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This paper describes how a game development framework was used as a learning aid in a software engineering . Games can be used within higher education in various ways to promote student participation, enable variation in how lectures are taught, and improve student interest. In this paper, we describe a case study at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) where a game development framework was applied to make students learn software architecture by developing a computer game. We provide a model for how game development frameworks can be integrated with a software engineering or computer science course. We describe important requirements to consider when choosing a game development framework for a course and an evaluation of four frameworks based on these requirements. Further, we describe some extensions we made to the existing game development framework to let the students focus more on software architectural issues than the technical implementation issues. Finally, we describe a case study of how a game development framework was integrated in a software architecture course and the experiences from doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compete in today's global market companies must continuously improve their products and manufacturing processes. During the past several years, many Norwegian-based companies have outsourced production due to the high operational cost level. The trend is that only the production of complex, knowledge-based products which require advanced engineering, strict quality requirements and high degree of customization remains in Norway. Even for this type of products, more cost-effective product realization methods need to be established in order to strengthen overall competitiveness long term. This paper presents results from an ongoing case study done in a global marine company with operations in Norway, seeking to increase competitive advantage by improving capabilities in automation solutions for manufacturing—despite the fact that the production of large and complex products is usually regarded as particularly difficult to automate in an economical way. This paper aims to research the multifaceted challenge of moving from a manual to an automated assembly process for this type of products when this endeavor involves transferring technology from the early premature phase to full industrial implementation in parallel with the product development process. The results presented in this paper are preliminary as the technology development project is still ongoing. One of the early findings indicates that by re-designing large and complex products for handling with standard robots, the case company was able to automate assembly of its products. Furthermore, having a dedicated team enabled delivering a demonstrator after only two years by applying an Open Innovation approach, pulling knowledge from external experts in automation and iteratively integrating this with own organizational capabilities including technology platform, manufacturing strategy, design for manufacturing/assembly and integrated product and process development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the latest developments in AI, it is becoming increasingly common to view machines as cocreators. In this article, we follow four musicians in the project Co-Creative Spaces through a six-month long collaborative process in which they created new music through improvising with each other and—subsequently—with computer-based imitations of themselves. These musical agents were trained through machine learning to generate output in the style of the musicians and were capable of both following what they "heard" and initiating new directions in the interaction, leading to the question, "What happens to musical cocreation when AI is included in the creative cycle?" The musicians involved in Co-Creative Spaces are from Norway and Kenya—two countries with fundamentally different musical traditions. This leads to a second question: "How is the collaboration affected by possible cultural biases inherent in the technology and in the musicians themselves?" These questions were examined as part of two five-day workshops—one at the beginning and one at the end of the project period—before two final concerts. The musicians engaged in improvisation sessions and recorded ensuing discussions. For each workshop day, the musicians also had conversations in focus groups moderated by a fifth project member, who, together with one of the musicians, was also responsible for the development of the software powering the musical agents. The analysis of the data from the workshops paints a complex picture of what it is like being at the intersection between different technological, musical, and cultural paradigms. The machine becomes a cocreator only when humans permit themselves to attribute creative agency to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While seemingly incompatible, combining global software development and agile practices is a challenge undertaken by many companies. Case study reports on the successful use of agile practices in small distributed projects already exist. How these practices can be applied to larger projects, however, remains unstudied. This paper reports a case study on agile practices in a 40-person development organization distributed between Norway and Malaysia. Based on seven interviews in the development organization, we describe how scrum practices were successfully applied, e.g. using teleconferencing and web cameras for daily scrum meetings, synchronized 4-week sprints, weekly scrum-of-scrums, and Jira for backlog management. Non-scrum agile practices included nightly builds, automated testing, and team rooms. Supportig global software development practices, e.g. frequent visits, unofficial distributed meetings, domain expert networks, and annual gatherings are described. Positive experiences of using scrum included improved communication, trust and motivation, as well as better perceived quality. Challenges included misunderstood requirements, lack of videoconferencing possibilities, and awkward communication in distributed meetings due to cultural and geographical distance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between software development methodologies and usability. The point of departure is the assumption that two important disciplines in software development, one of software development methods (SDMs) and one of usability work, are not integrated in industrial software projects. Building on previous research we investigate two questions; (1) Will software companies generally acknowledge the importance of usability, but not prioritise it in industrial projects? and (2) To what degree are software development methods and usability perceived by practitioners as being integrated? To this end a survey in the Norwegian IT industry was conducted. From a sample of 259 companies we received responses from 78 companies. In response to our first research question, our findings show that although there is a positive bias towards usability, the importance of usability testing is perceived to be much less than that of usability requirements. Given the strong time and cost pressures associated with the software industry, we believe that these results highlight that there is a gap between intention and reality. Regarding our second research question our survey revealed that companies perceive usability and software development methods to be integrated. This is in contrast to earlier research, which, somewhat pessimistically, has argued for the existence of two different cultures, one of software development and one of usability. The findings give hope for the future, in particular because the general use of system development methods are pragmatic and adaptable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Activities to improve the quality of software products and development practices have been in the focus of both academics and practitioners for quite a while. Little, however, is known about the actual utilization of the different techniques and methods. To remedy this lack of knowledge, a study investigating the diffusion and adoption of such routines within Norwegian software development organizations has been performed. This paper presents the a ‘snapshot’, profiling the current users of these methods in Norway. The situation is interpreted with perspectives from diffusion theory and organizational theory. Paths for improving the diffusion and adoption process are suggested on the basis of the interpretation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software requirement engineering (SRE) is the initial stage of the software engineering process and entails several challenges relating to the identification, implementation, evolution, and management of requirements for the development of software systems that meet the desired functionality quality standards. Agile software development (ASD) is a well‐known software development process that follows a lightweight and adaptive methodology to support the incremental development of software systems. Since the ASD follows an adaptive procedure (ie, a flexible, nanostructured, and dynamic approach) of software development, it becomes challenging to perform SRE that follows a structured approach for managing software requirements throughout the life cycle of software development. The primary challenges for SRE, while pursuing an ASD, include, but are not limited to, identification of incomplete requirements, implementation of vague requirements, prioritization of secondary functional requirements, and compromise on users' involvement that negatively impacts the software system's functionality and quality. To overcome these challenges, some of the recent research efforts have focused on managing different phases of SRE during software development using the ASD. However, there is a lack of solutions that provide software engineers/practitioners with a solution. Besides, frameworks to effectively manage all the phases of SRE as per the needs of the ASD are needed. We propose a framework that unifies joint requirements document (JRD) and SCRUM to incrementally (a) identify, (b) implement, (c) evolve, and (d) manage system requirements throughout the software development cycle. We have used the action research method to qualitatively validate the proposed framework based on data and user requirements collected from a product‐focused (multinational) Norway‐based software company. The results of the validation are based on statistical analysis that reflects the usefulness of the proposed framework for SRE in ASD‐based software engineering and development. Future research is the possible application of a machine learning approach (es) in the intended context for agile requirements elicitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]