Adarsh Anand, Subhrata Das, Mohini Agarwal and Shinji Inoue
In the current market scenario, software upgrades and updates have proved to be very handy in improving the reliability of the software in its operational phase. Software upgrades…
Abstract
Purpose
In the current market scenario, software upgrades and updates have proved to be very handy in improving the reliability of the software in its operational phase. Software upgrades help in reinventing working software through major changes, like functionality addition, feature enhancement, structural changes, etc. In software updates, minor changes are undertaken which help in improving software performance by fixing bugs and security issues in the current version of the software. Through the current proposal, the authors wish to highlight the economic benefits of the combined use of upgrade and update service. A cost analysis model has been proposed for the same.
Design/methodology/approach
The article discusses a cost analysis model highlighting the distinction between launch time and time to end the testing process. The number of bugs which have to be catered in each release has been determined which also consists of the count of latent bugs of previous version. Convolution theory has been utilized to incorporate the joint role of tester and user in bug detection into the model. The cost incurred in debugging process was determined. An optimization model was designed which considers the reliability and budget constraints while minimizing the total debugging cost. This optimization was used to determine the release time and testing stop time.
Findings
The proposal is backed by real-life software bug dataset consisting of four releases. The model was able to successfully determine the ideal software release time and the testing stop time. An increased profit is generated by releasing the software earlier and continues testing long after its release.
Originality/value
The work contributes positively to the field by providing an effective optimization model, which was able to determine the economic benefit of the combined use of upgrade and update service. The model can be used by management to determine their timelines and cost that will be incurred depending on their product and available resources.
Details
Keywords
Adarsh Anand, Jasmine Kaur and Shinji Inoue
The purpose of the present work is to mathematically model the reliability growth of a multi-version software system that is affected by infected patches.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present work is to mathematically model the reliability growth of a multi-version software system that is affected by infected patches.
Design/methodology/approach
The work presents a mathematical model that studies the reliability change due to the insertion of an infected patch in multi-version software. Various distribution functions have been considered to highlight the varied aspects of the model. Furthermore, weighted criteria approach has been discussed to facilitate the choice of the model.
Findings
The model presented here is able to quantify the effect of an infected patch on multi-version software. The model captures the hike in bug content due to an infected patch.
Originality/value
Multi-version systems have been studied widely, but the role of an infected patch has not been yet explored. The effect of an infected patch has been quantified by modeling the extra bugs generated in the system. This bug count would prove helpful in further studies for optimal resource allocation and testing effort allocation.
Details
Keywords
Makiko Ozaki, Seiji Bito and Shinji Matsumura
Hospital physician shortages are widely recognized as a national problem in Japan. Although physician job satisfaction has a relationship with service quality and physician…
Abstract
Purpose
Hospital physician shortages are widely recognized as a national problem in Japan. Although physician job satisfaction has a relationship with service quality and physician turnover, there is no measure to assess Japanese hospital physician satisfaction. This paper aims to establish a measure of job satisfaction for Japanese hospital physicians and evaluated its psychometric performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Two cross‐sectional physician surveys were used – a pilot survey, conducted as a self‐administered questionnaire; and a validation survey conducted on‐line.
Findings
A total of 82 hospital physicians completed the pilot questionnaire. Factor and reliability analyses produced a 28‐item, 6‐subscale and 2‐global satisfaction scale measure, the Japan hospital physicians satisfaction scale (JHPSS). Results supported the measure's reliability and validity. For the validation survey, 146 hospital physicians completed the online questionnaire. One question item was substituted following factor analysis. Results also displayed the measure's adequate psychometric properties.
Research limitations/implications
Participating physicians were convenience samples, which may not fully represent Japanese hospital physicians.
Originality/value
The JHPSS, a brief questionnaire measuring Japanese hospital physician job satisfaction, should be useful for providing better quality care and improving our understanding of and ability to deal with Japanese hospital workforce issues.