, such as SonarQube, to aid in expediting the TD prioritization process.
Given that SonarQube is one of the most utilized tools in the context of TD, this exploratory case study seeks to explore how SonarQube-identified TD items are perceived and prioritized for repayment.
The study was designed, replicated, and conducted in four companies and a master’s level course, with a total of 89 participants. The participants were requested to select TD items to include for repayment under a resources constraint.
The results revealed that the overwhelming majority of participants prioritized TD by factoring in a TD item’s value and cost, a smaller number prioritized higher value TD items, and only one participant prioritized lower cost TD items. Furthermore, it was revealed that the value of a TD item is subjective and context-dependent, and the majority of participants perceive the cost estimations provided by SonarQube for repaying TD items to be reliable and trustworthy when prioritizing TD.
Based on the results, one can conclude that there is no silver bullet TD prioritization approach that addresses all of a developer’s objectives and needs. New TD prioritization approaches should be designed without concentrating on a specific prioritization perspective and should be independent of value estimation methods.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The rapid advancement of information and communication technologies is driving a swift transition towards digital transformation (DT) in public services globally. This paper investigates Brazil's ...approach to DT through its Startup Gov.br program, which employs startup principles to drive digital innovation within federal government agencies. Drawing upon interviews with key stakeholders and analysis of publicly available documents, the study reveals the program's characteristics and its integration into the current IT governance structure of the federal government. The results indicate that the program effectively addresses capacity constraints within government agencies, fostering strategic projects and long-term cultural change. By examining this novel approach, the paper contributes to the literature on startups in the public sector and offers insights into how governments can leverage innovative strategies for effective digital transformation.
•Startup culture is utilized to drive digital transformation in the public sector.•Key elements of this approach include UX design and multidisciplinary, focused teams.•A supporting organization manages portfolio management, temporary server hiring, and guides agencies in collaborating with startups.•This startup approach has enhanced digital transformation in the government by deploying more impactful services and increasing user numbers.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Curricula recommendation for undergraduate Software Engineering courses underscore the importance of transcending from traditional lecture format to actively involving students in time-limited, ...iterative development practices. This paper presents a teaching approach for a software testing course that integrates theory and practical experience through the utilization of both TBL and active contributions to OSS projects. The paper reports on our experience implementing the pedagogical approach over four consecutive semesters of a Software Testing course within an undergraduate Software Engineering program. The experience encompassed both online and in-person classes, involving a substantial cohort of over 300 students spanning four semesters. Students' perceptions regarding the course are analyzed and compared with previous, related studies. Our results are positively aligned with the existing literature of software engineering teaching, confirming the effectiveness of combining TBL with OSS contributions. Additionally, our survey has shed light on the challenges that students encounter during their first contribution to OSS projects, highlighting the need for targeted solutions. Overall, the experience demonstrates that the proposed pedagogical structure can effectively facilitate the transition from theoretical knowledge to real-world practice in the domain of Software Testing.
Curricula recommendation for undergraduate Software Engineering courses underscore the importance of transcending from traditional lecture format to actively involving students in time-limited, ...iterative development practices. This paper presents a teaching approach for a software testing course that integrates theory and practical experience through the utilization of both TBL and active contributions to OSS projects. The paper reports on our experience implementing the pedagogical approach over four consecutive semesters of a Software Testing course within an undergraduate Software Engineering program. The experience encompassed both online and in-person classes, involving a substantial cohort of over 300 students spanning four semesters. Students' perceptions regarding the course are analyzed and compared with previous, related studies. Our results are positively aligned with the existing literature of software engineering teaching, confirming the effectiveness of combining TBL with OSS contributions. Additionally, our survey has shed light on the challenges that students encounter during their first contribution to OSS projects, highlighting the need for targeted solutions. Overall, the experience demonstrates that the proposed pedagogical structure can effectively facilitate the transition from theoretical knowledge to real-world practice in the domain of Software Testing.
As stated by the IEEE Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Software Engineering, elements outside the classroom such as field trips, visits to industry and technical ...presentations can affect student's preparation for professional practice. This work describes a framework of academy-industry collaboration where students develop practical and academic activities in a real world scenario. It is a methodological research, in which a case study was conducted with a Government Agency that has a close collaboration with a University. This joint project led to the proposition of new software processes for the organization and produced research and capstone project papers. Results demonstrate that students have acquired experience in solving real world problems in the industry; they received recognition in the academic community through the acceptance of papers in international conferences; and also, the projects executed with the students produced outcomes that brought benefits to the government agency, under study.
This paper presents the scenario of the Engineering courses of the Faculty UnB Gama (FGA) in relation to the number of male newcomers versus the number of female ones. It is possible to see, through ...analysis of the data collected, that the number of male students is much higher than that of female ones, from the creation of the campus in the second semester of 2008 until now. This occurs despite FGAs efforts in promoting the Engineering courses on campus using an experimental laboratory, through the Girls in Computing Program, supported by the National Council of Scientific and Technologic Development (CNPq), in partnership with the high schools of the region. Lectures are also conducted, focused on the female public, and looking do debunk the idea that Engineering is a typically male-oriented course, and trying to awaken the vocational interest of women towards Engineering. Through the surveys focused in the low rate of women in engineering courses, some things come up: (1) the lack of stimuli from family and friends when they intend to graduate in this field, and (2), in a way, the stigmatized role of women in Engineering.
Using Scrum in Outsourced Government Projects: An Action Research Lima De Sousa, Thatiany; Venson, Elaine; Da Costa Figueiredo, Rejane Maria ...
2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS),
01/2016
Conference Proceeding, Journal Article
The growth in popularity of Agile methods plus a dissatisfaction of Government agencies with traditional software development methods have stimulated the adoption of Agile Methods. The action ...research approach was used in this work to assess the implementation of a process for the Management of Agile Development Demands - whose original acronym in Portuguese is 'GeDDAS' - for a software factory in a Brazilian Federal Government Organisation. There, two-action research cycles were done with two pilot projects. The work of action research was effective and contributed to the successful outcome of the initiative. The implementation of agile approaches in a public organisation is slow and complex affair mainly due to the interferences made in the working environment of the companies involved and to a high staff turnover. In the end, the difficulties found and lessons learned in the process, as well as the results achieved are presented.