Walt Scacchi

University of California, Irvine, Institute for Software Research, Faculty Member

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Walt Scacchi, Ph.D. is senior research scientist and research faculty member in the Institute for Software Research, and also Director of Research at the Institute for Virtual Environments and Computer Games, both at University of California, Irvine. His research interests include open source software development, computer game culture and technology, virtual worlds for modeling and simulating complex socio-technical processes, software acquisition, and secure open architecture systems. Dr. Scacchi is an active researcher with more than 200 research publications, and has directed more than 70 externally funded research projects.
Address: Irvine, California, United States

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Multi-Modal Modeling, Analysis, and Validation of Open Source Software Development Processes

IGI Global eBooks, Jan 18, 2011

Understanding the context, structure, activities, and content of software development processes f... more Understanding the context, structure, activities, and content of software development processes found in practice has been and remains a challenging problem. In the world of free/open source software development, discovering and understanding what processes are used in particular projects is important in determining how they are similar to or different from those advocated by the software engineering community. Prior studies however have revealed that the requirements processes in OSSD projects are different in a number of ways, including the general lack of explicit software requirements specifications. In this paper, we describe how a variety of modeling perspectives and techniques are used to elicit, analyze, and validate software requirements processes found in OSSD projects, with examples drawn from studies of the NetBeans.org project.

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A hypertext system to manage software life-cycle documents

IEEE Software, May 1, 1990

Traditional systems don&#x27;t handle the documentation requirements of larg+scale, muttiproj... more

◾ Repurposing Game Play Mechanics as a Technique for Designing Game-Based Virtual Worlds

Overview 2. Related Research on the What and How of Repurposing Game Mechanics 3. Case Studies in... more Overview 2. Related Research on the What and How of Repurposing Game Mechanics 3. Case Studies in Repurposing Game Mechanics 3.1 Case 1 -Producing functionally similar games 3.2 Case 2 -modding an existing game via new game play levels, characters, and play objectives 3.3 Case 3 -Replacing multi-character dialogs and adding Rashomon-style role-play 3.4 Case 4 -Recognizing resource allocation challenges with uncertainty in problem domain 3.5 Case 5 -Choosing meta-problem solving domains for game development, extension, and play 4. Comparative case analysis: The emerging technique of repurposing game play mechanics for game design 5. Conclusions 6. Acknowledgements 7. References This paper examines the concept and practice of repurposing game play mechanics as a game design technique. It begins in the next section with a review of related research that informs this view of repurposing as a game design technique that may be adopted and practiced by new game developers or game players who want to engage in end-user game software development. Next, the paper describes five game design case studies where different forms of repurposing were employed. These case studies include identification of the example games and play mechanics that served to inform the game designs that follow from each. Each case study also categorizes the kinds of repurposing methods that were employed in reusing and adapting the source game mechanics into those employed in the new game design. Finally, the paper includes a simple comparative analysis and summary of these repurposing methods, as a basis for generalizing the method as a reusable and adaptive game design technique.

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Emerging Research Challenges in Computer Games and Software Engineering

Chapman & Hall/CRC innovations in software engineering and software development, May 4, 2015

Understanding the production and consumption of software documentation: an empirical analysis and model

In spite of numerous research efforts, much software documentation continues to be unusable and/o... more In spite of numerous research efforts, much software documentation continues to be unusable and/or unused. Current formulation of the software documentation problem is described in terms of two sets of problem variables characterizing the documentation products and processes. This research shows that attributes of the computing setting affect the documentation products and processes. The setting attributes are therefore an important set of problem variables that need to be considered when developing solutions to the software documentation problem. The study empirically examines the effect of three setting attributes on the patterns of production and consumption of documents in real software projects. It proposes and validates a set of hypotheses that define relationships between the documentation settings, products, and processes. The study also shows that accounting for the setting attributes reveals that the software documentation problem is inherently an open system problem. Open systems assume that the information about the world being modeled is never complete. The study indicates that current solution approaches to the documentation problem are solutions only in the closed system perspective. Applying current solutions of the documentation problem does not and cannot therefore generate effective solutions. The verified hypotheses define empirically grounded relationships between the documentation settings, processes, and products. It suggests a documentation model that constitutes a new solution approach to the documentation problem. The model describes mechanisms to achieve solution alternative (local closures) for the software documentation problem. It is therefore a solution approach that addresses the documentation problem as it has always been: an open system problem. (Copies available exclusively from Micrographics Department, Doheny Library, USC, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0182.)

Case Studies and Practices in Local Game Jam Software Development Organization

Chapman and Hall/CRC eBooks, May 19, 2021

Achieving Better Buying Power through Acquisition of Open Architecture Software Systems. Volume 2 Understanding Open Architecture Software Systems: Licensing and Security Research and Recommendations

This research focuses on continuing investigation and refinement of techniques for identifying an... more This research focuses on continuing investigation and refinement of techniques for identifying and reducing the costs, streamlining the process, and improving the readiness of future workforce for the acquisition of complex software systems. Emphasis was directed at identifying, tracking, and analyzing software component costs and cost reduction opportunities within the acquisition life cycle of open architecture (OA) systems for Web-based and mobile devices, where such systems combine best-of-breed software components and software products lines (SPLs) that are subject to different IP license and cybersecurity requirements. The investigation focuses on four project work activities:  Investigating the interactions between software system acquisition guidelines and processes, and the cost consequences of alternative software system architectures incorporating different mixes of OSS and CSS components subject to different licenses within secure OA SPLs [ScA08, ScA12b, ScA13a, ScA13b, ScA13c]. This entails exploring the balance between development, verification, and validation of software licenses and security rights, as well as the software component/license costs while managing the development and evolution of OA systems at design-time, build-time, and release and run-time. Developing formal foundations for establishing acquisition guidelines program managers can use in reduced cost acquisition of software-intensive systems that rely on development and deployment of secure OA systems using OSS and SPL technology and processes [AlS10,

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MaintainingConfigurations ofEvolvingSoftware Systems

Software configuration management (SCM) is an emerging discipline. An important aspect of realizi... more Software configuration management (SCM) is an emerging discipline. An important aspect of realizing SCM is the task of maintaining the configurations of evolving software systems. In this paper, we provide an approach to resolving some of the conceptual and technical problems in maintaining configurations of evolving software systems. The approach provides a formal basis for existing notions of system architecture. The formal properties of this view of configurations provide the underpinnings for a rigorous notion of system integrity, and mechanisms to control the evolution of configurations. This approach is embodied in a language, NuMIL, to describe software system configurations, and a prototype environment to maintain software system configurations. We believe that the approach and the prototype environment offer a firm base to maintain software system configurations and, therefore, to implement SCM. Index Terms-Configuration, module and subsystem families, module and subsystem interfaces, software configuration maintenance system, upward compatibility. 'TMUNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories.

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Softman: an environment supporting the engineering and reverse engineering of large scale software systems

The process of innovation in computing: a study of the social dynamics of computing

Open Source Systems: Long-Term Sustainability 8th IFIP WG 2.13 International Conference, OSS 2012, Hammamet, Tunisia, September 10-13, 2012

Springer eBooks, Sep 28, 2012

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International IFIP WG 2.13 Conference o... more This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International IFIP WG 2.13 Conference on Open Source Systems, OSS 2012, held in Hammamet, Tunisia, in September 2012. The 15 revised full papers presented together with 17 lightning talks, 2 tool demonstration papers, 6 short industry papers, 5 posters and 2 workshop papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 63 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on collaboration and forks in OSS projects, community issues, open education and peer-production models, integration and architecture, business ecosystems, adoption and evolution of OSS, OSS quality, OSS in different domains, product development, and industrial experiences.

Virtual Meetings

Springer eBooks, 2014

This chapter reviews and examines virtual meetings (VM). VM are meetings where participants are d... more This chapter reviews and examines virtual meetings (VM). VM are meetings where participants are distributed across physical space or time yet seek/act as virtually colocated in a commonplace. Computer-mediated VM are the common form or mode of interest. Many millions of people regularly engage in such meetings worldwide, most often in small groups with others known to them. This chapter focuses attention on two different recurring forms of such meetings: VM conducted through online documents or artifacts that may be stored, accessed, or transacted via their associated systems and repositories and VM where participants employ computer-rendered avatars in immersive virtual worlds to denote their presence, identity, and ability to interact with other avatars through online media or experiences.

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Expert systems and hypertext

Expert systems and hypertext are technologies which are coming together. This paper reviews the s... more Expert systems and hypertext are technologies which are coming together. This paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of expert systems and hypertext. Then the complementarity of the two is both argued and illustrated. Translating expertise from documents into expert systems is difficult, but hypertext systems exploit the information in documents. Expert systems don't explain their decisions as well as some people would like, but hypertext is basically designed to provide explanations. On the other hand, people have difficulty deciding what links to follow in hypertext, but an expert system is designed to help people make decisions. When a hypertext reader is confused as to what step to follow next, an expert system might review the path taken thus far and suggest the appropriate next step. An annotated bibliography of the principal literature is provided.

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Interactive Learning Environments for Motorsports Racing

Creativity in the twenty first century, 2021

This chapter explores how computer-based motorsports racing simulation games, game play, and sim ... more This chapter explores how computer-based motorsports racing simulation games, game play, and sim racing user interfaces serve as immersive interactive learning environments (ILEs). Such ILEs typically provide a constructivist learning experience through 3D dynamic graphic animations that are jointly controlled by the underlying game, automated bots that may control simulated race cars during game play, or alternatively other people engaged in a multi-player racing game competition. The user interface devices that situate and enable player-driver control of their in-game simulated race car also act as affordances that enable/sustain an immersive, high performance driving and learning experience. This article reviews these capabilities, along with assessing the efficacy of how they may affect the development of expertise, knowledge transfer, and cost functions through different system configurations.

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Understanding the Development of Free E-Commerce/E-Business Software

IGI Global eBooks, Jan 18, 2011

This study seeks to identify and characterize the array of social and technical resources needed ... more This study seeks to identify and characterize the array of social and technical resources needed to support the development of open source software supporting E-Commerce (EC) or E-Business (EB) capabilities. This entails a case study within a virtual organization that has undertaken an organizational initiative to develop, deploy, and support free/open source software systems for EC or EB services, like those supporting Enterprise Resource Planning. The objective this study is to identify and characterize the resource-based software product development capabilities that lie at the center of the initiative, rather than the software itself, or the effectiveness of its operation in a business enterprise. By learning what these resources are, and how they are arrayed into product development capabilities, we can provide the knowledge needed to understand what resources are required to realize the potential of Free EC and EB software applications. In addition, the resource-based view draws attentions to those resources and capabilities that provide potential competitive advantages and disadvantages of the organization in focus.

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Toward a social framework for understanding personal computing

Since the emergence of technologies to support personal computing in the mid seventies, there has... more Since the emergence of technologies to support personal computing in the mid seventies, there has been much speculation about the potentials and impacts of widespread personal computing use. In this paper we analyze two perspectives for understanding the dissemination, uses, and impacts of personal computing, which we term the "tool" and "package" views. On the basis of empirical data we and others have gathered, we illustrate how focus-on a simple task-technology fit masks a wide variety of phenomena often found to accompany personal computing use. Using the broad scope of issues provided by a package perspective, a social analysis of personal computing can help assure a better fit between a technology like personal computers and the actual settings where it will be used.

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Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on Games and Software Engineering

International Conference on Software Engineering, May 22, 2011

Proceedings of the OSS 2010 Doctoral Consortium, May 30, 2010, Notre Dame, Indiana (USA)

Competitive Game Development: Software Engineering as a Team Sport*

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Predicting Gains With Visuospatial Training After Stroke Using an EEG Measure of Frontoparietal Circuit Function

Frontiers in Neurology, Jul 24, 2018

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Walt Scacchi

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