Running head: Lab 1 - Interactive Context Analysis Tool
Lab 1 - Interactive Context Analysis Tool
Team Red
Brandon Ripley
CS411W
Professor Brunelle and Hill
April 19 2014
Version 3
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Lab 1 - Interactive Context Analysis Tool
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Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................3
2. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................................4
2.1 Key Product Features .............................................................................................................4
2.2 Major Components .................................................................................................................5
3. IDENTIFICATION OF CASE STUDY ......................................................................................9
4. ICAT PRODUCT PROTOTYPE ..............................................................................................10
4.1 Prototype Architecture .........................................................................................................10
4.2 Prototype Features and Capabilities .....................................................................................11
4.3 Prototype Development Challenges .....................................................................................11
GLOSSARY ..................................................................................................................................13
REFRENCES .................................................................................................................................14
List of Figures
Figure 1: Major Functional Component Diagram for ICAT .......................................................... 6
Figure 2: Data Model ...................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 3: Centrality Algorithms ...................................................................................................... 8
Figure 4:Major Functional Control Diagram for the ICAT prototype ............................................ 9
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1. INTRODUCTION
Albert Einstein once said, "If I were given an hour to save the planet, I would spend fiftynine minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it (Cougar 1995)."The statement
from Einstein validates that the first step in problem solving is understanding the a problem
before reaching a solution. Reaching solutions before completely defining and understanding the
problem has been a major issue and is defined as the Type III error by Mitroff and
Featheringham in 1974 (Yadav & Korukonda,1985). The Type III error cause nearly 80% of all
human and organizational failures (Yadav & Korukonda, 1985). Resources are wasted every year
on not correctly defining the problem before trying to solve it. The type III error often occurs due
to a linear development process which fails to account for changing problem frames, insufficient
analysis of a problem before a solution is reached, and a lack of traceability in the process of
solving the problem.
The Type III error can be eluded by the introduction of the Interactive Context Analysis
Tool(ICAT). ICAT is a graphical analysis tool that will create interactive diagrams depicted by
the users' input, and a visual representation of Entities and the Forces acting upon them in the
scope of a problem. It will also keep a log of metadata so that traceability on how a solution was
reached can be achieved. ICAT will then generate reports based on the relationships between the
Entities and their weight of influence towards one another. ICAT follows the motto, "a picture is
worth a thousand words," allowing users to visualize their problem.
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2. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
ICAT is an interactive software tool used to visualize problem domains. It is a drawing
tool with a built in report generator that assists System Engineers in their attempt to correctly
identify a problem. The ICAT will allow its users to input different Entities that affect or are
affected by a specific problem. These Entities will then be connected by Forces with varying
forms of influence, depending on how much they are needed in the scheme of the problem.
As a basic drawing tool, it will give users features such as zooming, panning, exporting,
and printing. Users will be able to generate reports using the Prominence and Influence
algorithms. The main emphasis of the ICAT is to eliminate the Type III error, thus reducing the
resources needed to reach a proper solution. The goal is to give confidence to the user in
understanding the problem completely, before rushing into a solution.
2.1 Key Product Features
The main feature of ICAT is its ability to give Systems Engineers the software to put a
problem into visual context. It achieves this through the use of a diagram tool that can create and
edit Entities with weighted influences attached to them. The layout is similar to a brainstorming
diagram with added features such as Prominence and Influence report generators.
ICAT's diagrams have similar features to other diagramming tools such as zoom, pan
exporting, and printing current screen selections. ICAT will have the ability to let System
Engineers add specific Entities that have their own style shapes depending on the type. It also
allows System Engineers to add metadata that can be used to shape the weighted influence
between Entities in real time. System Engineers can also use this metadata to bring traceability to
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the diagram. This will be used to trace a path of how they reached their conclusion of the
problem domain.
The feature that makes ICAT stand out for System Engineers is its ability to provide
analytics using sophisticated algorithms on the diagram. System Engineers will be able to run
two different sets of algorithms which will display results pertaining to the diagram currently
being modeled. First the Prominence algorithm will generate a report of all Entities determined
by how many and the strength of the Forces are that act upon them. Second the Influence
algorithm will generate a report that orders Entities by the amount and the strength of the Forces
that emanate from each.
The ICAT also hopes to integrate with current software, in order to streamline the
problem solving process. The current software does not delve into the problem indentifying
process as early as the ICAT. ICAT would be the first step in a several step process. Users would
first run the ICAT and export the diagram to CORE or another similar program to continue the
process.
2.2 Major Components
ICAT's major components contain four main elements as seen in Figure 1. ICAT follows
the Model View Controller design principle which will make up three of the main elements. The
fourth element pertains to the Analytics Engine which will be responsible for handling all the
reports that are generated using Prominence and Influence.
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Figure 1: Major Functional Component Diagram for ICAT
One major component is the graphical interface. The graphical interface presents the user
with the tools and canvas needed to interact and create diagrams in ICAT. There are three main
features provided when working inside the graphical interface. The user will be presented with
the buttons and menus in order to add Entities and Forces inside the canvas. The properties
window will be provided when adding and editing Entities in order to better arrange the metadata
about said Entity. Last, the canvas will allow the user to mold the diagram to their preference.
Another major component is the data model, as seen in Figure 2. The ICAT data model
will contain a project made up Entities and Forces through their vertices and edges. The vertex in
the ICAT graph will represent an Entity in a unique problem-space with information pertaining
to itself. The information the user will input for the Entity is its designation, classification, and
some metadata pertaining to the Entity. All Entities will also be given a vector coordinate to be
drawn on the canvas. Edges, which are the other set of data in the ICAT, are description of
Forces that will have an origin and destination Entity, in which a direction of influence will be
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derived. Forces will contain a weighted value in which the influence between Entities is
determined. An ICAT project is made up of any number of sets of these two data structures, as
well as any additional project rotational the user may deem necessary.
Figure 2: Data Model
Another major component is the controller. Controllers will be used to manage all
information that is stored in the data model, along with keeping the data model consistent with
what is shown in the graphical interface. A controller will also be written to interact with the
analytics engine by sending information from the data model to the report generator as well as
the file system.
The final major component that will make up the ICAT is the analytics engine. The
analytics engine will be used to perform advanced mathematical equations as seen in Figure 3. It
then generates a report based on the output of the algorithms. The Prominence algorithm
generates an ordered report of Entities based on how many Entities and the weight values of the
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Forces acting upon them. For example: if an Entity had three strong Forces and Entities affecting
it, then it would be higher on the report than an Entity with only one medium force and Entity
connected to it. The Influence algorithm will also generate a report using the number of Entities
and Forces extrude from any given Entity. An example is if an Entity has fives Forces protruding
from it then it would be much higher on the report than an Entity with only two Forces. If
needed, during the generation of these reports, the user will also be able to check the Entities for
their visibility and controllability.
Figure 3: Centrality Algorithms
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3. IDENTIFICATION OF CASE STUDY
Dr. Patrick Hester, an associate professor in the Engineering Management and System
Engineering Department at Old Dominion University, has expressed his desire for a piece of
software that would be able to aid him in his understanding of critical problems. Dr. Hester has
relayed his concerns with the lack of software currently available, to aid in the problem
indentifying steps associated with problem solving. In his line of work it is crucial to understand
a problem before trying to find a solution to it. Dr. Hester is interested in a software that will
create a visual representation of a problem, traceability to how a problem was settled upon, and
generate reports about the centrality in the problem.
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4. ICAT PRODUCT PROTOTYPE
The ICAT prototype will be modeled after the ICAT product having similar capabilities.
The prototype will contain a graphical user interface that allows the user to have complete
control over all the Entities and Forces on the canvas. The prototype will demonstrate the ability
to add, edit, and remove Entities and Forces in the canvas. It will also demonstrate the ability for
the analytics engine to generate reports based on the information that the graph presents using
both Prominence and Influence. It is important for these crucial elements to appear in the
prototype, in order to prove the viability of the product.
The prototype will not include some of the minor features such as collaboration and
exportation to current software. These features are not necessary in order to prove the viability of
the product. The prototype will however allow for future updates to provide these added features.
4.1 Prototype Architecture
The prototype will contain five major components and needs no networking capabilities.
The four major components of the ICAT product will be evident in the prototypes functionality.
The main difference between the two component diagrams is the addition of the testing
dashboard to the prototype as seen in Figure 4. The testing dashboard will be used during the
development process in order for the developers to better automate the testing procedure.
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Figure 4:Major Functional Control Diagram for the ICAT prototype
4.2 Prototype Features and Capabilities
The ICAT prototype implements the same major capabilities as the product with leaving
out a few features . First, it will provide a visual representation of a problem domain with
Entities set in place that will show the direction of influence. Secondly, it will generate reports
on Prominence and Influence.
The small features that the prototype will not incorporate is both collaboration and
exportation to current software. Collaboration is an addition that can make it easier for system
engineers to work asynchronous with one another. Exportation to current software brings no
added benefit to the core software of the ICAT. It can be added as an update or an extension at a
later date, in order to make it easier for the user to streamline the problem solving process.
4.3 Prototype Development Challenges
During the development process there are many different challenges that may arise for
the development team. ICAT has an extensive use of diagrams which would entail a complicated
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graphical engine. Having minimal time spent working with graphics engine may present a
challenge to ICAT. The canvas may not be fully functional in the prototype due to the
inexperience. Another presentable challenge will be designing a data model that interacts with
the canvas in determining the direction of influence and where current Entities are stored on the
graph. The analytics will need to parse this information, in order to apply it in the Prominence
and Influence algorithms. This may cause problems, if the data is stored or taken incorrectly.
Last, the team has to overcome the challenge of making a standalone client with minimal
memory leaks and proper resource allocation.
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GLOSSARY
Attribute: An Entity that represents some quality that exhibits an effect on other Entities.
Entity: Objects within the data model; types include: problem, stakeholder, objective, attribute,
resource.
Force: Constraining or enabling Forces that show influence between Entities.
Influence: A measure of the effect that one Entity has on others in the system; also known as
out-centrality.
Metadata: Data associated with Entities or Forces.
Objective: An Entity that represents a goal or target of the real world project.
Problem: An Entity that represents the issue or conflict that the solution is designed to address.
Prominence : A measure of the effect that other Entities in a system have on a specific Entity;
also known as in-centrality.
Resource: An Entity that represents a required good or service.
Stakeholder: An individual or group affected in some way by the undertaking (Stevens Institute
of Technology, 2008).
Systems Approach: The application of a systematic disciplined engineering approach that
considers the system as a whole, its impact on its environment and continues throughout
the lifecycle of a project(Stevens Institute of Technology, 2008).
Systems Engineering: The orderly process of bringing a system into being using a systems
approach(Stevens Institute of Technology, 2008).
Type III Error: The type of error described as "giving the right answer to the wrong problem"
(Kimball,1957).
Workspace: The area within ICAT in which the user edits or views the project.
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REFRENCES
Kimball,A.(1957). Errors of the third kind in statistical consulting. Journal of the American
Statistical Association,52(278),133-142.
Stevens Institute of Technology.(2008). Core Concepts of Systems Engineering: Glossary.
Retrieved from The Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education:
http://www.ciese.org/curriculum/seproject/glossary.html
Yadav, S.B.,& Korukonda, A.(1985). Management of Type III Error in Problem Identification.
Interfaces,15(4),55-61.
Daniel Cougar(1995). Creative Problem Solving and Opportunity Finding. 178.
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