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Actualment, el Deute Tècnic (DT) és un problema latent a la gran majoria de projectes software. A causa del ràpid creixement del mercat, la visió empresarial està cada cop més enfocada a reduir el time-to-market del producte, deixant de banda la qualitat interna del seu codi. Per això, el cost global anual de mantenir aquest codi de mala qualitat, puja aproximadament a 81.000 € milions. La tesi se centra a analitzar profundament una plataforma corporativa amb molt DT i definir-ne una nova arquitectura, tenint en compte els seus requeriments i prioritzant la qualitat del producte mentre es redueix el seu deute tècnic. Per aconseguir això, es faran servir tècniques de refactorització, implementació de noves funcionalitats i la definició de protocols interns per a l'equip. A la tesi queden documentats els passos a seguir per analitzar i rearquitecturitzar un projecte amb unes característiques similars. A més, es crea una forta consciència sobre el deute tècnic i els seus problemes, una qüestió que afecta directament el codi i indirectament la salut mental dels seus desenvolupadors. Currently, Technical Debt (TD) is a latent problem in the vast majority of software projects. Due to the rapid growth of the market, its business vision is focusing on reducing the time-to-market of the product, leaving aside the internal quality of its code. As a result, the global annual cost of maintaining such poor quality code comes to approximately $85 billion. The thesis focuses on deeply analyzing a corporate platform with a heavy TD and defining a new architecture for it based on its requirements, prioritizing the quality of the product while reducing its technical debt. To achieve this, I will use refactoring techniques, implementation of new functionalities and the definition of internal protocols for the team. In the thesis, the steps to follow to analyze and re-architect a project with similar characteristics are documented. In addition, strong awareness is raised regarding the technical debt and its problems, an issue that directly affects the code and indirectly impacts the mental health of its developers.

Introduction: The history of construction is a discipline that began to take shape in the mid-18th century and throughout the 19th century. We as researchers need to pay particular attention to how drawing facilitated progress during this period. This article attempts to provide an overview of the above, which is currently lacking. Methods: In this study, two lines of investigation intersect: the history of construction and the history of drawing, specifically drawing for scientific and technical representation. The main goal is to identify the sources (authors, lines of investigation) relevant to this field, as well as to characterize the role of drawing in the authors’ work, and to describe the spread of drawing as nonverbal thinking. Results: We have identified a number of relevant authors, described their lines of research, and listed the functions fulfilled by drawing in each case. The functions include: hypothesizing about hidden structures, visualizing the construction processes, and providing a virtual definition for elements that make up a vault. We also review how some drawings acted as a visual model of the constructive reality, or how parallel drawings served as a reflection of the different buildings’ size and scale. Discussion: This overview adjusts some points of reference for a general picture. For having a complete understanding of the subject, it will be necessary to identify more sources and to extend the geographical scope of this search in the future. There is still much research to be done on the spread of the drawings in question.

This article contributes to clarifying the questions of whether and how fractal geometry, i.e., some of its main properties, are suitable to characterize architectural designs. This is done in reference to complexity-related aesthetic qualities in architecture, taking advantage of the measurability of one of them; the fractal dimension. Research in this area so far, has focused on 2-dimensional elevation plans. The authors present several methods to be used on a variety of source formats, among them a recent method to analyze pictures taken from buildings, i.e., 2.5-dimensional representations, to discuss the potential that lies within their combination. Color analysis methods will provide further information on the significance of a multilayered production and observation of results in this realm. In this publication results from the box-counting method are combined with a coordinate-based method for analyzing redundancy of proportions and their interrelations as well as the potential to include further layers of comparison are discussed. It presents a new area of box-counting implementation, a methodologically redesigned gradient analysis and its new algorithm as well as the combination of both. This research shows that in future systems it will be crucial to integrate several strategies to measure balanced aesthetic complexity in architecture.

Though flexible diaphragms play a role in the seismic behaviour of unreinforced masonry buildings, the effect of the connections between floors and walls is rarely discussed or explicitly modelled when simulating the response of such buildings. These flexible diaphragms are most commonly timber floors made of planks and beams, which are supported on recesses in the masonry walls and can slide when the friction resistance is reached. Using equivalent frame models, we capture the effects of both the diaphragm stiffness and the finite strength of wall-to-diaphragm connections on the seismic behaviour of unreinforced masonry buildings. To do this, we use a newly developed macro-element able to simulate both in-plane and out-of-plane behaviour of the masonry walls and non-linear springs to simulate wall-to-wall and wall-to-diaphragm connections. As an unretrofitted case study, we model a building on a shake table, which developed large in-plane and out-of-plane displacements. We then simulate three retrofit interventions: Retrofitted diaphragms, connections, and diaphragms and connections. We show that strengthening the diaphragm alone is ineffective when the friction capacity of the wall-to-diaphragm connection is exceeded. This also means that modelling an unstrengthened wall-to-diaphragm connection as having infinite stiffness and strength leads to unrealistic box-type behaviour. This is particularly important if the equivalent frame model should capture both global in-plane and local out-of-plane failure modes.

Funding Information: Aalto Math&Arts visit to Shanghai was funded by Dean Tuomas Auvinen from School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Dean Jouko Lampinen from School of Science and Dean Gary Marquis from School of Engineering. The collaborators in Shanghai were West Bund Art Center, Sino-Finnish Centre, students and teachers from Tongji-Huangpu School of Design & Innovation and teachers from other schools in Shanghai, Beijing and other provinces of China as well as students from Tongji University. Funding Information: Mathematics and Arts Colloquium in connection with a multidisciplinary course like this is a well-functioning concept. Public talks related to ongoing new activities at the university provide an accessible and convenient channel for a broad audience. Art gives a fruitful frame to make mathematics more visible in the society. The Colloquium was supported by Niilo Helander Foundation. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2021 The Korean Association for Radiation Protection. Aalto University has been able to create a fruitful frame for activities enhancing interaction between mathematics, art and architecture. One of the most recent highlights of this progress was a student exhibition titled ‘IN TRANSITION – Mathematics and Art’ [12] at Espoo Cultural Centre [9]. The exhibition was further extended to the Aalto Math&Arts exhibition in Shanghai ([3],[25]). In this paper we describe our long-lasting open-minded collaboration to build a minor in Mathematics and Arts that is useful from freshmen to PhD students across the conventional barriers between disciplines. A dialogue between scientific and artistic practices break clichés related to mathematics by bringing deep phenomena in the field to the level of human experience. Challenges and future scenarios are discussed broadly. Some ideas about the present state of Aalto Math and Arts can be found in [2].

How do we envision possible futures for the built environment? What allows us to imagine spaces that do not yet exist? While superstitious approaches to these questions often explain spatial imagination as an ineffable or arcane process, this article advances a simple description of how built space can be understood, envisioned and ultimately produced. The analytical approach developed by the writer Andrés Caicedo to explain how professional film makers approach a movie, and the differences between their approach and that of the general public, are used to illustrate how architects can also confront built space professionally, with an operative intention. Both in the film arts and in architecture, it is argued here, the technical understanding of what exists, and how it has been produced, is indispensable to imagine what might or should be. By using methods obtained from literature and cinema to illustrate the relation between architecture’s telos, or its ability to advance visions of possible futures for the built environment, and its technique, or the instruments and methods required to achieve those visions, the article makes a strong case for the utility of interdisciplinary analyses for artistic practice.

How do we envision possible futures for the built environment? What allows us to imagine spaces that do not yet exist? While superstitious approaches to these questions often explain spatial imagination as an ineffable or arcane process, this article advances a simple description of how built space can be understood, envisioned and ultimately produced. The analytical approach developed by the writer Andrés Caicedo to explain how professional film makers approach a movie, and the differences between their approach and that of the general public, are used to illustrate how architects can also confront built space professionally, with an operative intention. Both in the film arts and in architecture, it is argued here, the technical understanding of what exists, and how it has been produced, is indispensable to imagine what might or should be. By using methods obtained from literature and cinema to illustrate the relation between architecture’s telos, or its ability to advance visions of possible futures for the built environment, and its technique, or the instruments and methods required to achieve those visions, the article makes a strong case for the utility of interdisciplinary analyses for artistic practice.

PurposeThe Built Operate Transfer (BOT) model has been increasingly used in transportation investments in Vietnam. However, there is still an inadequacy of risk management applications in these projects and lack of research in this area. The study aims to improve the success of projects implemented through the BOT model in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThe study followed a sequential design including interviews and a questionnaire survey to investigate the perception of stakeholders from public and private sector regarding the probability of occurrence and the severity of impact of risks in BOT transportation projects in Vietnam. Quantitative data from the survey was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics to explore the priority of risks as well as the differences in the perception between the public and private sectors.FindingsThe results showed that the top five most significant risks in BOT transportation projects in Vietnam are: (1) problems with land acquisition and compensation, (2) inappropriate location of toll booths, (3) public resistance to pay, (4) high toll rate and (5) lack of cash flow. With the exception of “lack of cash flow,” there were no statistically significant differences in the rankings of individual risks between the public and private sector. In addition, there is a significant positive correlation in the overall rankings of all risks for both sectors.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring the probability of occurrence and the severity of the impact of risks in BOT transportation projects in a developing country like Vietnam which has not been extensively explored yet. Second, it provides an insight into the perception of stakeholders from the public and private sector regarding the level of risks which is very useful for potential stakeholders in making decisions when they intend to participate in such partnerships. Third, it enables the Vietnamese government to establish suitable policies related to such projects. These contributions are very important in improving risk management in PPPs in developing countries.

The Honduran Construction Code (CHOC) prescribes a seismic design methodology for steel moment frames which produces uncertain results. CHOC also allows designs of ordinary steel moment frames (OMF) in regions of high seismic hazard which compromise the required seismic performance of such structures. The seismic performance of three fivestory buildings is evaluated in the Honduran urban area of greatest seismic hazard using FEMA 440 and FEMA 356. Two buildings consist of OMF; one of them with the lightest shapes available, the other, a non-ductile design allowed by the CHOC. The third, with special steel moment frames with the lightest shapes available. The designs were by the UBC 97 and the AISC 2010. It was verified by nonlinear static and dynamic analyzes that the CHOC could eventually lead to the design of steel moment frames with unacceptable seismic performance, in accordance with criteria of UBC 97 and AISC 2010., El Código Hondureño de Construcción (CHOC) prescribe una metodología de diseño sísmico de marcos rígidos de acero que genera resultados inciertos y permite diseños de marcos rígidos ordinarios de acero (MRO) en zonas de alto peligro sísmico, comprometiendo su desempeño sísmico requerido. Se evalúa el desempeño sísmico de tres edificios de cinco niveles cada uno en la zona urbana hondureña de mayor peligro sísmico con FEMA 440 y FEMA 356. Dos edificios constan de MRO; uno de ellos con los perfiles más ligeros disponibles, el otro, un diseño frágil permitido por el CHOC. El tercero, con marcos rígidos especiales de acero con los perfiles más ligeros disponibles. Los diseños fueron por el UBC 97 y el AISC 2010. Se verificó, por análisis no lineales, estáticos y dinámicos, que el CHOC puede llevar al diseño de marcos rígidos de acero con desempeño sísmico inaceptable, considerando criterios del UBC 97 y AISC 2010.

To make the geometrical cognitive process more interactive, we produced teaching aids (tangible models, graphic tablets) that help students in visualizing their geometrical-analytical investigations of the architectural artifacts and enhance their spatial prefiguration and critical form-reading skills, three-dimensional thinking and geometrical reading of shapes. Then, we looked for a medium suitable to create simple three-dimensional models, not only observable, like virtual models, not only tangible, like physical models proposed in the design studios, but also dynamic, using multiple media and languages in the same training message. As an example, we present here an interdisciplinary lesson between Calculus and Architectural Drawing and Survey Laboratory about developable surfaces, experimented on first year students of the bachelor program in Architecture. The lesson is based on the use of a graphic tablet and some origami inspired models: it summarizes the geometric description of a pyramid and a cloister vault of equal height and equal orthographic projection on the horizontal plane. We saw that tackling the same topic in both teaching contexts is not a useless overlap, but a stimulus to compare different languages and methods. 2D and 3D paper models of artifacts—and of projective reduction from 3D to the plane—aid spatial intuition and the subtle exercise of controlling mental images which replace artifacts, turning 3D configurations into signifying images. Moreover, this experience stimulates reading and evaluation of the drawn geometry (ruled surfaces, projections, developments), increasing critical sense in reading the built environment.

LoRa (along with its upper layers definition&mdash, LoRaWAN) is one of the most promising Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technologies for implementing Internet of Things (IoT)-based applications. Although being a popular technology, several works in the literature have revealed vulnerabilities and risks regarding the security of LoRaWAN v1.0 (the official 1st specification draft). The LoRa-Alliance has built upon these findings and introduced several improvements in the security and architecture of LoRa. The result of these efforts resulted in LoRaWAN v1.1, released on 11 October 2017. This work aims at reviewing and clarifying the security aspects of LoRaWAN v1.1. By following ETSI guidelines, we provide a comprehensive Security Risk Analysis of the protocol and discuss several remedies to the security risks described. A threat catalog is presented, along with discussions and analysis in view of the scale, impact, and likelihood of each threat. To the best of the authors&rsquo, knowledge, this work is one of the first of its kind, by providing a detailed security risk analysis related to the latest version of LoRaWAN. Our analysis highlights important practical threats, such as end-device physical capture, rogue gateway and self-replay, which require particular attention by developers and organizations implementing LoRa networks.

The warm desire of the City of Vernole to establish a museum of agricultural instruments was the occasion to debate on the philological recovery of the design of the Palazzo Baronale Severini – Romano in Pisignano. The objective was to recognize that value, in order to intervene on the project and to return it as a whole, making it usable according to the new designation and without betraying the original spirit of the project conceived by the architect of that period.Accordingly, the objective of this work is to show the role of the survey and of the metric analysis as tools of knowledge, which are useful to formulate a hypothesis of reutilization that does not betray the philosophy of the original project. The reconstruction of a unitary project for the facade of the building and the demolition of some parts of the ground floor do not modify, from a philosophical perspective, the design of the XVII century.

Despite many advances in the area of wind effects on structures in recent decades, research has been traditionally conducted within limited resources scattered geographically. With the trend toward increasingly complex designs of civil infrastructure combined with the escalating potential for losses by extreme wind events, a new culture of research needs to be established based on innovative and collaborative solutions for better management of the impact of extreme wind events. To address this change, this paper presents a new paradigm of a multi-scale cyber based laboratory framework for the analysis/design, modeling and simulation of wind load effects based on an ongoing collaborative cyberinfrastructure based platform, VORTEX-Winds: Virtual Organization for Reducing the Toll of EXtreme Winds (https://vortex-winds.org), and discusses its current status since its inception in 2007 and ongoing developments. This collaborative framework as it evolves would enable a paradigm shift by offering advanced cyber-enabled modules (e-modules) for accelerating advances in research and education to achieve improved understanding and better modeling of wind effects on structures. Accordingly, it will enhance wind community’s analysis and design capabilities to address next generation challenges posed by wind. Through empowering those without computational or experimental resources, the e-modules will encompass a large set of subject areas and topics categorized as Database-enabled design, Full-scale/Field site data repository, Statistical/Stochastic toolboxes, Tele-experimentation, Uncertainty modeling, Damage assessment, and Computational platforms. This prototype will allow access to the individual e-module, while it is envisaged that next level of development in VORTEX-Winds will have the capability for an automated and integrated analysis/design through a nexus of e-modules. A highlight of the e-modules currently completed or in development is presented not only to show the efficacy of the framework to enhance and supplement the limitation of traditional off-line approaches, but also to describe architecture and features of e-modules to promote additional cyber-enabled data-driven developments in the field.

Program comprehension is an essential part of any maintenance activity. It allows developers to build mental models of the program before undertaking any change. It has been studied by the research community for many years with the aim to devise models and tools to understand and ease this activity. Recently, researchers have introduced the use of eye-tracking devices to gather and analyze data about the developers' cognitive processes during program comprehension. However, eye-tracking devices are not completely reliable and, thus, recorded data sometimes must be processed, filtered, or corrected. Moreover, the analysis software tools packaged with eye-tracking devices are not open-source and do not always provide extension points to seamlessly integrate new sophisticated analyses. Consequently, we develop the Taupe software system to help researchers visualize, analyze, and edit the data recorded by eye-tracking devices. The two main objectives of Taupe are compatibility and extensibility so that researchers can easily: (1) apply the system on any eye-tracking data and (2) extend the system with their own analyses. To meet our objectives, we base the development of Taupe: (1) on well-known good practices, such as design patterns and a plug-in architecture using reflection, (2) on a thorough documentation, validation, and verification process, and (3) on lessons learned from existing analysis software systems. This paper describes the context of development of Taupe, the architectural and design choices made during its development, and its documentation, validation and verification process. It also illustrates the application of Taupe in three experiments on the use of design patterns by developers during program comprehension.

Embedded computer vision applications demand high system computational power and constitute one of the key drivers for application-specific multi- and many-core systems. A number of early system design choices can impact the system’s parallel performance – among which the parallel granularity, the number of processors and the balance between computation and communication. Their impact in the final system performance is difficult to assess in early design stages and there is a lack for tools that support designers in this task. The contributions of this thesis consist in two methods and associated tools that facilitate the selection of embedded multiprocessor’s architectural parameters and computer vision application parallelization strategies. The first consists of a Design Space Exploration (DSE) methodology that relies on Parana, a fast and accurate parallel performance estimation tool. Parana enables the evaluation of what-if parallelization scenarios and can determine their maximum achievable performance limits. The second contribution consists of a method for optimal 2D image tile sizing using constraint programming within the Tilana tool. The proposed method integrates non-linear DMA data transfer times and parallel scheduling overheads for increased accuracy., Les applications de vision par ordinateur embarquées demandent une forte capacité decalcul et poussent le développement des systèmes multi- et many-cores spécifiques à l’application. Les choix au départ de la conception du système peuvent impacter sa performance parallèle finale – parmi lesquelles la granularité de la parallélisation, le nombre de processeurs et l’équilibre entre calculs et l’acheminement des données. L’impact de ces choix est difficile à estimer dans les phases initiales de conception et il y a peu d’outils et méthodes pour aider les concepteurs dans cette tâche. Les contributions de cette thèse consistent en deux méthodes et les outils associés qui visent à faciliter la sélection des paramètres architecturaux d’un multiprocesseur embarqué et les stratégies de parallélisation des applications de vision embarquée. La première est une méthode d’exploration de l’espace de conception qui repose sur Parana, un outil fournissant une estimation rapide et précise de la performance parallèle. Parana permet l’évaluation de différents scénarios de parallélisation et peut déterminer la limite maximale de performance atteignable. La seconde contribution est une méthode pour l’optimisation du dimensionnement des tuiles d’images 2D utilisant la programmation par contraintes dans l’outil Tilana. La méthode proposée intègre pour plus de précision des facteurs non-linéaires comme les temps des transferts DMA et les surcoûts de l’ordonnancement parallèle.

The dismantling of a simple chapel of the late XVI century and the study of its formal constitution are the starting point of this analytical study of the structural design criteria. This course will compare the fundamentals of each methodology, from a geometric concept, through the concept of balance and reaching analysis methods based on the elastic stiffness. The precision of FEM software and its visual power cause the forgetfulness of the traditional design parameters. We often forget that the materials and building systems are difficult to evaluate by means of elastic concepts, which makes them statically indeterminate systems of order which change with time. The different analytical methods mean that none of them is exclusive against the others as actually they are complementary. The fact that sometimes the calculation precision of establishing a particular stress state cannot make us forget that the existence of a historic construction which has been able to find a working mechanism, will have had its starting point in a formal design, far from the necessity of accuracy., El análisis de sistemas constructivos tradicionales está comenzando a confiarse a potentes medios de simulación numérica. La precisión de cálculo y su expresividad visual son un reclamo al que resulta difícil sustraerse. El empleo de estos medios no puede olvidar el hecho de que estos sistemas constructivos y sus materiales constituyentes resultan difícilmente evaluables desde conceptos elásticos, convirtiéndose en sistemas hiperestáticos de orden creciente. El desmontaje de la bóveda de crucería de una capilla del siglo XVI ha permitido conocer con precisión esa serie de factores geométricos y de composición material que tantas veces resultan simples supuestos. Este conocimiento permite abordar un análisis comparado de las diferentes metodologías empleadas a lo largo de la historia. Analizar los resultados de las arcaicas razones de proporción geométrica, con metodologías como las de rigidez elástica o las de equilibrio fundamental, ha determinado que todas ellas lejos de ser excluyentes resultan complementarias.

Comparative researches based on visual analyses of different architectural objects enable separation of the small number of basic recurrent units defining spatial aspects of architectural form independently of when and in which cultural circle the object was created. These basic units of spatial structure can be termed spatial universals. Using them in accordance with some basic and universal rules of assembling into larger wholes makes possible creating any spatial objects as well as transforming them into different ones. At the same time words of natural languages contained in dictionaries give us important clues how people think about space. Another important clues are included in some recent theories of perception. All these findings taken together have been the basis to create the system of notions and terms regarding space in architecture. It is founded on basic and universal spatial elements (units) and rules of their composing into larger wholes. The paper is the trial of presenting such a notional system which was termed architectonics (or morphotectonics). Basic notions enabling description and analysis of spatial structure of any architectural object have been introduced. Fundamental spatial units have been also distinguished based on the principle of hierarchical structure – from elementary ones, through more and more complex up to largest ones playing decisive role in defining the whole architectural object. Basic spatial morphological features called also cardinal ones have been differentiated. Primary kinds of articulation have been discussed dealing with the empty space (internal or external), line, surface and volume and their elementary units had been distinguished. Besides morphological features characterizing composing elements the rules of their assembling have been specified, which have been termed syntax or relational features, characterizing spatial wholes composed of elements. Both morphological and syntax features may be treated quantitatively or measured by means of introduced coefficients. The presented system of notions as well as the quantitative approach should enable objective description and analysis of the built environment which is the necessary condition of research dealing with relations between man and his behavior and the environment, if these researches have to fulfill such elementary scientific criteria as repeatability, verifiability, internal and external validity and inter-subjective communication. The presented methodological proposal is addressed in particular to research on perception and cognition of the built environment and people’s reactions to it, such as evaluations, associations and emotions. It could be also useful in historical research carried both in comparative and systematic perspective, as well as in environmental aesthetics where comparing the new object with existing surrounding is of crucial importance. For the reason of limited place the paper is restricted only to presenting the system itself, while applications should be the subject of different publications.

International audience; Systems of systems (SoS) are large-scale systems composed of complex systems with difficult to predict emergent properties. One of the most significant challenges in the engineering of such systems if how to predict their Non-Functional Properties (NFP) such as performance and security, and more specifically, how to model NFP when the overall system functionality is not available. In this paper, we identify, describe and analyse challenges to modelling and analysing the performance and security NFP of SoS. We define an architectural framework to SoS NFP prediction based on the modelling of system interactions and their impacts. We adopt an Event Driven Architecture to support this modelling, as it allows for more realistic and flexible NFP simulation, which enables more accurate NFP prediction. A framework integrating the analysis of several NFP allows for exploring the impacts of changes made to accommodate issues on one NFP on other NFPs.

Applied Research in System Analysis (ARiSA) is a company specialized in the development of the customer-specific quality models and applied research work. In order to improve the quality of the projects and to reduce maintenance costs, ARiSA developed Quality Monitor (QM) – a web application for quality analysis. QM application has been originally developed as a basic program to enable customers to evaluate the quality of the sources. Therefore, the business logic of the application was simplified and certain limitations were imposed on it, which in its turn leads to a number of issues related to user experience, performance and architecture design. These aspects are important for both application as a product, and for its future promotion. Moreover, this is important for customers, as end users. Main application issues, which were added to the maintenance list are: manual data upload, insufficient server resources to handle long-running and resource consuming operations, no background processing and status reporting, simplistic presentation of analysis results and known usability issues, weak integration between analysis back-ends and front-end. ­­­­­­­­­­­In order to address known issues and to make improvements of the existing limitations, a maintenance phase of QM application is initiated. First of all, it is intended to stabilize current version and improve user experience. It also needed for refactoring and implementation of more efficient data uploads processing in the background. In addition, extended functionality of QM would fulfill customer needs and transform application from the project into a product. Extended functionality includes: automated data upload from different build processes, new data visualizations, and improvement of the current functionality according to customer comments. Maintenance phase of QM application has been successfully completed and master thesis goals are met. Current version is more stable and more responsive from user experience perspective. Data processing is more efficient, and now it is implemented as background analysis with automatic data import. User interface has been updated with visualizations for client-side interaction and progress reporting. The solution has been evaluated and tested in close cooperation with QM application customers. This thesis describes requirements analysis, technology stack with choice rationale and implementation to show maintenance results.

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is an architectural approach designed to provide scalable, resuable, and extensible software by dividing the software into self-contained services. Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) is an approach for data management that supports resolving ad hoc and complex multidimensional analytical queries. In this thesis, a case study for adapting these two technologies to an existing off-board train diagnostics system, called AddTrackEnterprise, is presented. The thesis also present a proposal for how to visualize the data contained in this system, such that it accommodates the OLAP approach. The thesis outlines the study of the subject matter and of the implementation of software for AddTrack based on these approaches.

The California Urban and Biodiversity Analysis (CURBA) model was developed as a tool to help urban planners to evaluate the possible effects of alternative urban growth patterns and policies on biodiversity and natural habitat quality. CURBA can help direct urban growth while promoting environmental and ecological quality.