Practitioner Series – serie

Developments in technology have made it possible for speech output to be used in place of the more usual visual interface in both domestic and commercial devices. Speech can be used in situations where visual attention is occupied, such as when driving a car, or where a task is complex and traditional visual interfaces are not effective, such as programming a video recorder. Speech can also be employed in specialist adaptations for visually impaired people.However, the use of speech has not been universally successful, possibly because the speech interaction is poorly designed. Speech is fundamentally different from text, and a lot of the problems may arise due to simplified text-to-speech conversion. Design of Speech-based Devices considers the problems associated with speech interaction, and offers practical solutions.

Outsourcing permeates the IT world and has had a profound impact on the work of IS professionals. Nearly all will, at some stage in their careers, work with outsourced services as customer or supplier. Elizabeth Sparrow's insights into the benefits and pitfalls of this complex area will help IS professionals tackle the challenges of outsourcing. Combining relevant background information with practical guidance this book covers the whole outsourcing process, from the initial decision to outsource through to managing the outsourced services on a day-to-day basis. Successful IT Outsourcing considers: - The objectives behind outsourcing - The selection of a service provider - The management and measurement of the performance of outsourced services - The role of the outsourcing contract - Why outsourcing sometimes fails and how to turn failure into success Features and Benefits: - Describes the origins of IT outsourcing, and recent developments - Examines the way in which an organization might determine whether to outsource and how it can choose a service provider - Discusses how to develop effective outsourcing relationships- Provides context and advice to assist IS professionals, whose work is being outsourced, as they consider their future careers and the possibility of transferring to a new employer

More and more, the shape of the IT organization is critical to business systems delivery, yet all too often this definition is approached in a haphazard fashion - often based on old theory and out-dated experiences rather than being moulded to the realities of the world in which we work. Shaping the IT Organization considers how one should go about the moulding of an IT function in order to ensure effective output from the resources within that organization. It focuses on understanding precisely the elements and challenges within such a definition. Key topics covered: What is an organization?: Issues and key considerations for IT from an organizational perspective, including the idea of the 'organization lifecycle' and the very real impact this can have within the IT environment. Why change?: The impact of generic business approaches demanded by current business models and pressures. Solutions vs Products: The IT organizational impact of moving from a product-based to a solutions-based business model. Outsourcing: The increasing trend to place critical elements of IT's delivery capability outside the core business means that IT functions are often poorly aligned to both manage these relationships and rise to the challenges that outsourcing offers. Resource Management: Fundamental questions about people and the need to adapt resource management approaches to take a radical approach to how we both manage and empower the people within those models in order to deliver what is required.

Conceptual Modeling for User Interface Development introduces the technique of Entity-Relationship-Modeling and shows how the technique can be applied to interface issues. It explains those aspects of entity-relationship modeling which are relevant to ERMIAs, and it presents the extensions to the notation that are necessary for modeling interfaces. This book is aimed at both interface designers and software developers in an attempt to bridge the gap in the development of interactive systems. Too often, when software is being developed, the software engineers do not sufficiently consider how easy the system will be to learn and use. On the other side, interface specialists tend to express their concerns in ways which are either too detailed to be readily understood or in ways which are difficult for the software developer to implement. ERMIA provides a set of concepts which can be used equally easily by software developers and interface designers alike.

Today, software professionals recognize that change in software systems is inevitable. There are many systems currently in operation, however, which were developed before the need for change was understood. Such systems are commonly referred to as "legacy systems", and were developed with relatively short lifetimes in mind. Software engineering is a relatively young discipline which is continually improving to provide better support for the development of software systems. What were once state-of-the-art techniques, tools, and processes are now dated, and have resulted in systems which are not responsive to change. For historical reasons, dated development practice traded maintainability for other system attributes, such as cost and performance. A significant number of legacy systems remain in operation because they are critical to the business processes which they support. The combination of extended lifetimes and poor maintainability means that legacy systems are expensive to change, and in many cases they cannot accommodate emerging requirements. This is clearly an undesirable situation, which, until recently, has been tackled by replacing the system or attempting to maintain it. Replacing a legacy system is dangerous, since you face the risk of losing vital business knowledge which is embedded in many old systems. In many cases, system replacement is not cost-effective. Conversely, if you attempt to maintain a legacy system, there is often little return on the investment in maintenance effort and the system remains difficult and expensive to change.

Java for Practitioners doesn just provide an introduction to Java, it also tells you all about object orientation. One of the biggest problems with many of the Java books currently on the market is that they only teach the language and ignore the object orientation aspects (or at best just devote one chapter to it). Not only does John Hunt cover both Java and object orientation thoroughly but he also realises that practitioners learn best by oing'and he writes this book to reflect that. Chapters are dippable-into and ideas and concepts are introduced by exercises and practical examples. The book does of course cover the new release - Java 2/JDK 1.2 - and it also includes the Java Self-Tester which lets readers determine whether they are ready to take Sun's Java Certification exam. There is also an essential reference section which provides detailed solutions to real world Java problems, and new Java features. No one intending to move over to Java should be without this book.

This book is a translation ofthe accomplishment ofthe French engineer Ammar Attoui, who has set out to bring together the works of computer scientists and automotive engineers. Computer scientists have worked on the same type of systems as automotive engineers, but have used different designs, methods and tools. The former call the resultant systems "real-time systems", and the latter call them "discontinuous event systems". Today, telecommunications systems of increasing performance, and increasingly powerful multi-task operating and real­ time systems offer the possibilities of the development of distributed structure applications organized in a group ofasynchronous entities which communicate by the exchange of messages and events. Hence, combining the cultures ofcomputer science and automotive engineering is essential to gain the benefits of unifying their techniques and methods in order to realize this potential. The absence of the global state in distributed systems, which is a result of the absence of a shared memory and unique repository, makes communication via messaging the sole means which can be used under any circumstances. Agents are conceptual communicating entities. The book presents the methods and tech­ niques which are necessary for the concrete implementation ofthe idea ofan agent as an autonomous and reactive computing entity. Multi-agent systems are com­ posed ofa set ofspecialized entities communicating on behalfofa global applica­ tion.

Software Design - Cognitive Aspects covers a variety of areas including software analysis, design, coding and maintenance. It details the history of the research that has been conducted since the 1970s in this fast-developing field before defining a computer program from a computing and cognitive psychology viewpoint. Detailed treatment is given to the two essential sides of programming; software production and software understanding and throughout the book parallels are drawn between studies on processing texts written in natural language and processing computer programs.This book will be of particular interest to researchers, practitioners and graduate students in Computer Science, Cognitive Psychology, and Cognitive Ergonomics.

Electronic Service Management is an emerging concept. It covers the organisational, economic technical and user issues involved when integrating the development of electronic services. This is particularly important (and more complicated) within public sector organisations.Managing Electronic Services provides an easy to read and practical guide to portal-electronic services development in the public sector. The book takes an organisational perspective asking 'How do you make things work in your organisation and in relation to your customers or users?' By integrating the managerial, technical and economic issues, the authors can put them into context with the need to understand user requirements and expectations.Lots of examples are provided, giving tips on how to avoid many of the pitfalls you might meet along the way, and showing you how to diagnose potential problems and find ways of dealing with them effectively.

There has been a phenomenal growth in autonomous business services, fuelled largely by the internet and e-business. New business architectures are emerging, in which an enterprise is configured as a dynamic network of components providing business services to one another. This is component-based business - "plug-and-play" applied not to hardware and software, but to business relationships. Component-Based Business constitutes a radical challenge to traditional notions of strategy, planning, requirements, quality and change, and tries to help you improve how you think through the practical difficulties and opportunities of the component-based business. As this is a rapidly developing field, more up-to-date and detailed examples can be found on the website associated with this book: http://www.component-based-business.com, which also contains open forums in which your questions can be discussed. "In this work so far, Richard challenges conventional thinking with a sometimes breathtaking series of lateral thoughts that are essential reading for the component architect, designer and their customer. Strongly recommended."David Sprott, Principal Analyst, CBDi Forum

This is one of the shorter books in the 21 volume Practitioner Book Series, but this is entirely appropriate for a text on the ubiquitous topic of Quality. The book is written in a concise, precise no-nonsense style by two interna­ tional authors. They are supported in their approach by relevant personal practical experience and by peer-review of other researchers obtained whilst disseminating their research in the academic literature. The authors base their book around their Objective/Principles/ Attributes (OPA) Framework, developed in the first place for assessment and prediction of software quality. After OPA was developed as a procedure for evaluating software development methodologies, it was expanded to include software quality measurement with the inclusion of statistical indicators and a systematic basis for deriving them. The OPA is an holistic approach to soft­ ware quality and prediction. The approach has been validated through experience gained on a 4-year on-site project, which has also led to improve­ ments to the framework.

What does training mean for the IT professional? What are the management issues surrounding training and skill development in IT departments? Why is it so important to support the learning process? Developing IT Staff provides an easy reference and down-to-earth practical advice for those who need to tackle the important issues of training and skill development in the context of technical software development jobs.In this book, Mary Clarkson uses real examples from her experiences as a technical specialist and as an IT training manager, giving practical guidance on how to get people started on their skill development, as well as how to support them through their learning process.Topics covered include: - Identifying the real training need and finding solutions - Choosing an appropriate training method - Supporting the learning process - Continuous professional development, with particular relevance to an IT department - Evaluation (what needs to be evaluated, why and when) - Technical Skill Assessment.

Developments in technology have made it possible for speech output to be used in place of the more usual visual interface in both domestic and commercial devices. Speech can be used in situations where visual attention is occupied, such as when driving a car, or where a task is complex and traditional visual interfaces are not effective, such as programming a video recorder. Speech can also be employed in specialist adaptations for visually impaired people.However, the use of speech has not been universally successful, possibly because the speech interaction is poorly designed. Speech is fundamentally different from text, and a lot of the problems may arise due to simplified text-to-speech conversion. Design of Speech-based Devices considers the problems associated with speech interaction, and offers practical solutions.

Reviews of the 'Politics of Usability' by the same editors:"Designing quality web sites or easy-to-use software is simple: just employ established usability engineering methods. The only hard part is getting people to actually do so instead of basing the design on their own intuition. Luckily, the authors in this book know all the devious tricks that are necessary to get development organizations to do the right thing. Follow their advice and the usability of your products will double."Dr Jakob Nielsen, Sun Microsystems Distinguished Engineer, Author of 'Usability Engineering'"This well written book shows how to overcome many of the problems of putting research into the theories, methods and techniques of human computer interaction to work in commercial systems projects."Dave Clarke, Consultant, Visualize Software - Computer Bulletin, September 1998A follow-up to the successful 'Politics of Usability' this book shows how to apply HCI expertise in the pressured environment of a modern organisation.Quite apart from the need to provide a good usability service cheaply and efficiently, most HCI practitioners also have to deal with day-to-day concerns such as funding, budgets, project and people management, teamwork, communication and promoting an HCI ethos within the company. How to achieve this and still find new ways to make modern technology more usable is the central message of this book.The Usability Business offers a unique insight into usability issues. The book deals with real work situations focussing on practical, workable approaches to professional responsibilities.

Right context, software reuse promises high value to businesses that develop software, opening the door to radical improvements in their software capability (productivity, cost, time to market). Attempts to adopt reuse without a sound understanding of the range of issues involved, however, can lead to expensive failure. This book is for those who are wondering whether they should adopt reuse and how, and also to those who have already started to adopt it but are wondering where they may be going wrong and how they could do better. It consistently emphasizes the practical issues that influence success or failure in reuse; and it offers a concise and balanced coverage of the essentials of the subject, rather than going into undue depth or detail on some topics at the expense of others. It occupies the central ground between being on the one hand an academic textbook and on the other hand a cookbook with ready-made recipes for exactly "how to do it". The authors have drawn on their extensive experience of reuse and of software process improvement to provide a readable and balanced coverage of the subject. This book is suitable for business executives, software managers and software developers, regardless of whatever kind of software or applications are developed by their organisations, and whatever the size of those organisations. A special feature of the book is the frequent use of experience notes, drawn from the real-life experience of organisations that have embarked on the reuse adventure.

An interesting and useful book giving direct advice from experienced IT project managers.

In today's rush towards e-Business many organizations have failed to recognize that the responsibilities of IT Managers have significantly changed. No longer do the tried and trusted methods of the 3- or 4-GL lifecycle retain the value they once possessed; and the more we try to fit new e-Business developments into old and ill-fitting processes and practices, the greater the danger of compromising the business altogether. Ian Gouge offers an insight into the very real - and new - challenges faced by IT managers and professionals, such as: - What is e-Business? - What are the implications of e-Business for the IT Professional? - What are the 'systems' expectations of both internal and external customers? What does the IT Manager need to consider to make an effective contribution to the new business model e-Management is a valuable guide for those responsible for the management of IT in the burgeoning world of e-Business. It also provides insight for those business managers who are more dependent on information technology for their business than perhaps they realise.

Outsourcing permeates the IT world and has had a profound impact on the work of IS professionals. Nearly all will, at some stage in their careers, work with outsourced services as customer or supplier. Elizabeth Sparrow's insights into the benefits and pitfalls of this complex area will help IS professionals tackle the challenges of outsourcing. Combining relevant background information with practical guidance this book covers the whole outsourcing process, from the initial decision to outsource through to managing the outsourced services on a day-to-day basis. Successful IT Outsourcing considers: - The objectives behind outsourcing - The selection of a service provider - The management and measurement of the performance of outsourced services - The role of the outsourcing contract - Why outsourcing sometimes fails and how to turn failure into success Features and Benefits: - Describes the origins of IT outsourcing, and recent developments - Examines the way in which an organization might determine whether to outsource and how it can choose a service provider - Discusses how to develop effective outsourcing relationships- Provides context and advice to assist IS professionals, whose work is being outsourced, as they consider their future careers and the possibility of transferring to a new employer

More and more, the shape of the IT organization is critical to business systems delivery, yet all too often this definition is approached in a haphazard fashion - often based on old theory and out-dated experiences rather than being moulded to the realities of the world in which we work. Shaping the IT Organization considers how one should go about the moulding of an IT function in order to ensure effective output from the resources within that organization. It focuses on understanding precisely the elements and challenges within such a definition. Key topics covered: What is an organization?: Issues and key considerations for IT from an organizational perspective, including the idea of the 'organization lifecycle' and the very real impact this can have within the IT environment. Why change?: The impact of generic business approaches demanded by current business models and pressures. Solutions vs Products: The IT organizational impact of moving from a product-based to a solutions-based business model. Outsourcing: The increasing trend to place critical elements of IT's delivery capability outside the core business means that IT functions are often poorly aligned to both manage these relationships and rise to the challenges that outsourcing offers. Resource Management: Fundamental questions about people and the need to adapt resource management approaches to take a radical approach to how we both manage and empower the people within those models in order to deliver what is required.

In Electronic Business Communications, Mike Chesher and Ricky Kaura tell you all that you need to know about electronic commerce over the Internet. All the major topics are covered: - How electronic business communications can give you the edge over your competitors; - How you can develop effective business strategies for electronic commerce; - All you need to know about EDI/E-commerce Security concerns? What security concerns ¨ the Internet is open for business! - What are the E-commerce standards and why do they matter? - Making the most of trading via the Internet and value added networks; - Breakthroughs in Web-based EDI and Internet applications Information highway initiatives; - Lots of case studies are included. Anyone working in or coming into contact with the exciting world of business electronic communications will find something to interest them here.

Computer-based diagnostic systems are among the most successful applications of knowledge-based systems (KBS) technology. Chris Price shows the best way to build effective diagnostic systems for different types of diagnostic problems by: - giving examples of different solutions to the problem of building effective diagnostic systems - helping you to decide on an appropriate strategy for building a diagnostic system to aid troubleshooting of that diagnostic problem - showing how to use diagnostic fault trees as a common representation for discussing different ways of approaching diagnosis. Computer-Based Diagnostic Systems is written in such a way as to make the material easy to understand even when you do not have easy access to the commercial tools.

Client/server and distributed technologies have made great strides since their emergence in the late 1980s to become very popular in the IT industry today. This book illustrates techniques not only for designing GUI client/server applications, but also for managing complex application environments containing both legacy and new applications. Topics covered in this book include - The what, when and how of the three tier client/server model - Coupling and dependency: key design factors in distributed systems - Distributed application design alternatives for the enterprise - The Federated application structure for integrating the applications of the enterprise - A real-life case study of a major financial institution- Systems Architects and senior technical staffProject Managers and Software Engineers involved with or interested in client/server computing, and final year undergraduate and postgraduate students will find this book useful.

Purpose The purpose of this book is to explain to information technology (IT) decision makers those aspects of finance that most affect their work. Most IT decision makers belong in one of two categories. Some know a lot about IT, but less about finance; the others know a lot about finance, but less about IT. In my experience, those in the first category often have to make financial decisions. Those in the second also, of course, have to make financial decisions, but about things whose characteristics stretch the normal financial and accounting rules up to, and sometimes beyond, their elastic limit. Among the characteristics of IT that provide interesting challenges for financial people are the following: • The accelerating rate of change • The short and unpredictable useful life of IT assets • The mixture of hardware, software and services • Upgradability • Networks that cross country boundaries • IT jargon Asked what characteristics of finance provide interesting challenges for IT people, many of them would answer - "Everything". However, items in the following selection are often particular causes of wonder: • Leasing • Why financial models always shrink benefits but never costs • Being told that a company with a mountain of profit is about to fail through lack of cash • Discovering that their budget has been charged with £113 485.

Introduction The changing business environment, of global operations, mergers, decen­ tralization, increased competition, pressure on budgets etc. , has contributed to a positive change in the workplace. As this change continues, we must keep up to date and follow good standards, principles and practices. To help, we present the 'Paradigm of Project Management', which is based on a simple practical approach to managing projects. The method is flexible and may be applied to any project, although in this book we concentrate on the devel­ opment of systems. However, it also illustrates that the formation and management of project teams are changing in line with technology. As Dr Tom Peters says: 'Stability and predictability are gone forever . . . '. For example, project teams may work from home (telework), using email and groupware along 'electronic highways'. Therefore, instead of going through a pyramid of people to reach an executive, one can use the Internet, an intranet or an extranet and go direct. Another change is represented by the transient teams and Get -it -Done working approaches. An example of how a global project was managed is one in which Malaysia's International Shipping Corporation (MISC) implemented MISC*Net, a networking project to link online all of its shipping agents worldwide to its HQ in Malaysia. Project management was a key component in the solution prior to awarding the contract. IBM and MISC worked on the International Project Management System.