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Design and development of a user interface and user manual for a

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2. ak K ok 3k k k ok FIRST A QUICK REVIEW OF THE VARIABLES BEING PLOTTED TOTWE D TOTAL WORKFORCE FRWFEX FRACTION OF WORKFORCE THAT IS EXPERIENCED SDVPRD OS P DE PRODUCTIVITY e COMMUNICATION OVERHEAD IF YOU HAVE AN EGA CARD TYPE Y ES IF NOT TYPE N O END BAT INKEY 0 BAT CLS BAT IF Y 0 THEN EGA3 BAT ELSE GOTO OTHER3 BAT EGA3 REP PROJECT PLOT3 BAT GOTO NEXT3 BAT OTHER3 REP PROJECT PLOT3 PLM 6 140 bat p s goto topl 4 1 PLOT 4 BAT CLS BAT COLOR BAT BEGTYPE okc ok okc 5k okc ok K Z ok Z Z Z Z ZZ Z Z E Z ZZ ZZ ok KOK oc okc ake oe ake ake KOK R okc ok ate ate ake ae ak ake ok ak Kk ok abe okc ok ate ake ok ok okc KOK ok KR ok K oc R R R R K ak ak okc ok ak oke o PLOT 4 ak ake 3k te ate ake ate ake ate ake ate ake ate afc ate afc ake ake ate ake ake ake ake ate ake ake ake ake ak ake ak ake ak ate ak ake ak ake ak ake ake ake ake ok FIRST QUICK REVIEW THE VARIABLES BEING PLOTTED ACTUAL FRACTION OF MAN DAY ON PROJECT PERCEIVED TOTAL JOB SIZE MAN DAYS PERCEIVED JOB SIZE TASKS PERCEIVED SHORTAGE IN MAN DAYS IF YOU HAVE EGA CARD Y ES IF NOT N O END 141
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5. 0 CLS IF Y 0 THEN GOTO EGA4 BAT ELSE OTHER4 BAT 4 REP PROJECT PLOT4 BAT 4 BAT 4 REP PROJECT PLOT4 PLM 6 BAT NEXT4 bat p s goto topl 0 1 0 1 0 11 beep goto topl 142 STATISTICS BATCH FILE BAT P S BAT COLOR RAM BAT CLS ERASE PROJECT OUT BAT COLOR BAT CLS REP PROJECT STATS BAT COLOR BAT CLS 0 PROJECT OUT 960 readloop read parsed 96A if 70A Z skip 1 Type goto readloop lt PRESS NID lt 4RETURN gt Ato ContinueN F inkey BAT BAT CLS BAT COLOR BAT BEGTYPE 143 PLEASE ENTER THE FILE NAME YOU DESIRE FOR THIS REPORT NOTE CHANGES MADE TO VARIABLES ARE STORED IN THE FILE FOR EXAMPLE IF HIRING DELAY WAS CHANGED FROM 30 TO 40 THAT INFORMATION WOULD BE STORED AT THE END OF THE REPORT END BAT LOCATE 14 11 BAT READ 0 BAT CLS BAT COLOR BAT BEGTYPE 144 ENTER THE FULL PATH THE DIRECTORY WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE THE RESULTS STORED Or PRESS lt RETURN gt TO ACCEPT THE DEFAULT DIRECTORY END BAT LOCATE 11 18 BAT READ 1 BAT CLS ERASE 0 BAT COLOR BAT CLS COPY PROJECT OUT 0 BAT COLOR BAT CLS COPY 0 901 BAT COLOR BAT CLS EXIT 145 INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST No Copies Defense Technical Information
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7. 05 or AS ey LE AN 4 gt 7 4 11 LA E pa LJ 4 2 vl yore ab s ge i d wrap P4 4 LET P yh 4 EN Lee M RAN d Fandi P 4 taha Prol VA Re NES CLA MUTA vit n rcd i V EPA Wie Sty v Ff Pr vj P 7 PAN a renner e i o Ee SAPE E PATI ey 1 LI LI wns t 1 P my s i e NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey California THESIS DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A USER INTERFACE AND USER MANUAL FORMA sy ote i DYNAMICS MODEL OF SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT Bi DANIEL W SWINDELL MARCH 1989 Son Abdel Hamid Approved for public release distribution is unlimited 1242373 UU SCHOOL HY GAL PUARNLA 95946 6002 p 4 CLASSIFICATION OF FACE REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE EPORT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 16 RESTRICTIVE MARKINGS s Unclassified Approved for public release Distribution is unlimited ECLASSIFICATION DOWNGRADING SCHEDULE REFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER S 5 MONITORING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER S OF PERFORMING ORGANIZATION OFFICE SYMBOL 7 NAME OF MONITORING ORGANIZATION p
8. bat s goto topl 2 PLOT 2 BAT CLS BAT COLOR BAT BEGTYPE ak K k 3k okc K F K okc okc KOR Kk okc okc ok Kk KR K k Kk ate ake afc Kk ate ake ake KOK ate ake oc EEE EEEE EE E EEE EE K EE TEE E EEEE E E E EE oc R K zk k k k k k k PLOT 2 ak ak ak ak ak k k FIRST A QUICK REVIEW OF THE VARIABLES BEING PLOTTED CMIKD Y ee CUMULATIVE TASKS DEVELOPED CUMTR CUMULATIVE TASKS TESTED CUNEMD 5 22 27 CUMULATIVE MAN DAYS EXPENDED FI E e s PERCEIVED PROJECT SIZE IN TASKS FPDEV RC ie ee a ESTIMATED DEVELOPMENT COMPLETE 138 IF YOU HAVE AN EGA CARD Y ES IF NOT TYPE N O END BAT INKEY 0 BAT CLS BAT IF Y 0 THEN EGA2 BAT ELSE GOTO OTHER2 BAT EGA2 REP PROJECT PLOT2 BAT GOTO NEXT2 BAT OTHER2 REP PROJECT PLOT2 PLM 6 BAT NEXT2 bat p s goto topl 3 1 PLOT 3 BAT CLS BAT color BAT BEGTYPE ak 3k xk ak okc K K okc ok oe ok ok ok ok OR oc okc okc ok OR OR KOR oc ok R R KOR OR OR KOR R KOR OR ok OR oc oc ok ok ok R OR OR R OR oc R OK oc R OK KR R OR K R oc oe oc OR oe o OR R K R OR K x k k oe ok DIET 139
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15. 25 25 G CHANGING THE VALUE MODEL VARIABLES 27 EARE UN NING AT SIMULATION 62 NV RESULTS OF A SIMULATION 35 rre 35 Flots 222 2 35 Option 2 2 38 RESULTS 38 PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO ENVIRONMENT 43 VI CONCLUSIONS n n 5 44 ACCOMPLISHMENTS X er 720707 ES ll User Interface 2 44 2 Users Manual 44 B LESSONS LEARNED reee en FUTURE DIRECTION 45 LIST OF REFERENCES 46 APPENDIX BATCH AND TEXT FILE LISTINGS 47 INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST P K D 099939993 146 I INTRODUCTION PROBLEM STATEMENT Computer proliferation in every facet of our society is occurring at an unprecedented rate cost of computer hardware continues to steadily decrease making it possible for new applications to have more capable computers than ever before The software to run these systems however has not enjoyed the same progress as the hardware Large software projects have frequently failed to meet cost schedule and effectiveness goals failures of such large software development projects implies that the managers of the projects failed to understand the complex interrelat
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17. in line L lexit 199 BATCH E 4 kkk akak ak ak ak ak ak skak ak ak ak akk BAT P S CALL topl exit topl color ram cls begtype NA PLOTTING RESULTS THE FOLLOWING MENU ALLOWS THE USER TO VIEW AND SAVE 4 PREDEFINED PLOTS 0 OVERVIEW PLOTTING FUNCTIONS 1 NF PLOT 1 ND 2 PLOT 134 ND 3 3 4 MF PLOT 4 Choose an option ESC exits menu end lstkeyl inkey 0 if 960 0 type 0 if 0 01 return bat goto 0 1 2ndkeyl inkey 961 if 1 0 type 1 if 1 01 return if 1 key020 goto 0 1 if 1 keyOOd goto 0 1 if 1 008 goto topl if 1 14 goto topl goto 0 11 0 1 OVERVIEW PLOTTING FUNCTIONS BAT CLS BAT COLOR BAT BEGTYPE ak ak ak ak k ak ok k ak ok k ak ak k ak ak K ak ak ak ak ak ak ok ok K ok ak ok ak ak ak k ak K ok K ok ak 3 ok 3 9 okc ok F ak K O ak K K K ak R ak ok ak ak ok oe ok OVERVIEW OF PLOTTING FUNCTION 135 aaa aa kk ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak a a ak ak ak ak ak ake ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ake ak ak ake ak ak 2e ake ak ak ake 3 ak ak ake ake ak ak 3k ake ak ake ak ake ak 3k ak 3k 3k ak ake 2k 2k 2k K k ak ok ak x THE DYNAMICA MODEL CAN CREATE PLOTS OF PRESELECTED VARIABLES EACH PLOTTING FUNCTION CONTAINS A LIST OF THE VARIABLES PLOTTED BY THAT MENU SELECTION
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19. SET MODEL VARIABLES DYNEX MENU l ACTUAL PROJECT SIZE 2 ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 3 POLICY VARIABLES 4 MODEL CONTROL VARIABLES 5 RETURN TO MAIN MENU Enter the number s of your selected choices Separate each choice by a space or a comma Figure 16 Dynex Set Model Variables Menu 34 The simulation uses the most recent variable values which are saved in file The results of the simulation are stored in a file and the user is returned to the main menu The user may then view the simulation results via options 5 or 6 of the main menu I VIEWING THE RESULTS OF A SIMULATION 1 Options The results of a simulation may be viewed via option 5 View Variable Plots or option 6 View Standard Plots of the main menu 2 View Variable Plots Option The View Variable Plots option provides the flexibility of specifying up to six of thirty variables for display on the same graph see Figure 17 on the following page The user may alternately choose to see a tabular presentation instead of a graphical presentation After the user selects option 5 of the main menu the user is asked if the graph should be displayed in Enhanced Graphics Adaptor EGA mode or in the monochrome mode Following either response to the display mode question Figure 18 appears Viewing Project Plot Select Tabulate Tabulate Old Help Esc Quit Figure 18 Viewing Project Menu Plot is initially highlighted but the highl
20. VIEWING A PLOT IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF SELECTING THE NUMBER OF THE PLOT DESIRED THESE PLOTS MAY BE PRINTED USING THE PRINT FUNCTION OF THE INCLUDED MENU IF THE USER NEEDS A PRINTOUT OF A GRAPH HE CAN PRINT THE SCREEN WITH THE PRTSC FUNCTION HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE END BAT INKEY BAT CLS bat p s goto topl 1 1 PLOT BAT CLS BAT COLOR BAT BEGTYPE 136 ak ak ok k ok okc ok ok 3k 5k k k 3K ok ok ok Kk ake ake K ok okc ok oe K KO KOR ake ake okc ok okc ok okc oe ake ok okc ok ak ok ok ok ake ok ok ok okc ake ak ake ak ake ak ok okc okc ok ok ok KO ake ok oc oko ok ak ak 3k k 3k k k ok NA PLOT 1 NF 3k ok k k k 5k ok ok 5k k ok ake ake ok ok ake ok ok ok ake ok okc ok okc ok ok ok ak ake ak ake abe ake ak ok K ake abe ak ake ak afc ak ake ake ake ake ae ake ae ak akc ak ake ake ke ake ake afc ake ae ake ake ak ake ake ake RO ak ok ok 3k 5k PLOT 1 GRAPHS THE FOLLOWING VARIABLES APF END ESTIMATED SCHEDULE DAYS PERCEIVED PROJECT SIZE IN TASKS PESZMD ESTIMATED PROJECT COST IN MAN DAYS ue oes TOTAL WORKFORCE PEOPLE oo 22 visas CUMULATIVE MAN DAYS EXPENDED IF YOU HAVE AN EGA CARD TYPE Y ES IF NOT TYPE N O BAT INKEY 0 BAT CLS BAT IF Y 0 THEN GOTO 1 BAT ELSE GOTO 1 137 BAT EGAI REP PROJECT PLOTI BAT GOTO BAT OTHERI REP PROJECT PLOT PLM 6 BAT
21. as the software project is being developed is not a single number but rather a table function This allows the user to set different error rates at different stages of the project s lifecycle ND DELAY HIREDY NF HIREDY is the average delay time in work days incurred in adding new staff members to the project Press ENTER to Continue inkey bat cls BAT COLOR VF bat begtype ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT DEFINITIONS NID HIRING DELAY NF HIREDY is the average delay time in work days incurred in adding new staff members to the project 125 ASSIMILATION ASIMDY ASIMDY is the average time needed to assimilate new hirees into the project measured in workdays is the time required for orientation institutionalization and training ND AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT 2 a DDD AVEMPT AVEMPT is the average employment time of project team members measured in working days It is indirectly proportional with TURNOVER For example the smaller the AVEMPT the larger the turnover rate and conversely the smaller the turnover rate the higher the AVEMPT NA Press ENTER to return to the Menu inkey bat cls bat p s goto top2 3 2 POLICY VARIABLES bat Cls bat begtype POLICY DEFINITIONS ND TASK UNDER ESTIMATION FACTOR UNDEST Undersiz
22. first letter of the command Plot Select Tabulate Tabulate All ESC and Quit type Plot This command will generate plots of the variables you select When you invoke it you will see a menu of the names of all the variables that you have saved You can select the variables by positioning your cursor over them and pressing the ENTER key a selected variable will appear highlighted After completing your selection press the ESC key to plot your variables on your screen If you have a graphics monitor and card the plot will be high resolution bit mapped graphics if you have no graphics capabilities you will see a character plot 113 As a default all the variables that you have selected will appear on separate vertical scales If you wish several variables to share a common scale position your cursor over the first variable and type or Select additional variables to share this scale with the ENTER key until the last which should be selected with gt or key You may continue to select additional variables to be plotted on the same graph either with separate scales or with a different common scale Type Enter for the next page Under the graph will appear the following prompt line which will remind you what can be done next View 4 Next view no Print Esq Quit View is the number of this view which may be entered later to return to this plot Pressing N for Next or ENTER will ad
23. of the model variables see Figure 12 user can review the definitions of the seventeen variables and then change the value of any of those variables by selecting the Set Model Variables option of the main menu Selecting this option causes the Set Model Variables menu Figure 13 to be displayed Selecting option 1 List Variables of this menu causes a two page list of the seventeen variables Figure 14 to be displayed The variables were assigned to the following four categories for ease of access Actual Job Size Variables Characteristic of the Organizational Environment Policy Variables and Model Control These categories are used to view the variable definitions and to change the variable values 27 PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO HELP THE FOLLOWING MENU PROVIDES ACCESS TO PD HELP FACILITIES OVERVIEW OF PD HELP DYNEX HELP EDITOR HELP SIMULATION HELP TOOLS HELP TRANSLATOR HELP UTILITIES HELP VIEW HELP Choose an option ESC exits menu Vig Figure 11 Professional Dynamo Help Menu 28 CM MEM TU E gt WN ADJUSTABLE VARIABLES 51 Real Job Size DSI DSIPTK Delivered Source Instruction Per Task TNERPK Error Rate Per 1000 Delivered Source Instr cds EE Hiring Delay M Assimilation Delay Average Employment BINIDEST Task Underestimation Factor 1 Total Mandays 2
24. save the results of the run under the file name model name RSL unless you specify another name you make several runs and use the same filename for saving the results each successive run will write over the results from the previous run Should you wish to terminate a simulation in the middle of an execution press the ESC key next time Simulate writes results to the disk you will be returned to Simulator command level Once a simulation is finished you will be back in the Simulator command line and you may make changes or alter saved variables and execute another run or ESC back to PD top command level to invoke the View module Alternatively you may wish to preserve the state of the model from the last run and resume the run over an additional time period Type Enter for Runge Kutta integration 87 Runge Kutta integration To use the variable step size third order Runge Kutta integration method set REL ERR to a non zero value e g 01 REL ERR is the relative error tolerance the tolerable error relative to the current value of the level Should the level become very small the absolute error tolerance ABS ERR will come into play This tolerance is applied to all levels it should be chosen considering which levels might approach zero and what error is tolerable in them If you are using this method and NOISE or NORMRN you must also set DT to some value over which the value of these functions m
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26. This is the Overview of the on line Professional DYNAMO HELP facility Each of the commands of PD Plus is described here The HELP capability in PD Plus is context sensitive so that when you call for help from a particular module PD Plus knows where you are and will display the HELP screens appropriate to your location in the product You can call for HELP from PD Plus or from the command level of any of the following modules Editor Simulator Viewer Translator Each of the PD Plus modules listed above has its own Help files that provide more information about the particular module With your cursor in the command line at the bottom of your screen you may invoke HELP either by Press Enter for the next page typing the letter H or by moving your cursor over the word Help with the arrow keys and pressing the ENTER key 63 If you desire more detail please refer to the appropriate section in the PD Plus Reference Manual For more information on a particular module or PD Plus commands level type the capilalized letter of one of the following PD Edit Compile Simulate View Document dyneX Report cOnvert reFormat Translate Quit and esc Professional DYNAMO Plus Commands The screen following the PD introductory screen is called the top command level This is the top of the command hierarchy Your screen should be empty except for a highlighted line at the
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28. architecture is depicted in Figure 1 USER USER INTERFACE DYNAMICA DYNEX PROFESSIONAL MODEL INTERFACE ENVIRONMENT Figure 1 System Overview The user encounters the user interface upon starting the system user interface calls upon the other three system components to execute the user directed tasks The user is returned to the user interface after each task is completed user interface carries out user selections by issuing the appropriate Professional Dynamo command along with the associated Dynamica model file name as an argument Professional Dynamo is the underlying simulation language in which the Dynamica Model is written Ref 7 The user can elect to leave the user interface entirely and work directly with the Professional Dynamo environment The user will be returned to the user interface when he exits the Professional Dynamo environment 11 If the user desires to change the values of the variables the current model the user interface transfers the user to the Dynex model interface to make those changes will be retumed to the user interface after making his desired changes B USER INTERFACE The user interface is a menu driven shell that presents the user with a simple and logical view of the system shell is a hospitable user working environment provided by a program to enhance the basic operating system environment This particular shell is generated
29. by a sophisticated batch file which once executed by the user at start up controls the execution of the other executable files The shell program was written using Extended Batch Language EBL EBL is used to write batch files that possess enhanced string handling capabilities advanced control structures and superior screen control over those written in ordinary batch file constructs Ref 8 2 Batch files enhanced by EBL were selected as the basis of the shell because a batch file was simpler to write than using a high level language This approach allowed a rapid development of a prototype interface which could be easily modified EBL provided color and border menu enhancements without any significant development cost The shell includes automatic return to the calling menu optional immediate retum to the calling menu and user input range checking The main menu as seen in Figure 2 offers nine options which distinguish the primary system functions of system help model variable changes model simulations viewing results storing results and transferring to the Professional Dynamo environment Five of the nine main menu options produce sub menus with multiple options as depicted in Figure 3 The four options which are not sub menus drive tasks which are carried out directly by the main menu The View Variable Plots option and the Professional Dynamo option menus have different formats than the other sub menus because the user interface en
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31. down down SHIFT 1 line page For a more detailed explanation see page lt gt lt 5 In gt section 2 2 2 of your Professio mea DYNAMO Reference Manual reInsert Delete Caps deleted current For more help type any key you re Lock chars char interested Professional DYNAMO Editor Command Line wp A AP Ap m up UA EP s a ewe ARP m ARP s AR Rp um EP ewe eS When you invoke the Editor you will see its command line in inverse video at the bottom of your screen The commands are Save Print Return Help Esc Quit To invoke any of these commands type the ESC key to position your cursor in the command line and either type the first letter of the command type 82 arrow keys to position the cursor under the desired command and Enter The Save command will save your file exactly as you see it on the screen When you save PD asks you to Type new name or type Enter to save to original name You may type Enter to save your file under its orginal name type a new name and Enter or type Esc if you do not wish to save your file at this time page 1 of 2 If a file exists with the same name its extension will be renamed if a file also exists with the same filename and extension BAK if will be deleted unless it is read only When PD completes a Save your cursor is positioned under the command Retum If you type ENTER or
32. has been implemented Extensive help facilities would enhance the educational value of the model The previous design saved program output by appending them to the same file The present design provides the capability to identify a name for the file and a path to save the file under If a file of the same name already exists it will be erased and replaced by the new file A safeguard should be programmed to warn the user if an old file exists before erasing it The model asks the user to accept the model s COCOMO values or to provide COCOMO values COCOMO stands for Intermediate Constructive Cost Model COCOMO which is a type of cost estimation tool for software development A link to a COCOMO program at that point would be a valuable educational feature Presently the interface allows the user to change the values of the model variables The user can verify what the values are by walking through the change process again A strong recommendation would be to provide a single screen summary of the variables and their values that the user could view Another recommended option is a display of the most recently changed variables and their values which the user could review before running the model The model provides the capability for a gaming feature The gaming feature would be a natural option from the user interface and is therefore a recommended future enhancement 45 10 LIST OF REFERENCES Haury Carson E Design and Developmen
33. reduces time and frustration involved in learning a new system This research Ort designs a user friendly interface for the System Dynamics Model of tware Management The interface is written in a batch programming language Ipatible with the IBM personal micro computer interface is a product mie prototype design approach sophisticated batch language provides the ELESenerating menu structures advanced string handling capabilities and or enhancements The new user interface is now a valuable feature of the el and clearly shows the benefit of utilizing a prototype design approach this type of application JSTRIBUTION AVAILABILITY OF ABSTRACT 21 ABSTRACT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION UNCLASSIFIED UNLIMITED 0 SAME AS RPT DTIC USERS Unclassified NAME OF RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUAL 226 TELEPHONE Include Area Code 22c OFFICE SYMBOL Of Tarek Abdel Hamid 408 646 2686 Code 54AH ORM 1473 84 MAR 83 APR edition may be used until exhausted SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE AI other editions are obsolete U S Government Printing Office 1906 606 243 al Approved for public release distribution is unlimited Design and Development of a User Interface and User Manual for a System Dynamics Model of Software Management by Daniel W Swindell Major United States Marine Corps M E Pennsylvania State University 1988 B S Salem State College 1980 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degre
34. t E gt eh if applicable aval Postgraduate schoo 54 Naval Postgraduate School DORESS City State and ZIP Cooe 70 ADORESS City State and ZIP Code terey California 93943 5000 Monterey California 93943 5000 OF FUNDING SPONSORING RGANIZATION 85 OFFICE SYMBOL if applicable 9 PROCUREMENT INSTRUMENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER DDRESS City State and ZIP Code 10 SOURCE O FUNDING NUMBERS PROGRAM PROJECT TASK WORK UNIT ELEMENT NO NO NO ACCESSION NO iTLE Include Security Classification m e Development of User Interface and User Manual for a System Dynamics Model of Software Management ERSONAL AUTHOR S Swindell Daniel W TYPE OF REPORT 13b TIME COVERED 14 DATE O REPORT Year Month Day 15 PAGE COUNT laster s Thesis FROM TO 1989 March 55 UPPLEMENTARY NOTATION he views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect weoi Cial policy or position of the Department of Defense or the US Govt 5 CODES FIELD SUR GRO 2 ABSTRACT Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number 18 SUBJECT TERMS Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number User interface user friendly batch language User manual Simulation models typically possess primitive user interfaces Users must ind substantial amounts of time learning the model before they gain Ni1ciency in using the model A versatile user friendly interface
35. the main menu results are first displayed for inspection as shown in the example in Figure 22 As seen in Figure 23 the information to be saved is overall project statistics The user is prompted to provide a filename and a directory path to save the results under Any previous file under the given filename will be replaced by the new results file If the user hits enter without a pathname the file is stored in the default directory 38 PLOTTING RESULTS THE FOLLOWING MENU ALLOWS THE USER TO VIEW AND SAVE 4 PREDEFINED PLOTS 0 OVERVIEW PLOTTING FUNCTIONS 1 PLOT i DECPEOTFL 2 om PLOT 3 4 PLOT 4 Choose an option ESC exits menu Figure 20 Plot Selection Menu 39 PLOT 1 GRAPHS THE FOLLOWING VARIABLES a eee ESTIMATED SCHEDULE IN DAYS PIBSZ ss PERCEIVED PROJECT SIZE IN TASKS JBSZMD ESTIMATED PROJECT COST IN MAN DAYS TOTWF 27 TOTAL WORKFORCE PEOPLE CUMMD CUMULATIVE MAN DAYS EXPENDED PLOT 2 GRAPHS THE FOLLOWING VARIABLES a CUMULATIVE TASKS DEVELOPED oae a 2 335 CUMULATIVE TASKS TESTED CUMMD sa eee CUMULATIVE MAN DAYS EXPENDED PIBSZ S DE PERCEIVED PROJECT SIZE IN TASKS PDEVRC ESTIMATED DEVELOPMENT COMPLETE PLOT 3 GRAPHS THE FOLLOWING VARIABLES TOTWE ee TOTAL WORKFORCE FRWEEX gt FRACTION WORKFORCE THAT IS EXPERIENCED SDVPRD E T p PRODUCTIVITY COMMOH COMMUNICATION OVERHEAD PLOT 4 GRAPHS THE FOLLOWING VARIABLES AFMPDJ ACTU
36. the times TIME can be put at the beginning of a row and increase along the row or at the head of a column and increase along the column In either case the increment in time from one cell to the next must be constant though a value need not be filled in for every cell More thanone TIME statement can occur TIME statement determines the times for the variables that follow 105 until another TIME statement is encountered Variables are just like time put the variable name at the head of a row or column and follow it by values The column row a value is in determines the time it is for When values are not available a cell can be left blank or the letters can be filled in The Translator will load the result of spreadsheet formulas as they appear when the spreadsheet was saved Ascii text files Standard text files are files containing only standard keyboard characters such files are also referred to as ascii files A standard text file can be created using many editors including the Professional DYNAMO editor The required format for a text file is similar to that of a spreadsheet file Again every value needs a time for which it applies The times are specified by the keyword TIME followed by the times The times must be increasing by a constant amount Unlike a spreadsheet file the TIME can only run horizontally Variables are specified by their name followed by their values The times for the values start at the
37. to form an arithmetic expression of saved quantities and or local variables means is less than gt means 16 greater than Press Enter for Reserved Words RESERVED WORDS BY FOR NEWPAGE PLOTXY THEN DO FORMAT PICTURE REPORT TIME ELSE HEADING PLOT RUN TO END IF Utilities help file be reached from within Utilities 104 t T T kkkkkkkkkkkkkxxkkkxTR HELP TEXT FILE ak ak x x Translator Help File PD Plus allows you to specify a variable as having exogenous values that is values generated outside the model To simulate a model with exogenous variables you must supply values for those variables over the course of the simulation The Translator TRNS allows you to use data stored in spreadsheet and standard text files as the input to exogenous variables The Translator supports spreadsheet files generated using Lotus 123 or Symphony standard text files also called ascii files generated by the PD editor and result format files generated by the Simulator or the Translator Type the initial letter or digit for more information on 23 and Symphony spreadsheet files Ascii text files PD generated RSL and EXG files translate Commands type C for general discussion Load Review Select Write 123 and Symphony spreadsheet files The translator needs to know for what time each value applies This is done by putting the word TIME followed by numbers representing
38. to the Indicated Workforce Level i e management would be adjusting its workforce size to the level it feels is needed to finish on schedule The Indicated Workforce Level can be 130 determined by dividing the amount of effort that management percieves is still remaining in Man Days by the time remaining to complete the project in days When the Time Remaining decreases ASSIMILATION DELAY ASIMDY could be set to equal exactly 0 The Workforce Level Needed in the equation would thus be equal to the Current Workforce i e management attempts to maintain the projects workforce at its current level and make adjustments to the schedule instead Press ENTER to Continue bat cls bat begtype POLICY DEFINITIONS CONT KES SI ERS NEW TRPHNR most organizations training of new employees is carried out by the more experienced employees This variable defines the fraction of an experienced staff member s time that is devoted to train new hirees For example a value of 0 2 indicates that on the average each new employee consumes 20 of an experienced employee s time for the duration of the assimilation delay ND AVERAGE DAILY MANPOWER PER STAFF EXPENDED ON PROJECT ADMPPS Project members are often only assigned part time to a project ADMPPS defines the of time that the team members devote on an average
39. type R PD returns you to editing your file at the location you were just before pressing the ESC key The Print command creates a simple listing your file on your printer See Reformat for listings with page headings Caution if your printer is not ready your computer will lock up If you invoke the Esc command PD leaves the Editor and returns to the PD top command level If you have made modifications to your file since your last Save PD first asks if you wish to save your file before leaving the Editor You may respond by typing Y for yes N for no or Esc to remain in the Editor 83 Quit works similar to Esc except you are returned to DOS rather than PD The following functions are available in DYNAMO Built in Math Functions eee ED UD Cip UD ww A COS a LOGN a SIN a SQRT a EXP a Built in PD Functions eee Gu Gun ue UA UD m CLIP p q r s NOISE STEP height steptm DELAY l in del NORMRN mean std dv SUM array DELAY 3 in del PRDV vctr frst last SUM V vctr frst last DELAYP in del ppl PULSE hght wdth frst intvl SWITCH p q r DLINF3 in del RAMP slope start TABLE tab x xlow xhigh xincr FIFGE p q r s SAMPLE x intvl isam TABHL tab x xlow xhigh xincr 84 AI kk k kk kk kk k k STUL ATOR HELP TEXT FILE Simulator Help Facility The Simulato
40. which is bounded by delimiters or non alphanumeric characters spaces periods slashes parentheses etc A literal is any sequence of characters with or without delimiters F7 Replace name from cursor on if you type y es You 7 Computer Find what You current name F7 Computer Replace with You desired name F7 Computer Replace Y or 77 A literal is any sequence of characters In contrast a name is a sequence of alphanumeric characters letters and or numbers which is bounded by delimiters or non alphanumeric characters spaces periods slashes parentheses etc F8 Replace literal from cursor on if you type y es You F8 Computer Find what You current literal F8 Computer Replace with You desired literal F8 Computer Replace Y or N F9 Cut text out and place in buffer You F9 Computer Cutting 78 You Down and or Right arrows Up Left arrows Computer highlights text to be cut You F9 F10 Insert contents of buffer following cursor You F10 Computer reinserts text that was last cut out with F9 key Shift F1 Split screen Jump to other screen Typing Shift F1 jumps you between the upper and lower screens or splits 79 the screen to give you two screens which can be moved independently in one file For a detailed explanation of Shift F1 see section 2 2 5 of your PD Refere
41. ws J ATN U taii Urs Z aa td Aimer 5 4 w node AC e wor 04 i teg w af afaj d y we A gt fnt QU Y ore inim Idi vod lt w wes 2 w LE ue av fe s s 4 PERS DIT LIMITES m m f io h z 545 729 COE eer eu BARS ed OE rus Adr Taree om a t LEES n t r5 sett P 3 06 Xe 2 al 347 2 Ain fa 66 gt T 4 JN N Y nd f pz aul c RENS n RRR RIO Serta oft LI r i A y 647 y ARE 4 ty qa JF IV Leu Y NT gt du Ol ti 242 42 Durch les 2 4 Pto aA LS 5 Logs NAT 7455 P Y VEM ANE MUR S ee lt S 4 D s 7 AL LL D 9 4 Co Ne 1 fQ gef is enl eI SL s t M a d ONIN Ton w teases S Pe Te AM mtt 12 CSS AF7 0 sy ae e Pan ORT UNI AX AU DEM 4 6 V UL JM POT ty OAM A 9 M EM baht ear Rt PVR xS ek Aj AA PNI P a art E SCC Bi i FOE VEU ON C Mee i 4 fy 2 oth 7 3 PEE s mo bord pM avt A rie
42. 08 goto topl if 1 14 goto topl goto 0 11 1 1 LISTING OF VARAIBLES bat Cls BAT COLOR bat begtype LISTING OF VARIABLES ALE The following 17 model variables of Dynamica are adjustable via the menu They are grouped in 4 categories for easy access I ACTUAL PROJECT SIZE JD PJBDSI n u sn Real Job Size in DSI VARIABLES CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT Productivity 119 2 NID DSIPTK Delivered Source Instruction Per Task B Quality 3 ND TNERPK Error Rate Per 1000 Delivered Source Instruction C Staffing Variables 4 ND HIREDY Hiring Delay 5 ND ASIMDY Assimilation Delay 6 ND a Average Employment NA Press ENTER To Continue inkey bat cls BAT COLOR bat begtype MA LISTING OF VARIABLES CONT POLICY VARIABLES Estimation T ND UNDEST AUF MA Task Underestimation Factor 8 ND TOTMDI NIF ee Total Mandays 9 ND TDEVI NIE eee Time to Develope B Resource Allocation 10 ND DEVPRT of Effort Assumed Needed For Development 120 11 ND Fraction of Manpower Devoted to Quality Assurance Initial Understaffing Factor WCWPL NB Willingness to Change the Workforce C Staffing Project 14 ND TRPHNR of Experienced Employee Effort to Train New Employee 15 ND
43. 7 TE k deinde Lee La TN ITEM VL Py A ave LJ W up v cu DAPET LL t d Pw 1 za Le ed Oe a ays A en quor D TN x m V w Fri vie Ma LARA Gravy yit WON eek Win w ft EVP YU S AP Pa m gi Bete yi reg 3 SFR ay AJ LIMIT we f vay Vid D i TUN aT VYN 0 Y hw w VOV feine Piste b LIT 2 7272 ww 75177267 RP d ON he ab M LL X prr lt VY AR GO oR CE a P8 PV ne Le eee INP FETE Yaw where elk da MT x LES Faq NC wa Fa war 4 15796 au egy WOU tos a pw P TE way amp MOTE psi Q Cae FOTO Ford wq T mia Nw he en w w e VAT Toray Way wi Ade ery 9 an dy PV AAB IY MALI W as LN T a 4 Ta di M REST STR Uy C s tia WV uU TC 7A ip B gt m Vig dap g w Tia RIVED VEN NOUS SaL EN YR RON u Vi vt Yupi ST wa eina LRL ee bad g VONT S Uy
44. AL FRACTION OF A MAN DAY ON PROJECT JBSZMD PERCEIVED TOTAL JOB SIZE IN MAN DAYS FIB S2 EE PERCEIVED JOB SIZE IN TASKS PMDPSHR PERCEIVED SHORTAGE MAN DAYS Figure 21 Standard Plot Variables 40 PROJECT STATISTICS COMPLETION TIME 4 00 DAYS TOTAL MAN DAYS 3 35 MAN DAYS TOTAL DEV T MD 3 35 MAN DAYS DESIGN amp CODE 226 MAN DAYS QA MD 1 09 MAN DAYS TOTAL TESTING MD 00 MAN DAYS OVERALL PRODUCTIVITY 7 162 50 DSI MAN DAYS TOTAL ERRORS 1 28 ERRORS ERRORS DETECTED BY QA 76 12 PERCENT Figure 22 Simulation Results 41 HELP BAT LIST COM PD HP DYNEX HP x x AIK OMT TOOLS HP x TRNS HP UTILS HP VIEW HP VARIABL BAT DYNEX PROJECT DNX MENU BAT SMLT PROJECT GOz VIEW PROJECT RSL PLOT BAT REP PROJECT PLOTI DRS ESR PR T ID ES REP PROJECT PLOT3 DRS PROJECT PLOT4 DRS Xx x x STORSTAT BAT i REP PROJECT STATS PD PROJECT DYN INSERT Figure 23 File Hierarchy 42 PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO ENVIRONMENT The user may work directly in the Professional Dynamo Environment by selecting option 8 Professional Dynamo Interface from the main menu Before the user is actually transferred to the Professional Dynamo Environment a message is displayed stating that the user should only enter the Professional Dynamo Environmen
45. AMPPS NF Average Daily Manpower Staff Expended IV MODEL CONTROL end MAXLEN Max Length Of Project V Oe OS Save Period For Data Press ENTER to retum to the Menu inkey bat cls bat p s goto topl 2 1 DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES call top2 bat p s goto topl 3 1 SETTING MODEL VARIABLES bat Cls dynex project dnx bat Cls bat p s goto topl 121 0 1 0 1 0 11 beep goto topl top2 2 ram BAT cls BAT COLOR BAT begtype MA 1 ND 2 ND 3 ND 4 DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES Actual Project Size Organizational Environment Variables Policy Variables Model Control Variables 127 MF Choose an option ESC exits menu end lstkey2 inkey 0 if 0 1 type 0 if 0 return goto 0 2 2ndkey2 inkey 1 if 1 1 type 1 if 1 keyOlb return if 761 key020 goto 0 2 if 1 004 goto 0 2 if 1 008 goto top2 if 1 keyl4b goto top2 goto 0 12 Jo ACTUAL PROJECT SIZE Bat cls BAT COLOR bat begtype ACTUAL PROJECT SIZE DEFINITION NUE ND SIZE IN DSPT n n n gg RJBDSI NF The real size of the software project in delivered source instructions DSI with comments The following definitions are from Boehm 1981 Delivered This term
46. ATCH AND TEXT FILE LISTINGS ELE Note ec KKK AH KA KARA AT NI MENU BATCH FILE ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ECHO OFF CLS GRAPHICS bat N p s Loading MODEL MENU Call topl Exit top goto top A topl ZA 1 color ram cls begtype MA MAIN MENU NA THE DYNAMICA MODEL OF SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT NF UD 1 NF MODEL REQUIREMENTS ND2 NF HELP FACILITIES 47 UD 3 SET MODEL VARIABLES UD 4 NF RUN SIMULATIONS UD 5 VIEW VARIABLE PLOTS UD 6 VIEW STANDARD PLOTS 0 7 NF STORE RESULTS 8 NF PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO INTERFACE 9 NIF EXIT TO DOS Choose an option ESC exits menu end lstkeyl inkey 0 if 0 1 type 0 if 0 keyOlb return goto 0 1 2ndkeyl inkey 1 if 1 1 type 961 if 1 keyOlb retum if 1 key020 goto 0 1 if 1 key00d goto 0 1 48 if 1 008 goto topl if 1 keyl4b goto topl goto 0 11 1 1 INTRODUCTION THE MODEL MENU CALL top2 bat p s goto topl EM FACILITIES BAT CLS BAT SHELL BAT R HELP BAT bat p s goto topl 3 1 VARIABLE MANIPULATION BAT CLS BAT SHELL BAT R VARIABL BAT bat p s goto topl 4 1 RUNNING SIMULATIONS BAT CLS SMLT PROJECT GO bat p s goto topl 5 xk k k k VIEW VARIABLE PLOTS sk ak ak ak 5k 3 okc ak K ke ak ak ak ak ake R K k R ok CALL top3 bat p s goto topl 6 1 VIEW STANDARD PLOTS BA
47. BAT EGA VIEW PROJECT RSL BAT CLS GOTO ENDEGA BAT OTHER VIEW PROJECT RSL PLM 6 BAT CLS BAT ENDEGA retum 0 3 52 0 3 0 13 3 top4 4 color ram cls begtype PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO ENVIRONMENT This option allows the user to bypass the basic Dynamica interface and work directly with the Professional Dynamo interface The user should only select this option if there is a need to access more than the standard seventeen variables provided in the basic interface The user should consult the Professional Dynamo reference manual before attempting to work from the Professional Dynamo interface NA Press ND lt ENTER gt access the Professional Dynamo interface NF Or NA Press ND lt ESC gt JAto return to the Main Menu 23 INKEY 1 if 1 01 goto topl PD PROJECT DYN return 0 4 0 4 0 14 beep goto top4 if gt 82 if lt 90 type Floating Point Error lgoto Calc Cls beep type Unexpected batch file error in line 9oL lexit 54 ake ake ak ak ak k k k k k kk k k LJE P BATCH FIL E gt gt ak bk ak ak ak ak ak ak ake ake ak ak ak ak ak BAT P S Call top3 Exit top3 3 color ram cls begtype NA HELP FACILITIES 1 MODEL INTRODUCTION 2 MF ONLINE HELP ND3 NF PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO HELP 33 Choose an
48. Center 2 Cameron Station Alexandria Virginia 22304 6145 Library Code 0142 2 Naval Postgraduate School Monterey Califomia 93943 5002 Director Information Systems OP 945 1 Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Navy Department Washington D C 20350 2000 Commandant of the Marine Corps 2 Code TE 06 Headquarters U S Marine Corps Washington D C 20360 0001 Superintendent Naval Postgraduate School 1 Computer Technology Programs Code 37 Monterey California 93943 5000 Professor Abdel Hamid Code 54AH 5 Department of Administrative Sciences Naval Postgraduate School Monterey Califomia 93943 Professor Magdi Kamel Code 54K A 1 Department of Administrative Sciences Naval Postgraduate School Monterey California 93943 Maj Daniel W Swindell 2 9046 Baber Drive Manassas Virginia 22110 146 DUDLEY KNOX LIBRARY WAVAL POSTCRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY OALIFORWIA 95640 3008 ENT Thesis S945 Swindell cl Design and of a user i terface and al for a System cs Model of Soft e Management Z amp bri OF vM j a Gabe Anasa LES 4 WU D GeO Pod ELO a d 1 f f NISENI 4 AM Moo SAP oh ob 1 7 2 A4 ES pYME T 4 Desi n and development user inter d liam ti P wis MEL vla v A Mh 120 efit Ka Wet oar hAth g
49. D HELP DYNEX HELP EDITOR HELP SIMULATION HELP TOOLS HELP TRANSLATOR HELP UTILITIES HELP 60 CI 8 VIEW HELP Choose an option 5 exits end Istkey4 inkey 0 if 0 1 type 0 if 0 keyOlb return goto 0 4 2ndkey4 inkey 1 if 1 1 type 961 if 1 01 return if 1 key020 goto 0 4 if 1 004 goto 0 4 if 1 008 goto top4 if 1 keyl4b goto top4 goto 0 14 21 4 OVERVIEW OF PD HELP BAT CLS L PD HP bat p s goto top4 EN DYNEX HELP BAT CLS L DYNEX HP bat p s goto top4 3 4 EDITOR HELP BAT CLS L EDTR HP bat p s goto top4 61 4 4 SIMULATION HELP BAT CLS L SMLT HP bat p s goto top4 eq oes TOOLS HECE thir BAT CLS L TOOLS HP bat p s goto top4 6 4 TRANSLATOR HELP BAT CLS L TRNS HP bat p s goto top4 7 4 UTILITIES HELP BAT CLS L UTILS HP bat p s goto top4 5 4 VIEW HELP BAT CLS L VIEW HP bat p s goto top4 0 4 0 4 0 14 beep goto top4 62 AAA AAA AAA AAA IIAP ROFESSIONAL DYNAMO HELP TEXT FILE x ok akc okc ake R F FOR ake ake PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO PLUS HELP OVERVIEW xk ok k k 5k 5k 5k 5k 5k ok ake ok E E E E EE EE EE EEEE EEE EEEE EEE EEEE EE EEE EEEE EE
50. E E EE EEE EDITOR ON LINE HELP FACILITY s sk k 5k k ok 3k 3k ok ak ok ok R K ok ak KOK KOK K K KO K ok ke afe afe ae abe ae afc K This help file explains the basic Editor commands and the special function keys If you need more detail please refer to Chapter 2 of the Professonal DYNAMO User Reference Manual For help on a specific area select from the topics below by typing the first letter of the topic Keys Editor commands Save Print Return Help Esc Quit Functions supported by DYNAMO Special Functions Corrections and Cursor Movements E F delete help beeps previous Num Lock sp scrn 2nd file char 72 F4 find find file 1 line page name literal F5 replace F6 replace left right name literal globally globally F7 replace F8 replace name literal verify verify F9 cut F10 text out paste line text back J Shift Type F for Dynamo Functions Ctrl lt gt chars top of up lt page lt gt lt 5 gt enter spce 5 1 spce 1 3L lt 1 3L gt endof down down 1 line page page lt gt 5ln reInsert Delete deleted current char For more help type any key you re interested in 73 Fl provides help either about the keyboard or the command that has been started F2 displays the reason for the last beep generated A name is a sequence of alphanumeric characters letters and or numbers which is b
51. ECT PLOT1 DRS pp pR OEC T TI t REP PROJECT PLOT3 DRS X PROJECT PLOT4 DRS STORSTAT BAT REP PROJECT STATS PD PROJECT DYN INSERT Figure 5 File Hierarchy 16 plot bat is called to manage the viewing of standard plots Plot bat offers an explanation of the standard plot options and a selection of four predefined plots The file storstat bat is called to managed the storing of simulation results Storstat bat queries the user for a name and path to store the results under before saving the simulation results SMLT exe view exe and PD com are Professional Dynamo files which are also executed directly by menu bat SMLT exe runs the simulation View exe allows the user to define his views of the simulation variables PD com allows the user to directly access the Professional Dynamo environment The project arguments are the Dynamica model files used by the Professional Dynamo files C DYNAMICA MODEL The Dynamica model is a set of files created in the Professional Dynamo environment The primary model file has the dyn ending user should not alter the model itself The user interface in addition to guiding the user through his tasks shelters the model from inadvertent changes by the user D DYNEX INTERFACE The Dynex exe program is provided by Professional Dynamo to allow the construction of a user friendly interface Using Dynex exe the user can i
52. LA qe 4 2944 PERO Te J Y DAS AREIS An Lordi 43 4 5 nyitas y L Ue Vey The P M W yawa pat Where etry yw gers iy g PEP gsi BN vii Ws byte Aes ey FEE S yt y WII a vu ys OY mtg q J P ETE Ny Ss Y t a A FF e lots of UTO P m si 144 PHO ORIYI i wre PNY ru RO 14 i 1 5 1 ss 5 13 LS P OS 1109 g Tet Pn Fy reta Wy 0g AR 4 x oY H Cer PAR O oa f 3 o DR DUM ECL U pti D 4 Li 4 LI AP sqa 19 fi pryzarsap uwa e ww S A ui s Lcd IT 407 in A WI 8 e i ws Mtr g de as uS EEr 4 R LL T agn gn i b 4 LE mun ety Rip west A Wanye 4 9 eee e yq 75 AY Vite E D eM 94 Sn ut MOLY P pepe qid 2 E betty mrt oo i moar 7 SUP on FI
53. R Path ga i 749 NEXU Apr AN dim 1 ym a ntu 4 4 2 Ute 0 9 8 yr uL I 455 44 x k y 5 5 5 4 var h a f e d MAAA LI pran 0 NAR o trad HALTEN Li PI Mts ALMUS p LM EC EC IRSE ST DPA d s NL GL ves 912 S b Q Rin Remind ain 9 8 2 vari Prete it tet yy ier 2442 FO Bie Ale ag L v 48 dM S D da e ULM MR wa aA a 3 PRAM Mee Agoda bobo v ab FRA K As Y d 2 me 1 26 sk a r J t es ris ky D b OX Ne SR m 54 megs BAO Pad aang by apas AA Va ac Gn pusa h w Wad Bangs rane ren 49 lt Rey ctae 44007 gu ah 8s ever phe zi gt Me d LI i ws y nan Ress ARAB c e 7 v rae A J m Rate tan Ga ia MIU 5 CLR es 0844 Maye CNS Boe t 9 man F a Aa a oh D 3 9 A69 Wy L LIT P amp A aL bi AG Es inten
54. RMAT can be reassigned as often as required REP starts with the default assignment of PICTURE 9 99 The results of ARITHMETIC EXPRESSIONS may be displayed or assigned to a local variable Expressions may involve SAVED QUANTITIES LOCAL VARIABLES and or NUMBERS For example POP AGE POP AGE BASE POP AGE BASE PAGENO 1 The default values of TIME and RUN determine the particular value of a saved variable used in an expression unless follows it to specify a different value of TIME or RUN ID follows it to designate a different run The order of the local TIME and RUN does not matter The default values can be changed in an assignment statement For example RUN BASE TIME 83 CONTROL BLOCKS simplify the construction of large reports Control blocks may be nested to practically any depth Indenting lines to make it easier to match END with its head is advised blanks within a report specification have no meaning except in text 101 FOR FOR loops let you repeat of your report specification with TIME or a subscript modified For example to produce the same report for TIME equal to 80 85 90 95 and 100 you can write FOR TIME 80 TO 100 BY 5 DO END If the step size is 1 you may omit BY 1 FOR RUN DO END FOR loops can also be constructed to repeat something for different default RUNs The several run ids are separat
55. T CLS BAT SHELL BAT R PLOT BAT 49 bat p s goto topl 7 1 STORING STATISTICS BAT CLS BAT SHELL BAT R STORSTAT BAT bat p s goto topl 8 1 PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO ENVIRONMENT CALL top4 bat p s goto topl 0 1 EXIT TO BAT CLS BAT EXIT bat p s goto topl 0 1 5 0 1 0 11 beep goto topl top2 70A 2 color ram cls begtype DYNAMICA REQUIREMENTS 1 PROGRAM AUTHOR 50 DYNAMICA IS SOPHISTICATED SIMULATION MODEL FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT THE MODEL WAS WRITTEN BY DR TAREK K ABDEL HAMID IN PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO 2 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS MEMORY THE MODEL REQUIRES AN IBM OR IBM COMPATIBLE XT AT MICROCOMPUTER WITH 640 K OF RAM AND A HARD DISK OR 1 2 MEG BEOPPY CO PROCESSOR ALTHOUGH NOT NECESSARY THE USE OF A MATH CO PROCESSOR WILL DRAMATICALLY REDUCE THE SIMULATION EXECUTION TIME DISPLAYS THE MODEL SUPPORTS MONOCHROME MDA CGA AND EGA GRAPHIC MODES 3 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS THE MODEL REQUIRES MS OR PC DOS 2 xx OR GREATER HIT ANY KEY CONTINUE END INKEY retum 0 2 0 2 0 12 beep goto top2 51 top3 3 color begtype YOUR RESULTS ARE BEING PREPARED FOR VIEWING IF YOU HAVE AN EGA GRAPHICS CARD TYPE y FOLLOWED BY ENTER IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN EGA CARD TYPE n FOLLOWED BY ENTER END BAT INKEY 0 BAT IF Y 0 THEN EGA BAT ELSE GOTO OTHER
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57. and SMT Should it discover any errors you will be returned to Edit in the display error mode where you can cycle through your errors one or more times by typing Alt N A successful compile will terminate with a message indicating the size of your model in Bytes You should be at PD top level with the cursor positioned on the Simulate command The SIMULATOR Simulate simulates your model one or more times to produce RSL files that can be formatted by View or Report according to your specifications You may change the values of parameters and tables change which variables will be saved in the RSL file run the model preserve the final conditions and resume those conditions as the initial conditions for additional run s Simulate has its own help file for details on its use The VIEWER 66 View and Report display the run files produced by the Simulator in graphical or tabular format Unlike Report which requires a report specification file View with a few interactive commands from the keyboard will display your results View has a Print option so that you may print hardcopy of your graphical or tabular results View has its own help file for details on its use REPORT GENERATOR The Report Generator REP allows you practically complete control over the format of your output You can compare values from different runs compute the numbers to be displayed choose the exact text to describe a number and e
58. and should be designed to present the user with a view of the system at a high level At a high level the details are hidden from him because he doesn t need them at that time The reference manual has all the details which the experienced user may at some time require The command summary card is a short summary of the command formats to refresh the mind of the user Tutorials are another form of documentation which often stand on their own Tutorials painstakingly lead the user through the sequences of the system 4 Documentation Content d Organization 1 Task Organization One trend in user documentation is task organization Task organization is the structuring of the manual around the tasks the user will perform The documentation must be written from the viewpoint of the user as he will face the tasks Ref 6 2 Down Design down design is characterized by successive levels which begin with a high level view and few details and progress to the lower levels with greater detail Covington asserts that good programmers can be good writers because both programming and writing documentation require top down design writer must keep track of the readers knowledge to successfully implement top down design This means he must remember what knowledge the reader began with and what knowledge he has revealed up to that point in the document Ref 4 b Style 1 Script Format When the document is task organized the user is
59. arning tool with which managers could gain understanding of the process they must manage The combination of integrative design and simulation capability allow users of the 21 model to experiment with different variables the development process and quickly see the results of their experimentation The Dynamica model was written in Professional Dynamo a simulation design language The model is based on four sub systems Human Resource Management Software Production Controlling and Planning high level view of the Dynamica model which illustrates the interaction between the four sub systems is shown in Figure 7 Ref 10 p 12 The human resource management sub system depicts hiring training assimilation and transfer of human resources software production sub system depicts the design coding quality assurance rework and testing activities The planning sub system reflects the scheduling activities of the project s life cycle The control sub system records the progress of the project Ref 10 pp 11 25 Professional Dynamo has a rudimentary facility called Dynex for enhancing models by providing the capability of interactively adjusting the values of the model variables Dynex was used to make seventeen of the Dynamica model variables accessible to the user The user can now change the value of those variables to suit the software project being modelled system shell insulates the user from the dynamica model b
60. assign a new name to RUN RUN BASE PLOT ABC ABC POL2 TIME If you may want to freeze time for a variable on a PLOT statement you can follow a it by a timescript time For example to normalize a variable you may divide by its value at TIME 0 PLOT ABC ABC 0 MILE You can give a graph a title by inserting the desired text up to 60 97 characters between double quotes after PLOT but before the usual plotting information For example PLOT FINAL SECTOR IAR To give your own name to a curve put the text in double quotes after the variable name For example PLOT FINAL SECTOR INVENTORY ORDERS This 1s the last page for PLOT Tabular output To create a Report Specification you first conceive of your report as a number of lines of printed material each line made up of one or more fields of information A field starts at ends at or is centered at some column A field can contain simple text such as Net profits a value saved in a RSL file or the result of an arithmetic expression computed by the report generator generally from values in the RSL files report specification is a sequence of field specifications that tell what is to be placed in the next field or modifies the environment generating the report The environment is the current values of all the local variables mostly used is subscripts text labels and run ids which in addition to the saved quantities make up th
61. ate of the displays obviously impacts the efficiency of the user Shneiderman listed eight principles to adhere to during the design of interactive systems Ref 2 p 61 The eight principles are Work for consistency Provide users with alternate short cuts Provide feedback to the user Design the closure property into actions Simplify error handling e Allow easy reversal of actions Make the users sense they are in control e Minimize short term memory requirements Consistency is attained when similar situations require similar sequences of actions The terminology and menu layouts should also be similar An example of alternate short cut is the provision of a command language where the user has the option of entering the command mode and then entering a command Feedback is some indication to the user reflecting the status of his request The closure property here implies that sequences of actions are readily identifiable as having a beginning middle and an ending user should not be distracted by wondering where he is in a process Error messages should clearly and concisely describe the error and the corrective action Users having selected an option should have a convenient recourse to return to their previous position the process Unexpected outcomes are disruptive and damaging to the users confidence in the program and his ability to control the program Menus should be kept uncluttered the number of selections li
62. ation results and for the pathname of the directory in which to store the output file Existing files under that name in the specified directory are overwritten 20 V DYNAMICA USER S MANUAL A INTRODUCTION The Dynamica Model is a software development process model which is based on the concepts of system dynamics The model integrates both the management type functions such as planning controlling and staffing along with the traditional software production type functions such as design coding quality assurance and testing The application of system dynamics concepts enables the model to represent the fundamental feedback processes where functions interact and affect other functions in the development process The model portrays the effect of the feedback relationship through simulation execution Ref 9 pp 6 11 B DYNAMICA MODEL REQUIREMENTS 1 Memory The model requires an IBM or IBM compatible XT AT microcomputer with 640 K of RAM with a hard disk drive or a 1 2 Meg floppy disk drive 2 Co processor math co processor although not necessary will dramatically reduce the simulation run time 3 Displavs The model supports monochrome MDA CGA and EGA graphic display modes 4 Software Requirements The model requires MS DOS or PC DOS version 2 xx or later C BACKGROUND The Dynamica model was developed to accurately represent the complicated software development process secondary objective was to create a le
63. ay be held constant The choice should be made carefully as a small value may increase the time required to carry out a simulation See the Reference Manual for more details about this integration method Preserve The Preserve and Resume commands allow you to make a short run preserve the conditions that exist at the end of that run and then make a series of runs starting with the conditions that were preserved This is especially useful when running a model up to the present time and then making a series of exploratory runs over future time After making the initial run you may wish to make a change or two to your parameters before preserving them For example changing LENGTH before preserving the conditions will save you changing it every time you resume the model When you issue the Preserve command The Simulator will request the name of a 88 state file This is the that will contain the current state of the model the final values of all variables and the current values of all constants and tables Either press Enter to use the default name model name STT or type the name of your choice Simulate will add the extension Type Enter for Resume Resume Resume Invoking Resume will cause a menu of state files to be displayed for you to select the one you want unless there is only one Once the selection has been made you are in the resume mode every run you make will be made with the cond
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65. bottom with the following Commands Edit Compile Simulate View Tools Quit Each of these commands may be invoked by typing the first letter of the command or by positioning the cursor over the word with the arrow keys and pressing the ENTER key Note the ENTER key will be used to refer to the carriage return menu of all the files that might be processed by the command in the current directory are displayed for you to choose one by arrow keys and Enter If PD was invoked with a path to some other directory appropriate files in that directory will be displayed The EDITOR Edit allows you to create and modify the various input files required by Professional DYNAMO ASC Source file for exogenous data DEF Quantity definition file for Documentor optional DNX Dynex screens DRS Report specification DYN Original model Edit has its own help file that can be displayed by typing ESC followed by the letter H or by pressing F1 If you type the letter you will see a menu of topics for which Help is available Alternatively you may press Fl to go directly to the Help for the special function keys This will display a picture of all the function keys pressing any of these keys will result in an explanation of that key in the Editor 65 The COMPILER Compile translates your model with the extension DYN for processing by Simulate creates three files with the extensions DAT INS
66. broad base of users to the model The interface design would substantially enhance the value of the model as a learning aid as well as increase the user s productivity with the model C SCOPE OF RESEARCH The scope of the research includes the design and development of the user interface and the development of a user s manual to support the user interface The research focuses on design considerations that facilitate rapid prototype development of a simple user environment The research encompasses the current wisdom on user manual development This research builds on earlier work done by Captain C E Haury Ref 1 D THESIS ORGANIZATION Chapter II addresses the design issues germane to the development of a user interface appropriate for this application Chapter II covers popular guidelines for writing an effective user s manual Chapter III explains the system architecture of the user interface Chapter IV is the user s manual for the user interface USER INTERFACE DESIGN A FUNCTIONALITY The user interface can only be effective in meeting user needs if the underlying system design provides the required functionality If the system lacks essential capabilities an interface will not be able to distract the user away from those deficiencies If the system has the required capabilities but was poorly designed again the interface can at best avoid further degradation of poor system performance The underlying system functionality
67. changes execute simulations and view the results See the help file under Tools for more information TRANSLATE PD s exogenous variables facility requires that the values of these variables be supplied in a file with extension EXG in a special format Translate creates such a file from a spreadsheet 123 Symphony or one you create with Edit or from a PD simulation See the help file under Utilities for more information ESC and QUIT 69 The ESC command brings you up one level in the command structure ESC command may be invoked not only by typing the letter E or by using the cursor but also by pressing the ESC key on the keyboard Quit exits any PD program and returns you to DOS When you have invoked a module directly from DOS both Quit 70 HELP TEXT FIL End each line by pressing ENTER Separate answers with space s comma or slash so don t use the comma to group the 000 s in large numbers The BACK SPACE key erases the previous character During any answer you may invoke HELP type h then press ENTER gets you help and returns youto the session QUIT type q then press ENTER ends the session RESTART type r then press ENTER restarts the session 71 HELP TEXT FILE 4444344 444 tet CE E E E E E E E EEEE EEEE EEE EEEE EEEE EEE E
68. d cell Write The Write command writes all the data that has been Loaded and Selected 109 When the write command is issued you will be asked to give a file name to write to The default file name is the model name and will usually be appropriate If you choose a different name you will have to use an option when invoking SMLT Pressing Enter causes the default name to be used After you have supplied a name the data is reorganized and written into the specified file Any gaps in the data are filled in by linear interpolation and missing values outside the available data range use the first or last value as appropriate 110 k kkk TTT TTIES HELP TEXT Utilities Help Utilities consist of three commands Convert Reformat Translate Type the capiltalized letter for help on that command Convert The Convert command has been provided so that users who have created a model with an older version of DYNAMO or III can run the model with Professional DYNAMO Because there are differences between PD and other DYNAMO versions you must convert the older models using the Convert command The only option available concems the name of output file As a default the Converter will write the converted model to disk in a file named model name DOC If you wish to change this you may type in a new model name Reformat 111 Reformat command is used
69. duction s csee eae 2 On line Documentation 70 a Advantages D EE 3 Hard copy Documentation 22222 7000 0058 a Advantages ee e B DOCUMENTATION DEVELOPMENT 1 Fundamental Principles 2202 2772 00 2 Software Development Life Cycle 3 Documentation Forms 4 Documentation Content 00 T a Organization 1 Task Organization 2 Top Down Design 7277 702 77 IV SCHOOL J LL e 2 Li 96945 5008 o vl e nn llle 10 10 10 3 Nonanthropomorphic Style 2 10 I TL ARCHITECTURE 07 ll K ON ER VIE Wee 22 w W UIN 11 EM ERRIN DERE ACE TE gc ges I NICA 7 EAX INTERFACE aaa P 17 E PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO ENVIRONMENT 19 SIMULATIONS 7 1 19 20 USER S MANUAL 21 TION seu ERROR Y ERR 21 MODEL 5 2 1 21 2 n IER D SE UE URS 21 XEM s UTEM MUN Lu no 21 2 no S CUNEO UNDO MR CT 2 TING THE DYNAMICA MODEL 22 DD A 2220 27 2 2
70. e of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS from the ABSTRACT Simulation models typically possess primitive user interfaces Users must spend substantial amounts of time learning the model before they gain proficiency in using the model A versatile user friendly interface reduces the time and frustration involved in leaming a new system This research effort designs a user friendly interface for the System Dynamics Model of Software Project Management The interface is written in a batch programming language compatible with the IBM personal micro computer interface is a product of the prototype design approach sophisticated batch language provides the self generating menu structures advanced string handling capabilities and color enhancements The new user interface is now a valuable feature of the model and clearly shows the benefit of utilizing a prototype design approach for this type of application iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 777 VNB PROBLEM STATEMENT TER B PURPOSE OF RESEARCH s SCOPE OF RESEARCH 1 a D THESIS ORGANIZATION USER INTERFACE DESIGN FUNCTIONALITY mE HUMAN FACTORS GOALS 79 E INTERACTIVE SYSTEM DESIGN GUIDELINES ATTRACTING THE USER S ATTENTION ORDER OF MENU SELECTIONS a gt A ON LINE VERSUS HARD COPY USER MANUALS 1 Intro
71. e variables of the report generator field specification may be a saved quantity an expression a local 98 variable a text string or a text label all of which are displayed Additionally a field specification may be an assignment to a local variable a text label NEWPAGE or a control block A control block is FOR DO END HEADING END THEN END NI THEN ELSE END Fields are separated by commas or semicolons to also indicate that a new line should be started No delimiter is required before a reserved word Or text string All NAMES whether local variable run id saved quantity or text label are formed by the same rules as DYNAMO A LOCAL VARIABLE is a name that is not one of the other types of variables TIME is treated as a local variable even though it can be found in the RSL file Also all element names are local variables with appropriate values RUN ID is recognized by context but there also must be a RSL file by that name A TEXT LABEL is recognized by assigning it to a text string or a vector of text strings separated by s For example RGNNAM NORTH SOUTH To specify an element of this vector add a subscript to the name RGNNAM A TEXT STRING is formed by enclosing text between single or double quotes 22 t or To minimize the number of error messages produced when REP finds a text string with no closing quote you must speci
72. ed by commas For example FOR RUN poll pop2 pol3 DO PLOT ttpop ttpop base END HEADING END You can specify what you want for the top of each page by including one or more HEADING procedures For example PAGENO 0 HEADING FORMAT 38 75 lt 80 lt PICTURE 79 PAGENO PAGENOd TITLE PAGENO END Head end does not cause a heading to be printed the current heading is activated by the reserved word NEWPAGE IF THEN END 102 Ma THEN ELSE END You can include exclude or choose among fields based on the comparison of two values either or both of which may be expressions For example IF SCORE 90 gt SCORE BASE 90 THEN This policy is superior ELSE This policy is inferior END When the report specification follows one or more PLOT statements the keyword REPORT is required This is the last page for Tabular output GLOSSARY The DELIMITERS are separates fields separates lines assigns value to a local variable TIME RUN or a text label surrounds a subscript surrounds a local value of TIME precedes a local value of RUN or denotes a decimal point surrounds a text surrounds a text 103 separates texts a text label vector or means divided by surrounds a group of saved quantities to be plotted on the same scale precedes a line style stands for all elements in one dimension of a PLOTted saved quantity
73. edirect text output to outfile drs DYNEX pop h hlpfile read helpful information for the user from hlpfile hlp DYNEX pop 1 logically list pop dnx showing internal structure The statements understood by DYNEX are 98 DISPLAY each subsequent line is displayed to the end user until DEND DISPLAY CLEAR clear the screen before displaying DEND stop displaying DENDQ stop displaying and tum off DYNEX s next prompt to the end user CQ TQ BQ IQ PQ or SPECQ read the parameter s name display its values elicit new values from the user CHOICE there follow n sections of statements Ask the user to choose one Process all statements in that section ignore the other sections CHOICES n there follow n sections of statements Ask the user to choose one or more Process all statements in those section ignore the other sections CEND ends one of n sections DYNEX d outfile redirect text output to outfile drs DYNEX h hlpfile read helpful information for the user from hlpfile hlp 1 logically list the dnx file C IL or SPEC read the parameter s name copy the values on the statement to the DAT file INSERT name process the contents of the file name other statements copy these text statements to POP DRS or the file specified by the most recent DYNEX statement 94 This is the last screen for DYNEX REPORT GENERATOR HELP THE PD Plus Report Generato
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75. en interval The Next Esc and Quit options are described above in the Viewing section 37 The Tabulate All option of the Viewing menu displays the values of all thirty of the listed model variables user is again prompted for the display interval before the variables are displayed The Next Esc and Quit options are described above in the Viewing section 3 View Standard Plots Option Selecting option 6 of the main menu results in the View Standard Plots Menu appearing Figure 20 The user can select one of the four pre defined plotting functions by simply selecting the menu option number After selecting the desired plot the plot number and its variables will be displayed so that the user can see the full names of the variables Figure 21 shows the variables by plot number the appropriate set will be displayed before the plot is made The user is also asked on this screen to type Y if he has an EGA monitor or N if he has a monochrome monitor The variables associated with the particular plot will then be plotted together on the screen The display will be in either monochrome or EGA depending on the user s declaration Selecting either Esc from this plot screen will retum the user to the View Standard Plots menu The Next view option is inoperative on the standard plot screens J SAVING SIMULATION RESULTS The results of a simulation are saved by selecting option 7 Storing Results of
76. first value specified on the TIME statement and increase by the increment between the different times When the number of values is different from the number of times specified the times are extrapolated Unlike a spreadsheet file horizontal spacing makes no difference New lines are ignored so that values can be put on as many lines as 15 convenient 106 PD generated RSL and files Result format files are output of the Simulator and the Translator The Simulator creates a file with extension RSL the Translator a file with extension EXG Result format files are set up by DYNAMO in a specific manner Though you cannot control the way result files look you can control what is in them Results from a simulation are stored for saved variables and no other variables in a model Thus to use a simulated value for a variable you must insure that the variable was saved during simulation Translator Commands The Translator generates exogenous values for a given model The process requires that files containing the data first be loaded using the Load command Any number of files may be loaded though one will often suffice After the files have been loaded you may review the data that has been loaded using the Review command the default command when all of the required variables have not been found after a Load If more than one of the files loaded contains a given variable you may select which set of values you wish to use
77. fy the entire text string on one single line Two special text labels that define the position of fields in a line and the format of numbers are FORMAT and PICTURE FORMAT specifies one column of a field and whether 1s first last or middle The FORMAT consists of pairs of column numbers and justification characters The valid pairs are nn lt left justify starting in column nn nn gt right justify ending in column nn nn center on column nn An example is REP s default spaces are ignored FORMAT 1 lt 41 lt PICTURE specifies how REP prints a value The characters in the picture specify where digits are to be printed whether a leading zero should be printed how and where a negative value should be indicated and the positions of visible and implicit used when converting to decimal decimal points The characters recognized include 9 digit even a leading zero is printed in this column Zorz digit but not a leading zero is printed in this column or is printed when the value is negative db or either case is printed when the value is negative indicates the position of an implicit decimal point but does not cause the printing of any character 100 2 Or is printed when it follows a printed digit or V IS printed Multiple or indicate that the character should be printed directly before the leading non zero digit when appropriate PICTURE like FO
78. he main menu and return the user to the main menu after each selection is completed The main menu as seen in Figure 8 offers nine options which distinguish the primary system functions of system help model variable changes model simulations viewing results storing results and transferring to the Professional Dynamo environment Five of the nine main menu options produce sub menus with multiple options as depicted in Figure 9 The four options which are not sub menus drive tasks which are carried out directly by the main menu View Variable Plots option and the Professional Dynamo option menus present slightly different formats than the other sub menus because the user interface environment must call Professional Dynamo to accomplish those tasks F HELP INFORMATION Selecting the help option of the main menu causes the help menu in Figure 10 to be presented Option 1 of the help menu Model Introduction is a one page explanation of the Dynamica model Option 2 of the help menu On line Help is a single screen explaining the potential for on line help and the limited availability Presently there is only one screen installed and it is in the Set Variables section of the program Selecting option 3 of the help menu Professional Dynamo Help results an intermediate screen appearing which explains that the following help 15 intended for experienced users who are familiar with Professional Dynamo The Professional Dynamo
79. help is provided to support the user who elects to work directly in the Professional Dynamo environment by selecting the Professional Dynamo option of the main menu 25 OPTION 2 DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES MENU OPTION 5 PROF DYNAMO VIEWER MENU OPTION 3 SEIT MODEL VARIABLES MENU in PD OPTION 6 VIEW STANDARD PLOTS MENU Figure 9 Menu Structure 26 OPTION 8 DYNAMO MAIN MENU The Professional Dynamo help menu see Figure 11 offers an overview of the available help and seven options for help on Professional Dynamo features HELP FACILITIES l MODEL FACILITIES 2 ON LINE HELP 3 PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO HELP Choose an option ESC exits menu Figure 10 Main Help Menu Each of the help sections on Professional Dynamo 1 actually an individual text file An editor lists the desired file for viewing The menu bar at the bottom of the screen describes the commands active for viewing the help file The user exits that help file and returns to the Professional Dynamo help menu by hitting the esc key the letter or the letter X Selecting 7 from within the help editor displays the available features of the editor for viewing the help files The user is retumed to the Professional Dynamo help menu upon exiting a help file viewing session G CHANGING THE VALUE OF MODEL VARIABLES The Dynamica model designer has provided the user with access to seventeen
80. ies he would like to edit by typing the category numbers separated by commas or spaces and then pressing enter Selecting a category allows the user to change the values of any of the variables in that category Each variable in that category is displayed with its currently assigned value The user may enter a new value and hit enter to assign a new value to the variable user may alternately accept the presently assigned value by simply pressing enter The next variable in that category is then automatically displayed for editing The variables of the next category selected for editing are automatically presented when the previous category has been edited When the last category has been edited the user is returned to the Set Model Variables menu user can at that point again choose the Set Variables option to make further changes or corrections to the model variables Changes made to the model variables are saved so that the next time the model is used the new values are displayed H RUNNING A SIMULATION Selecting option 4 Run Simulations of the main menu causes the Dynamica model simulation to run A running tally of the run time is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen 32 DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES ACTUAL PROJECT SIZE 2 ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 3 POLICY VARIABLES 4 MODEL CONTROL VARIABLES Choose an ESC exits menu Figure 15 Definitions of Variables Menu 33
81. ight can be moved to any of the other options by using the keyboard arrows The highlighted option can be executed by hitting enter An alternate method of executing an option is to type the capital letter of the option Selecting either option Esc or Quit returns the user to the main menu view session is active until the user retums to the main menu Selecting option Old results in the user being prompted for the number of the view he would like to display The view must have been created during the present view session If the user has just begun the view session and not created a view yet a beep will sound Upon leaving the Viewing menu by escaping or quitting to the main menu the views defined during that session are lost as well as your choice of display mode 35 FTEQWF TOTWF CUMERG FRWFEX DEVMD MPPTPD AFMDPJ CUMMD SDVPRD LIST OF OUTPUT VARIABLES PDEVRC CMERES CUMTKT CMTSMD Figure 17 TOTMD TSTMD ASSPRD COMMOH PMDSHR POTPRD PRCTDT PRDPRD CMQAMD CMRWET CMRWMD CMTKDV JBSZMD PBJSZ 5 List of Output Variables 36 Selecting the Plot option of the Viewing menu results in the abbreviations of thirty variables being displayed A blinking cursor can be moved to any of the variables by using the keyboard arrows A variable is selected for display by moving the cursor to it and highlighting it by hitting enter Six of the thirty variables may be selected for any one disp
82. ing is a large problem in project management This variable allows the user to experiment with different values of underestimates Thus to simulate a situation where the project size is initially underestimated by 25 9o this variable would be set to 0 25 ND 126 MAN DAYS wmm TOTMD1 TOTMDI is the man day estimate produced at the start of the project for design coding and system testing of the project ND PO DEVELOP pices se ee TDEVI TDEV represents the estimated time measured in work days for the design coding and testing stages of the project produced at the start of the project For example if the initial project duration estimate was 16 months TDEV1 would be equal to 16 x 20 or 320 working days NA Press ENTER to Continue bat cls bat begtype MA POLICY DEFINITIONS CONT ND OF EFFORT ASSUMED NEEDED FOR DEVELOPMENT DEVPRT This variable is used to allocate the projected total budget measured in Man Days for the development which includes design and coding and testing phases For example if it is decided that 80 of the total MAn Days would be allocated tc development and 20 to testing then DEVPRT would be set to 0 80 ND 127 FRACTION MANPOWER DEVOTED TO QUALITY ASSURANCE 2 TPFMQA is the percent of development effort allocated in the project s plan for QA activities dur
83. ing the design and coding stages It is not a single number but rather a table function that allows the user to change the number of Man Days allocated to QA at different stages in the project lifecycle A value of 0 20 at some point in the project would indicate that at this point 20 of the Man Day budget is allocated to QA NA Press lt ENTER gt to Continue NF end Inkey bat cls bat begtype NA POLICY DEFINITIONS N D INITIAL UNDERSTAFFING FACTOR INDUST NF The project s average staffing level is equal to the project s total number od Man Days divided by the project s scheduled duration Typically the project will start with a small core team which grows in size This 128 variable specifies the size of the starting group Thus a value of 0 5 indicates that the startup team is half the size of the average staff size NA Press lt ENTER gt to continue inkey bat cls bat begtype POLICY DEFINITIONS CONT NIF NID WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE THE WORKFORCE 2 2 WCWFI deciding upon a Workforce level desired project managers typically consider number of factors One important factor is the project s scheduled completion date As part of the planning function management determines the workforce level that it believes is necessary to complete the project on schedule In addition to this factor consideration 1 also given to the stability of the wo
84. ionships of the hundreds of variables which effect a software project performance of the managers will naturally improve as they learn more about the process they must manage Effective software estimation tools can be utilized to increase managerial effectiveness in two ways First the tools provide managers with the requisite knowledge of the process and secondly they are an analysis tool which allow managers to assess the impact of changes to the process Program simulation is an ambitious approach in software estimation to accurately depict the complex evolution of a software project use of simulations allow interactions to be represented which could not be otherwise accurately modelled The System Dynamics Model of Software Project Management is a software project simulation program This simulation tool is uniquely based on systems dynamics concepts where feedback loops play an integral role In the model management and software forces interrelate in a dynamic fashion to reflect the software development process of the real world As a training aid the model teaches managers the complex interrelationships of software project variables by providing quantitative results This model as powerful as it is lacked the necessary user friendly interface to attract a broad base of users B PURPOSE RESEARCH The purpose of this research is to design and develop an effective user friendly interface for the model which would attract a
85. is generally meant to exclude nondelivered support Software such as test drivers However if these are developed with the same care as delivered software with their own reviews test plans documentation etc then they should be counted 123 Source Instructions This term includes all program instructions created by project personnel and processed into machine code by some combination of preprocessors compilers and assemblers It excludes comment cards and unmodified utility software includes job control language format statements and data declarations Instructions are defined as lines of code or card images Thus a line containing two or more source statements counts as one instruction a five line data declaration counts as five instructions Press ENTER to return to the Menu inkey Bat Bat cls bat p s goto top2 2 2 ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRON VARIABL bat Cls BAT COLOR bat begtype ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT DEFINITIONS ND DELIVERED SOURCE INSTRUCTION PER 277 DSIPTK This parameter is set to the value of the nominal potential productivity in the organizational environment being modeled For example if the nominal potential productivity is 50 DSI Man Day then DSIPTK would be set to 50 124 ND ERROR RATE PER 1000 DELIVERED SOURCE INSTRUCTIONS KDSI TNERPK TNERPK is the number of errors committed on the average per 1000 DSI
86. itions found in that file unless you issue Resume again to designate another file or leave Simulate If you wish to alter one or more computed constants or reinitialize a level you can do so by computing them with K rather than N equations See Chapter 3 of the Reference Manual for more about N and K equations Esc The Esc command will bring you up one level in the command hierarchy If you are making changes to variable values or save selections invoking Esc will bring you back to the Simulate command line second invocation will take you of the Simulator and bring you up to PD top command level 89 Quit The Quit command brings you directly to DOS by passing any other command level in Professional DYNAMO 90 T TO YES HELP TEXT FILE k ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak k k ek Tools Help Tools consist of four commands Document dyneX type Report Utilities Type the appropriate letter for help with that command Document The Document command will provide you with various reports on your model which include a listing of your model with definitions following every block of equations a listing of all your variables alphabetically sorted and their types Lists of where variables are used are provided in two formats Invoking this command will cause a menu of all the available options to appear The options are Boolean or numerical and the default
87. kes his changes Whereas the current values only are stored in the project dat file project was is used to capture the old and new values of the change as a permanent record for the user E PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO ENVIRONMENT The user can elect to depart the user interface and work directly in the Professional Dynamo Environment by selecting this option in the main menu Menu bat executes PD com with project dyn as its argument to place the user in the Professional Dynamo Environment The file insert is required for PD com to execute Help files which provide explanations of the Professional Dynamo features are provided in the user interface help section stated earlier the user could inadvertently alter the model itself once inside the Professional Dynamo Environment and should therefore consult the Professional Dynamo user manual before exercising this option F RUNNING SIMULATIONS The user interface runs the simulation by executing the Professional Dynamo file SMLT exe SMLT exe requires the three compiled files project ins project dat and project smt to operate on The SMLT exe file accepts the name of the output file as its argument 151 extension is automatically attached to the argument name G VIEWING RESULTS The main menu offers two selections View Variable Plots and View Standard Plots for viewing simulation results The View Variable Plots option provides the user the flexibility of selecting the variable
88. lay additional variables beyond the seventeen the user may adjust are other model variables that may be plotted but not adjusted The selection process is terminated by hitting enter If the EGA mode is chosen the selected variables are plotted in different colors and a color coded legend of the variables is displayed at the top of the graph Once the variables are plotted the menu in Figure 19 appears at the bottom of the graph display View Next view no Print Esc Quit Figure 19 View Menu Each time the user selects Plot Select Tabulate or Tabulate the next consecutive view number is assigned to that view The will reflect the assigned view number Selecting Next causes the next consecutively numbered view to be displayed View is actually part of Next and not an option itself Choosing Esc by hitting the esc key returns the user to the Viewing menu Selecting Quit returns the user to the main menu Selecting the Select Tabulate option of the Viewing menu allows the user to display selected variables in a tabular format thirty variable abbreviations are displayed for selection The selection process is the same as described in the Plot process however the user is not limited to six variables selection process is completed by hitting the esc key The user is then prompted to enter the display interval selected variables are then displayed in accordance with the giv
89. le use the Home or End key respectively page 1 of 3 At the bottom of the screen is a reminder of the options you now have View Arrows Home End ctl Q lt ctl gt P PgUp PgDn Next view no Print Esc Quit View is the number of this view which may be entered later to return to this view 115 The Arrows wil move you one column or row at a time lt ctl gt 4Q lt ctl gt AP PgUp and PgDn will move you a full screen at a Home and End will jump you to the extremes of the table Pressing N for Next or ENTER will advance you to the next view If it does not exist you will be given the opportunity to create it Typing the number of an existing view and then pressing ENTER will return that view to the screen The Print command will print your table provided your printer is properly connected or write your table to a disk file When you press page 2 of 3 P you will see the following options title characters per line 80 lines per page 60 direct output to PRN You may type a title with up to 40 characters The values for characters per line and lines per page may be modified by moving to the option fields with the arrow keys and typing in new values The output is directed to the printer as a default to write to a file on disk type in the file name of your choice ESC and Quit return you to View and DOS respectively 116 Tabulate This command will display all the variables tha
90. mentation Ref 4 p 165 He went on to assert that the software crisis of the 1970 s has become the documentation crisis of the 1980 s Documentation is indisputably a vital element in a successful software product Virtually all popular software packages are now delivered with paper documentation which is referred to as hard copy and a variety of documentation in software form The accompanying documentation will weigh heavily on both an interested customer s decision to purchase a product as well as his initial assessment of the product The phrase on line documentation is used here to include software that can be run and viewed separately from the main program as well as actual on line assistance 2 On line Documentation d Advantages On line documentation is generally more accessible than hard copy The documentation can be either placed in permanent memory or distributed widely on inexpensive disks On line documentation doesn t take up any appreciable office space The user isn t daunted by the size of the documentation because of his limited view of the documentation The cost and time to update the documentation is small compared to hard copy 3 Documentation d Advantages The user doesn t have to leave his location in the environment to access the documentation Hard copy is easier to track and control as opposed to on line which can proliferate easily Hard copy is less fatiguing to read and yields greater comprehensi
91. mited to a number which can be remembered easily D ATTRACTING THE USER S ATTENTION There are many instances where the user s attention must be gained such as error conditions and situations which differ slightly from those he expects Shneiderman gave guidelines for some of the common means of attracting the user s attention Intensity up to two level e Marking underlining boxes bullets Size up to four sizes Fonts up to three fonts Inverse video Blinking two to four hertz Color up to four colors Audio low tones for normal loud tones for exceptions E ORDER OF MENU SELECTIONS The order of the selections in a menu can have a significant effect on the time required to make a selection experiment by Card examined alphabetically functionally and randomly constructed menus The experiment showed that if users knew what to scan for their performance was best on alphabetically arranged lists and still high with functionally organized lists The study group performed best on functionally arranged lists if they didn t know precisely what they were looking for If the items to be on a menu follow a natural order such as chronological order or size then that order should be used the menu If the items lack a natural order then the designer must decide what order to use Frequency of use and relative importance are two commonly used orders Ref 3 pp 190 196 F DISPLAY RATE The displa
92. nce Manual Shift F2 Read new file into split screen Typing Shift F2 allows you to specify the name of a file to be read in place of the file just being processed If only one file being processed it is retained for two file processing The new file is always located in the lower screen Text may be cut from one screen and pasted into the other If you type Esc instead of a new file name split screen operation is cancelled If you are processing two files the file in the screen where the cursor was when Shift F2 was typed is discarded For a detailed explanation of Shift F2 see section 2 2 5 of your PD Reference Manual The white keys in the middle of the keyboard are the standard input 80 characters what you type is what you get on the screen To get special characters such as and you must hold down one of the SHIFT keys while you type the appropriate key The SHIFT keys are in the second row of the keyboard marked with large open up arrows SHIFT SHIFT Space Bar Caps Lock The white keys in the right hand keypad may delete be used either to move the cursor or to previous Num Lock insert digits and decimal points This char depends on the SHIFT CTRL and NUM LOCK top of up up SHIFT KEY file 1 line page up down lt page gt lt gt lt 5 ln gt 81 LOCK on numbers arrows enter left right 1 1 off arrows numbers 1 3L lt 1 3L gt end of
93. ncentrated effort was expended to heighten the user s situational awareness by adding status information to verify the user s location task status and advice for what to do next 2 User s Manual A literature search was conducted on user s manual development The guidelines and recommendations of that research were applied to the development of a user s manual B LESSONS LEARNED The earlier attempt at a user interface tried to fill retrieval times with messages and date time stamps to assure the user the program was still functioning properly The earlier version was developed on an IBM PC Two years later this effort was undertaken on an IBM AT compatible where the perceptible retrieval times had all but disappeared The previous message fillers were now a waste of time and were therefore removed The previous design attempted to capitalize modularity by creating separate batch files for virtually every task Every message was separately contained in its own text file presumably to facilitate future modifications present design consolidated many of the batch files which resulted in faster program execution and more flexibility in the menu structure Many of the smaller messages that typically were smaller than one screen were incorporated into the body of the batch files which again shortens execution time C FUTURE DIRECTION The capability exists for on screen help facilities but only a token of this capability
94. ng If Load gets values for all the required exogenous variables the Write prompt will be highlighted otherwise the Review prompt will be highlighted Review The Review command causes a screen to appear that lists all of the files that have been Loaded and all of the exogenous variables for which values 108 are needed When values have been found for an exogenous variable the variable name will appear highlighted Otherwise the time range over which those values applies will be given in parenthesis after the variable name You may move about the Review screen but you cannot change any attributes Pressing Esc will return you to the Translator menu Select When values for an exogenous variable have been found in more than one loaded file it is necessary to choose between the different values By default the Translator will use the value from the first file Loaded Select allows you to change this When you choose Select a list of all variables that are contained in more than one source file is shown For each of these variables the different source files as well as the starting and ending times are listed highlighted file shown 1 the file that will be used By moving the cursor to a different file and pressing Enter the new file will be selected Pressing Esc returns you to the Translator menu Note that you can deselect all the variables in a file by using the Load command and highlighting the Not Use
95. nteractively change the value of model variables The seventeen variables see Figure 6 which can be changed are predefined in the file project dnx project dnx is the argument file used by dynex exe The names and definitions of the seventeen variables are contained in the variable bat file 17 19 16 17 ADJUSTABLE VARIABLES RJBDSI Real Job Size in DSI DSIPTK Delivered Source Instruction Per Task TNERPK Error Rate Per 1000 Delivered Source Instr HIRED Yo oT Hiring Delay ASIMDY CERE Assimilation Delay X Average Employment UNDEST Task Underestimation Factor TOTMIDDI Total Mandays TDEVI E oe Time to Develope DEVPRT of Effort Assumed Needed For Development TPFMQA Fraction of Manpower Devoted to Quality Assurance INDUST Initial Understaffing Factor WCWF1 Willingness to Change the Workforce TRPHNR Experienced Employee Effort to Train a New Employee AMPPS Daily Manpower Staff Expended Project MAXLEN 2 7750 Max Length Of Project Save Period For Data Figure 6 Adjustable Variables 18 As seen in Figure 5 menu bat calls variable bat which in tum calls dynex exe with project dnx as its argument Dynex exe also uses projectins project smt project dat and project was The variable values are stored in project dat The current values are displayed to the user and then stored again after the user ma
96. oftware production activities can be easily changed by the casual user If a more knowledgable user has the requirement to alter the other Dynamica variables a lower program level is accessable to make those changes NA HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE END BAT INKEY BAT CLS bat p s goto top3 2 3 ONLINE MODEL HELP INFORMATION BAT CLS BAT COLOR IF BEGTYPE MA ONLINE HELP Online help is available from inside the following program sections SECTION NO SECTION NAME 3 Setting Model Variables 2 Access online help by typing H when an input is required 57 HIT KEY TO CONTINUE END INKEY CLS bat p s goto top3 3 3 PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO cls begtype PROFESSIONAL DYANMO HELP Professional Dynamo help is intended for those users who 58 need to access directly the Professional Dynamo interface Option 8 of the main menu provides access to the Professional Dynamo interface Press ENTER to continue with Professional Dynamo Help OI Press lt ESC gt to return to the HELP menu end INKEY 3 if 3 keyOlb goto top3 call top4 bat p s goto top3 0 3 0 3 0 13 beep goto top3 top4 4 color ram cls begtype 92 PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO HELP THE FOLLOWING MENU PROVIDES ACCESS PD HELP FACILITIES 1 ND 2 ND 3 4 XD 5 ND 6 XD 7 OVERVIEW OF P
97. on rates Gould and Grischkowsky conducted an experiment where thirty two subjects read material in equivalent twenty three line pages of hard copy and on line media Ref 5 The reading rate was significantly higher for the hard copy as well as the comprehension accuracy Hard copy has enjoyed both color and resolution advantages over the on line medium Display graphics are making enormous strides as processing power memory limits and display technology continue to be pushed ahead but the quality and variety of display options still resides with hard copy documentation B DOCUMENTATION DEVELOPMENT 1 Fundamental Principles As in any writing simple adherence to basic writing style guidelines will make the difference in the readability of the material Sentences paragraphs and chapters should be laid out thoughtfully Today the writer can take advantage of spelling checkers to correct his spelling errors grammar checkers to check his grammar and style evaluators to evaluate his writing style throughout his document These tools can not be relied on to catch and correct all errors but they are a major benefit to most writers Proof reading is an indispensable phase of any writing As with software documentation should be tested on a sample of intended users 2 Software Development Life Cycle The documentation will obviously have to be complete and delivered with the software package The impact of poor documentation was touched upon ea
98. option ESC exits menu end lstkey3 inkey 20 if 0 1 type 0 if 0 key01b return goto 0 3 2ndkey3 inkey 1 if 1 1 type 961 if 1 keyOlb return if 1 key020 goto 0 3 if 1 004 goto 0 3 if 1 008 goto top3 if 1 keyl4b goto top3 goto 0 13 1 3 DYNAMICA INTRODUCTION BAT CLS BAT COLOR 1F BAT BEGTYPE MODEL INTRODUCTION Dynamica Model of Software Project Management created Tarek Abdel Hamid is a comprehensive model of the software development process The model written in Professional Dynamo integrates both management functions e g planning control and staffing with software production activities e g design coding reviewing and testing primary role of the Dynamica Model is to serve as an instructional aid to increase the manager s understanding of the software development process By manipulating the program variables the manager can see the effect changes have on the overall process The Dynamica Model can be an effective tool for the software project 56 manager in the actual management process Variables such as estimated project cost and schedule completion time can be changed and simulations run within minutes This rapid return of results for contemplated program changes allows the manager to consider more alternatives in greater depth A total of seventeen variables from both the management functions and the s
99. ounded by delimiters or non alphanumeric characters spaces periods slashes parentheses etc literal is any sequence of characters with or without delimiters F3 Find name You F3 Computer Find what You name F3 74 A literal is any sequence of characters In contrast a name is a sequence of alphanumeric characters letters and or numbers which is bounded by delimiters or non alphanumeric characters spaces periods slashes parentheses etc F4 Find literal You F4 Computer Find what You literal F4 A name is a sequence of alphanumeric characters letters and or numbers which is bounded by delimiters or non alphanumeric characters spaces periods slashes parentheses etc A literal is any sequence of characters with or without delimiters 75 F5 Replace name from cursor You 5 Computer Find what You current name F5 Computer Replace with You desired name F5 A literal is any sequence of characters In contrast a name is a sequence of alphanumeric characters letters and or numbers which is bounded by delimiters or non alphanumeric characters spaces periods slashes parentheses etc F6 Replace literal from cursor on You F6 Computer Find what You current literal F6 76 Computer Replace with You desired literal F6 A name is a sequence of alphanumeric characters letters and or numbers
100. presented with tasks The tasks can be addressed using a script which the user follows user is told that if he wants a result he should perform the following actions and he will see a certain result 2 Examples Examples convey quickly what would take much longer to explain using prose and therefore should be used freely Concepts however usually can not be conveyed by a an example that the user will see on the screen and require prose Shneiderman is a strong advocate of utilizing the conceptual knowledge the user already possesses as the foundation for quickly comprehending related computer concepts Ref 2 p 49 He writes that an effective strategy is to begin with a known concept translate that concept into the general computer arena and finally over to how the concept applies in a particular system 3 Nonanthropomorphic style Beginning users initially consider references to the system as possessing human qualities as novel However as users gain experience they become irritated by those references The writer should instead focus on the user and the tasks he needs to accomplish Ref 2 p 370 10 IV SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE A SYSTEM OVERVIEW This chapter discusses the system architecture of the System Dynamics Model of Software Project Management system consists of four modules the user interface the Dynex interface the Professional Dynamo environment and the Dynamica model The high level view of the system
101. r REP allows you to format simulation results into easily comprehensible graphs or reports Graphs can be the traditional PLOT of variables over TIME or of one variable versus another PLOTXY Reports can be specified down to the last comma and column position To use the PD Plus Report Generator you first use the Editor to create a Report Specification file then use Simulate to make one or more simulations called for by the specifications and finally issue the Report command to generate plots and or reports For more Help on any topic type the first letter of the following Starting the Report Generator Plot statements Tabular output Glossary STARTING the Report Generator from DOS The command REP has two arguments as in REP POP POPPLT The first argument POP1 is the name of the result file RSL created when you executed the Simultator using POP The second argument POPPLT is the name of a Report Specification DRS file which you create with Edit using the Report Generator language described here If the RSL file and DRS 95 file have the same name the second may be omitted There are six options you can specify outf file write all output to screen amp all text output to file instead of to popl out in the example above plm PLot Mode 6 CGA 14 EGA 200x640 16 EGA 350x640 OI 40 bw Hercules plpr PLot with PRinter characters plw PLot Width in characters t rewrite ou
102. r will execute a selected model over the time period you choose It requires as its input a compiled model three files with the name of your model followed with the extensions DAT INS SMT When you invoke the Simulator from PD top command level it will display a menu listing all files with the SMT extension and you will be prompted to select one of these However if the Simulator locates only one such file it will select this file and proceed with the next screen After you have chosen the model to be simulated you will be in the Simulate command line with the following commands available Changes Save Go Preserve Resume Esc Quit type E For more information on a command type the first letter of the name or type K for help on Runge Kutta integration Changes The Changes command allows you to alter the input values of any of your given constants tables or specification information Invoking this command will cause a full screen display of all the inputs grouped by type The arrow keys will move you from number to number and new values can be typed in directly over the old ones 85 When you have finished modifying your constants and table values press the ESC key to return to the Simulate command line In the case of tables the cursor can also be moved to table names as well as to their values If you press the ENTER key with the cursor over a table name you will be presen
103. rkforce Thus before adding new project members management tries to contemplate the project employment for new members Different organizations weigh this factor differently In general the relative weighing between th desire for workforce stability on one hand and 129 the desire to complete the project on time the other is not static but changes dynamically throughout the lifecycle of the project For example toward the end of the project there is typically considerable reluctance to bring in new people even if the project is behind schedule It would take too much time and effort relative to the time and effort that are remaining to acquaint new people with the mechanics of the project integrate them into the project team and train them in the necessary technical areas Press ENTER for More Information of WCWFI1 END INKEY bat cls bat begtype NA POLICY DEFINITIONS CONT WCWF1 DEFINITION CONT These managerial considerations are operational in the model as follows WORKFORCE LEVEL NEEDED INDICATED WORKFORCE LEVEL WCWF CURRENT WORKFORCE 1 WCWF The Weighting Factor WCWF is termed Willingness to Change the Workforce In the early stages of the project when Time Remaining is generally much larger than the sum of Hiring Delay and the Average Assimilation Delay WCWF would be equal to 1 When WCWF is 1 the Workforce Level Needed in the above equation would simply be equal
104. rlier The documentation will continue to require resources to correct errors and incorporate updates resulting from modifications to the software The not so obvious questions are what type of resources will be required to meet the delivery deadline and when should those resources be dedicated Adding to the intricacy of this question is the trade off between the level of product support required after production and the quality of the documentation Anne Hedin poignantly asks Whether it s another department on the phone to you or your people on the hotline to a vendor can you afford to substitute downstream support for up front user friendly documentation Ref 37 documentation effort needs to begin early in the development process The documentation effort can in fact help to clarify ambiguities in the specification which might otherwise go unnoticed until later in the development process The documentation should like the software it is based on fall under a careful schedule that includes timely reviews 3 Documentation Forms There are a number of prevalent forms of documentation in the popular software packages that fall under various names owner s manual operating manual reference manual tutorials command summary cards Basically they can be divided into three categories the operating manual the reference manual and the command summary card The operating manual is the document that leads the user into the system
105. s are filled in If you run the Documetor with no changes to the defaults you will get all of the reports you may suppress as many of these reports as you like by changing the appropriate value Two of the fields in the Document options require a file name as a value one of which is left empty as a default 9 The last option in the list concerns the output As a default Documentor will automatically write the documentor listing into a file called model name DOC You have three alternatives to this you can direct the output to screen by typing CON in the name field you can type PRN to direct the output to a printer or you can type a file name of your choice in the field page 1 of 2 The other option is concerned with a definition file This is an optional file in which and their definitions are stored separately from the actual model itself Specifying a definition file causes the Documentor to look for definitions in the model and in the separate file Definition files must carry the extension DEF The default value for this option is a blank indicating that no definition file is to be used If you wish to change this you must type in the name of the definition file in the appropriate option field When you have finished modifying the options you must signal the Documentor to begin by pressing the Esc key For more more information see chapter 11 of The Professional DYNAMO Plus Reference Man
106. s he would like displayed This option also provides the capability of displaying the results in tabular or graphical formats 19 The user interface displays the results of a simulation by executing the Professional Dynamo file view exe View exe accepts as an argument a file with the model name and the extension The user is presented the Professional Dynamo screen for viewing simulation results The user can then choose either the tabular or graphical displays If he chooses graphical displays he is limited to six variables per display The View Standard Plots selection only provides a pre defined set of points for display without the flexibility of choosing the variables to be displayed The plot bat file presents the user with a choice of four predefined graphs for display Plot bat executes the Professional Dynamo file rep exe which displays the desired graph Rep exe requires two files as arguments a file with the rsl extension and a file with the drs extension The drs file 15 the report specification file in the plot bat file the drs files are plotl drs plot2 drs plot3 drs and plot4 drs H STORING RESULTS The user interface stores simulation results by calling the Storstat bat batch file Storstat bat initially executes rep exe to display the simulation results according to the format specified in the stats Storstat bat then queries the user for the name of the file in which to store the simul
107. should therefore be understood as the foundation upon which the interface will be built B HUMAN FACTORS GOALS The particular user community and the set of tasks to be accomplished have a direct impact on the system design The ability of the user community must be measured against the design goals and the identified tasks There will typically be multiple design goals which can be traded off against each other Examples of design goals are performance speed error rate learning time retention time and subjective user satisfaction At the initial stage of design the design goals will be formulated with the user community in mind Once the tasks have been defined a selective set of those tasks can be executed by a sample group of users from the user community to assess how well the design goals are being met Such a group of tasks are often referred to as a benchmark set of tasks which are reflective of the characteristics of the larger group of tasks If the design goals can not be met then the tasks can possibly be altered or the design goals themselves altered Knowledge of what exactly the design goals are and early testing of the tasks by users can greatly increase the likelihood of a successful design C INTERACTIVE SYSTEM DESIGN GUIDELINES The proliferation of personal computers coupled with the evolution of mainframe terminals to include a display have created an interactive computing environment The size color and display r
108. t if he needs to change variables other than the seventeen accessible variables The message also advises the user to read the Professional Dynamo user manual The user at that point may hit esc to return to the main menu or hit enter to proceed to the Professional Dynamo Environment The Professional Dynamo main menu is depicted in Figure 24 Commands Edit Compile Simulate View Tools Help Quit Figure 24 Professional Dynamo Main Menu Help on the Professional Dynamo options may be obtained through option 2 Help Facilities of the Dynamica model main menu 43 VI CONCLUSIONS A ACCOMPLISHMENTS 1 User Interface A literature search was conducted on user interface design The principles and guidelines resulting from that research were applied in the design of the user interface Significant areas of development included menu structure selection standardizing menus and improvements in control paths Selection of the appropriate menu levels improved the performance and intelligibility of the interface Previous non standard portions of the interface were converted to consistent color and border schemes and menu layouts Controls were added to change the menu paths to consistently place the user in an expected and easily recognizable location A window directly to the model s environment was installed in the interface Appropriate safeguards were included to adequately protect the user from inadvertently activating that window Co
109. t of a User Interface for the Dynamica Model of Software Project Management Master s Thesis Naval Postgraduate School Monterey California March 1988 Shneiderman Ben Designing the User Interface Strategies for Effective Human Computer Interaction Addison Wesley Publishing Co 1987 Card Stuart K User Perceptual Mechanisms in the Search of Computer Command Menus Proceedings on Human Factors in Computer Systems March 1982 Covington Michael A Documentation That Works PC Tech Journal January 1985 International Business Machines Corporation IBM Research Report RC 9849 Doing the Same Work With Hardcopy and With Cathode Ray Tube CRT Terminals by John Gould and Nancy Grischkowsky 20 January 1983 Hedin Anne Unburden the User Build and Buy Friendlier Documentation Small Systems World January 1985 Pugh III Alexander L DYNAMO Users Manual 6th Edition Pugh Roberts Associates 1986 Canova Frank Extended Batch Language Users Guide Version 3 Seaware Corp 1986 Abdel Hamid Tarek k and Madnick Stuart E Managing Software Projects An Integrative System Dynamics Modeling Approach Naval Postgraduate School Working Paper No 87 14 June 1987 Abdel Hamid Tarek K and Madnick Stuart E An Integrative System Dynamics Perspective of Software Project Management Arguments for an Alternative Research Paradigm Naval Postgraduate School Working Paper No 87 09 May 1987 46 APPENDIX B
110. t you have saved in tabular format The format of the table is the variable names listed on the left and the value of time shown at the top When you have invoked the Tabulate All option you will be queried for a print interval the TIME interval between values Either select the default by pressing Enter or type another value The table will appear with a prompt line beneath that looks identical to the one described above for Select Tabulate Press L now for a description of that prompt line Esc The ESC key or invoking the command will return you to the Viewer command level if pressed from a tabular or graphical display When you press ESC at the View command level you will be returned to PD top level QUIT The Quit command returns you directly to DOS regardless of where it was invoked 117 BATCH FIL E 3234344 fob rai etek bat p s Loading SETTING MODEL VARIABLES Call topl Exit top goto top A topl ZA 1 BAT color ram BAT cls BAT begtype NA SET MODEL VARIABLES NA ND 1 List Variables UD 2 Definitions of Variables ID Set Variables 118 NIB Choose an option ESC exits menu end lstkeyl inkey 0 if 0 1 type 0 if 0 keyOlb return goto 0 1 2ndkeyl inkey 1 if 1 1 type 1 if 1 keyOlb retum if 1 key020 goto 0 1 if 1 keyOOd goto 0 1 if 1 0
111. ted to Quality Assurance IMCUNDUST Initial Understaffing Factor 13 WCWF1 Wilingness to Change the Workforce C Staffing 14 TRPHNR of Experienced Employee Effort to Train a New Employee 15 AMPPS Average Daily Manpower Staff Expended On Project MODEL CONTROL IGNSMAXLEN Max Length Of Project PEO SERNA ed ol Save Period For Data Figure 14 Adjustable Variable Selection Menu 31 Each variable except for the Real Job Size DSI is listed under a label which indicates what area of the model the variable falls The variable abbreviation and full name are then given Selecting option 2 Model Definitions causes the Model Definitions menu to appear see Figure 15 Selecting one of the four variable categories results in the displaying of the definitions of the variables in that category After selecting a category for viewing the user must page through the definitions of that category in order to return to the Model Definitions menu user may return to the Set Model Variables menu from the Model Definitions menu by hitting the esc key Selecting option 3 Set Variables of the Set Model Variables menu causes the Set Model Variables Dynex Menu to be displayed see Figure 16 This menu is again organized by the same four previous categories user can select option 5 to return to the previous menu if he accidentally chose the Set Variables menu The user can select whichever categor
112. ted with a graphical plot of the table To modify this curve use the right or left arrow keys to move to the location of the point you wish to modify Notice that when you first pressed Enter your cursor marked as an X was positioned over the left most point on the graph Press Enter for the next page When you have moved to the point you wish to change use the up or down arrow keys to move the point When you change the position of the point the original curve is displayed as a dashed line After you are satisfied with the position you may either move to the next point you wish to modify or quit by pressing the ESC key Pressing the ESC key will put you back into Changes mode with your cursor on the table name that you just modified any changes that you made will be reflected in the actual values in the table Should you wish to alter the value in a table numerically you may do so as well Save 86 The Save command allows you to select the variables whose values will be saved for later viewing Invoking Save will cause a display to appear that lists all variables grouped by type those that have been previously saved will be highlighted The arrow keys will move the cursor between variables and pressing the ENTER key on a variable will allow you to toggle between save and un save ESC will return you to Simulator command level Go The Go command invokes the execution of the model run The Simulator will
113. to clean up a model so that it is easier to read and explain Invoking the command will cause a screen of options to appear on the top part of the screen Each option has either or N or a number as a default value You may alter these defaults by using the arrow keys to move from field to field The last option in the list concerns the output a default Reformat will write the reformatted model into a file on disk called model name DOC You have three alternatives to this you can direct the output to screen by typing CON in the name field you can type a file name of your choice in the field or you can type to direct the output to a printer If you choose to direct the output to another file name Reformat will write the output into a file with the name EXACTLY as you have typed it 112 3 3k 5k k 3k Sk kO k Ok Ok k k k kok kk kk WT W ER HELP TEXT FILE ak ak ak ak x e x Viewer Help Facility The Viewer reads the RSL files generated by the Simulator and displays results in either grpahical or tabular format You may specify a number of different views and return to an earlier one by simply typing its number When you invoke the Viewer it will display a menu of all files with the extension RSL for you to select one If there is only one such file the Viewer will use this file and proceed with the next screen View has five commands in addition to Help for more Help on any one type the
114. to the 131 particular project being simulated For example if staff members tend to divide their time equally between two projects i e half of their time is spent on project and the other half is spent on project B then ADMPPS would be 0 5 Press ENTER to Continue inkey bat Cls bat p s goto top2 4 2 MODEL CONTROL VARIABLES BAT Cls BAT BEGTYPE MA MODEL CONTROL DEFINITIONS ND MAX LENGTH OF PROJECT m nn 7 D MAXLEN This model control variable is useful in controlling the simulations precludes the model from continuing a simulation beyond a predetermined length e g 1000 days ND SAVE PERIOD FOR a IT SAVPER NF This model control varaible allows the user to adjust the models save period for data for later viewing For example if the user sets the SAVPER 1 the model will save all variable values on a daily basis this data would be available for the user to examine and plot at the end of a simulation SAVPER of 10 saves values every 10 days This provides the 122 user with a trade off between the time required for a simulation and the level of detail of the results Press ENTER to return to the Menu END bat inkey bat Cls bat p s goto top2 0 2 0 2 0 12 goto top2 On eITOI if gt 82 if lt 90 type Floating Point Error lgoto Calc Cls beep type Unexpected batch file error
115. tput file if it already exists txi Time or X value every amp SAVPERs PLOT statements You specify plotted either true graphic or printer plotted output by listing the variable names on a PLOT statement in your DRS file PLOT TTPOP POP XY plots are permitted the first variable named on the PLOTXY statement is the independent variable the following variables are the dependent PLOTXY UNEMP INFL SCALES To force a group of variables onto the same scaling group surround the group with lt gt To specify your choice of scales include your lower scale and upper scale just before the lt A B C 0 4 gt LINE_STYLE 96 You can specify the line style by following the variable name with and a digit broken lines capital letter colored lines or small letter colored and broken lines SUBSCRIPT Arrays in PLOT statements can be unsubscripted plot all elements or can have PD Plus subscripts literal constant POP 1 element name POP YOUTH FOR loop name FOR AGE YOUTH to ELD do PLOT POP AGE END or the dummy subscript POP REP creates a curve for each element for up to 6 curves RUN REP can produce plots showing results from several different simulations The default result file is the one you specify as the first argument to REP To plot a variable from a result file other than the default one you follow the variable name by a runscript e g POL2 To change the default
116. tructions into memory which define the EBL commands in a batch file Batch files can then distinguish EBL commands from normal DOS system commands by the key word bat which precedes the EBL commands The EBL EXECMAKE function was used to generate the control structure of menu bat The file hierarchy structure is presented in Figure 5 Figure 5 shows menu bat calling bat com help bat variabl bat plot bat and storstat bat The file help bat provides an introduction to the model a summary of the on line help and instructional explanations of the features of Professional Dynamo Professional Dynamo help topics are stored separately as text files The help bat file executes the list com program which uses the desired text help file as an argument to list the desired help The eight help files have the characteristic hp ending The file variabl bat is called by the main batch file to manage the alteration of the adjustable model variables Variabl bat displays the names abbreviations and definitions of those adjustable variables Variabl bat calls the file dynex exe to actually change the variables 15 B AT COM HELP BAT LIST COM PD HP DYNEX HP ML HP TOOLS HP TRNS HP x UTILS HP VIEW HP VARIABL BAT DYNEX PROJECT DNX MENU BAT SMLT PROJECT GO VIEW PROJECT RSL PLOT BAT REP PROJ
117. tw Time to Develope DEVPRT of Effort Assumed Needed For Development TPFMQA Fraction of Manpower Devoted to Quality Assurance ENDUST Initial Understaffing Factor WCWFI1 Willingness to Change the Workforce TRPHNR Experienced Employee Effort to Train a New Employee AMPPS Average Daily Manpower Staff Expended On Project Max Length Of Project EXWPER Save Period For Data Figure 12 Adjustable Variables 29 SET MODEL VARIABLES 1 LIST VARIABLES 2 DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES 3 SET VARIABLES Choose an option ESC exits menu Figure 13 Model Variable Menu 30 LISTING OF VARIABLES The following 17 model variables of Dynamica are adjustable via the menu They are grouped in 4 categories for easy access ACTUAL PROJECT SIZE gt eec Real Job Size DSI VARIABLES CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT A Productivity 2 DSIPTK Delivered Source Instruction Per Task B Quality 3 TNERPK Error Rate Per 1000 Delivered Source Instr C Staffing Variables Hiring Delay SS T wes Assimilation Delay Average Employment POLICY VARIABLES PES nation EPEEBUNISEST Task Underestimation Factor SE ae Total Mandays DES TIDEVI o ses mrs Time to Develope B Resource Allocation 10 DEVPRT of Effort Assumed Needed For Development 11 TPFMQA Fraction of Manpower Devo
118. ual DYNEX HELP FACILITY To use DYNEX the model builder constructs and debugs a model and then designs a sequence of informational screens and user inquiries to guide an inexperienced user in the choice of parameters and tables to make a simulation experiment 92 The user with the help of a DOS file DYNEX to help decide the parameter changes and output specification SMLT to run the simulation without further user intervention and REP to report his or her results This sequence may be repeated to make additional simulations Supposing that our model is called POP DYN the command DYNEX pop can be issued after POP DYN has been compiled to give POP SMT and POP DAT and after the builder has used EDIT to create the DNX file POP DNX containing explanations and queries for the user DYNEX reads POP SMT and POP DAT to create a table of default values for all parameters in the model Then it interactively reads POP DNX displays explanations and prompts on the end user s screen and elicits the user s values and choices The values are written into POP DAT text output is written to POP DRS to be used by REPort After the user finishes DYNEX he or she or the builder s file activates SMLT to simulate the new POP DAT giving POP RSL REP can report upon POP RSL using the PLOT and REPORT statements chosen by the user and copied into POP DRS Options allowed are DYNEX pop d outfile r
119. using the Select command Finally when you have loaded the desired values you can create the exogenous data file with the Write command The command line in the Translator works like that of the other modules Type the first letter of the command or position the cursor over the command and press Enter Enter the first letter for more information on the individual commands Load Review 107 Select Write Load When you select Load the names of all files in the current directory that are available for loading will be displayed The types of files displayed are WKS for Lotus 123 files for Lotus Symphony files ASC for standard text ascii files RSL for Simulator output files and EXG for Translator output files You choose the file you want to load by moving the cursor to it and pressing Enter Esc will retum you to the menu without loading any file Once you have chosen a file you will be asked to verify its attributes Spreadsheet files are assumed to have time running across the columns unless you specify otherwise at this point If there is no TIME statement in a spreadsheet or standard text file you may insert values for the starting time and the increment at this point as well If a TIME statement is encountered these values will be ignored Finally you may choose to use the file or not If the file is not used then it will be ignored or unloaded if it has already been loaded Pressing Esc completes the loadi
120. vance you to the next view If it does not yet exist you will be given the opportunity to create it Typing the number of an existing view and then pressing ENTER will return that view to the screen If you have the proper printer and have issued the proper preparatory DOS commands you may print the graph by pressing P See Chapter 16 of the Reference Manual for details ESC and Quit retum you to View and DOS respectively 114 Select Tabulate This command 15 similar to Tabulate except that you may choose which of your saved variables you want tabulated and in what order When you invoke this command you are presented with a menu listing all the variable names that you have saved To select a variable position the cursor over it with the arrow keys and press the ENTER key the name will appear highlighted When you have completed your selections press the ESC key You will be queried for a print interval the TIME interval between values Either select the default by pressing Enter or type another value The table will appear To move around your table and view information that 15 after column 80 or below line 24 you may use the arrow key pad The arrow keys will move you one row column up or down left or right To move by pages use the Pg Up or Pg Dn keys To scroll 7 columns right or left press the Ctrl key together with the right or left arrow key To move immediately to the top or bottom of the tab
121. ven specify how numbers are to be formatted Graphical output can have the title of your choice variables can be named as you choose scales can be fixed and the variables plotted computed by the Report Generator To achieve all this you must create a Report Specification File DRS with Edit See the help file under Tools for more information 67 The DOCUMENTOR The Documentor can document a model interspersing variable definitions between small blocks of equations and creating alphabetic listings of all quantities with their definitions and where they are defined It will also provide where used lists in either of two formats See the help file under Tools for more information REFORMAT Reformat cleans up a model by aligning equations and definitions in standard columns Separate columns may be specified for major and minor equations and for definitions See the help file under Utilities for more information CONVERT Convert will translate a model in Dynamo II or III format to Professional DYNAMO format See the help file under Utilities for more information 68 DYNEX Dynex is a model interface that allows a user with no knowledge of PD or the particular model to simulate it and view the results Using Dynex the experienced model builder can make a model available for use in a structured and easily understood frame work By responding to simple questions and prompts an inexperienced user can make parameter
122. vironment must call Professional Dynamo to accomplish those tasks Three of the sub menus themselves possess subordinate sub menus This third level of menu control is also depicted in Figure 3 12 MAIN MENU THE DYNAMICA MODEL OF SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT MODEL REQUIREMENTS HELP FACILITIES SET MODEL VARIABLES RUN SIMULATIONS VIEW VARIABLE PLOTS VIEW STANDARD PLOTS STORE RESULTS PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO INTERFACE EXIT TO DOS Choose an option ESC exits menu OO QN tA A N Figure 2 Main Menu 13 OPTION 3 SET MODEL VARIABLES MENU OPTION 2 DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES MENU OPTION 5 PROF DYNAMO VIEWER MENU OPTION 3 SET MODEL VARIABLES MENU in PD OPTION 6 VIEW STANDARD PLOTS MENU Figure 3 Menu Structure 14 OPTION 8 PROF DYNAMO MAIN MENU The shell in a larger sense contains five batch files the main program and four subservient batch files Figure 4 four batch files control the system help the changing of model variable values the plotting of simulation results and the storing of results MAIN BATCH FILE SUBSERVIENT BATCH FILES Menu Bat Help bat Variabl bat Plot bat Storstat bat Figure 4 Shell Bat file Breakdown The main batch program menu bat is always returned to after the other batch files terminate Menu bat runs the bat com file and displays the main menu Bat com loads the ins
123. w OLA ti ek SP ru SS fo 4 esi P us w v i av ry As 4 p ww fe Payee AS ou hig SN ae a Mee Ge 1 DAL u t Pewee c 4 AL w 09 x VN NI ah LENS xw 1 5 D t OF RS te A ETEN vui bad EI ALLEE TP Ti V f wi SUT f 9wE w wara iss l bu d D MAL Tm y 4 4 4 rere 7 4496 479 a LA m rc ur d N LXI i ue LS PVP wr cd RP NO aged Me Pia PN 94 V P8 w y AUN 13 Se v w ay ME q iw N Cha P Sak Whaat J 2 i w 2 wt ea lt tasty EEUU LIIS Y CEN www fovere ir X a WC tein n Sere y v Son aye D IT VN eee sk Pw TR FO ERAN Bw s 4 5 PDT MS g uama Fw ORI Y Pe eb od t a Pim oe t V 94 ava Te Ime Py tte alba Sy D UTE b gt cake sa 8 P ui AS To om WAR VEN 4 pen fN sfd tx e W w Q LIA iy
124. y providing an easy to use menu structure and enhanced screen displays shell was written using a software product called Extended Batch Language D STARTING THE DYNAMICA MODEL The model is started by issuing the command Menu from the directory where the Dynamica files are stored The main menu will then appear see Figure 8 The main menu options are numbered so that selecting the desired number will activate that portion of the model The user may exit the model by either hitting the esc key or by selecting option 9 Option 9 will clear the screen before returning the user to the operating system whereas hitting the esc key will not clear the screen before returning the user to the operating system 27 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Progress Workforce Workforce Status Available Needed SOFTWARE PRODUCTION Tasks schedule Complete CONTROLLING Effort Remaining PLANNING Figure 7 Dynamica High Level View 25 MAIN MENU THE DYNAMICA MODEL OF SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT MODEL REQUIREMENTS HELP FACILITIES SET MODEL VARIABLES RUN SIMULATIONS VIEW VARIABLE PLOTS VIEW STANDARD PLOTS STORE RESULTS PROFESSIONAL DYNAMO INTERFACE EXIT TO DOS Choose an option 5 exits menu NO 3 SA T Figure 8 Main Menu 24 E MAIN MENU The menu system presents a simple and logical view of the Dynamica model to the user The system is designed to start at t
125. y rate is the rate information is displayed on the screen In some situations such as telecommunications or in intense calculations the display rate noticeably slows to the user The slowness in those instances is due to the rate of the output to the display second factor affecting the display rate would be the actual capabilities of the display A third factor would be the amount of information displayed per screen The system designer can reduce the time to display a screen by making the screen contents as concise as possible G PHRASING OF MENU ITEMS Phrasing of menu items is not the same as the ordering of the items Phrasing of the menu items addresses the semantics of the selection names The wording of the selections can improve the readability and proper interpretation of the menu selections Shneiderman suggests the following four criteria for effectively wording menu selections Use familiar and consistent terminology e Make items distinct Be concise and consistent Place the keyword to the left The terminology should be familiar to the user and used consistently Consistency between menus is important standardizing the placement of menu titles and instructions colors and text markings the user can quickly adjust to each menu Ref 2 110 115 USER S MANUAL A ON LINE VERSUS HARD COPY USER MANUALS l Introduction Covington claimed that the most complained about aspect of a computer system is docu

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