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  • An empirical study on the estimation of size and complexity of software applications with function points analysis
    Publication . Alves, Luís M.; Oliveira, Sérgio; Ribeiro, Pedro; Machado, Ricardo J.
    Empirical studies are important in software engineering to evaluate new tools, techniques, methods and technologies in a structured way before they are introduced in the industrial (real) software process. Perform empirical studies in a real context is very difficult due to various obstacles. An interesting alternative is perform empirical studies in an educational context using students as subjects and share the results with the academia and the industry. This paper describes a case study with two teams that developed a software system (Web application) for a real customer. In this study we used a model based on Function Points Analysis (FPA) to estimate the size and complexity of software system.
  • Project-based learning: an environment to prepare IT students for an industry career
    Publication . Alves, Luís M.; Ribeiro, Pedro; Machado, Ricardo J.
    The lack of preparation of Software Engineering (SE) graduates for a professional career is a common complaint raised by industry practitioners. One approach to solving, or at least mitigating, this problem is the adoption of the Project-Based Learning (PBL) training methodology. Additionally, the involvement of students in real industrial projects, incorporated as a part of the formal curriculum, is a well-accepted means for preparing students for their professional careers. The authors involve students from BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Computing in developing a software project required by a real client. This chapter explains the educational approach to training students for industry by involving them with real clients within the development of software projects. The educational approach is mainly based on PBL principles. With the approach, the teaching staff is responsible for creating an environment that enhances communications, teamwork, management, and engineering skills in the students involved.
  • Experimental software engineering in educational context
    Publication . Alves, Luís M.; Machado, Ricardo J.; Ribeiro, Pedro
    Empirical studies are important in software engineering to evaluate new tools, techniques, methods and technologies in a structured way before they are introduced in the industrial (real) software process. Within this PhD thesis we will develop a framework of a consistent process for involving students as subjects of empirical studies of software engineering. In concrete, our experiences with software development teams composed of students will analyze how RUP (Rational Unified Process) processes can be compliant with the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration), namely in the context of MLs (maturity levels) 2 and 3. Additionally, we will also analyze the influence of project management tools to improve the process maturity of the teams. Our final goal of carrying out empirical studies with students is to understand its validity when compared with the corresponding studies in real industrial settings.
  • An empirical study on the estimation of software development effort with use case points
    Publication . Alves, Luís M.; Sousa, André; Ribeiro, Pedro; Machado, Ricardo J.
    Empirical studies are important in software engineering to evaluate new tools, techniques, methods and technologies in a structured way before they are introduced in the industrial (real) software process. Perform empirical studies in a real context is very difficult due to various obstacles, so, we intend to create a stable environment that allows us to perform reliably empirical studies with students. This paper describes a case study with 104 students grouped in seven teams that developed a software system (Web application) for a real costumer. In this study we used a model based on Use Case Points (UCP) to estimate the resources needed to develop a software system.
  • Architectural element points: estimating software development effort by analysis of logical architectures
    Publication . Alves, Luís M.; Ribeiro, Pedro; Machado, Ricardo J.
    Empirical studies are important in software engineering to evaluate new tools, techniques, methods and technologies. In object-oriented analysis, use case models describe the functional requirements of a software system, so they can be the basis for software measurement and sizing. The purpose of this study is to develop a new metric called Architectural Element Points (AEPoint) that enables to calculate the effort required to develop a software solution, using the 4-Step Rule Set (4SRS) method. This paper describes a case study with 60 undergraduate students grouped in four teams that developed a software system (Web application) for a real customer. In this study, we used the AEPoint metric to estimate the resources needed to develop a software system. The results of the AEPoint and Use Case Points (UCP) metrics and the real software development effort are compared, conclusions drawn and recommendations are proposed.
  • Project-based learning: an environment to prepare IT students for an industry career
    Publication . Alves, Luís M.; Ribeiro, Pedro; Machado, Ricardo J.
    The lack of preparation of Software Engineering (SE) graduates for a professional career is a common complaint raised by industry practitioners. One approach to solving, or at least mitigating, this problem is the adoption of the Project-Based Learning (PBL) training methodology. Additionally, the involvement of students in real industrial projects, incorporated as a part of the formal curriculum, is a well-accepted means for preparing students for their professional careers. The authors involve students from BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Computing in developing a software project required by a real client. This chapter explains the educational approach to training students for industry by involving them with real clients within the development of software projects. The educational approach is mainly based on PBL principles. With the approach, the teaching staff is responsible for creating an environment that enhances communications, teamwork, management, and engineering skills in the students involved.