http://hdl.handle.net/2117/3570 Sun, 19 May 2013 07:04:49 GMT 2013-05-19T07:04:49Z webmaster.bupc@upc.edu Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Servei de Biblioteques i Documentació no http://hdl.handle.net/2117/18551 Title: Towards a definition of SCM systems through SCOR Authors: Caldelas, Alberto; Pastor Collado, Juan Antonio Abstract: In recent years Supply Chain Management (SCM) in general and in management information systems in particular, have gained interest among researchers. However, derived from a recent analysis of the area and from many definitions used in literature, we think that there is not a clear understanding of what should be considered as a SCM system. In the same way, the minimal functional requirements for a system to be considered as an SCM information system are not yet clear. This contrasts with the existence of SCOR, a much publicised model used as standard in the SCM domain. Although SCOR does not include a definition for an SCM information system and, in fact, it leaves the system implementation at will of the companies, we think that it can be used to provide a better definition. Thus, in the present work we intent to offer a tentative definition of SCM systems based on SCOR. Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:45:21 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/18551 2013-04-03T07:45:21Z Caldelas, Alberto; Pastor Collado, Juan Antonio no SCM systems, SCOR, Supply chain management definition In recent years Supply Chain Management (SCM) in general and in management information systems in particular, have gained interest among researchers. However, derived from a recent analysis of the area and from many definitions used in literature, we think that there is not a clear understanding of what should be considered as a SCM system. In the same way, the minimal functional requirements for a system to be considered as an SCM information system are not yet clear. This contrasts with the existence of SCOR, a much publicised model used as standard in the SCM domain. Although SCOR does not include a definition for an SCM information system and, in fact, it leaves the system implementation at will of the companies, we think that it can be used to provide a better definition. Thus, in the present work we intent to offer a tentative definition of SCM systems based on SCOR. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/18035 Title: Towards a definition of a CRM system life-cycle Authors: Bibiano, Luis H.; Pastor Collado, Juan Antonio Abstract: In recent years, the interest on research in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems has grown notoriously. Many authors have made individual proposals of interesting topics to be researched around CRM systems, but no overarching research agenda has yet been proposed. Based upon a recent research literature review that we have undertaken, which includes several real case studies conducted in order to learn from CRM experience within specific companies and industries, we propose and detail what appears to be a natural CRM Systems Life-cycle. Although a more focussed cycle has been mentioned for CRM systems implementations, we propose and define in detail a CRM Systems Life-cycle which covers other phases preceding and following implementation. We believe that such a well-defined cycle may help in future proposals of research agendas around CRM systems, as well as in the contextualization of more specific research themes. Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:17:13 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/18035 2013-03-01T12:17:13Z Bibiano, Luis H.; Pastor Collado, Juan Antonio no CRM, Information systems, Life-cycle In recent years, the interest on research in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems has grown notoriously. Many authors have made individual proposals of interesting topics to be researched around CRM systems, but no overarching research agenda has yet been proposed. Based upon a recent research literature review that we have undertaken, which includes several real case studies conducted in order to learn from CRM experience within specific companies and industries, we propose and detail what appears to be a natural CRM Systems Life-cycle. Although a more focussed cycle has been mentioned for CRM systems implementations, we propose and define in detail a CRM Systems Life-cycle which covers other phases preceding and following implementation. We believe that such a well-defined cycle may help in future proposals of research agendas around CRM systems, as well as in the contextualization of more specific research themes. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/18020 Title: Information systems outsourcing in public administration: an emergent research topic Authors: Marco Simó, Josep M.; Macau Nadal, Rafael; Pastor Collado, Juan Antonio Abstract: After reviewing the most relevant academic sources, we believe that there is still little academic literature on information systems (IS) outsourcing specialized for public administration (PA). In this paper we present the few we have discovered references while deriving and expanding some analysis from them. The sparse results of this analysis are then summarized and classified. This situation contrasts with the clear importance of PA as an IS consumer and often as a change leader in IS management practices, which is also depicted in the paper. As an example of what future research questions could be posed and of what findings could be expected from this research domain, we present a real IS outsourcing case of study which appears to be rather original in the approach taken by the involved PA. Hence, with all the issues outlined in this preliminary research work, we believe that it is possible to justify an interest in researching this topic and to encourage new scientific activities resulting from it, such as new proposals for PA of specific IS outsourcing frameworks, methods or in-depth case studies like the one introduced here. Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:27:02 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/18020 2013-02-28T12:27:02Z Marco Simó, Josep M.; Macau Nadal, Rafael; Pastor Collado, Juan Antonio no Information systems, Outsourcing, Public administration After reviewing the most relevant academic sources, we believe that there is still little academic literature on information systems (IS) outsourcing specialized for public administration (PA). In this paper we present the few we have discovered references while deriving and expanding some analysis from them. The sparse results of this analysis are then summarized and classified. This situation contrasts with the clear importance of PA as an IS consumer and often as a change leader in IS management practices, which is also depicted in the paper. As an example of what future research questions could be posed and of what findings could be expected from this research domain, we present a real IS outsourcing case of study which appears to be rather original in the approach taken by the involved PA. Hence, with all the issues outlined in this preliminary research work, we believe that it is possible to justify an interest in researching this topic and to encourage new scientific activities resulting from it, such as new proposals for PA of specific IS outsourcing frameworks, methods or in-depth case studies like the one introduced here. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17962 Title: An approach to test-driven development of conceptual schemas Authors: Tort Pugibet, Albert; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera Abstract: The proposed method is applicable to different kinds of projects and may be integrated into existing software development methods when they are based on iterative paradigms and they include artifacts to specify conceptual schemas. TDCM can also be used even if the conceptual schema to be developed is the main purpose of the project. Using TDCM, conceptual modelers have at any time fully tested schemas Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:02:52 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17962 2013-02-25T15:02:52Z Tort Pugibet, Albert; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera no The proposed method is applicable to different kinds of projects and may be integrated into existing software development methods when they are based on iterative paradigms and they include artifacts to specify conceptual schemas. TDCM can also be used even if the conceptual schema to be developed is the main purpose of the project. Using TDCM, conceptual modelers have at any time fully tested schemas http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17546 Title: A method for the definition and treatment of conceptual schema quality issues Authors: Aguilera Moncusí, David; Gómez Seoane, Cristina; Olivé Ramon, Antoni Abstract: n the literature, there are many proposals of quality properties of conceptual schemas, but only a few of them (mainly those related to syntax) have been integrated into the development environments used by professionals and students. A possible explanation of this unfortunate fact may be that the proposals have been defined in disparate ways, which makes it difficult to integrate them into those environments. In this paper we define quality properties in terms of quality issues, which essentially are conditions that should not happen, and we propose a unified method for their definition and treatment. We show that our method is able to define most of the existing quality properties in a uniform way and makes it possible to integrate quality issues into development environments. The method can be adapted to several languages. We present a prototype implementation of our method as an Eclipse plugin. We have evaluated the potential usefulness of our method by analyzing the presence of a set of quality issues in a set of conceptual schemas developed by students as part of their projects. Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:53:08 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17546 2013-01-31T13:53:08Z Aguilera Moncusí, David; Gómez Seoane, Cristina; Olivé Ramon, Antoni no n the literature, there are many proposals of quality properties of conceptual schemas, but only a few of them (mainly those related to syntax) have been integrated into the development environments used by professionals and students. A possible explanation of this unfortunate fact may be that the proposals have been defined in disparate ways, which makes it difficult to integrate them into those environments. In this paper we define quality properties in terms of quality issues, which essentially are conditions that should not happen, and we propose a unified method for their definition and treatment. We show that our method is able to define most of the existing quality properties in a uniform way and makes it possible to integrate quality issues into development environments. The method can be adapted to several languages. We present a prototype implementation of our method as an Eclipse plugin. We have evaluated the potential usefulness of our method by analyzing the presence of a set of quality issues in a set of conceptual schemas developed by students as part of their projects. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17538 Title: An Eclipse plugin for improving the quality of UML conceptual schemas Authors: Aguilera Moncusí, David; Gómez Seoane, Cristina; Olivé Ramon, Antoni Abstract: The development of an information system requires its conceptual schema to be of high quality. Classically, this quality comprises properties such as syntactic and semantic correctness, relevance, and completeness, but many other quality properties have been proposed in the literature. In this demonstration we integrate some published quality properties in Eclipse by extending the core functionalities of MDT. These properties include syntactic issues, naming guidelines, and best practices. A quality property is defined using OCL and is specified in an XML file. The set of quality properties included in our tool is available on an online public catalog that can be extended to include new quality properties. We use XSLT to present this catalog in a friendly manner to users that access it using a web browser. Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:10:33 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17538 2013-01-31T11:10:33Z Aguilera Moncusí, David; Gómez Seoane, Cristina; Olivé Ramon, Antoni no The development of an information system requires its conceptual schema to be of high quality. Classically, this quality comprises properties such as syntactic and semantic correctness, relevance, and completeness, but many other quality properties have been proposed in the literature. In this demonstration we integrate some published quality properties in Eclipse by extending the core functionalities of MDT. These properties include syntactic issues, naming guidelines, and best practices. A quality property is defined using OCL and is specified in an XML file. The set of quality properties included in our tool is available on an online public catalog that can be extended to include new quality properties. We use XSLT to present this catalog in a friendly manner to users that access it using a web browser. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17515 Title: OCL-Lite: a decidable (yet expressive) fragment of OCL Authors: Queralt Calafat, Anna; Artale, Alessandro; Calvanese, Diego; Teniente López, Ernest Abstract: UML has become a de facto standard in conceptual modeling. Class diagrams in UML allow one to model the data in the domain of interest by specifying a set of graphical constraints. However, in most cases one needs to provide the class diagram with additional semantics to completely specify the domain, and this is where OCL comes into play. While reasoning over class diagrams is decidable and has been investigated intensively, it is well known that checking the correctness of OCL constraints is undecidable. Thus, we introduce OCL-Lite, a fragment of the full OCL language and prove that reasoning over UML class diagrams with OCL-Lite constraints is in ExpTime by an encoding in the description logic ALCI. As a side result, DL techniques and tools can be used to reason on UML class diagrams annotated with arbitrary OCL-Lite constraints. Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:19:42 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17515 2013-01-25T10:19:42Z Queralt Calafat, Anna; Artale, Alessandro; Calvanese, Diego; Teniente López, Ernest no UML has become a de facto standard in conceptual modeling. Class diagrams in UML allow one to model the data in the domain of interest by specifying a set of graphical constraints. However, in most cases one needs to provide the class diagram with additional semantics to completely specify the domain, and this is where OCL comes into play. While reasoning over class diagrams is decidable and has been investigated intensively, it is well known that checking the correctness of OCL constraints is undecidable. Thus, we introduce OCL-Lite, a fragment of the full OCL language and prove that reasoning over UML class diagrams with OCL-Lite constraints is in ExpTime by an encoding in the description logic ALCI. As a side result, DL techniques and tools can be used to reason on UML class diagrams annotated with arbitrary OCL-Lite constraints. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17498 Title: Understanding constraint expressions in large conceptual schemas by automatic filtering Authors: Villegas Niño, Antonio; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera Abstract: Human understanding of constraint expressions (also called schema rules) in large conceptual schemas is very di cult. This is due to the fact that the elements (entity types, attributes, relationship types) involved in an expression are de ned in di fferent places in the schema, which may be very distant from each other and embedded in an intricate web of irrelevant elements. The problem is insignifi cant when the conceptual schema is small, but very signi cant when it is large. In this paper we describe a novel method that, given a set of constraint expressions and a large conceptual schema, automatically filters the conceptual schema, obtaining a smaller one that contains the elements of interest for the understanding of the expressions. We also show the application of the method to the important case of understanding the specication of event types, whose constraint expressions consists of a set of pre and postconditions. We have evaluated the method by means of its application to a set of large conceptual schemas. The results show that the method is eff ective and e cient. We deal with conceptual schemas in UML/OCL, but the method can be adapted to other languages. Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:52:44 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17498 2013-01-23T12:52:44Z Villegas Niño, Antonio; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera no Human understanding of constraint expressions (also called schema rules) in large conceptual schemas is very di cult. This is due to the fact that the elements (entity types, attributes, relationship types) involved in an expression are de ned in di fferent places in the schema, which may be very distant from each other and embedded in an intricate web of irrelevant elements. The problem is insignifi cant when the conceptual schema is small, but very signi cant when it is large. In this paper we describe a novel method that, given a set of constraint expressions and a large conceptual schema, automatically filters the conceptual schema, obtaining a smaller one that contains the elements of interest for the understanding of the expressions. We also show the application of the method to the important case of understanding the specication of event types, whose constraint expressions consists of a set of pre and postconditions. We have evaluated the method by means of its application to a set of large conceptual schemas. The results show that the method is eff ective and e cient. We deal with conceptual schemas in UML/OCL, but the method can be adapted to other languages. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17497 Title: A web-based filtering engine for understanding event specifications in large conceptual schemas Authors: Villegas Niño, Antonio; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera Abstract: A complete conceptual schema must include all relevant general static and dynamic aspects of an information system. Event types describe a nonempty set of allowed changes in the population of entity or relationship types in the domain of the conceptual schema. The conceptual schemas of many real-world information systems that include the speci cation of event types are too large to be easily managed or understood. There are many information system development activities in which people need to understand the eff ect of a set of events. We present an information filtering tool in which a user focuses on one or more event types of interest for her task at hand, and the tool automatically filters the schema in order to obtain a reduced conceptual schema that illustrates all the elements affected by the given events. Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:43:25 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17497 2013-01-23T12:43:25Z Villegas Niño, Antonio; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera no A complete conceptual schema must include all relevant general static and dynamic aspects of an information system. Event types describe a nonempty set of allowed changes in the population of entity or relationship types in the domain of the conceptual schema. The conceptual schemas of many real-world information systems that include the speci cation of event types are too large to be easily managed or understood. There are many information system development activities in which people need to understand the eff ect of a set of events. We present an information filtering tool in which a user focuses on one or more event types of interest for her task at hand, and the tool automatically filters the schema in order to obtain a reduced conceptual schema that illustrates all the elements affected by the given events. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17346 Title: On checking executable conceptual schema validity by testing Authors: Tort Pugibet, Albert; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera Abstract: Ensuring the semantic quality of a conceptual schema is a fundamental goal in conceptual modeling. Conceptual schema testing is an emerging approach that helps to achieve this goal. In this paper, we focus on “what to test” and, more specifically, on the properties that test sets of conceptual schemas should have. We propose and formally define a set of four adequacy criteria which can be automatically checked in order to ensure, by testing, the necessary conditions for schema validity (correctness and relevance). The proposed criteria are independent from the languages of the schema and of the testing program. The criteria have been implemented in a prototype of a test processor able to execute test sets. The criteria have been applied to the test sets of large conceptual schemas. Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:40:18 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/17346 2013-01-14T14:40:18Z Tort Pugibet, Albert; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera no Ensuring the semantic quality of a conceptual schema is a fundamental goal in conceptual modeling. Conceptual schema testing is an emerging approach that helps to achieve this goal. In this paper, we focus on “what to test” and, more specifically, on the properties that test sets of conceptual schemas should have. We propose and formally define a set of four adequacy criteria which can be automatically checked in order to ensure, by testing, the necessary conditions for schema validity (correctness and relevance). The proposed criteria are independent from the languages of the schema and of the testing program. The criteria have been implemented in a prototype of a test processor able to execute test sets. The criteria have been applied to the test sets of large conceptual schemas. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16928 Title: EU-Rent as an artifact-centric process model: technical report Authors: Estañol Lamarca, Montserrat; Queralt Calafat, Anna; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera; Teniente López, Ernest Abstract: Business process modeling using an artifact-centric approach has raised a significant interest over the last few years. This approach is usually stated in terms of the BALSA framework which defi nes the four dimensions of an artifact-centric business process model: Business Artifacts, Lifecycles, Services and Associations. One of the research challenges in this area is looking for diff erent diagrams to represent these dimensions. Bearing this in mind, this technical report shows how various UML diagrams can be used to represent all the elements in the BALSA framework by applying them to the EU-Rent case study. Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:21:28 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16928 2012-11-15T11:21:28Z Estañol Lamarca, Montserrat; Queralt Calafat, Anna; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera; Teniente López, Ernest no business artifacts, BALSA framework, business process modeling, UML Business process modeling using an artifact-centric approach has raised a significant interest over the last few years. This approach is usually stated in terms of the BALSA framework which defi nes the four dimensions of an artifact-centric business process model: Business Artifacts, Lifecycles, Services and Associations. One of the research challenges in this area is looking for diff erent diagrams to represent these dimensions. Bearing this in mind, this technical report shows how various UML diagrams can be used to represent all the elements in the BALSA framework by applying them to the EU-Rent case study. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16878 Title: Avaluació de la incorporació d'activitats d'aprenentatge actiu i cooperatiu a les assignatures de bases de dades de la Facultat d'Informàtica de Barcelona. Authors: Martín Escofet, Carme; Urpí Tubella, Antoni; Abelló Gamazo, Alberto; Burgués Illa, Xavier; Casany Guerrero, María José; Quer Bosor, Maria Carme; Rodríguez González, María Elena Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:22:19 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16878 2012-11-12T09:22:19Z Martín Escofet, Carme; Urpí Tubella, Antoni; Abelló Gamazo, Alberto; Burgués Illa, Xavier; Casany Guerrero, María José; Quer Bosor, Maria Carme; Rodríguez González, María Elena no http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16856 Title: Critical issues and lessons learned in establishing concurrent international MS degree programs in engineering technology Authors: O'Donnell, Gareth; Kuder, Matthias; Dyrenfurth, Michael; Murphy, Mike; Bertoline, Gary; Herrick, Robert; Newton, Kathryne; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera; Castell Ariño, Núria; Barnes, James L. Abstract: Globalization, competitiveness, and innovation are frequently employed themes as governments, business and industry and universities attempt to respond to the challenges facing them. Clearly business as usual is not likely to be successful in the future. One strategic response for universities has been a significant impetus – in many parts of the world – towards dual, joint or concurrent degree programs involving international partners. It is perhaps not surprising that engineering is among the disciplines that make most use of international collaboration but it seems that engineering technology programs do not yet participate as extensively in this aspect of international education. Furthermore, it seems that much of the movement towards such collaborative degrees is occurring at the Master’s level. At the 2010 ASEE Conference, the core of this author team presented an overview of the purposes and aspirations of a new concurrent Masters degree project funded jointly by the European Union and the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education. Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:14:19 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16856 2012-11-07T14:14:19Z O'Donnell, Gareth; Kuder, Matthias; Dyrenfurth, Michael; Murphy, Mike; Bertoline, Gary; Herrick, Robert; Newton, Kathryne; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera; Castell Ariño, Núria; Barnes, James L. no Globalization, competitiveness, and innovation are frequently employed themes as governments, business and industry and universities attempt to respond to the challenges facing them. Clearly business as usual is not likely to be successful in the future. One strategic response for universities has been a significant impetus – in many parts of the world – towards dual, joint or concurrent degree programs involving international partners. It is perhaps not surprising that engineering is among the disciplines that make most use of international collaboration but it seems that engineering technology programs do not yet participate as extensively in this aspect of international education. Furthermore, it seems that much of the movement towards such collaborative degrees is occurring at the Master’s level. At the 2010 ASEE Conference, the core of this author team presented an overview of the purposes and aspirations of a new concurrent Masters degree project funded jointly by the European Union and the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16746 Title: Validation of schema mappings with nested queries Authors: Rull Fort, Guillem; Farré Tost, Carles; Teniente López, Ernest; Urpí Tubella, Antoni Abstract: With the emergence of the Web and the wide use of XML for representing data, the ability to map not only flat relational but also nested data has become crucial. The design of schema mappings is a semi-automatic process. A human designer is needed to guide the process, choose among mapping candidates, and successively refine the mapping. The designer needs a way to figure out whether the mapping is what was intended. Our approach to mapping validation allows the designer to check whether the mapping satisfies certain desirable properties. In this paper, we focus on the validation of mappings between nested relational schemas, in which the mapping assertions are either inclusions or equalities of nested queries. We focus on the nested relational setting since most XML’s Document Type Definitions (DTDs) can be represented in this model. We perform the validation by reasoning on the schemas and mapping definition. We take into account the integrity constraints defined on both the source and target schema. Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:36:56 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16746 2012-10-17T14:36:56Z Rull Fort, Guillem; Farré Tost, Carles; Teniente López, Ernest; Urpí Tubella, Antoni no Schema mapping, Nested relational model, Nested query, Query equality, Query inclusion, Validation With the emergence of the Web and the wide use of XML for representing data, the ability to map not only flat relational but also nested data has become crucial. The design of schema mappings is a semi-automatic process. A human designer is needed to guide the process, choose among mapping candidates, and successively refine the mapping. The designer needs a way to figure out whether the mapping is what was intended. Our approach to mapping validation allows the designer to check whether the mapping satisfies certain desirable properties. In this paper, we focus on the validation of mappings between nested relational schemas, in which the mapping assertions are either inclusions or equalities of nested queries. We focus on the nested relational setting since most XML’s Document Type Definitions (DTDs) can be represented in this model. We perform the validation by reasoning on the schemas and mapping definition. We take into account the integrity constraints defined on both the source and target schema. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16398 Title: On computing the importance of associations in large conceptual schemas Authors: Villegas Niño, Antonio; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera Abstract: The visualization and the understanding of large conceptual schemas require the use of specific methods. These methods generate clustered, summarized or focused schemas that are easier to visualize and to understand. All of these methods require computing the importance of the elements in the schema but, up to now, only the importance of entity types has been taken into account. In this paper, we present three methods for computing the importance of associations by taking into account the knowledge defined in the structural and behavioral parts of the schema. We experimentally evaluate these methods with large real-world schemas and present the main conclusions we have drawn from the experiments. Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:41:37 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2117/16398 2012-08-28T11:41:37Z Villegas Niño, Antonio; Olivé Ramon, Antoni; Sancho Samsó, María Ribera no Conceptual schemas The visualization and the understanding of large conceptual schemas require the use of specific methods. These methods generate clustered, summarized or focused schemas that are easier to visualize and to understand. All of these methods require computing the importance of the elements in the schema but, up to now, only the importance of entity types has been taken into account. In this paper, we present three methods for computing the importance of associations by taking into account the knowledge defined in the structural and behavioral parts of the schema. We experimentally evaluate these methods with large real-world schemas and present the main conclusions we have drawn from the experiments.