Estimation of effort/cost required for development of software products is inherently associated with uncertainty. In this paper, we are concerned with a fuzzy set-based generalization of the COCOMO model (f-COCOMO). The inputs of the standard COCOMO model include an estimation of project size and an evaluation of other parameters. Rather than using a single number, the software size can be regarded as a fuzzy set (fuzzy number) yielding the cost estimate also in form of a fuzzy set. The paper includes detailed results with this regard by relating fuzzy sets of project size with the fuzzy set of effort. The analysis is carried out for several commonly encountered classes of membership functions (such as triangular and parabolic fuzzy sets). The issue of designer-friendliness of the f-COCOMO model is discussed in detail. Here we emphasize a way of propagation of uncertainty and ensuing visualization of the resulting effort (cost). Furthermore we augment the model by admitting software systems to belong partially to the three main categories (namely embedded, semidetached and organic) and discuss key implications of this generalization and highlight its links with a generalized sensitivity analysis. The experimental part of the study illustrates the approach and contrasts it with the standard numeric version of the COCOMO model.
A rich case-study analysis of open source software adoption by public organizations in different countries and settings.
Government agencies and public organizations often consider adopting open source software (OSS) for reasons of transparency, cost, citizen access, and greater efficiency in communication and delivering services. Adopting Open Source Software offers five richly detailed real-world case studies of OSS adoption by public organizations. The authors analyze the cases and develop an overarching, conceptual framework to clarify the various enablers and inhibitors of OSS adoption in the public sector. The book provides a useful resource for policymakers, practitioners, and academics.
The five cases of OSS adoption include a hospital in Ireland; an IT consortium serving all the municipalities of the province of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy; schools and public offices in the Extremadura region of Spain; the Massachusetts state government's open standards policy in the United States; and the ICT department of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. The book provides a comparative analysis of these cases around the issues of motivation, strategies, technologies, economic and social aspects, and the implications for theory and practice.
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