Survey Automation Report and Workshop Proceedings (2003) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Changing Survey Management Processes to Suit Software Design
Changing Survey Management Processes to Suit Software Design
Pages 14-21
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From page 14... ...
In software engineering terms, the objective is to think of computerized survey design as a product development project and consequently to select an appropriate life-cycle model for the questionnaire and software development process. The workshop presentations suggested specific techniques and organizational styles that may be useful in a retooled survey design system.
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From page 15... ...
Lilcewise, the mechanics of statistical operations embedded in survey code could be considered another cross-cutting yet separable layer. This hypothetical product line architecture is, as Poore notes, purely illustrative, and the degree to which it is correct or needs refinement awaits future work.
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From page 16... ...
These mechanical structures are common across surveys within organizations as well as across entire survey organizations; they are instances in which industry standards or an archive of reusable code could ease programmers' burden and reduce errors. Adopt Incremental Development ant} Testing ant} the Early Detection of Errors During the first day of the workshop, a recurring topic was the difference in cost of software errors detected at the early stages of design and those found in later stages or after the software has been fielded.
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From page 17... ...
Incremental tests or software inspections may also serve as a valuable feedback mechanism by pointing out defects in the specifications and design documents that are developed even before coding begins. As Poore notes, an additional benefit of an incremental development strategy beyond its integration of testing into the design process is that it can help create an environment of success in the project team.
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From page 18... ...
Defect tracking systems are common in software engineering usage, and hence discussion of the form of such a system for CAI implementations is an activity for which collaboration between the survey and software communities could be fruitful in the near term. Similarly, systems used in software engineering operations to configure and track design specifications could also be a useful short-term collaboration opportunity.
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From page 19... ...
Instead, survey research organizations should be encouraged to research existing organizational styles and to experiment with them to the extent possible, ultimately forging a hybrid organizational strategy best suited to survey problems and context. Whether the specific mix of meetings and labor assignments in extreme programming is useful or even applicable in existing survey organizations particularly the statistical agencies is an open question, but such systems do revolve around central features that would be useful to consider.
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From page 20... ...
Enable Automated Testing In our view, attention to the general instrument development process could do much to correct some of the problems experienced in the CAPI implementation of large survey instruments. The extensive time delays that currently arise from very small changes in questions could be contained through a modular structure; attention to documentation and testing including implementation of systems to achieve traceability and management of specifications throughout the development processcould dramatically improve the information available to developers and end users alilce.
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From page 21... ...
The practice of automated testing, of course, is harder than simplified visions allow, one in which active computer science research continues. Accordingly, automated testing is an area in which the survey community should monitor ongoing research to find techniques that suit their needs; the community then needs to work with their CAPI software providers to achieve the capability to implement those methods.
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