Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

This chapter presents W2000, a complete notation for modelling complex Web applications. All W2000 concepts are based on a precise meta-model that characterises the different notation elements and identifies the relationships between them. After introducing the modelling concepts and the hierarchical organisation of W2000 models, the chapter exemplifies the main modelling features through a case study and clarifies some design alternatives. The chapter also describes the tool support offered by W2000.

How do you measure the value of data? Not by the amount you have, but by what you can learn from it. Statistics provides a way to extract valuable information from your data. It is a science concerned with the collection, classification, and interpretation of data according to well-defined procedures. For a manager, however, statistics is simply one of many diverse techniques that may improve decision-making.

The purpose of this chapter is to develop a deeper understanding of the statistical methods used to analyse software project data. The methods used to analyse software project data come from the branch of statistics known as multivariate statistical analysis. These methods investigate relationships between two or more variables. However, before we delve into detailed explanations of chi-square tests, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and analysis of variance, you need to understand some basic concepts.

Web and software engineering are not only about technical solutions. They are to a large extent also concerned with organisational issues, project management and human behaviour. For disciplines like Web and software engineering, empirical methods are crucial, since they allow for incorporating human behaviour into the research approach taken. Empirical methods are common practice in many other disciplines. This chapter provides a motivation for the use of empirical methods in Web and software engineering research. The main motivation is that it is needed from an engineering perspective to allow for informed and well-grounded decisions. The chapter continues with a brief introduction to four research methods: controlled experiments, case studies, surveys and post-mortem analyses. These methods are then put into an improvement context. The four methods are presented with the objective to introduce the reader to the methods to a level where it is possible to select the most suitable method at a specific instance. The methods have in common that they all are concerned with quantitative data. However, several of them are also suitable for qualitative data. Finally, it is concluded that the methods are not competing. On the contrary, the different research methods can preferably be used together to obtain more sources of information that hopefully lead to more informed engineering decisions in Web and software engineering.