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Theses and Dissertations

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Full-Text Articles in Software Engineering

An Assessment Of Software Safety As Applied To The Department Of Defense Software Development Process, Peter W. Colan, Robert W. Prouhet Dec 1992

An Assessment Of Software Safety As Applied To The Department Of Defense Software Development Process, Peter W. Colan, Robert W. Prouhet

Theses and Dissertations

This research analyzed the relationships between the DOD software development process, system safety requirements, and current structured software safety analysis techniques. The current state of software safety was assessed within the aerospace industry and DOD, and a training program for DOD System Safety Managers was developed. A telephone survey was conducted to gather information on current software safety analysis techniques and methodologies. Personal interviews were conducted with Aeronautical System Center System Safety Managers to gather data on job perception and perceived training needs. The results of the study indicate that the DOD guidance and policy documents needed to implement and …

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Software Support Measurement And Estimating For Oracle Database Applications Using Mark Ii Function Points, Steven D. Radnov Dec 1992

Software Support Measurement And Estimating For Oracle Database Applications Using Mark Ii Function Points, Steven D. Radnov

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the results of measuring software support of Oracle database applications and estimating the effort and schedule required to provide support. Software measurement was accomplished with a variant of the function points metric, called Mark II function points, which is comprised of three weighted parameters, inputs, entities, and outputs. A technique for mapping Mark II function points to Oracle DBMS components was developed, and the size of the software support for each project, per team, was measured by tabulating and weighting the number of inputs, entities, and outputs that are added, changed, and/or deleted. Software support effort was …

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A Model For Determining Task Set Schedulability In The Presence Of System Effects, Rusty O. Baldwin Dec 1992

A Model For Determining Task Set Schedulability In The Presence Of System Effects, Rusty O. Baldwin

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed a parameterized model that accounts for system overhead and determines when an Ada runtime environment can no longer successfully execute a given Ada task set and still meet all deadlines. The Ada Compiler Evaluation Capability benchmark was used to characterize an actual runtime environment. Using that data, a generic model of a preemptive, rate monotonic priority based runtime system was developed which accounts for overhead due to clock updates, context switching, task suspension, and synchronization. Validation was based on the Hartstone benchmark. First, the benchmark was executed using, the actual runtime environment. Then, those results were compared …

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Object-Oriented Analysis, Design, And Implementation Of The Saber Wargame, David S. Douglass Dec 1992

Object-Oriented Analysis, Design, And Implementation Of The Saber Wargame, David S. Douglass

Theses and Dissertations

Saber is a two-sided, air and land war game that simulates decisions made of commanders at the theater-level. It is being developed by the Air Force Institute of Technology for the Air Force Wargaming center at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Saber models conventional, chemical, and nuclear warfare between aggregated air and land forces. It also portrays the effects of logistics, satellites, weather, terrain, and intelligence which add to the realism of the Saber war game. The Saber war game has three main components, the preprocessor. which is responsible for scenario development and pregame activities, the simulation. the guts of the war …

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Solution To A Multicriteria Aircraft Routing Problem Utilizing Parallel Search Techniques, James J. Grimm Iii Dec 1992

Solution To A Multicriteria Aircraft Routing Problem Utilizing Parallel Search Techniques, James J. Grimm Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Pilots select routes based on factors such as threats, fuel, time on target, distance, and refueling points. This is a time consuming task. This thesis presents the software engineering synthesis of a software tool, based on a parallelized A* search algorithm, to select routes. For simplicity only threats and distance are used. A centralized open list is used with one processor managing the list while the other processors perform the node expansions. This decomposition result in a dynamically load balanced system. A number of parameters are changed to study their impact on the execution time. The use of a branch …

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Examining A Layered Approach To Function And Design Representation For Reusable Software Components, Paul D. Siebels Dec 1992

Examining A Layered Approach To Function And Design Representation For Reusable Software Components, Paul D. Siebels

Theses and Dissertations

This effort examined ways to improve the effectiveness of reusable software libraries. The main area of investigation was in improving the user interface by finding better ways to present the software components to potential re-users. The first aspect which was considered was finding an effective representation for reusable software components. A set of criteria was developed for evaluating the effectiveness of software representations. The criteria consisted of generality, expressiveness, understandability, consistency, and resolution. The second aspect which was considered was how to present the software component information to the user to facilitate finding the appropriate component for reuse. A representation …

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Creating And Manipulating Formalized Software Architectures To Support A Domain-Oriented Application Composition System, Cynthia G. Anderson Dec 1992

Creating And Manipulating Formalized Software Architectures To Support A Domain-Oriented Application Composition System, Cynthia G. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated technology which enables sophisticated users to specify, generate, and maintain application software in domain-oriented terms. To realize this new technology, a development environment, called Architect, was designed and implemented. Using canonical formal specifications of domain objects, Architect rapidly composes these specifications into a software application and executes a prototype of that application as a means to demonstrate its correctness before any programming language specific code is generated. Architect depends upon the existence of a formal object base (or domain model) which was investigated by another student in related research. The research described in this thesis relied on …

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A Unified Model Of Program Behavior, Douglas T. Michel Dec 1992

A Unified Model Of Program Behavior, Douglas T. Michel

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an attempt to account for and unify the three types of locality: temporal, spatial, and structural. A diverse sample of traces are used in measuring program behavior with respect to these localities and a model is presented which represents the memory references a program generates as it goes through execution. The model is validated by estimating, the entropy of a synthetically generated trace and comparing it with actual traces. The results indicate that there is more predictability contained in the original trace than what the model was able to capture. Different variations of the model were tried …

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Design Recovery For Software Library Population, Chester A. Wright Jr. Dec 1992

Design Recovery For Software Library Population, Chester A. Wright Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis research investigated design recovery as a means of populating a reuse library. The targeted library was part of the Automatic Programming Technologies for Avionics Systems (APTAS). APTAS uses a knowledge base of forms, to present questions to a user, and rules, to select the forms to present and choose existing library modules to use in composing a new system. The approach applied the reengineering model developed by Eric Byrne to accomplish planning for the project, expanded the renovation phase of this model to cover the actual design recovery, and applied the expanded model to populating the library. Using …

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Formalizing, Validating, And Verifying Real-Time System Requirements With Reacto And Vhdl, Frank C. Young Dec 1992

Formalizing, Validating, And Verifying Real-Time System Requirements With Reacto And Vhdl, Frank C. Young

Theses and Dissertations

We develop a methodology for formalizing, verifying, and validating the requirements specification of real-time systems based on a graphical and formal hierarchical Finite State Machine (FSM) language Reacto. We define a means to quantify time and express real-time constraints in Reacto and a transformation from Reacto to the Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) hardware Description Language (VHDL). Reacto's high level abstractions, graphical nature, and theorem prover produce efficient, accurate, and easily understood specifications. We use VHDL's event driven simulation capability, concurrency, and temporal operators to thoroughly examine temporal dependencies between the state machine transitions, and to increase simulation power …

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The Adaptation Of The Sei's Capability Maturity Model To The Air Force Software Acquisition Management Process, William G. Dickerhoff Jr., William J. Sommers Dec 1992

The Adaptation Of The Sei's Capability Maturity Model To The Air Force Software Acquisition Management Process, William G. Dickerhoff Jr., William J. Sommers

Theses and Dissertations

This study develops an Air Force Software Acquisition Maturity Framework (SAMF) by adapting the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) capability Maturity Model (CMM) to the Air Force software acquisition process. The SAMFs purpose is to provide the Air Force Materiel Command's product centers and program off ices with criterion to assess their software acquisition maturity in a similar fashion as the SEI's CMM provides companies a benchmark to measure their organization's software production maturity. The research was accomplished through a combination of information gathering techniques and data analysis. A literature search of documentation, both within and external to the Department of …

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Development Of An Environment For Software Reliability Model Selection, Salah A. Elewa Sep 1992

Development Of An Environment For Software Reliability Model Selection, Salah A. Elewa

Theses and Dissertations

An environment was developed for solving the problem of selecting a proper software reliability model for a given set of software failures. The idea behind the environment developed in this dissertation was to liken a collected set of software failure data to a previous one that proved to fit well with a specified software reliability model. Software failures were assumed to have a two-Parameter exponential distribution with unequal type II censoring. A test criterion was derived for testing Ratio Criterion. The exact distribution of the test criterion was derived. An asymptotic approximation was also obtained and was found to be …

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Award Fee In Software Acquisition, Mark T. Hunter Sep 1992

Award Fee In Software Acquisition, Mark T. Hunter

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research effort was to determine, in general terms, what contractual tools are available to influence contractor performance during the software development process and, specifically, whether or not award fee contracts are appropriate tools. First, a qualitative, in depth literature review was done. Next, personal interviews were conducted with Program Directors and Deputy Program Directors at Aeronautical Systems Center, Electronic Systems Center, and Space and Missiles Systems Center. Then, after the results were summarized, the data was analyzed and findings were made. Findings include: award fee was found to be the most flexible provision in the FAR …

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The Application Of Function Points To Predict Source Lines Of Code For Software Development, Garland S. Henderson Sep 1992

The Application Of Function Points To Predict Source Lines Of Code For Software Development, Garland S. Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the results of using function point analysis-based estimates to predict source lines of code (SLOC) for software development projects. The majority of software cost and effort estimating parametric tools are categorized as SLOC-based, meaning SLOC is the primary input. Early in a program, an accurate estimate of SLOC is difficult to project. Function points, another parametric software estimating tool, bases software cost and effort estimates on the functionality of a system. This functionality is described by documents available early in a program. Using a modeling methodology, the research focuses on function point's ability to accurately estimate SLOC …

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Satool Ii: An IdefO Case Workbench Using Ada And The X Window System, Betty Topp Mar 1992

Satool Ii: An IdefO Case Workbench Using Ada And The X Window System, Betty Topp

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research effort is to perform an object oriented analysis, design and implementation of the graphical user interface (GUI) for the SATool II system. SATool II is a computer Assisted Software Engineering (CASE) workbench developed using Ada and the X Window system. It is designed to serve as an IDEFo graphical project editor and data dictionary editor. IDEF0 is the ICAM Definition Method Zero graphical notation language adopted by the Air Force to produce a function model of a manufacturing system or environment. The Air Force Institute of Technology is conducting on-going research in the use …

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Relative Utility Of Selected Software Requirement Metrics, James H. Byers Dec 1991

Relative Utility Of Selected Software Requirement Metrics, James H. Byers

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine the relative utility of selected software requirement metrics in assessing the productivity of the software requirements analysis process and the quality of the products of this process. This objective was met by collecting information about the perceptions that practicing software professionals have of the usefulness of various requirement metrics. The study employed a two part methodology. The first part utilized Basili's goal/question/metric paradigm to identify specific goals of the measurement effort and to identify requirement metrics worthy of further investigation. The second part employed a typical research design to gather perceptions that …

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Investigative Search Of Quality Historical Software Support Cost Data And Software Support Cost-Related Data, Brent L. Barber Dec 1991

Investigative Search Of Quality Historical Software Support Cost Data And Software Support Cost-Related Data, Brent L. Barber

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine what software support cost data and software support cost-related data should and can be collected by the Air Force. In addition, the study was to determine how the subject data should be collected. The collection of this data is necessary in order to measure the accuracy and calibration requirements of the software support cost models used by the Air Force. The study found there was no standard set of data items, and no standard procedures in place for the collection of this data. In most cases data were available or easily accessible, …

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Possible Application Of Quality Function Deployment In Software Systems Development In The United States Air Force, Craig R. Lamb Dec 1991

Possible Application Of Quality Function Deployment In Software Systems Development In The United States Air Force, Craig R. Lamb

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of the thesis were to determine whether the methods of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) could be used in the software development environment within the USAF, and whether or not this area should be researched further. The research was limited to the requirements analysis and definition phase. The different areas of study included a brief review of the structured analysis methodology, a detailed review of the QFD models currently being used in the product industries, a review of how QFD fits into the software development cycle, and specific software modifications to the QFD methodology. A review of some applications …

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Establishing A Methodology For Evaluation And Selecting Computer Aided Software Engineering Tools For A Defined Software Engineering Environment At The Air Force Institute Of Technology School Of Engineering, Jody L. Mattingly Dec 1991

Establishing A Methodology For Evaluation And Selecting Computer Aided Software Engineering Tools For A Defined Software Engineering Environment At The Air Force Institute Of Technology School Of Engineering, Jody L. Mattingly

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis identifies the software engineering environment (SEE) as it exists at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) School of Engineering. It also describes the software process model employed and the software development methods presented as part of the curriculum. Based on this information, criteria was established to evaluate computer aided software engineering (CASE) tools being considered for integration into the SEE. Each criterion was weighted to indicate its importance when selecting CASE tools. The criteria were further used to establish a methodology to be used to evaluate and select the CASE tools under consideration as well as future …

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Effect Of Spatial Locality Prefetching On Structural Locality, Dirk D. Schalch Dec 1991

Effect Of Spatial Locality Prefetching On Structural Locality, Dirk D. Schalch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to analyze the effect that spatial locality prefetching in cache memory has on the structural locality of program memory referencing behavior. To examine this, a software simulator was built to model a proposed two-level cache memory subsystem. The proposed subsystem was designed to use spatial locality prefetching to exploit the structural locality contained in executing computer workloads. New memory referencing models were developed to incorporate the combined use of structural locality and spatial locality prefetching. From these models, equations were derived to predict the hit rates for both caches. Combined with the state transition …

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A Hypermedia Implementation For Reusable Software Component Representation, Gary G. Worrall Dec 1990

A Hypermedia Implementation For Reusable Software Component Representation, Gary G. Worrall

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated software component representation methods. Hypermedia was chosen as the implementation method to represent a collection of reusable software components. The hypermedia implementation organizes knowledge about the component collection into a web of small information chunks called frames. The set of software components was represented using a hybrid classification scheme composed of enumerated and faceted parts. The enumerated part enables the user to progress along a path in a taxonomic tree, narrowing the scope of eligible components. Each leaf node in this tree denotes a class of components, members of which are distinguished by their time and space …

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Mapping An Object-Oriented Requirements Analysis To A Design Architecture That Supports Design And Component Reuse, Kelly L. Spicer Dec 1990

Mapping An Object-Oriented Requirements Analysis To A Design Architecture That Supports Design And Component Reuse, Kelly L. Spicer

Theses and Dissertations

Design reuse has more potential for increasing the productivity of software development and maintenance than do traditional approaches to software reuse that emphasize reuse of smaller components. Current software development methods do not promote design reuse. The literature contains limited documented research on the subject, but enough that some design reuse principles can be gleaned. Among these principles are that reusable designs should be applicable within some domain of application, have a consistent structure, provide a method for instantiating the design, avoid object nesting, and promote reuse of smaller components as well. A design mapping method from an object-oriented requirements …

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The Development Of A Graphical Notation For The Formal Specification Of Software, Gene A. Place Dec 1990

The Development Of A Graphical Notation For The Formal Specification Of Software, Gene A. Place

Theses and Dissertations

The program tranformations lifecycle model, proposed by Balzer in 1984, may hold the key to dramatic leap in software engineer productivity necessitated by the tremendous growth in the world's demand for software. This leap in productivity is made possible by the program transformation lifecycle's reliance on formal specifications rather than programs as the primary vehicle for the creation and maintenance of software systems. Because formal specifications are concerned only with system behaviors and not implementation details, formal specifications tend to present critical system characteristics much more concisely than programs. The major disadvantage of using formal specifications in a software development …

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Software Simulation Of The D17b Computer, Bruce Chatterton Mar 1972

Software Simulation Of The D17b Computer, Bruce Chatterton

Theses and Dissertations

A software program has been written which simulates the functions of the Minuteman D17B computer at the register transfer level. The simulation program is written in the FORTRAN Extended language to be used on the Intercom System (teletype) of a CDC 6600 computer system. The simulation program consists of a main program and eight subroutines. A programming language for the D17B simulation was formed which contains numbers and load codes, switches, and miscellaneous commands. Example programs run on the simulated computer have been included to show the types of output available.

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