Evidence-Based Project, Part 4: Critical Appraisal of Research

Answer

1. 1. Managing Software Development

      Part 1 – Agile processes

      Executive Summary

      Agile software methodologies are widely applicable in organizations   because of  factors such as simplicity,ease ofcomunication,accurate estimation of development resources,small development team and lower system requirments.The software development methodologies such as Extreme Programming and Scrum are scalable  and allows iterative software development process.This allows  complete parts of  the working system to be released  in batches in an event that the resources of a client reduce.On the other hand,agile processes such as Kanban use workflows to manage software development.Agile processes ensures there is a speedy development  and release of sotware as  compared to other methodologies such as the Waterfall model.

      Introduction

      According to William (2010),agile methodologies and practices entail adopting changes  in the software development requirements in accordance  to client preferences. Also, it entails  the incremental software development methodologies as the need to incorporate other functionalities in the system arise (Flora et al.,2014).Some examples  of agile methodology  practices  comprise of Agile Scrum Methodology,Lean Software Development,Kanban,Extreme Programming (XP),Crystal,Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) and Feature Driven Development (FDD) (William,2010).

      Comparison of the agile mindset and the Waterfall process

      There are a number of differences between theagile development methodologies and the Waterfall model. The Agile software development practices  use the iterative approach in the product development cycle. On the other hand, the Waterfall process follows a sequential product development cycle(Van Casteren, 2017).Moreover,in Agile software development process the software is released in  batches at varying time intervals whereas  in the Waterfall process, the whole product is released only when it is complete(Agile vs Waterfall: Which is the Best Methodology for Your Project? ,2020).Besides, Agile software development process utilizes the new  and modern software development practices whereas the Waterfall process uses the old software development approaches.Furthermore,the Agile mindset uses  iterative development and multiple releases of software. On the other hand, the Waterfall model is completed in a single cycle with only one single release.

      The scrum methodology

      Scrum software development methodology is as an example of agile sotware development process. The software development team contributes in the creation of the software in bits until iscomplete(Permana, 2015). The scrum development methodology segmented is into parts such as product owner, scrum master and the team. The role of the product owner is to outline the requirements of the software to be developed. Besides, the product owner defines thespecificationsof the software(Permana, 2015). These specifications are then implemented by the software development team to create the product as specified by the product owner. The initial product requirements known as product backlog outlines the needs of the product owner. The product backlog serves as the blueprint on which a softwaresystem  isbuilt(Permana, 2015). The scrum master is tasked  with allocating duties  to each member in the software development team(Permana, 2015).Moreover,the scrum master monitors the  progress of each developer  to ensure that the product is delivered on time and that theycomplete their assigments with precision.Essentially, the scrum flow entails  the visualization o the system to be created as outlined in the product backlog.The product backlog  defines  the objective of the system to be created.A timeline within which the software is to be delivered ischosen.It can be one month or more depending on the overall requirements o the software(Permana, 2015).Meetups are organized by the Scrum master to allow code reviews to be done  by the team members.A typical meeting  consists of a Scrum master,project manager and the software development team.Firstly,product backlog planning isled by the project manager.Sprint planning is then done  to ensure that each member in the team  accomplishes their tasks within the given time limit(Permana, 2015).In addition,daily meetings are  held so that each member in the team are are able to determine milestones achieved in the software development process.

      Extreme Programming Methodology

      Extreme  programming methodology is a software engineering  methodology that follows  lightweight software engineering practices.Informal requirements  from clients are collected and  changes are gradually made to the software(Lytvynova, 2018).The programmers  make continuous changes in designs,integration and testing.They refactor  the code each time there are new developments  so as to  incorporate any new changes that may arise with changing client preferences  or whenever a customer requires a new  functionality in the system(Lytvynova, 2018).Extreme programming is  highly recommended or  projects with unpredictable and unstable system  requirements.Extreme programming is characterized  by a number offeatures and benefits such as communication,simplicity and feedback.Communication is significant to ensure  that the project does not fail(Lytvynova, 2018).Moreover,simplicity allows changes to be easily implemented in a software system.The written code should be easy to understand  and also allow scalability  of the system in the near future.Besides,feedback  is significant  since the programmers are able  to know where there is need to modify code in the software.When software is developed incrementally  with a series ofrealeases,developers are able to identiy bugs and errors quickly and make the necessary changes(Lytvynova, 2018).However,the disadvantages ofextreme programming are that it is not suitable or very large projects.Furthermore,extremeprogramming requires a lot of collaboration between software programmers to avoid conflicts in the code base.

      Guidelines for Choosing Extreme ProgrammingAccording to Types of Projects

      In choosing in choosing extreme programming  methodologies there are key factors that must be put into consideration.Some of the factors include accurate initial estimation of costs and development time,integration of requirements modifications  during the development process,attaining functional versions of the system during the development process,developmentcosts,system complexity,communication between customers and developers and size o the development team(Lytvynova, 2018).In extreme programming methodology , there is scalability and adaptabilitythat  allows accurate initial estimation of costs and development time.Additionally,extreme  programming methodology allows integration of requirements in the development process allowing clients  to request for modifications  to be  implemented in the system by developers(Lytvynova, 2018).Besides,clients can obtain complete iterations of the software versions  even if the system is incomplete.They can still use part of the systemeven  if resources are unavailable.Furthermore,the development costs in extreme programming are lower in comparison with software development methodologies making it suitable or an organization to adopt(Lytvynova, 2018).Also,extreme programming practices  are simple hence  provides scalability  that allows different programmers  work together at any given time(Lytvynova, 2018).Besides,there is need for clear communication  between developers and clients that is provided by extreme programming.

      Kanban  Software Development Methodology

      Kanban is one of the agile software development methodologies that allows organizations to design and improve  the work flow of their systems.This methodology is suitable where  there are unpredictable requirements and  there is limited time to wait for other specications(What is Kanban? ,2019).It does not follow  sprinting principles like  extreme programming methodology.The  software development process begins and stops after 2 to 4 weeks(What is Kanban? ,2019).Besides,this methodology supports continuous software  development process without overloading programmers with too much work.Besides,it applies the concepts  of TBD,WIP and Done in signboard workflow to enhance communication and and of good view of the structure of the development flow(What is Kanban? ,2019).The principles  of Kanban methodology such as  management of workflow  ensures  that the  incurred development costs is at the bare  minimum.The other principles include visualization of workflow,limitingwork progress,managing the workflow,making processes and policies explicit,implementingfeedback loops and continuous improvement(What is Kanban? ,2019).Kanban software  development methodology lack a defined  role allocation.It is solely upto the organization’s  management team to decide on which duties to assign to a developer.Moreover,if a certain role makes the software development process slower  then it is removed(What is Kanban? ,2019).However,Kanban software methodology has  a number of demerits such as destruction of an entire software module during development time that maybe difficult to recover. In addition,Kanban is not managed rather uses WIP(Work In Progress) mechanism.

      Conclusion

      Agile software development processes provide iterative  generation of software systems in several organizations.Examples of the agile sotware development methodologies include Scrum,Extreme programming and  andKanban.They utilize principles that minimize development costs,use  of smaller development teams and allows accurate estimation of the initial development cost.However,actors  such as  communication breakdown significantly affect  agile processes.Forinstance,in Extreme Programmer, if one developer cannot understand  other developers implemented then the scalability of the system will be compromised.

      Part 2 – Automatic Document Generation

      using System;                              

       

      namespace Assign2

       

      {

      //   The namespace  Assign2organizes  the various function blocks of the whole  code.

       

      classProgram

          {

       

       

      //   This is the main class with functions  that are  called within the code in the program

       

       

      staticvoid Main(string[] args)

              {

       

      int num1 = ReadNumber();

       

      int num2 = ReadNumber();

       

                  FormatBinary(num1, "+", num2, Add(num1,

                  num2)); Console.ReadLine();

              }

       

       

      //This  function takes two parameters  that are integers num1 and num2  and computes  the sum and returns the  result.For instance,if you add two integers 45 and 67 the output that is returned is 112.

       

      //The function can be called from any part of the code and can be reused when the need arises.

      //There is only one single instance  for the class Program no matter the number of objects instantiated from it.

       

      publicstaticint ReadNumber()

              {

       

                  Console.Write("Number: "); try

              {

       

      return Convert.ToInt32(Console.ReadLine());

       

                  }

      catch (FormatException)

                  {

       

                      Console.WriteLine("illegal number format");

       

      return 0;

      }

       

              }

       

      //Console.Write  in the function ReadNumber allows the output to be printed in the Console.

       

      // The function is placed in try catch block to capture any errors in the function block.

       

      //In case there is an illegal number format then the code returns nothing.

       

      publicstaticvoid FormatBinary(int n1, string op, int n2, int result)

              {

       

       

      Console.WriteLine("{0} {1} {2} = {3}", n1, op, n2, result);

       

              }

       

      //This function returns the result of adding any two  integers.

       

       

       

      publicstaticint Add(int n1, int n2)

       

              {

       

      return n1 + n2;

              }

       

          }

      }

       

      Sample Output of the Running  Code

      Matrix Worksheet Template

       

      Use this document to complete Part 2 of the Module 2 Assessment, Evidence-Based Project, Part 1: An Introduction to Clinical Inquiry and Part 2: Research Methodologies

       

       

      Full citation of selected article	Article #1	Article #2	Article #3	Article #4
      	Shavers, V. L., Fagan, P., Jones, D., Klein, W. M., Boyington, J., Moten, C., & Rorie, E. (2012). The state of research on racial/ethnic discrimination in the receipt of health care. American journal of public health, 102(5), 953-966.	Benjamins, M. R., & Middleton, M. (2019). Perceived discrimination in medical settings and perceived quality of care: A population-based study in Chicago. PLOS ONE, 14(4), e0215976. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215976	Armstrong, K., Putt, M., Halbert, C. H., Grande, D., Schwartz, J. S., Liao, K. ... & Shea, J. A. (2013). Prior experiences of racial discrimination and racial differences in health care system distrust. Medical Care, 51(2), 144.	Hausmann, L. R., Kressin, N. R., Hanusa, B. H., & Ibrahim, S. A. (2010). Perceived racial discrimination in health care and its association with patients' healthcare experiences: does the measure matter?. Ethnicity & disease, 20(1), 40.
      Why you chose this article and/or how it relates to the clinical issue of interest (include a brief explanation of the ethics of research related to your clinical issue of interest)	The article was chosen because it explores the effects of institutional and interpersonal discrimination and racism within the healthcare settings. The article relates to ethical principle of research aimed at minimizing harm by protecting the sais patients from any form of harm.	I chose this article because it discussed multiple measures of perceived ethnic/racial discrimination in medical settings. The article was appropriate because it narrowed down to the specific populations that are subject to discrimination. The article relates to the ethical principle of informed consent due to the nature of the participants involved in the research.	I chose this article because unlike the rest, it actually establishes the origin of discrimination in healthcare and examines past incidents that may have led to this problem now. The article relates to the ethical principle of minimizing risk by finding out negative practices that are causing harm and suggesting solutions.	I chose this article because it bases its findings on patients’ experiences. Patients are the main subjects in the healthcare system and their view and experiences reflects the real picture of the situation. The article relates to the ethical issue of informed consent.
      Brief description of the aims of the research of each peer-reviewed article	Effects of racism and discrimination on the healthcare received by ethnic/racial minority groups.	The research aimed at investigating the locations and purported perpetrators of the discriminatory experiences and the measures of perceived discrimination in medical settings.	The purpose of the research is to establish the factors contributing to racial differences in healthcare system distrust.	The research aimed at examining whether three measures of perceived racial discrimination in healthcare detect similar rates of discrimination and show similar associations with patients’ healthcare experiences.
      Brief description of the research methodology used Be sure to identify if the methodology used was qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed-methods approach. Be specific.	The article used a qualitative research method; literature review.	The research methodology used was a combination of both quantitative and qualitative. -Correlational research design -literature review.	The research used a quantitative research method -Survey	The methodology adopted was quantitative. -Cross-sectional observational study.
      A brief description of the strengths of each of the research methodologies used, including reliability and validity of how the methodology was applied in each of the peer-reviewed articles you selected.	Qualitative research uses a combination of tested theories that have been proven right. A combination of fifty eight articles was used to come to the conclusions.	The research methods used are consistent, reliable and precise. The qualitative method provide more detail to justify and back up results from the quantitative method.	Surveys are more detailed and factual hence effective. Surveys also cover a larger geographical area. The methodology was reliable because it used healthcare data and records.	The research method used is factual and detailed. It is also reliable due to the sample size used which covers all the demographics involved.
      General Notes/Comments	The topics discussed under healthcare settings included; patient perception of discriminatory treatment and implicit provider biases. Prevalence of ethnic/racial discrimination was discussed.	Perceived discrimination in the healthcare system was majorly associated with report of having inadequate time with the clinicians and not being involved in decision making.	African Americans had higher levels of Healthcare system distrust; specifically values distrust and have had greater experiences of discrimination. -Healthcare access and residential segregation had minimal effect on the relation between African –Americans and distrust levels.	More people of color reported perceived discrimination on all measures.