This article is concerned with the development of software infrastructures for context-aware computing. To clarify the diversity of approaches in this area, we propose a synthesis of the state of the art using a reference framework derived from sound software engineering design principles. We then present our own contribution, the Contextor Infrastructure. We describe its conceptual computation...

The UK DTI/EPSRC 1999 workshop on “Future Issues for Design Research” [1] highlighted the need for better integration and evaluation of computational design support tools resulting from fundamental design method research. Widespread anecdotal evidence and substantial first hand experience and observation, suggest that practical software implementation difficulties are the major cause of this ac...

Design changes can be surprisingly complex. We examine the problems they cause and in what ways they are complex, mostly in the area of engineering design change. To assist this analysis we distinguish between (i) a static background of connectivities designs, processes, resources and requirements, (ii) descriptions of these elements and (iii) the dynamics of design tasks acting on descriptions...

Software engineering has made significant contributions to “engineering-in-the-large”. The nature of the software process has been researched, and computer based tools and environments have been built to support this process. Other more established engineering disciplines, such as instrument design, have developed professional practices, mature mathematical frameworks for system modelling and a...

Abstract The engineering design process can produce stress that endures even after it has been completed. This may be particularly true for students who engage with the as novices. However, is not known how individual components of induce in designers. study explored cognitive experience introductory during concept generation, selection and physical modelling to identify signatures these three ...

When making an engineering design decision, it is often necessary to consider its implications on both system performance and dependability. In this paper, we present a performability study that analyzes the guarded operation duration for onboard software upgrading. In particular, we define a “performability index” Y that quantifies the extent to which the guarded operation with a duration φ re...

new product development (npd) is described in the literature as the transformation of a market opportunity into a product available for sale. in the automotive industry, within the context of iso/ts16949:2002 (the automotive quality management system international standard),  these related to the product realization process (prp) which consists of three main phases such as planning, implementat...

Design is a central aspect of engineering and engineering education, but is challenging to teach and even more challenging to assess. In this special session participants co-construct an understanding of design and what aspects of design should be (and can be) assessed. Additionally, the special session will review the instrument development process (including the process of validating instrume...

Most current research in Component-Based Systems Engineering (CBSE) focuses on design and integration processes. There is little interest in the requirements engineering and product evaluation/selection processes that must precede design and integration. Also most current methods and tools support systems design and integration but neglect the requirements engineering and product evaluation/sel...