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Biography

Professional biography

I’m Professor of Digital Innovation in the School of Computing and Communications.

I hold a Laurea Cum Laude (University of Milan, Italy) and a PhD (Newcastle University, UK) in Computer Science, and a BSc (Hons) (Open) in Economics and Mathematical Sciences.

I'm an Editorial Member of the IARIA Journal On Advances in Internet Technology, a Chartered Engineer,  a Fellow of the BCS, The Chartered Institute of IT and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.  

Previously: I was first Editor-in-Chief, then Special Issues and Reviews Editor of Expert Systems, The Journal of Knowledge Engineering, the Associate Dean (Curriculum) in the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM);  held research positions at University of Milan (Italy), Oxford University and Newcaslte University; was the Secretary of the BCS Requirements Engineering Specialist Group; was External Examiner for the MSc in Computer Science (Software Engineering) at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. I have published widely in international conferences and journals and I am a member of numerous international programme committees.

I research, develop, apply and teach innovative theories, methods and and dgital tools to address complex problems in organisations. I'm an expert in digitally mediated distance eduction.

See also my LinkedIn page.

Research interests

The main aim of my research, of well over a decade, is the systematisation of complex problem solving in socio-technical contexts. I research and apply innovative theories, methods and tools to address complex problems in organisations, whether in the development of software, systems, processes, strategy or other artefacts. 

Teaching interests

I chair a Masters level research project module (T802 Research Project), and supervise research students on MSc, MPhil and PhD degrees. Over the years, I have designed, developed and delivered digitally mediated, undergraduate and postgraduate Computing curriculum at a distance, and led innovation projects in curriculum and research supervision.

Until recently I was also Chair of M813 Software Development and of a research degree programme (the Virtual MPhil in Computing), and a member of the M811 Information Security  academic team.

 

Projects

Publications

Book

Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE International Workshop on Applications and Advances of Problem Orientation (2011)

Proceedings of ICSE 2nd International Workshop on Applications and Advances of Problem Frames (2006)

Proceedings of ICSE 1st International Workshop on Applications and Advances of Problem Frames (2004)

Book Chapter

Gamification for Organizational Change and Innovation (2022)

Enterprise Architecture: A Snapshot from Practice (2017)

3D virtual worlds in higher education (2011)

2010 ICSE international workshop on advances and applications of problem orientation (WAAPO-2010) (2010)

Requirements analysis in context with POE design (2009)

Problem frames for socio-technical systems (2009)

Problem frames for sociotechnical systems (2008)

Safety process improvement with POSE and Alloy (2007)

Towards Normal Design for Safety-Critical Systems (2007)

Problem-based analysis of organisational change: a real-world example (2006)

Problem frames for socio-technical systems (2005)

Usability evaluation of distributed groupware in distance learning (2004)

Extending low-cost remote evaluation with synchronous communication (2002)

Automatic synthesis of parallel algorithms (1995)

Digital Artefact

The computing curriculum: what every child should know (2014)

Journal Article

Using complexity and volatility characteristics to guide hybrid project management (2021)

Requirements analysis gamification in legacy system replacement projects (2020)

POE-Δ: Towards an engineering framework for solving change problems (2019)

A design theory for software engineering (2017)

Safety Engineering with COTS components (2017)

On the systematic transformation of requirements to specifications (2014)

Use of avatar virtual conferencing to co-ordinate cardiac multi-centre research (2014)

Design rationale capture for process improvement in the globalised enterprise: an industrial study (2013)

Enterprise Architecture: a snapshot from practice (2013)

Beauty in software engineering (2013)

Enterprising research skills: academia's changing role (2013)

Software engineering as the design theoretic transformation of software problems (2012)

Design concerns in the engineering of virtual worlds for learning (2011)

Assurance-driven design in Problem Oriented Engineering (2009)

Problem Oriented Software Engineering: solving the package router control problem (2008)

Special issue on applications and advances in problem frames (2008)

Problem Reduction: a systematic technique for deriving Specifications from Requirements (2006)

Deriving specifications from requirements through problem reduction (2006)

Learning software engineering at a distance (2006)

A roadmap of problem frames research (2005)

Problem frame semantics for software development (2005)

eTutorials with voice groupware: real-time conferencing to support computing students at a distance (2002)

Other

Special Issue of Information and Software Technology on Problem Frames (2005)

Presentation / Conference

Towards filling the data skills gap in the African banking sector (2024)

Complex project management: using complexity and volatility to guide hybrid methodological practices (2020)

Evaluating A Pedagogy To Close The Gap Between Theory And Professional Practice In Masters Education (2018)

A phenomenal basis for hybrid modelling (2017)

Problem drift: a risk model for complex socio-technical projects (2017)

RE-PROVO: an evaluation of gamification in a law enforcement organization (2016)

Parametrising a theory of software problem solving (2016)

The legacy problem in government agencies: an exploratory study (2015)

Teaching software systems thinking at The Open University (2015)

Towards a design theoretic characterisation of software development process models (2015)

Masters-level software engineering education and the enriched student context (2015)

Towards process design for efficient organisational problem solving (2015)

An engineering framework for dealing with change problems: theoretical underpinnings and initial evaluation (2015)

Innovation vs. Heritage: a Requirements Game to Encourage Creativity in Government Agencies' Legacy Systems Replacement Projects. (2014)

Towards executable business processes with the problem oriented engineering process algebra (2011)

Requirements practices in e-government solution development (2011)

On the construction of specifications from requirements (2011)

Modeling domain knowledge in support of requirements analysis in software engineering (2010)

Developing research degrees online (2010)

Design rationale capture in the globalised enterprise: an industrial study (2010)

deep|think: A Second Life environment for part-time research students at a distance (2010)

Lessons learned in developing a Second Life educational environment (2010)

A problem-oriented theory of pattern-oriented analysis and design (2009)

Towards a problem oriented engineering theory of pattern-oriented analysis and design (2009)

Designing an online part-time Master of Philosophy with Problem Oriented Engineering (2009)

Assurance-driven design (2008)

Requirements analysis in contex with POE Design (2008)

The discipline of natural design (2008)

3rd international workshop on advances and applications of problem frames (2008)

Safety process improvement with POSE and Alloy (2008)

Arguing safety with Problem oriented Software Engineering (2007)

Problem oriented software engineering: A design-theoretic framework for software engineering (2007)

Safety process improvement: Early analysis and justification (2007)

A problem-oriented approach to normal design for safety-critical systems (2007)

Using problem descriptions to represent variabilities for context-aware applications (2007)

From requirements to specification: a formal perspective (2006)

Capturing change in socio-technical system with problem frames (2005)

Robotics and the Q-analysis of behaviour (2005)

Architecture-driven problem decomposition (2004)

Problem frames for socio-technical systems: predictability and change (2004)

Reasoning about decomposing and recomposing problem frame developments: a case study (2004)

A Reference model for Requirements Engineering (2003)

Relating software requirements and architectures using problem frames (2002)

Voice groupware to support students at a distance (2002)

eTutorials with voice groupware: real-time conferencing to support computing students at a distance (2002)

Mapping interactions in a computer conferencing environment (2001)

Educational JavaBeans: a requirements-driven architecture (2001)

Lyceum: The system and its architecture (2000)

Object-oriented nets (1991)

Morphisms and minimal models for OBJSA nets (1991)

Report

Measuring qualification effects of a new pedagogy which embeds learning and assessment activities within each students rich professional context of practice (2017)

Systematic concept identification and evaluation for IT/business alignment (2017)

A design theory for software engineering (2016)

A General Theory of Engineering: Thinking Bigger than Software (2015)

e + 1 = 0 for Computing (2012)

Supporting Computing professionals on part-time research degrees (2011)

Give us a clue! (2010)

Middle-out design: A proposed best-practice for GEOSS design (2010)

Design rationale capture for process improvement in the globalised enterprise: an industrial study (2010)

Developing Research Degrees Online (2010)

Problem Oriented Software Engineering (2010)

Problem Oriented Engineering in action: experience from the frontline of postgraduate education (2008)

POELog: a Prolog-based engine for Problem Oriented Engineering (2008)

Capturing Knowledge through Problem Oriented Engineering (2008)

Assurance-driven development in Problem Oriented Engineering (2007)

SIL4 process improvement with POSE and Alloy (2007)

Arguing safety with Problem Oriented Software Engineering (2007)

Towards Normal Organisational Problem Solving (2007)

On the use of Coloured Petri Nets in Problem Oriented Software Engineering: the Package Router Example (2007)

Towards Context-Aware Product-Family Architectures Pilot Study Device Mobility Management Problems (2006)

Capturing Change Descriptions as Patterns in an Organisation's Changing Socio-Technical System (2006)

Problem-oriented software engineering (2006)

Relating Safety Requirements and System Design through Problem Oriented Software Engineering (2006)

Problem transformations in solving the Package Router Control problem (2006)

Problem Reduction: a systematic technique for deriving Specifications from Requirements (2006)

Using PADL to specify AFrames (2005)

A framework for software problem analysis (2005)

Capturing Change in Socio-technical System with Problem Frames (2005)

A Constructive Approach to Problem Frame Semantics (2004)

An Example of Domain Decomposition through Application of the Problem Frames Approach to a Complex Problem (2004)

Problem Frames for Socio-technical Systems (2003)

Architecture-driven Problem Decomposition (2003)

Towards a semantics of Problem Frames (2003)

A Reference Model for Requirements Engineering (2003)

Relating Software Requirements and Architectures Using Problem Frames (2002)

Low Cost Remote Evaluation with Synchronous Groupware (2002)

Extending Low-Cost Remote Evaluation with Synchronous Communication (2002)

Educational Java Beans (2001)

The Triangulation Calculus (2000)