Coaching agile methods in research and development projects

Agile coaching of a project team is one way to aid learning of the agile methods. The objective of this thesis is to present the agile coaching plan and to follow how complying the plan affects to the project teams. Furthermore, the agile methods are followed how they work in the projects. Two projects are used to help the research. From the thesis point of view, the task for the first project is to coach the project team and two new coaches. The task for the second project is also to coach the project team, but this time so that one of the new coaches acts as the coach. The agile methods Scrum process and Extreme programming are utilized by the projects. In the latter, the test driven development, continuous integration and pair programming are concentrated more precisely. The results of the work are based on the observations from the projects and the analysis derived from the observations. The results are divided to the effects of the coaching and to functionality of the agile methods in the projects. Because of the small sample set, the results are directional. The presented plan, to coach the agile methods, needs developing, but the results of the functionality of the agile methods are encouraging.

Utilizing social media in software documentation and knowledge management

This Master’s thesis studies the possibilities that social media tools can bring to help knowledge management in software development companies. It will introduce the most popular tools of social media and their usage possibilities in companies, not forgetting the possible downsides. One relevant aspect in this study is to investigate the possibilities of social media to help converting existing tacit knowledge into explicit. The purpose of the work is to create a proposal of social media utilization for a mid-sized software company, which has not utilized social media tools before. To be able to create the proposal, employees of the company are interviewed and a survey is executed to analyze the current situation. In addition a pilot project for trying out new social media tools is executed. The final result of this thesis introduces a tailored solution for the target company to start utilizing social media in its documentation and knowledge sharing processes. This new solution consists of multiple individual suggestions that are categorized and prioritized based on the significance and benefit that they bring to the company.

Software Licensing: Implementing Electronic Licensing in Medical Technology Company

The purpose of this thesis is to examine software licensing, how a software developer can benefit from it and to define specifications for licensing system of software based medical technology product. The thesis has been divided into theoretical and empirical parts. In the theoretical part the concept of software licensing and different aspects that are connected to it are examined with a help of research material. On the ground of this research, in the empirical part, a licensing system for a medical software product called iCentral is designed. The empirical part is based on interviews, questionnaire and on authors own experience gained while working for the case-company.The thesis has great practical importance for the case-company by proposing both an ideal, and more importantly, practical implementation for a licensing system of a product. Thesis shows that electronic licensing is a viable option to sell medical technology products without a need to revise existing procedures or the enterprise resource system in the case company.

A proposal for a repertoire of software testing methods

Nowadays software testing and quality assurance have a great value in software development process. Software testing does not mean a concrete discipline, it is the process of validation and verification that starts from the idea of future product and finishes at the end of product’s maintenance. The importance of software testing methods and tools that can be applied on different testing phases is highly stressed in industry. The initial objectives for this thesis were to provide a sufficient literature review on different testing phases and for each of the phases define the method that can be effectively used for improving software’s quality. Software testing phases, chosen for study are: unit testing, integration testing, functional testing, system testing, acceptance testing and usability testing. The research showed that there are many software testing methods that can be applied at different phases and in the most of the cases the choice of the method should be done depending on software type and its specification. In the thesis the problem, concerned to each of the phases was identified; the method that can help in eliminating this problem was suggested and particularly described.

Future vision of information networks according to EU 7th framework

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate projects funded in European 7th framework Information and Communication Technology- work programme. The research has been limited to issue ”Pervasive and trusted network and service infrastructure” and the aim is to find out which are the most important topics into which research will concentrate in the future. The thesis will provide important information for the Department of Information Technology in Lappeenranta University of Technology. First in this thesis will be investigated what are the requirements for the projects which were funded in “Pervasive and trusted network and service infrastructure” – programme 2007. Second the projects funded according to “Pervasive and trusted network and service infrastructure”-programme will be listed in to tables and the most important keywords will be gathered. Finally according to the keyword appearances the vision of the most important future topics will be defined. According to keyword-analysis the wireless networks are in important role in the future and core networks will be implemented with fiber technology to ensure fast data transfer. Software development favors Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and open source solutions. The interoperability and ensuring the privacy are in key role in the future. 3D in all forms and content delivery are important topics as well. When all the projects were compared, the most important issue was discovered to be SOA which leads the way to cloud computing.

Mobiiliavusteisen rakennusprojektin seurantajärjestelmän suunnittelu ja toteutus

In the construction industry, the role of project management and monitoring is emphasized, because the responsibilities have been carefully planned and divided. A concrete element factory manufactures the units based on construction drawings, while a transport company is responsible of transporting the elements to the worksite. At the worksite, an installation team assembles the elements according to plans. Usually, there are several manufacturers and transport companies involved in the construction process and the distances between different parties can be rather long. Therefore, the role of information exchange is critical in order to control, for example, schedules and exceptions. From the viewpoint of project management, the whole process should be controlled and monitored in realtime - in such a way that the managers are able to analyze and report the data afterwards. In this master’s thesis, a mobile-aided construction project monitoring system is designed and implemented. The monitoring system consists of three main components: mobile phone application, server software and an interface application to Tekla Structures BIM-software. Precast construction components, projects and users are identified by using 2D-barcodes that are read with the camera of a mobile phone. An option would be to use RFID tags and readers. After successful identification, the precast component can be tagged with monitoring data, including state acknowledgments and error reports that are sent and saved to the server. Collected data can be viewed through the www-pages of the monitoring system. In addition, the data can be synchronized to the Tekla Structures-software that is running the 3D-model of the whole building. Synchronization maintains and enhances the traceability of monitoring data, as well as, helps to visualize the progression of the project.

Structured software development with the IPIDDDT method - A lean method for small agile organizations

A software development process is a predetermined sequence of steps to create a piece of software. A software development process is used, so that an implementing organization could gain significant benefits. The benefits for software development companies, that can be attributed to software process improvement efforts, are improved predictability in the development effort and improved quality software products. The implementation, maintenance, and management of a software process as well as the software process improvement efforts are expensive. Especially the implementation phase is expensive with a best case scenario of a slow return on investment. Software processes are rare in very small software development companies because of the cost of implementation and an improbable return on investment. This study presents a new method to enable benefits that are usually related to software process improvement to small companies with a low cost. The study presents reasons for the development of the method, a description of the method, and an implementation process for the method, as well as a theoretical case study of a method implementation. The study's focus is on describing the method. The theoretical use case is used to illustrate the theory of the method and the implementation process of the method. The study ends with a few conclusions on the method and on the method's implementation process. The main conclusion is that the method requires further study as well as implementation experiments to asses the value of the method.

Potentiometric quantification and speciation of oxygenated groups in humic substances using BEST7 software

In this study the BEST7 software was employed to quantify different classes of functional groups and to model the proton titration behavior of humic substances. To illustrate the process, the Suwannee River fulvic acid of the IHSS (International Humic Substances Society) was used. Five categories - two classes of phenolic groups (phenol and cathecol), two classes of carboxylic groups (benzoic and phtalic) and the combination between them (salicylic) - of oxygenated groups were considered as being responsible for the potentiometric behavior of the sample and were quantitatively determined. The most and the least abundant groups were cathecol (3.300 ± 0.010 mmol g-1) and phenol (1.225 ± 0.070 mmol g-1), respectively. The estimated equilibrium constants were also determined and were in good agreement with the literature values for phenol and cathecol groups and for benzoic, phtalic and salicylic acids. Distribution diagrams of the species were generated with the software SPE and SPEPLOT.

New computer software for defining the three-dimensional geometry for a centrifu- gal compressor impeller

In this thesis, a computer software for defining the geometry for a centrifugal compressor impeller is designed and implemented. The project is done under the supervision of Laboratory of Fluid Dynamics in Lappeenranta University of Technology. This thesis is similar to the thesis written by Tomi Putus (2009) in which a centrifugal compressor impeller flow channel is researched and commonly used design practices are reviewed. Putus wrote a computer software which can be used to define impeller’s three-dimensional geometry based on the basic geometrical dimensions given by a preliminary design. The software designed in this thesis is almost similar but it uses a different programming language (C++) and a different way to define the shape of the impeller meridional projection.

Tutorials for MeVEA Simulation Software

The objective of the thesis was to create three tutorials for MeVEA Simulation Software to instruct the new users to the modeling methodology used in the MeVEA Simulation Software. MeVEA Simulation Software is a real-time simulation software based on multibody dynamics. The simulation software is designed to create simulation models of complete mechatronical system. The thesis begins with a more detail description of the MeVEA Simulation Software and its components. The thesis presents the three simulation models and written theory of the steps of model creation. The first tutorial introduces the basic features which are used in most simulation models. The basic features include bodies, constrains, forces, basic hydraulics and motors. The second tutorial introduces the power transmission components, tyres and user input definitions for the different components in power transmission systems. The third tutorial introduces the definitions of two different types of collisions and collision graphics used in MeVEA Simulation Software.

Software interativo: ecocardiografia na avaliaçao da hipertensao arterial

A hipertensao arterial é uma doença muito prevalente, evoluindo com lesoes em órgaos-alvo, alta morbidade e mortalidade. A avaliaçao das repercussoes cardíacas pela ecocardiografia tem papel importante na conduçao clínica dos indivíduos hipertensos, e suas imagens podem ser utilizadas como ferramenta para o ensino. OBJETIVOS: Desenvolver e avaliar um software, construído com base em imagens ecocardiográficas, abordando de forma ilustrativa e interativa a estrutura e funçao cardíacas normais,bem como as alteraçoes induzidas pela hipertensao arterial. MÉTODOS: Foram selecionadas imagens ecocardiográficas de indivíduos normais e com comprometimento cardíaco determinado pela hipertensao (hipertrofia ventricular esquerda, miocardiopatia dilatada e infarto do miocárdio). Com estas imagens foi construído um software no programa multimídia Flash, que foi avaliado por estudantes de Medicina (n=38) e Enfermagem (n=18), também submetidos a pré- e pós-teste. RESULTADOS: Os alunos consideraram o software útil, atraente e adequado as atuais metodologias educacionais proativas,promovendo ganho de conhecimento na compreensao do comprometimento cardíaco na hipertensao arterial. Conclusao: O software foi bem avaliado e considerado útil na aquisiçao de conhecimento numa área específica mais prevalente do comprometimento da saúde do adulto.

Software Educacional: Nematelmintos de Aquisição Passiva

RESUMO Objetivo Desenvolver e avaliar um software educacional com base em imagens parasitológicas de helmintos, abordando de forma ilustrativa e interativa os nematelmintos de transmissão passiva, o que poderá ser útil a professores, profissionais e alunos de graduação das diferentes profissões da saúde na compreensão e identificação dessas verminoses, aproximando-os também da prática profissional. Metodologia O software foi construído com base em um banco de imagens do próprio autor, utilizando o multimídia Flashâ, que permite elaborar animações e simulações em linguagem vetorial, resultando em arquivos pequenos, que podem ser disponibilizados através da web ou em mídias ópticas e magnéticas. A avaliação do produto final foi feita por estudantes de Medicina. Resultados O software foi concluído e bem avaliado pelos estudantes do curso de Medicina (n=97) da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas e da Saúde (FCMS) da PUC/SP. Os pré e pós-testes do material mostraram consistente crescimento do conhecimento, seja por autoavaliação ou por questões objetivas fechadas. Conclusão Os resultados atuais permitem concluir que o software é de grande interesse educacional e poderá ser útil a estudantes, profissionais e docentes da área da saúde.

Tiedon hallinta varastonhallintajärjestelmän hankinnassa

Diplomityössä toteutettiin varastonhallintajärjestelmän hankinta prosessoimalla tietoa hallitusti varastonhallinnan kehittämiseksi. Kvalitatiivinen tapaustutkimus tehtiin tietojohtamisen näkökulmasta käyttäjälähtöisen C-CEI –menetelmän avulla haastattelemalla ja havainnoimalla tapausyritystä. Haastatteluja tehtiin 10 kertaa. Tutkimuksessa kartoitettiin ja kilpailutettiin kotimaiset järjestelmätoimittajat, joita löydettiin 15. Näistä toimittajista 6 vastasi vaatimuksia ja teki tarjouksen. Tutkimuksen lopuksi tehtiin järjestelmän hankintaehdotus. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys koostui tietojohtamisesta, varastonhallinnasta ja ohjelmistotuotannosta. Tutkimuksessa pääkysymyksenä esitettiin miten tietojohtamisen avulla voidaan tukea varastonhallintajärjestelmän hankintaa. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että tietojärjestelmän hankinta varastonhallinnan osalta on moniulotteinen liiketoiminnan kehittämistehtävä. Tietojärjestelmähankinta tulisi siten nähdä liiketoimintaa eteenpäin vievänä mahdollisuutena. Lisäksi loppukäyttäjän vaatimusten kartoittamiseen tulisi sitoutua huolella ja suhtautua kriittisesti eri järjestelmävaihtoehtoihin. Vaatimusmäärittelyn asettaminen ja vaatimusten priorisoiminen ovat haasteellisia tehtäviä. Tiedon hallinnan aikana saatiin selville, että loppukäyttäjän vaatimusten mukainen tarjouspyyntö edesauttaa ensinnäkin tarjousten tekemistä mutta myös niiden prosessointia ja analysointia. Vain oikealla tiedolla ja sen yhteyksillä on merkitystä. Tutkimuksen perusteella tietojärjestelmän hankinta suositellaan tehtäväksi hallitsemalla tietoa systemaattisesti erityisesti sen alkuvaiheen aikana. Tietojohtaminen virtaviivaistaa hankkeen etenemistä ja aikataulutusta, vähentää loppukäyttäjän kustannuksia tehokkaalla kilpailutusmenettelyllä, edistää kilpailukykyä ja luo hyvän lähtökohdan koko tietojärjestelmän hankinnan läpiviemiselle ja yhteistyö-suhteen rakentumiselle kauppakumppaneiden välille.