Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Sound Idea: An Investigation Into Accessible Video Game Design For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Luke James Brook

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A widely accepted, and incorrect, assumption towards hearing accessibility in video games is that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) users are those who encounter the least barriers and are generally well catered for. Rapid advancement in video game technology has seen video game sound evolve from simple blips generated by internal circuitry to fully realised digital audio used to convey critical information. To accommodate the DHH, this information needs to be conveyed in an alternative manner. However, evidence suggests existing accessible design solutions for the DHH lack specificity and are insufficient. Thus, the inability to hear, or hear well, …

Human Factors And Cultural Influences In Implementing Agile Philosophy And Agility In Global Software Development, Anuradha Sutharshan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

As software becomes increasingly important to all aspects of industry, developers should be encouraged to adopt best practice and hence improve the quality of the processes used, and achieve targets relating to time, budget and quality. In the software industry, several software methodologies have been used to address software development problems; however some of these processes may be too bureaucratic. The Agile Alliance formed in 2001, sought to address this problem; accordingly, they developed a manifesto and twelve principles, to which all agile software methods adhere. The purpose of the manifesto and its principles is to uncover better ways of …

Determinants Of Knowledge Mapping Adoption In Software Maintenance, Joseph K. Lee

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Knowledge Maps (KMaps) could be ideally suited for resolving many of the traceability problems in computer software maintenance. This thesis provides an understanding of the various factors that will encourage or impede the software maintenance community to adopt KMaps as part of their process. ABC Company in Perth, Western Australia, was chosen as the research site because it is a multinational software development company with customers in many major cities around the world. Since Knowledge Mapping (KMapping) is relatively new to most software staffers, it was necessary to develop a Software Maintenance KMap prototype. A literature review of KMapping, innovation …

Developing A Catalogue Of Errors And Evaluating Its Impact On Software Development, Indrit Troshani

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The development of quality software is of paramount importance, yet this has been and continues to be an elusive goal for software engineers. Delivered software often fails due to errors that are injected during its development. Correcting these errors early in the development or preventing them altogether can, therefore, be considered as one way to improve software quality. In this thesis, the development of a Catalogue of Errors is described. Field studies with senior software engineering students are used to confirm that developers using the Catalogue of Errors commit fewer errors in their development artifacts. The impact of the Catalogue …

An Investigation Into The Use Of Software Code Metrics In The Industrial Software Development Environment, Tim Littlefair

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This work describes a project that investigates the use of software metrics based on measurement of source code in industrial software development. Literature is examined relating to considerations of quality in industry; to software engineering; to emergent technologies in the software industry including the object-oriented paradigm and software patterns; to software product and process metrics; and to cultural factors affecting workplaces in the software industry. It then expounds theoretical and practical work aimed at specifying, designing and implementing a source code analyzer for use in a typical industrial project setting. There is an explanation of the design and outcomes of …

Parametric Software Project Estimating: An Analysis Of Current Practice, Stuart Hope

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

As society and the world economy moves into the second millennium. the service industries involving knowledge workers will continue to increase. Software is the enabling technology that is driving the knowledge industry. As the development of software is mostly a design process, where new artefacts are conceived and built, the prediction of outcomes in the process is fraught with difficulties. Software project estimating is one of the essential Software Engineering techniques that will enable the rationalisation of decision-making regarding software development. Estimates that are more accurate will increase the probability of success and lower the risk. This thesis analyses the …

A Proposal For A Development Platform For Microcontroller-Based Devices, Michael L. Wetton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is concerned with designing, implementing and testing a miniaturised temperature data logging device. Investigations demonstrated that a microcontroller could provide a low-cost single-chip solution to this problem and after a detailed review of 8-bit microcontrollers, the MC68HCll was chosen for this task. This document also includes discussion on an environment that was developed for creating and testing MC68HC11 software and the use of Motorola's evaluation boards. To ensure that the device was designed to software engineering standards an investigation into software engineering analysis techniques took place. This resulted in the Jackson Structured Programming (JSP) methodology being adapted to …

Software Metrics For Monitoring Software Engineering Projects, Edwin C. Lim

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

As part of the undergraduate course offered by Edith Cowan University, the Department of Computer Science has (as part of a year's study) a software engineering group project. The structure of this project was divided into two units, Software Engineering l and Software Engineering 2. ln Software Engineering 1, students were given the group project where they had to complete and submit the Functional Requirement and Detail System Design documentation. In Software Engineering 2, students commenced with the implementation of the software, testing and documentation. The software was then submitted for assessment and presented to the client. To aid the …

An Investigation Of Methodologies For Software Development Prototyping, Susan M. Jones

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The computer industry has a poor record of system development using the traditional life-cycle approach. The main cause of user dissatisfaction is the unacceptably large amount of time between specification and delivery of a system. In addition, users have limited opportunity to influence how the system will look when implemented once development has commenced. With the advent of 4GLs, system development using a prototyping approach has become a viable option. This has reduced the development tlme significantly and, together with the use of prototyping, has allowed users to become more involved in the development process. However, this change in the …

A Study Of The Methodologies Currently Available For The Maintenance Of The Knowledge-Base In An Expert System, Kai Teh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research studies currently available maintenance methodologies for expert system knowledge bases and taxonomically classifies them according to the functions they perform. The classification falls into two broad categories. These are: (1) Methodologies for building a more maintainable expert system knowledge base. This section covers techniques applicable to the development phases. Software engineering approaches as well as other approaches are discussed. (2) Methodologies for maintaining an existing knowledge base. This section is concerned with the continued maintenance of an existing knowledge base. It is divided into three subsections. The first subsection discusses tools and techniques which aid the understanding of …

The A.D.E. Taxonomy Of Spreadsheet Application Development, Maria Jean Hall

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Spreadsheets are a major application in end-user computing, one of the fastest growing areas of computing. Studies have shown that 30% of spreadsheet applications contain errors. As major decisions are often made with the assistance of spreadsheets, the control of spreadsheet applications is a matter of concern to enduser developers, managers, EDP auditors and computer professionals.

The application of appropriate controls to the spreadsheet development process requires prior categorisation of the spreadsheet application. The special-purpose A.D.E. (Application, Development, Environment) taxonomy of spreadsheet application development was evolved by mathematical taxonomic methods to categorise spreadsheet development projects to facilitate their management and …

The Development Of An Expert System For The Diagnosis Of Diseases In Fibre And Dairy Goats, Tim S. Roberts

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis details the development of an expert system for the diagnosis of diseases in fibre and dairy goats. Divided into five sections, five appendices, and a bibliography, this thesis centres on the methods used to build the expert system: the decisions taken at the outset of, and during the course of, development; some of the problems encountered, and the solutions to those problems. A detailed appraisal is made of the development process and suggestions are made for future developments over similar domains (for example, the diagnosis of diseases in animals other than goats). Much emphasis is placed on three …