Integrating software change request services into virtual laboratory environment: Empirical evaluation

Abstract

This article presents an approach to integration and evaluation of software change request (SCR) specification services in an educational environment. The educational environment, a virtual network laboratory, VNLab, and its extension with services for specifying SCRs, are described. There are three services for SCR specification implemented in the described environment. These services are: paper form service, Web form service, and service integrated within the context of running application. The last service is based on developed software utility called SCRSpecifier (Software Change Request Specifier). After the services' description, the results of a conducted experiment are presented. The main goal of the experiment was to discover possible advantages and disadvantages of described SCR services and to compare them. The analyses of the data, collected during the experiment, provided the evidence that implemented services are useful to students and personnel responsible for maintenance of described educational environment. ß

Techniques for Collecting Qualitative Field Data in Education Research: Example of Two Studies in Information Technology Field

“…Laboratory enabled access to VNLab virtual network laboratory [15], which includes 20 workstations and two servers. In order to improve so ware maintenance of the laboratory, three types of services for submitting so ware change requests (SCR) were implemented [16]: speci cation of SCR in Microso Word document, speci cation of SCR by using Web form, and service integrated in the ScenarioBuilder application for managing networking scenarion based on Network Node description Language [17]. e study used qualitative methods for investigating the implemented service adoption by the students.…”