Multi-Dimensional Analysis on Korean IS Practitioners’ Job Activities and Competency Requirements

Seokha Koh 한국데이타베이스학회 2008 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.15 No.3

Research results show (1) there are two dimensions characterizing Korean IS practitioners:‘project-operation’ and ‘product-orientation-strategic-orientation’, (2) there are two distinctive and main career paths of Korean IS practitioners:generalists who support using information systems in the context of operation and specialists who are engaged in software development or improvement projects, and (3) Korean IS practitioners are experiencing serious and pervasive knowledge and skill deficiencies. Research results also provide clear evidence that Korean universities fail to provide eligible entry-level software developers and that the shortage of eligible entry-level software developers distorts both IS specialists’ careers and knowledge and skill requirements for them.

Cause-and-Effect Perspective on Software Quality : Application to ISO/IEC 25000 Series SQuaRE's Product Quality Model

Koh, Seokha Korea Data Strategy Society 2016 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.23 No.3

This paper proposes a new software quality model composed of a hierarchy of software quality views and three software quality characteristics models. The software view hierarchy is composed of two levels : end view and means view at the first level, contingency view and intrinsic view as sub-views of means view. Three software quality characteristics models are activity quality characteristics model, contingency quality characteristics model, and intrinsic quality characteristics model, which correspond to end view, contingency view, and intrinsic view respectively. This paper also reclassifies characteristics of ISO/IEC 25000 series SQuaRE's software product quality model according to the proposed software quality model. The results illustrate clearly the shortcomings of SQuaRE's product quality model and how to overcome them. First of all, most of SQuaRE's product characteristics should be redefined and conceptually clarified according to the views on which they are really rested. Much more characteristics should be supplemented too. After that, rigorous empirical researches will become relevant. Causal relationships between activity quality characteristics and characteristics of means view should be empirically researched.

Contextual Models of Business Application Software Architecture

Koh, Seokha,Ji, Kyoung-Sook Korea Data Strategy Society 2013 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.20 No.3

Software architecture is the blueprint for a software system and should provide consistent guidelines for design, implementation, and maintenance throughout the entire lifecycle of the system. Components, interactions between the components, well-formed structure, reasons, and various perspectives reflecting various stakeholders' concerns changing through the phases of software lifecycle are the key elements of software architecture. The architect identifies and engages the stakeholders, understands and captures stakeholder's concerns including those regarding life cycle, and lets the concerns reflected in the architecture. To do so, architect should take into consideration various contextual elements regarding the system too. We make an extended list of the elements, especially those of business application software architecture, that the architect should take into consideration and construct a model of the relationships between the elements.

Purposes, Results, and Types of Software Post Life Cycle Changes

Koh, Seokha,Han, Man Pil Korea Data Strategy Society 2015 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.22 No.3

This paper addresses the issue how the total life cycle cost may be minimized and how the cost should be allocated to the acquirer and developer. This paper differentiates post life cycle change (PLCC) endeavors from PLCC activities, rigorously classifies PLCC endeavors according to the result of PLCC endeavors, and rigorously defines the life cycle cost of a software product. This paper reviews classical definitions of software 'maintenance' types and proposes a new typology of PLCC activities too. The proposed classification schemes are exhaustive and mutually exclusive, and provide a new paradigm to review existing literatures regarding software cost estimation, software 'maintenance,' software evolution, and software architecture from a new perspective. This paper argues that the long-term interest of the acquirer is not protected properly because warranty period is typically too short and because the main concern of warranty service is given to removing the defects detected easily. Based on the observation that defects are caused solely by errors the developer has committed for software while defects are often induced by using for hardware (so, this paper cautiously proposes not to use the term 'maintenance' at all for software), this paper argues that the cost to remove defects should not be borne by the acquirer for software.

Purposes, Results, and Types of Software Post Life Cycle Changes

Seokha Koh,Man Pil Han 한국데이타베이스학회 2015 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.22 No.3

This paper addresses the issue how the total life cycle cost may be minimized and how the cost should be allocated to the acquirer and developer. This paper differentiates post life cycle change (PLCC) endeavors from PLCC activities, rigorously classifies PLCC endeavors according to the result of PLCC endeavors, and rigorously defines the life cycle cost of a software product. This paper reviews classical definitions of software ‘maintenance’ types and proposes a new typology of PLCC activities too. The proposed classification schemes are exhaustive and mutually exclusive, and provide a new paradigm to review existing literatures regarding software cost estimation, software ‘maintenance,’ software evolution, and software architecture from a new perspective. This paper argues that the long-term interest of the acquirer is not protected properly because warranty period is typically too short and because the main concern of warranty service is given to removing the defects detected easily. Based on the observation that defects are caused solely by errors the developer has committed for software while defects are often induced by using for hardware (so, this paper cautiously proposes not to use the term ‘maintenance’ at all for software), this paper argues that the cost to remove defects should not be borne by the acquirer for software.

Cause-and-Effect Perspective on Software Quality : Application to ISO/IEC 25000 Series SQuaRE’s Product Quality Model

Seokha Koh 한국정보기술응용학회 2016 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.23 No.3

This paper proposes a new software quality model composed of a hierarchy of software quality views and three software quality characteristics models. The software view hierarchy is composed of two levels : end view and means view at the first level, contingency view and intrinsic view as sub-views of means view. Three software quality characteristics models are activity quality characteristics model, contingency quality characteristics model, and intrinsic quality characteristics model, which correspond to end view, contingency view, and intrinsic view respectively. This paper also reclassifies characteristics of ISO/IEC 25000 series SQuaRE’s software product quality model according to the proposed software quality model. The results illustrate clearly the shortcomings of SQuaRE’s product quality model and how to overcome them. First of all, most of SQuaRE’s product characteristics should be redefined and conceptually clarified according to the views on which they are really rested. Much more characteristics should be supplemented too. After that, rigorous empirical researches will become relevant. Causal relationships between activity quality characteristics and characteristics of means view should be empirically researched.

An Activity-Centric Quality Model of Software

Koh, Seokha Korea Data Strategy Society 2019 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.26 No.2

In this paper, software activity, software activity instance, and the quality of the activity instance are defined as the 'activity which is performed on the software product by a person or a group of persons,' the 'distinctive and individual performance of software activity,' and the 'performer's evaluation on how good or bad his/her own activity instance is,' respectively. The representative values of the instance quality population associated with a product and its sub-population are defined as the (software) activity quality and activity quality characteristic of the product, respectively. The activity quality model in this paper classifies activity quality characteristics according to the classification hierarchy of software activity by the goal. In the model, a quality characteristic can have two types of sub-characteristics : Special sub-characteristic and component sub-characteristic, where the former is its super-characteristic too simultaneously and the latter is not its super-characteristic but a part of its super-characteristic. The activity quality model is parsimonious, coherent, and easy to understand and use. The activity quality model can serve as a corner stone on which a software quality body of knowledge, which constituted with a set of models parsimonious, coherent, and easy to understand and use and the theories explaining the cause-and-relationships among the models, can be built. The body of knowledge can be called the (grand) activity-centric quality model of software.

Is a General Quality Model of Software Possible: Playability versus Usability?

Seokha Koh,Jialei Jiang 한국데이타베이스학회 2020 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.27 No.2

This paper is very exploratory and addresses the issue ‘Is a general quality model of software possible?’. If possible, how specific can/should it be?’ ISO 25000 Series SQuaRE is generally regarded as a general quality model which can be applied to most kinds of software. Usability is one of the 8 characteristics of SQuaRE’s Product Quality Model. It is the main issue associated with SQuaRE’s Quality in Use Model too. it is the most important concept associated software quality since using is the only ultimate goal of software products. Playability, however, is generally regarded as a special type of usability, which can be applied to game software. This common idea contradicts with the idea that SQuaRE is valid for most kinds, at least many kinds, of software. The empirical evidences of this paper show that SQuaRE is too specific to be a general quality model of software.

What Should Using a Software Product and Usability of the Software Product Be?

Seokha Koh,Jialei Jiang 한국데이타베이스학회 2017 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.24 No.3

Usability is one of the most important concepts regarding software quality. It can be interpreted as the goodness associated with using the software product. This paper distinguishes the goodness of an individual using experience and the goodness of a product for using. This paper proposes a software quality view model which classifies software quality views into two broad categories of end view and means view. End view includes long-term view and short-term view which is classified further into performer’s view on software activity and third party’s view on software activity. Means view includes intrinsic view and contingency view. The analysis of ISO 25000 Series SQuaRE demonstrates the necessity to decompose product quality model and quality in use model into five models corresponding to the software quality views respectively. The analysis on playability shows that the universal definition of usability may be an illusion. The results provide the theoretical basis to build a comprehensive and consistent body of knowledge regarding software quality, which is consisted with the set of quality models and the theories explaining the relationships among the elements of the models.

An Activity-Centric Quality Model of Software

Seokha Koh 한국데이타베이스학회 2019 Journal of information technology applications & m Vol.26 No.2

In this paper, software activity, software activity instance, and the quality of the activity instance are defined as the ‘activity which is performed on the software product by a person or a group of persons,’ the ‘distinctive and individual performance of software activity,’ and the ‘performer’s evaluation on how good or bad his/her own activity instance is,’ respectively. The representative values of the instance quality population associated with a product and its sub-population are defined as the (software) activity quality and activity quality characteristic of the product, respectively. The activity quality model in this paper classifies activity quality characteristics according to the classification hierarchy of software activity by the goal. In the model, a quality characteristic can have two types of sub-characteristics : Special subcharacteristic and component sub-characteristic, where the former is its super-characteristic too simultaneously and the latter is not its super-characteristic but a part of its super-characteristic. The activity quality model is parsimonious, coherent, and easy to understand and use. The activity quality model can serve as a corner stone on which a software quality body of knowledge, which constituted with a set of models parsimonious, coherent, and easy to understand and use and the theories explaining the cause-andrelationships among the models, can be built. The body of knowledge can be called the (grand) activitycentric quality model of software.