March 2010 - Swinburne University of Technology

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swinburne March 2010 Continuous system check could release data-processing ‘brake’ story by David Adams information technology 20 In the information age data is like the air we breathe. It is consumed in volumes almost too expansive to measure, placing enormous pressure on countless IT systems that have to collect, analyse and process data against immovable deadlines, be they global financial markets or accurate weather forecasts for the nightly news. The surge in data processing has been paralleled by the development of computerdriven workflow management systems, but until now such systems have mostly monitored and reported. Timeframes have had to accommodate pre-deadline corrections. This need for error fixing comes at the cost of data-processing time and is a brake on data-processing efficiency during a period when the world’s thirst for instant, useable information is growing by the minute. Professor Yun Yang, of Swinburne University of Technology’s Centre for Complex Software Systems and Services, has set out to rectify the deficiency. He is developing software that can keep a check on the accuracy of data processing as it is happening, rather than performing timeconsuming verification checks afterwards on an entire workflow. The work is being done with Dr Jinjun Chen and other researchers at the centre in a project partly funded by the Australian Research Council. Their solution, known as SwinDeW-V, allows for ‘checkpoints’ to be identified at locations in the workflow where problems have occurred previously, minimising or eliminating the need to run checks across an entire system. “We’ve tried to identify where the problems are as early as possible but not waste time checking everywhere because every check you do involves consuming extra resources,” Professor Yang explains. The solution has been tested successfully in a simulated environment and there are numerous applications for such technology in business and commerce, where the volume of transactions needing to be processed accurately presents a constant challenge. There are also applications in science where computation-intensive tasks must be completed within a specific timeframe, as well as services such as climate and weather Key points The need for error-fixing time costs data-processing time, reducing efficiency Swinburne has developed software that can check the accuracy of data processing as it is happening, eliminating the need for time-consuming verification checks afterwards The solution has numerous ,, applications in business, commerce and science We’ve tried to identify where the problems are as early as possible but not waste time checking everywhere because every check you do involves consuming extra resources.” Professor Yun Yang forecasting that on the surface may appear routine but are built on vast, constantly changing data feeds. Professor Yang says the use of a workflow management system such as the Swinburne development could enable meteorologists to make more use of the available highpowered climate modelling systems within the required timeframes. “My understanding is that even with the computer power they have nowadays, it’s probably stretching them to the limit to use the most accurate models for daily, or even weekly, forecasts,” he says. “I know there are much more complicated models which they simply can’t use. They have to exercise caution to guarantee a result within a particular timeframe. But with our monitoring system, they can use more complicated models and where there is a problem they can recruit more resources to fix it at an early stage – not afterwards in a verification check. It means we can stretch the limits of data processing and use further.” Use of such a software monitoring system illustration: Justin Garnsworthy may also lessen the amount of computing processing power that is required to remain in reserve in case of a problem in the workflow, a factor that could lower IT costs. The Swinburne research team has already formed links with several organisations within private industry, including a company producing insurance-related software. The team is also planning to work alongside scientists at Swinburne who have to deal with vast amounts of astrophysics data. Dr Chen, who has been researching the new workflow management software systems at Swinburne, says the new software systems being investigated by the Swinburne team should have a broad application. “In the real world, most processes are constrained by time,” he says. “So in principle, the system can be applied to many, many processes.” •• Contact. . Swinburne University of Technology 1300 275 788 magazine@swinburne.edu.au www.swinburne.edu.au/magazine
March 2010 swinburne i phone, I shop … nutrition at your fingertips story by Tim Treadgold Not many Vegemite lovers realise that their daily dose of “concentrated yeast extract” also gives them a dash of caramel colouring (150d) and sulfur dioxide preservative (220). Sandy Abram knows and soon subscribers to her latest business venture will have that information at their fingertips, even while shopping. ‘Our Food’ is the next step along a career path that has taken the Swinburne University of Technology MBA graduate from hospital wards, to computer technology, into a business designed to help people eat healthier food and live better lives. If that sounds a little circuitous then consider the unique combination of skills that Sandy has acquired along the way. She is a former nurse, turned information technology professional, turned healthy food ‘preacher’, who is now armed with business skills and entrepreneurial drive. “Our Food will be all about offering people the tools to help them make better food choices,” she says. “It’s not just about selecting organic or fair-trade food, it’s about enabling people to decide at the point of purchase whether a particular product is good for them or their child.” Our Food, scheduled to launch in April, integrates food information with modern mobile communications, especially the power and versatility of ‘smart’ telephones such as Apple’s iPhone. A practical example of Our Food at work could be a parent concerned about the ingredients or additives and artificial colours found in a product about to be selected off a supermarket shelf. A few taps on an iPhone and the information is found immediately. In the future, scanning a barcode will also be able to produce this information. The same result could be achieved with a conventional mobile phone by keying in data such as a food colouring number and sending that to an Our Food free-call number. “We’re putting information in the hands of people when they need it,” Sandy says. Helping people is something that comes naturally to Sandy, who started her working life as a registered nurse at Royal Melbourne Hospital. After five years she needed a change though by starting part-time IT studies she probably did not plan such an adventurous move into business. Sandy Abram: offering people the tools to make better food choices is the next step for this Swinburne alumni in a career that has ranged from nursing to IT. Key points Swinburne MBA graduate Sandy Abram is launching her latest business venture ‘Our Food’ integrates food information with modern mobile communications and is designed to help people eat healthier foods and live better lives At Swinburne, Sandy combined practical knowledge with academic rigour That was in the mid-1990s and the first wave of the internet revolution was spreading across the world. Sandy’s IT studies landed her a job as executive assistant to the Asia–Pacific director of US software company Macromedia, and then up to Asia–Pacific marketing manager. A taste for business and a desire to learn more led Sandy to Swinburne University of Technology and her MBA studies, where she integrated practical knowledge with academic rigour. “Swinburne exposed me to the whole range of professional skills needed to run my own business,” she says. “I learned how to develop a business plan, formalise strategy and gain a better understanding of issues such as customer relationships. “As well as the books, I learned a lot from my peers in the MBA course. When you’re working in small groups you are exposed to people from a range of different industries, learning from them as well as the academic staff.” It was with this background of caring (nurse), IT (Adobe) and MBA (Swinburne), that Sandy moved deeper into the business world as a marketing consultant and then as co-founder of an organic, fair trade and sustainable food importing business called First Ray (www.firstray.com.au). Products, including tea, sustainably caught tinned fish, curry pastes and sauces, imported by First Ray can be found in highprofile retailers such as David Jones or in Oxfam shops, and even the lounges of the Photo: Paul Jones airline Virgin Blue. The next step is Our Food. This is where Sandy is combining her practical knowledge of why eating well helps prevent lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure with her IT and business skills. “Rather than focusing on a product or solely on the organic industry, it’s about combining technology with food choice,” she says. To Sandy it is about giving people access to the best information possible at the point of decision making or POST (point of shopping trolley). By doing so she hopes to help people choose a product that does not contain chemicals or additives that might negatively affect their health. “It is about linking the technology experience I had with Adobe/Macromedia and healthy living. Better-educated people eat better, with a positive ripple effect from farmers right through to consumers.” Sandy acknowledges that what she is trying to achieve with Our Food is stretching boundaries in terms of integrating personal communications technology and food. “I probably am ahead of the curve, but there is often an advantage in being an early adapter and marketer of a new technology … and while it might sound corny, I really am passionate about helping people make conscious, informed lifestyle choices.” •• Contact. . Swinburne University of Technology 1300 275 788 magazine@swinburne.edu.au www.swinburne.edu.au/magazine alumnialumni profile 21
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March 2010 - Swinburne University of Technology

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