Método para avaliação de ambientes de desenvolvimento de software combinando CMM e GQM

Este trabalho de conclusão apresenta um método e uma ferramenta para avaliação da maturidade e da capacitação de ambientes de desenvolvimento de software baseado no uso da abordagem Goal/Question/Metric-GQM combinada aos métodos tradicionais de avaliação já existentes para o modelo Capability Maturity Model-CMM. A aplicação deste método através da ferramenta proposta permitirá a organização avaliada estabelecer o grau de conformidade preliminar dos seus processos em relação às exigências do modelo CMM. Esta avaliação poderá ser utilizada como ponto de partida para o estabelecimento de um processo de melhoria. O modelo CMM descreve uma série de estágios de maturidade que são atingidos através da satisfação de metas estabelecidas para áreas-chave do processo de desenvolvimento de software da organização. A evolução deste modelo, chamada de CMMI, Capability Maturity Model Integrated, possibilita que as organizações optem pela forma de implementação do modelo. Esta opção pode se dar através do uso do CMMI em estágios, vertical utilizando os níveis tradicionais do modelo, ou contínua; horizontal baseada nas áreas-chave de processo. Da mesma forma, a avaliação pode ser realizada sobre qualquer modelo escolhido. O modelo GQM descreve uma estrutura hierárquica baseada na existência de metas de melhoria preestabelecidas das quais são extraídas métricas e questões que as satisfazem. O nível de satisfação dessas metas é obtido através da análise das métricas relativas às questões aplicadas ao foco da avaliação Algumas ferramentas para avaliação dos processos relativos ao modelo CMM são apresentadas, tais como o questionário da maturidade e os modelos existentes para a criação de métodos de avaliação, CMM Apraisal Framework-CAF e Apraisal Requirements for CMMI-ARC. O diferencial apresentado é o estabelecimento de métricas objetivas e regras de interpretação dessas para a definição da satisfação de uma determinada área-chave de processo, ACP, do nível 2 do modelo CMMI. Além dessas contribuições vale destacar o estabelecimento de questões adicionais ao questionário da maturidade com o objetivo de capturar essas métricas e a criação de grafos GQM para cada ACP do nível 2 do CMMI. Esses grafos permitem a visualização do relacionamento existente entre cada ACP do nível 2 do CMMI com suas metas, questões e métricas. A aplicação do método e da ferramenta será demonstrada através da utilização de um estudo de caso aplicado na empresa DWA Informática Ltda.

CO2 reforming of methane on Ni catalysts: Effects of the support phase and preparation technique

The effects of the support phase and catalyst preparation methods on catalytic activity and carbon deposition were systematically investigated over nickel catalysts supported on Al2O3, SiO2 and MgO for the reforming reaction of methane with carbon dioxide. It is found that the pore structure of the support and metal-support interaction significantly affected the catalytic activity and coking resistance. Catalyst with well-developed porosity exhibited higher catalytic activity. Strong interaction between metal and the support made the catalyst more resistant to sintering and coking, thus resulting in a longer time of catalyst stability. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

VOC removal: Comparison of MCM-41 with hydrophobic zeolites and activated carbon

The recently discovered mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41 was tested as an adsorbent for VOC removal. Its adsorption/desorption properties were evaluated and compared with other hydrophobic zeolites (silicalite-1 and zeolite Y) and a commercial activated carbon, BPL. The adsorption isotherms of some typical VOCs (benzene, carbon tetrachloride, and n-hexane) on MCM-41 are of type IV according to the IUPAC classification, drastically different from the other microporous adsorbents, indicating that VOCs, in the gas phase, have to be at high partial pressures in order to make the most of the new mesoporous material as an adsorbent for VOC removal. However, a proper modification of the pore openings of MCM-41 can change the isotherm types from type IV to type I without remarkable loss of the accessible pare volumes and, therefore, significantly enhance the adsorption performance at low partial pressures. Adsorption isotherms of water on these adsorbents are all of type V, demonstrating that they possess a similar hydrophobicity. Desorption of VOCs from MCM-41 could be achieved at lower temperatures (50-60 degrees C), while this had to be conducted at higher temperatures (100-120 degrees C) for microporous adsorbents, zeolites, and activated carbons.

Effects of promoters on catalytic activity and carbon deposition of Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts in CO2 reforming of CH4

Catalytic reforming of methane with carbon dioxide was studied in a fixed-bed reactor using unpromoted and promoted Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts. The effects of promoters, such as alkali metal oxide (Na2O), alkaline-earth metal oxides (MgO, CaO) and rare-earth metal oxides (La2O3, CeO2), on the catalytic activity and stability in terms of coking resistance and coke reactivity were systematically examined. CaO-, La2O3- and CeO2-promoted Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts exhibited higher stability whereas MgO- and Na2O-promoted catalysts demonstrated lower activity and significant deactivation. Metal-oxide promoters (Na2O, MgO, La2O3, and CeO2) suppressed the carbon deposition, primarily due to the enhanced basicities of the supports and highly reactive carbon species formed during the reaction. In contrast, CaO increased the carbon deposition; however, it promoted the carbon reactivity. (C) 2000 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of oxide promoters on metal dispersion and metal-support interactions in Ni catalysts supported on activated carbon

Various oxide-promoted Ni catalysts supported on activated carbon were prepared, and the effect of promoters on the surface structure and properties of Ni catalysts was studied. Physical adsorption (Na adsorption), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the catalysts. It is found that nickel is fairly uniformly distributed in the pores of the carbon support. Addition of promoters produces a more homogeneous distribution of nickel ion in carbon. However, distributions of promoters in the pores are varying. Addition of promoters increases the dispersion of nickel in carbon. Promoters also change the interaction between the carbon and Ni, resulting in significantly different behaviors of catalysts under various environments. CaO and MgO promoters improve the reactivity of nickel catalysts with O-2 but retard the interaction between nickel oxide and carbon. La2O3 shows some inhibiting effect on the interactions between nickel oxide and oxygen as well as carbon.

Cost Estimation of Engineering Environment Services

Työn tavoitteena oli kehittää tutkittavan insinööriyksikön projektien kustannusestimointiprosessia, siten että yksikön johdolla olisi tulevaisuudessa käytettävänään tarkempaa kustannustietoa. Jotta tämä olisi mahdollista, ensin täytyi selvittää yksikön toimintatavat, projektien kustannusrakenteet sekä kustannusatribuutit. Tämän teki mahdolliseksi projektien kustannushistoriatiedon tutkiminen sekä asiantuntijoiden haastattelu. Työn tuloksena syntyi kohdeyksikön muiden prosessien kanssa yhteensopiva kustannusestimointiprosessi sekä –malli.Kustannusestimointimenetelmän ja –mallin perustana on kustannusatribuutit, jotka määritellään erikseen tutkittavassa ympäristössä. Kustannusatribuutit löydetään historiatietoa tutkimalla, eli analysoimalla jo päättyneitä projekteja, projektien kustannusrakenteita sekä tekijöitä, jotka ovat vaikuttaneet kustannusten syntyyn. Tämän jälkeen kustannusatribuuteille täytyy määritellä painoarvot sekä painoarvojen vaihteluvälit. Estimointimallin tarkuutta voidaan parantaa mallin kalibroinnilla. Olen käyttänyt Goal – Question – Metric (GQM) –menetelmää tutkimuksen kehyksenä.

Métricas de gestión : Caso práctico: Métricas para un proyecto de implantación de un core bancario

En este trabajo final de carrera se explica cómo implementar, siguiendo la metodología GQM, un sistema de métricas que ayuden a la gestión de un proyecto de implantación de un proyecto tecnológico. Además de la metodología GQM se explica el uso de algunas métricas que han sido probadas empíricamente y publicadas en la literatura científica. Otro aspecto importante que se trata en este TFC es el de la estimación basada en el método de estimación por puntos de función para realizar la estimación de costos, recursos y tiempo.

CrossMDA2: Uma abordagem para minimizar o problema da fragilidade de pointcuts na evolução de sistemas orientados a aspectos

This work proposes a model based approach for pointcut management in the presence of evolution in aspect oriented systems. The proposed approach, called conceptual visions based pointcuts, is motivated by the observation of the shortcomings in traditional approaches pointcuts definition, which generally refer directly to software structure and/or behavior, thereby creating a strong coupling between pointcut definition and the base code. This coupling causes the problem known as pointcut fragility problem and hinders the evolution of aspect-oriented systems. This problem occurs when all the pointcuts of each aspect should be reviewed due to any software changes/evolution, to ensure that they remain valid even after the changes made in the software. Our approach is focused on the pointcuts definition based on a conceptual model, which has definitions of the system's structure in a more abstract level. The conceptual model consists of classifications (called conceptual views) on entities of the business model elements based on common characteristics, and relationships between these views. Thus the pointcuts definitions are created based on the conceptual model rather than directly referencing the base model. Moreover, the conceptual model contains a set of relationships that allows it to be automatically verified if the classifications in the conceptual model remain valid even after a software change. To this end, all the development using the conceptual views based pointcuts approach is supported by a conceptual framework called CrossMDA2 and a development process based on MDA, both also proposed in this work. As proof of concept, we present two versions of a case study, setting up a scenario of evolution that shows how the use of conceptual visions based pointcuts helps detecting and minimizing the pointcuts fragility. For the proposal evaluation the Goal/Question/Metric (GQM) technique is used together with metrics for efficiency analysis in the pointcuts definition

Methods of Analysis for Peritubular Capillaritis and Glomerulitis in Acute Renal Rejection: Capillaritis in Management of Routine Diagnosis

Glomerulitis and peritubular capillaritis have been recognized as important lesions in acute renal rejection (AR). We studied glomerulitis and peritubular capillaritis in AR by 2 methods and investigated associations with C4d, type/grade of AR, and allograft survival time. Glomerulitis was measured according to Banff scores (glomerulitis by Banff Method [gBM]) and by counting the number of intraglomerular inflammatory cells (glomerulitis by Quantitative Method [gQM]). Capillaritis was classified by the Banff scoring system (peritubular capillaritis by Banff Method [ptcBM]) and by counting the number of cells in peritubular capillaries in 10 high-power fields (hpf; peritubular capillaritis by Quantitative Method [ptcQM]). These quantitative analyses were performed in an attempt to improve our understanding of the role played by glomerulitis and capillaritis in AR. The g0 + g1 group (gBM) associated with negative C4d (P = .02). In peritubular capillaritis, a larger number of cells per 10 hpf in peritubular capillaries (ptcQM) were observed in positive C4d cases (P = .03). The group g2 + g3 (gBM) correlated with graft loss (P = .01). Peritubular capillaritis was not significantly related to graft survival time. Our study showed that the Banff scoring system is the best method to study glomerulitis and observed that the evaluation of capillaritis in routine biopsies is difficult and additional studies are required for a better understanding of its meaning in AR biopsy specimens of renal allografts.

Hydrogen storage of magnesium-based nanocomposites system

Hydrogen storage in traditional metallic hydrides can deliver about 1.5 to 2.0 wt pct hydrogen but magnesium hydrides can achieve more than 7 wt pct. However, these systems suffer from high temperature release drawback and chemical instability problems. Recently, big improvements of reducing temperature and increasing kinetics of hydrogenation have been made in nanostructured Mg-based composites. This paper aims to provide an overview of the science and engineering of Mg materials and their nanosized composites with nanostructured carbon for hydrogen storage. The needs in research including preparation of the materials, processing and characterisation and basic mechanisms will be explored. The preliminary experimental results indicated a promising future for chemically stable hydrogen storage using carbon nanotubes modified metal hydrides under lower temperatures.

PROPOSTA DE MODELO DE MEDIÇÕES PARA CONTRATAÇÃO DO GERENCIAMENTO DE PROCESSO DE NEGÓCIO (BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT- BPM)

O Gerenciamento de Processo de Negócio (Business Process Management- BPM) tem sido uma prática adotada pelas organizações públicas e privadas. O BPM possibilita a identificação eficaz das necessidades e das informações necessárias para suportar a operacionalização ou a automatização do processo de negócio. Considerando que as organizações têm necessitado terceirizar esse serviço, o objetivo desse trabalho foi propor um modelo de medição para contratação dos serviços de BPM. Para atender a esse objetivo, o modelo conceitual construído partiu da premissa que a gestão da contratação de um BPM deve fornecer critérios para mensurar a demanda, ou serviço, avaliar a qualidade dos serviços prestados e a qualidade do produto recebido. O estudo adotou como instrumentos de coleta de dados a pesquisa documental e a revisão sistemática. Com base nos objetivos e questões de pesquisa foram identificados os strings para busca, definidas as fontes de busca, critérios de inclusão e exclusão dos resultados. Todos os trabalhos selecionados foram lidos e analisados e foi utilizado um mapa mental para consolidação dos resultados. Foi utilizado o GQM (Goal, Questions, Metrics) para a elaboração das medições e adotado o estudo de caso. Parte das medições propostas foram aplicadas em 13 modelos de processo de negócio do mundo real com o objetivo de verificar sua coerência e comparar os resultados. Foi realizada entrevista com especialista em modelagem de processos de negócios para avaliar os resultados obtidos e, na percepção deste especialista a maior parte das métricas propostas pela pesquisa é adequada à realidade de mercado, considerando o contexto de terceirização desse serviço.