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2025
Conference article
Open Access
A framework integrating agile software development principles for co-design and participatory cost-benefit evaluation in digital agriculture
Lepore F., Vergamini D., Ortolani L., Mannari C., Ferrari A., Bacco M., Brunori G.
Digital innovation in agriculture often struggles to meet real operational needs due to limited stakeholder involvement and insufficient assessment of context-specific costs and benefits. To bridge this gap this paper introduces AGILE- CBA, a methodological framework that (a) integrates co-design practices, (b) is structured through a Scrum Agile development process, and (c) includes a participatory cost-benefit evaluation. The framework organises co-design into a seven-step iterative cycle, embedding a five-step participatory assessment loop within each sprint. This dual structure enables the continuous and situated evaluation of both expected and observed costs and benefits, encompassing tangible and intangible aspects. By aligning key Scrum practices, such as backlog management, sprint reviews and retrospectives, with facilitated dialogue and collective reflection, AGILE-CBA can support more informed prioritisation, enhances context relevance, and reduces adoption risks. Facilitators play a crucial role in mediating communication and adjusting the pace and content of participatory activities to seasonal workloads and user capabilities. The approach is particularly suited to farming systems characterised by variability, environmental and seasonal dependency, and multi-actor complexity, offering a flexible and replicable pathway toward more inclusive, context-aware, and sustainable digital agriculture.
Lepore F., Vergamini D., Ortolani L., Mannari C., Ferrari A., Bacco M., Brunori G.
Digital innovation in agriculture often struggles to meet real operational needs due to limited stakeholder involvement and insufficient assessment of context-specific costs and benefits. To bridge this gap this paper introduces AGILE- CBA, a methodological framework that (a) integrates co-design practices, (b) is structured through a Scrum Agile development process, and (c) includes a participatory cost-benefit evaluation. The framework organises co-design into a seven-step iterative cycle, embedding a five-step participatory assessment loop within each sprint. This dual structure enables the continuous and situated evaluation of both expected and observed costs and benefits, encompassing tangible and intangible aspects. By aligning key Scrum practices, such as backlog management, sprint reviews and retrospectives, with facilitated dialogue and collective reflection, AGILE-CBA can support more informed prioritisation, enhances context relevance, and reduces adoption risks. Facilitators play a crucial role in mediating communication and adjusting the pace and content of participatory activities to seasonal workloads and user capabilities. The approach is particularly suited to farming systems characterised by variability, environmental and seasonal dependency, and multi-actor complexity, offering a flexible and replicable pathway toward more inclusive, context-aware, and sustainable digital agriculture.
2025
Journal article
Open Access
Sustainable digitalisation - a system thinking approach for determining costs and benefits in the agri-sector
Soma K., Brunori G., Giagnocavo C., Meulman F., Ryan M., Heredia Hortigüela R. M., Iliopoulos C., Paulus M., Ferrari A., Kilis E., Grando S., Bellon-Maurel V., Knierim A, Gobrecht A, Selnes T., Ortolani L., Bacco M., Mannari C.
The digital transformation of agriculture is widely promoted as a pathway to sustainability, yet the actual outcomes of digitalisation remain uncertain and context-dependent. As such, technology uptake among businesses can have positive impacts on individual farms, while the aggregated outcomes of digitalisation involving multiple farms and multi-actors in associated networks are fully uncertain. The novelty of this research is the introduction of an approach to investigate costs and benefits in different contexts at different levels of digitalisation. Objective The main objective is to introduce a systems-based approach for assessing sustainable digitalisation by differentiating outcomes across multiple levels of analysis. This approach is designed to address the common pitfall of generalising impacts such as assuming large-scale effects based on evidence limited to the farm level. Methods This research is based on a scoping literature review in the European Union Horizon Europe project called CODECS, which is highly suited for interdisciplinary research with multiple topics. Results and conclusion A framework has been designed to clarify the needs for distinguishing costs and benefits of digitalisation across three interconnected system levels: digitised socio-physical systems, socio-cyber-physical systems, and governance-cyber-ecological systems. To deal with complexities at each level, the framework integrates internal and external drivers, contextual conditions, and value-based perspectives, which all will influence outcomes of sustainability assessments. Significance The framework offers a practical tool for researchers, policymakers, and innovation actors, to deal with the complexities of digital transitions in agriculture, to reach at sustainable digitalisation outcomes in a long term regionally, as well as in a short-term locally, by enhanced understanding of the needs for distinguished sustainability assessment applications to reach at more accurate costs and benefits.Source: AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS, vol. 231 (issue 104529)
DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104529
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
Soma K., Brunori G., Giagnocavo C., Meulman F., Ryan M., Heredia Hortigüela R. M., Iliopoulos C., Paulus M., Ferrari A., Kilis E., Grando S., Bellon-Maurel V., Knierim A, Gobrecht A, Selnes T., Ortolani L., Bacco M., Mannari C.
The digital transformation of agriculture is widely promoted as a pathway to sustainability, yet the actual outcomes of digitalisation remain uncertain and context-dependent. As such, technology uptake among businesses can have positive impacts on individual farms, while the aggregated outcomes of digitalisation involving multiple farms and multi-actors in associated networks are fully uncertain. The novelty of this research is the introduction of an approach to investigate costs and benefits in different contexts at different levels of digitalisation. Objective The main objective is to introduce a systems-based approach for assessing sustainable digitalisation by differentiating outcomes across multiple levels of analysis. This approach is designed to address the common pitfall of generalising impacts such as assuming large-scale effects based on evidence limited to the farm level. Methods This research is based on a scoping literature review in the European Union Horizon Europe project called CODECS, which is highly suited for interdisciplinary research with multiple topics. Results and conclusion A framework has been designed to clarify the needs for distinguishing costs and benefits of digitalisation across three interconnected system levels: digitised socio-physical systems, socio-cyber-physical systems, and governance-cyber-ecological systems. To deal with complexities at each level, the framework integrates internal and external drivers, contextual conditions, and value-based perspectives, which all will influence outcomes of sustainability assessments. Significance The framework offers a practical tool for researchers, policymakers, and innovation actors, to deal with the complexities of digital transitions in agriculture, to reach at sustainable digitalisation outcomes in a long term regionally, as well as in a short-term locally, by enhanced understanding of the needs for distinguished sustainability assessment applications to reach at more accurate costs and benefits.Source: AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS, vol. 231 (issue 104529)
DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104529
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
See at:
Agricultural Systems 
| CNR IRIS | www.sciencedirect.com | CNR IRIS 
2025
Conference article
Open Access
Assisting stakeholders in class diagram interpretation with LLMs: a work in progress
Mannari C., Turchi T., Bacco M., Malizia A.
Diagrams can be valuable tools in requirements engineering to establish a shared understanding between software engineers and stakeholders. However, interacting with these visual representations can be challenging for some stakeholders who prefer textual descriptions and may need support to inter- pret notation elements and understand the diagram structure and meaning. To address this need, we explore the use of Large Language Models to effectively assist stakeholders interacting with diagrams by providing automatic textual explanations and contextual guidance. Specifically, we aim to design and evaluate with stakeholders an interactive layer (integrated into an end- user-oriented modelling tool) that provides automatic diagram explanations in natural language. As a first step toward our research objective, this paper investigates the capability of GPT4 to generate appropriate textual descriptions from domain models. We use a test data set consisting of UML class diagrams in various formats, belonging to the domain of digital agriculture, and develop a set of prompts to generate the interactive ex- planatory layer. We conduct a technical evaluation of the output, focusing on correctness, completeness, and understandability. The results provide valuable insights to inform future design and research, while also revealing potential challenges in real-world applications.DOI: 10.1109/rew66121.2025.00045
Metrics:
Mannari C., Turchi T., Bacco M., Malizia A.
Diagrams can be valuable tools in requirements engineering to establish a shared understanding between software engineers and stakeholders. However, interacting with these visual representations can be challenging for some stakeholders who prefer textual descriptions and may need support to inter- pret notation elements and understand the diagram structure and meaning. To address this need, we explore the use of Large Language Models to effectively assist stakeholders interacting with diagrams by providing automatic textual explanations and contextual guidance. Specifically, we aim to design and evaluate with stakeholders an interactive layer (integrated into an end- user-oriented modelling tool) that provides automatic diagram explanations in natural language. As a first step toward our research objective, this paper investigates the capability of GPT4 to generate appropriate textual descriptions from domain models. We use a test data set consisting of UML class diagrams in various formats, belonging to the domain of digital agriculture, and develop a set of prompts to generate the interactive ex- planatory layer. We conduct a technical evaluation of the output, focusing on correctness, completeness, and understandability. The results provide valuable insights to inform future design and research, while also revealing potential challenges in real-world applications.DOI: 10.1109/rew66121.2025.00045
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ieeexplore.ieee.org | doi.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2025
Conference article
Restricted
Assessing computational thinking skills through artefacts: the case of modeLLer
Mannari C., Turchi T., Frosali C., Bacco M., Ferrari A., Conati C., Malizia A.
Computational thinking (CT) skills provide structured approaches to problem-solving that are valuable for navigating the increasing complexity of technological environments. CT skills can be assessed through various methods and perspectives. EUDability provides a framework for evaluating end-user development (EUD) tools, with core dimensions directly aligned to CT skills. This paper explores how CT skills manifest in the creation of visual models, an activity that supports the representation and understanding of socio-technical systems. We propose an evaluation method employing ModeLLer, a block-based EUD modelling tool and a user study. We carry out a structured evaluation integrating the EUDability inspection and process-based CT skills evaluation with the assessment of the artefacts produced by end-users. Results highlight the ability of ModeLLer to support the modelling activity while also providing insights into the EUDability of the tool and end-users’ CT skills. Furthermore, although preliminary, our results illustrate the relationship between tool capabilities, user skills, and modelling outcomes.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 15713, pp. 312-321. Munich, Germany, 16-18/06/2025
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-95452-8_19
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
Mannari C., Turchi T., Frosali C., Bacco M., Ferrari A., Conati C., Malizia A.
Computational thinking (CT) skills provide structured approaches to problem-solving that are valuable for navigating the increasing complexity of technological environments. CT skills can be assessed through various methods and perspectives. EUDability provides a framework for evaluating end-user development (EUD) tools, with core dimensions directly aligned to CT skills. This paper explores how CT skills manifest in the creation of visual models, an activity that supports the representation and understanding of socio-technical systems. We propose an evaluation method employing ModeLLer, a block-based EUD modelling tool and a user study. We carry out a structured evaluation integrating the EUDability inspection and process-based CT skills evaluation with the assessment of the artefacts produced by end-users. Results highlight the ability of ModeLLer to support the modelling activity while also providing insights into the EUDability of the tool and end-users’ CT skills. Furthermore, although preliminary, our results illustrate the relationship between tool capabilities, user skills, and modelling outcomes.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 15713, pp. 312-321. Munich, Germany, 16-18/06/2025
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-95452-8_19
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS | link.springer.com
2025
Other
Open Access
CODECS Deliverable D3.2. Analysis of Digital Ecosystems
Giagnocavo C., Hortigüela R. M. H., Olmedo Osuna L., Knierim A., Herrera B., Ferrari A., Mannari C., Bacco M.
This Deliverable 3.1 provides an in-depth analysis of Digital Ecosystems (DEs) across 19 Living Labs (LLs) established under the CODECS project. It constitutes a central output of Work Package 3 (WP3), which examines how socio-ecological conditions shape agricultural digitalisation processes. The document builds upon the initial version of D3.1 delivered at M24, extending it with a more detailed and validated description of the DEs. As such, it lays the foundations for the forthcoming Deliverable 3.2 (Comparative Assessment of Digital Ecosystems, due at M44), where a typology of DEs and a comparative evaluation of farm digital readiness, scaling readiness and digital ecosystem conduciveness across Europe will be developed. The results of D3.1 are based on a participatory methodology involving workshops, interviews and co-creation sessions with the 19 Living Labs. Each LL identified its Focal Action Situation (FAS), the concrete problem statement around which actors, resources and governance systems interact, and mapped the RCCIs required to address it. Data were subsequently coded and analysed enabling a context-sensitive characterisation of DEs for each LL.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17235792
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
Giagnocavo C., Hortigüela R. M. H., Olmedo Osuna L., Knierim A., Herrera B., Ferrari A., Mannari C., Bacco M.
This Deliverable 3.1 provides an in-depth analysis of Digital Ecosystems (DEs) across 19 Living Labs (LLs) established under the CODECS project. It constitutes a central output of Work Package 3 (WP3), which examines how socio-ecological conditions shape agricultural digitalisation processes. The document builds upon the initial version of D3.1 delivered at M24, extending it with a more detailed and validated description of the DEs. As such, it lays the foundations for the forthcoming Deliverable 3.2 (Comparative Assessment of Digital Ecosystems, due at M44), where a typology of DEs and a comparative evaluation of farm digital readiness, scaling readiness and digital ecosystem conduciveness across Europe will be developed. The results of D3.1 are based on a participatory methodology involving workshops, interviews and co-creation sessions with the 19 Living Labs. Each LL identified its Focal Action Situation (FAS), the concrete problem statement around which actors, resources and governance systems interact, and mapped the RCCIs required to address it. Data were subsequently coded and analysed enabling a context-sensitive characterisation of DEs for each LL.DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17235792
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
2025
Conference article
Open Access
End-user requirements modelling: an experience report from digital agriculture
Mannari C., Sportelli M., Meesala H., Okoye O. F., Lepore F., Bacco M., Brunori G., Malizia A., Ferrari A.
Context and motivation: End-user development focuses on enabling non-professional programmers to create or extend software applications on their own. However, before beginning the development process, software engineering best practices recommend performing requirements engineering (RE) activities, including requirements modelling.Question/problem: There is limited research on how end-users can model system requirements. Principal ideas/results: In this experience report, we investigate the problem of end-user requirements modelling in an EU-funded project about agricultural digitalisation. Specifically, a team of agronomists was directly involved in the creation of UML, iStar, and BPMN diagrams to model the transformation of socio-technical processes in four different concrete scenarios. They followed a formalisation procedure proposed within an RE method designed to help stakeholders evaluate the impact of agricultural digitalisation. Starting from textual reports including a description of the process as-is and the process-to-be, they followed step-by-step guidelines for model creation. Contribution: This paper reports insights from the experience from the viewpoint of the agronomists and software engineers involved. We identify nine key lessons that highlight the added value of end-user requirements modelling for achieving a shared and in-depth understanding of the socio-technical processes under analysis.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 15588, pp. 304-316. Barcellona, Spain, 2025
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-88531-0_22
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
Mannari C., Sportelli M., Meesala H., Okoye O. F., Lepore F., Bacco M., Brunori G., Malizia A., Ferrari A.
Context and motivation: End-user development focuses on enabling non-professional programmers to create or extend software applications on their own. However, before beginning the development process, software engineering best practices recommend performing requirements engineering (RE) activities, including requirements modelling.Question/problem: There is limited research on how end-users can model system requirements. Principal ideas/results: In this experience report, we investigate the problem of end-user requirements modelling in an EU-funded project about agricultural digitalisation. Specifically, a team of agronomists was directly involved in the creation of UML, iStar, and BPMN diagrams to model the transformation of socio-technical processes in four different concrete scenarios. They followed a formalisation procedure proposed within an RE method designed to help stakeholders evaluate the impact of agricultural digitalisation. Starting from textual reports including a description of the process as-is and the process-to-be, they followed step-by-step guidelines for model creation. Contribution: This paper reports insights from the experience from the viewpoint of the agronomists and software engineers involved. We identify nine key lessons that highlight the added value of end-user requirements modelling for achieving a shared and in-depth understanding of the socio-technical processes under analysis.Source: LECTURE NOTES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, vol. 15588, pp. 304-316. Barcellona, Spain, 2025
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-88531-0_22
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | link.springer.com | doi.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2024
Conference article
Open Access
A model-driven requirements engineering method for human-centered digitalisation of agriculture
Mannari C.
[Context and motivation] Digitalisation in agriculture is a socio-technical process that involves multiple stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and skills, e.g., in farming or technology. Capturing process transformation requires focusing on different dimensions, i.e., system structure, process flow, and actors' goals. Model-driven requirements engineering (MoDRE) techniques can offer the means to elicit and represent this multi-dimensional information. [Question/problem] This research investigates how MoDRE techniques can support the information exchange within interdisciplinary teams involved in the representation of process transformation in digital agriculture. [Principal ideas/results] We propose a method for process modelling in agricultural domains consisting of (1) a set of different diagrams, namely UML, i* and BPMN, (2) a procedure based on guidelines and (3) a tool to support the co-creation of the diagrams within the context of living labs (LLs, i.e., networks of stakeholders involved in a common socio-technical system). We plan to apply the method through action research in the context of 20 European living labs in the agricultural domain and evaluate the method through standard user questionnaires. [Contribution] There is little empirical evidence on using MoDRE techniques in real-world environments. This study fills this gap by developing a method for socio-technical process modelling in co-design contexts.DOI: 10.1109/re59067.2024.00064
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
Mannari C.
[Context and motivation] Digitalisation in agriculture is a socio-technical process that involves multiple stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and skills, e.g., in farming or technology. Capturing process transformation requires focusing on different dimensions, i.e., system structure, process flow, and actors' goals. Model-driven requirements engineering (MoDRE) techniques can offer the means to elicit and represent this multi-dimensional information. [Question/problem] This research investigates how MoDRE techniques can support the information exchange within interdisciplinary teams involved in the representation of process transformation in digital agriculture. [Principal ideas/results] We propose a method for process modelling in agricultural domains consisting of (1) a set of different diagrams, namely UML, i* and BPMN, (2) a procedure based on guidelines and (3) a tool to support the co-creation of the diagrams within the context of living labs (LLs, i.e., networks of stakeholders involved in a common socio-technical system). We plan to apply the method through action research in the context of 20 European living labs in the agricultural domain and evaluate the method through standard user questionnaires. [Contribution] There is little empirical evidence on using MoDRE techniques in real-world environments. This study fills this gap by developing a method for socio-technical process modelling in co-design contexts.DOI: 10.1109/re59067.2024.00064
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ieeexplore.ieee.org | doi.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2024
Conference article
Open Access
ModeLLer – Enabling end-users to model systems: a case study in digital agriculture
Mannari C., Anichini E., Bacco M., Ferrari A., Turchi T., Malizia A.
Digital technologies show promising potential in the development of sustainable agriculture. For example, the combination of cloud and edge paradigms, 5G, and the Internet of Things (IoT) allows the development of sophisticated applications — e.g., for food traceability, pest detection, and automatic irrigation — with the possibility to also exploit Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered techniques. At the same time, digitalisation in agriculture is a socio-technical process that involves several classes of stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and skills, e.g., in farming or technology. Model-driven approaches leveraging diagrammatic notations can support information exchange between different domains. In fact, the development of models can be a co-design practice involving end-users throughout all phases of creation because of their expressive power. However, current modelling platforms are typically oriented toward engineers, and there is a lack of tools accessible to end-users for designing and modelling systems. In this position paper, we present ModeLLer, a prototype of a web environment for modelling systems based on an intuitive visual language that can be exported into standard code. The aim is to increasingly involve users in modelling their digital ecosystems as a task for developing digital applications.Source: CEUR WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS, vol. 3685. Arenzano, Italy, 4/06/2024
Project(s): CODECS
Mannari C., Anichini E., Bacco M., Ferrari A., Turchi T., Malizia A.
Digital technologies show promising potential in the development of sustainable agriculture. For example, the combination of cloud and edge paradigms, 5G, and the Internet of Things (IoT) allows the development of sophisticated applications — e.g., for food traceability, pest detection, and automatic irrigation — with the possibility to also exploit Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered techniques. At the same time, digitalisation in agriculture is a socio-technical process that involves several classes of stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and skills, e.g., in farming or technology. Model-driven approaches leveraging diagrammatic notations can support information exchange between different domains. In fact, the development of models can be a co-design practice involving end-users throughout all phases of creation because of their expressive power. However, current modelling platforms are typically oriented toward engineers, and there is a lack of tools accessible to end-users for designing and modelling systems. In this position paper, we present ModeLLer, a prototype of a web environment for modelling systems based on an intuitive visual language that can be exported into standard code. The aim is to increasingly involve users in modelling their digital ecosystems as a task for developing digital applications.Source: CEUR WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS, vol. 3685. Arenzano, Italy, 4/06/2024
Project(s): CODECS
See at:
ceur-ws.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2024
Conference article
Open Access
Towards a toolkit for socio-technical process modelling in agriculture: a pilot study
Mannari C., Sportelli M., Okoye O. F., Bacco M., Ferrari A., Malizia A., Brunori G.
Digital technologies are transforming agriculture, affecting social, institutional, economic, environmental, and technological dimensions. To ensure sustainable development, it is essential to anticipate these impacts and create conditions for sustainable change. Living Labs (LLs) concept facilitates this by involving various stakeholders in co-designing solutions. This paper presents a socio-technical process modelling method using Model-driven requirements engineering (MoDRE) techniques. It employs UML class diagrams, iStar diagrams, and BPMN diagrams to model process structures, goals, and flows. The method, part of the Horizon Europe project CODECS, involves data collection, diagram design, and iterative feedback, tested in a precision irrigation pilot study in Tuscany. Preliminary results demonstrate the method's effectiveness in supporting interdisciplinary teams, fostering better communication, and aiding in the analysis of digitalisation impacts on agricultural processes. Furthermore, the discussion with stakeholders allowed the fine-tuning of the models and enriched the method for co-creating the diagrams with a toolkit composed of a set of guidelines for eliciting process-relevant information from LLs, a checklist and a detailed procedure for graphical representation.DOI: 10.1109/metroagrifor63043.2024.10948866
Metrics:
Mannari C., Sportelli M., Okoye O. F., Bacco M., Ferrari A., Malizia A., Brunori G.
Digital technologies are transforming agriculture, affecting social, institutional, economic, environmental, and technological dimensions. To ensure sustainable development, it is essential to anticipate these impacts and create conditions for sustainable change. Living Labs (LLs) concept facilitates this by involving various stakeholders in co-designing solutions. This paper presents a socio-technical process modelling method using Model-driven requirements engineering (MoDRE) techniques. It employs UML class diagrams, iStar diagrams, and BPMN diagrams to model process structures, goals, and flows. The method, part of the Horizon Europe project CODECS, involves data collection, diagram design, and iterative feedback, tested in a precision irrigation pilot study in Tuscany. Preliminary results demonstrate the method's effectiveness in supporting interdisciplinary teams, fostering better communication, and aiding in the analysis of digitalisation impacts on agricultural processes. Furthermore, the discussion with stakeholders allowed the fine-tuning of the models and enriched the method for co-creating the diagrams with a toolkit composed of a set of guidelines for eliciting process-relevant information from LLs, a checklist and a detailed procedure for graphical representation.DOI: 10.1109/metroagrifor63043.2024.10948866
Metrics:
See at:
CNR IRIS | ieeexplore.ieee.org | doi.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2024
Conference article
Open Access
Towards a method for modelling socio-technical process transformation in digital agriculture
Mannari C., Bacco M., Spagnolo G. O., Malizia A., Ferrari A.
[Context and motivation] Digitalisation in agriculture is a socio-technical process that involves multiple stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and skills, e.g., in farming or technology. Capturing process transformation requires focusing on different dimensions, i.e., system structure, process flow, and actors' goals. Model-driven requirements engineering (MoDRE) techniques can offer the means to elicit and represent this multi-dimensional information. [Question/problem] This paper explores how MoDRE techniques can facilitate information exchange within interdisciplinary teams engaged in agricultural process transformations driven by digitalisation. [Principal ideas/results] We present a preliminary method for socio-technical process modelling consisting of (i) a set of different MoDRE diagrams, namely UML, iStar, and BPMN, and (ii) a procedure to collect the data required for the definition of the diagrams. The method is developed according to design science, and is currently evaluated through an action research study in the context of a living lab (LL, i.e., a network of stakeholders involved in a common socio-technical system) belonging to the agricultural domain. The evaluation with agronomists, practitioners, domain experts, and software engineers shows that the models developed are effective and understandable. Furthermore, the discussion over the completeness of the diagrams led to improved versions of the representations, considering different dimensions of the process transformation. [Contribution] There is little empirical evidence on the use of MoDRE techniques in real-world environments. This study fills this gap by developing a preliminary method for socio-technical process modelling in co-design contexts. The presented evaluation confirms the feasibility of the proposal.DOI: 10.1109/rew61692.2024.00046
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14005930
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14005929
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
Mannari C., Bacco M., Spagnolo G. O., Malizia A., Ferrari A.
[Context and motivation] Digitalisation in agriculture is a socio-technical process that involves multiple stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and skills, e.g., in farming or technology. Capturing process transformation requires focusing on different dimensions, i.e., system structure, process flow, and actors' goals. Model-driven requirements engineering (MoDRE) techniques can offer the means to elicit and represent this multi-dimensional information. [Question/problem] This paper explores how MoDRE techniques can facilitate information exchange within interdisciplinary teams engaged in agricultural process transformations driven by digitalisation. [Principal ideas/results] We present a preliminary method for socio-technical process modelling consisting of (i) a set of different MoDRE diagrams, namely UML, iStar, and BPMN, and (ii) a procedure to collect the data required for the definition of the diagrams. The method is developed according to design science, and is currently evaluated through an action research study in the context of a living lab (LL, i.e., a network of stakeholders involved in a common socio-technical system) belonging to the agricultural domain. The evaluation with agronomists, practitioners, domain experts, and software engineers shows that the models developed are effective and understandable. Furthermore, the discussion over the completeness of the diagrams led to improved versions of the representations, considering different dimensions of the process transformation. [Contribution] There is little empirical evidence on the use of MoDRE techniques in real-world environments. This study fills this gap by developing a preliminary method for socio-technical process modelling in co-design contexts. The presented evaluation confirms the feasibility of the proposal.DOI: 10.1109/rew61692.2024.00046
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14005930
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14005929
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
See at:
ZENODO | CNR IRIS | ieeexplore.ieee.org | ZENODO | doi.org | ZENODO | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2024
Conference article
Open Access
A model-driven requirements engineering method for human-centered digitalisation of agriculture
Mannari C.
[Context and motivation] Digitalisation in agriculture is a socio-technical process that involves multiple stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and skills, e.g., in farming or technology. Capturing process transformation requires focusing on different dimensions, i.e., system structure, process flow, and actors’ goals. Model-driven requirements engineering (MoDRE) techniques can offer the means to elicit and represent this multi-dimensional information. [Question/problem] This research investigates how MoDRE techniques can support the information exchange within interdisciplinary teams involved in the representation of process transformation in digital agriculture. [Principal ideas/results] We propose a method for process modelling in agricultural domains consisting of (1) an artefact based on a set of different diagrams, namely UML, i* and BPMN, (2) a procedure based on guidelines and (3) a tool to support the co-creation of the diagrams within the context of living labs (LLs, i.e., networks of stakeholders involved in a common socio-technical system). We plan to apply the method through action research in the context of 20 European living labs in the agricultural domain and evaluate the method through standard user questionnaires. [Contribution] There is little empirical evidence on using MoDRE techniques in real-world environments. This study fills this gap by developing a method for socio-technical process modelling in co-design contexts.Source: CEUR WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS, vol. 3672. Winterthur, Switzerland, 8-11/04/2024
Project(s): CODECS
Mannari C.
[Context and motivation] Digitalisation in agriculture is a socio-technical process that involves multiple stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and skills, e.g., in farming or technology. Capturing process transformation requires focusing on different dimensions, i.e., system structure, process flow, and actors’ goals. Model-driven requirements engineering (MoDRE) techniques can offer the means to elicit and represent this multi-dimensional information. [Question/problem] This research investigates how MoDRE techniques can support the information exchange within interdisciplinary teams involved in the representation of process transformation in digital agriculture. [Principal ideas/results] We propose a method for process modelling in agricultural domains consisting of (1) an artefact based on a set of different diagrams, namely UML, i* and BPMN, (2) a procedure based on guidelines and (3) a tool to support the co-creation of the diagrams within the context of living labs (LLs, i.e., networks of stakeholders involved in a common socio-technical system). We plan to apply the method through action research in the context of 20 European living labs in the agricultural domain and evaluate the method through standard user questionnaires. [Contribution] There is little empirical evidence on using MoDRE techniques in real-world environments. This study fills this gap by developing a method for socio-technical process modelling in co-design contexts.Source: CEUR WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS, vol. 3672. Winterthur, Switzerland, 8-11/04/2024
Project(s): CODECS
See at:
ceur-ws.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2023
Contribution to conference
Open Access
Digitalisation of agriculture: development and evaluation of a model-based requirements engineering process
Mannari C, Spagnolo Go, Bacco M, Malizia A
[Context and Motivation] The requirements elicitation process for socio-technical systems requires the involvement of diverse stakeholders with different backgrounds and skills. In these contexts, ef- fective communication between business analysts and stakeholders can be supported by model-based requirements engineering (MoDRE) strategies, which leverage diagrammatic notations as a means for information exchange. [Question/Problem] Several diagrams and approaches exist to facilitate MoDRE. However, empirical evidence on their applicability to real-world contexts with a relevant social com- ponent, and going through a process of digitalisation, is limited. Furthermore, existing approaches do not evaluate the impact that the deployment of a novel digital system has on the process and its actors. [Principal idea/Results] The research outlined in this paper aims to evaluate the joint usage of typical requirements engineer notations, namely i*, class diagrams, and business process models in the elicitation of requirements for socially-intensive systems that are going through a transformative digitalisation process. We apply these notations to represent the system-as-is, and the system-to-be, with the goal of also evaluating the impact of digitalisation. We focus on living labs (LL, i.e., networks of stakeholders participating in a socio-technical system) belonging to the agriculture domain, and provide a preliminary application on a farm that is introducing an AI-based irrigation system. [Contribution] The results show that effective communication with non-technical stakeholders is feasible with the envisioned approach. Although multiple iterations are required, agronomists and farmers are able to provide constructive feedback on the basis of the models. Furthermore, impacts in terms of additional/removed tasks and actors can be effectively characterised through business process models. As part of our overall project, we will refine the method, and then apply it in 20 living labs in the EU.Source: CEUR WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS. Barcelona, Spain, 17-20/04/2023
Mannari C, Spagnolo Go, Bacco M, Malizia A
[Context and Motivation] The requirements elicitation process for socio-technical systems requires the involvement of diverse stakeholders with different backgrounds and skills. In these contexts, ef- fective communication between business analysts and stakeholders can be supported by model-based requirements engineering (MoDRE) strategies, which leverage diagrammatic notations as a means for information exchange. [Question/Problem] Several diagrams and approaches exist to facilitate MoDRE. However, empirical evidence on their applicability to real-world contexts with a relevant social com- ponent, and going through a process of digitalisation, is limited. Furthermore, existing approaches do not evaluate the impact that the deployment of a novel digital system has on the process and its actors. [Principal idea/Results] The research outlined in this paper aims to evaluate the joint usage of typical requirements engineer notations, namely i*, class diagrams, and business process models in the elicitation of requirements for socially-intensive systems that are going through a transformative digitalisation process. We apply these notations to represent the system-as-is, and the system-to-be, with the goal of also evaluating the impact of digitalisation. We focus on living labs (LL, i.e., networks of stakeholders participating in a socio-technical system) belonging to the agriculture domain, and provide a preliminary application on a farm that is introducing an AI-based irrigation system. [Contribution] The results show that effective communication with non-technical stakeholders is feasible with the envisioned approach. Although multiple iterations are required, agronomists and farmers are able to provide constructive feedback on the basis of the models. Furthermore, impacts in terms of additional/removed tasks and actors can be effectively characterised through business process models. As part of our overall project, we will refine the method, and then apply it in 20 living labs in the EU.Source: CEUR WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS. Barcelona, Spain, 17-20/04/2023
See at:
ceur-ws.org | CNR IRIS | ISTI Repository | ISTI Repository | ISTI Repository | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2023
Conference article
Metadata Only Access
Digitalising agriculture: design and development of a modelling web environment for end-users
Mannari C, Anichini E, Malizia A, Turchi T, Ferrari A, Bacco M
Modern digital technologies have a promising potential in the development of sustainable agriculture. For example, cloud computers powered by 5G IoT components allow the development of sophisticated applications -- e.g., for food traceability, pest detection, automatic irrigation -- also making use of different AI-based techniques. At the same time, digitalisation in agriculture is considered a socio-technical process to be evaluated by different stakeholders through collaborative approaches. Model-based requirements engineering strategies, which leverage diagrammatic notations, can support information exchange between different domains. Based on the evaluation of different solutions, we found a lack of tools for designing and modelling systems accessible to end-users. Most professional tools are desktop applications based on complex interactions, limited user experience, or generalist web platforms needing more formal components. In our study, we developed a prototype of a web environment for modelling systems based on a visual language that can be exported into standard code. We aim to involve end-users in modelling their digital ecosystems as a preliminary task for developing further applications. The prototype was evaluated in a workshop with experts following the cognitive walkthrough methodology for usability inspection. The evaluation highlighted the UI requirements to support easy-to-understand visual elements and maximise the understanding of actions while limiting user errors.
Mannari C, Anichini E, Malizia A, Turchi T, Ferrari A, Bacco M
Modern digital technologies have a promising potential in the development of sustainable agriculture. For example, cloud computers powered by 5G IoT components allow the development of sophisticated applications -- e.g., for food traceability, pest detection, automatic irrigation -- also making use of different AI-based techniques. At the same time, digitalisation in agriculture is considered a socio-technical process to be evaluated by different stakeholders through collaborative approaches. Model-based requirements engineering strategies, which leverage diagrammatic notations, can support information exchange between different domains. Based on the evaluation of different solutions, we found a lack of tools for designing and modelling systems accessible to end-users. Most professional tools are desktop applications based on complex interactions, limited user experience, or generalist web platforms needing more formal components. In our study, we developed a prototype of a web environment for modelling systems based on a visual language that can be exported into standard code. We aim to involve end-users in modelling their digital ecosystems as a preliminary task for developing further applications. The prototype was evaluated in a workshop with experts following the cognitive walkthrough methodology for usability inspection. The evaluation highlighted the UI requirements to support easy-to-understand visual elements and maximise the understanding of actions while limiting user errors.
See at:
CNR IRIS
2023
Conference article
Open Access
ModeLLer - a prototype to support requirements elicitation in co-design environments
Mannari C., Anichini E., Bacco F. M., Ferrari A., Turchi T., Malizia A.
This contribution presents ModeLLer, a prototype of a web tool for system modelling based on a block-based visual editor. The aim of ModeLLer is to enable collaborative environments in requirements elicitation, allowing end-users to create UML class diagrams without any knowledge of the (semi-)formal UML notation.DOI: 10.1109/re57278.2023.00055
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
Mannari C., Anichini E., Bacco F. M., Ferrari A., Turchi T., Malizia A.
This contribution presents ModeLLer, a prototype of a web tool for system modelling based on a block-based visual editor. The aim of ModeLLer is to enable collaborative environments in requirements elicitation, allowing end-users to create UML class diagrams without any knowledge of the (semi-)formal UML notation.DOI: 10.1109/re57278.2023.00055
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
See at:
Archivio della Ricerca - Università di Pisa | Archivio della Ricerca - Università di Pisa | IRIS Cnr | Archivio della Ricerca - Università di Pisa | ISTI Repository | IRIS Cnr | doi.org | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2023
Conference article
Open Access
The ethical impact assessment of selling life insurance to titanic passengers
Gezici G, Mannari C, Orlandi L
The Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) is a uniform legal framework to ensure that AI systems within the European Union (EU) are safe and comply with existing law on fundamental rights and constitutional values. The AIA adopts a risk-based approach with the aim of intending to regulate AI systems, especially categorised as high-risk, which have significant harmful impacts on the health, safety and fundamental rights of persons in the Union. The AIA is founded on the Ethics Guidelines of the High-Level Expert Group for Trustworthy AI, which are grounded in fundamental rights and reflect four ethical imperatives in order to ensure ethical and robust AI. While we acknowledge that ethics is not law, we advocate that the analysis of ethical risks can assist us in complying with laws, thereby facilitating the implementation of the AIA requirements. Thus, we first design an AI-driven Decision Support System for individual risk prediction in the insurance domain (categorised as high-risk by the AIA) based on the Titanic case, which is a popular benchmark dataset in machine learning. We then fulfill an ethical impact assessment of the Titanic case study, relying on the four ethical imperatives of respect for human autonomy, prevention of harm, fairness, and explicability, declared by the High-Level Expert Group for Trustworthy AI. In the context of this ethical impact assessment, we also refer to the questions in the ALTAI checklist. Our discussions regarding the ethical impact assessment in the insurance domain demonstrate that ethical principles can intersect but also create tensions (intriguingly, only in this particular context), for which there is no definitive solution. When tensions arise, which may result in unavoidable trade-offs, these trade-offs should be addressed in a rational and methodical manner, paying special attention to the context of the current case study being evaluated.Source: CEUR WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS, pp. 35-50. Munich, Germany, 26-27/06/2023
Project(s): SoBigData-PlusPlus
Gezici G, Mannari C, Orlandi L
The Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) is a uniform legal framework to ensure that AI systems within the European Union (EU) are safe and comply with existing law on fundamental rights and constitutional values. The AIA adopts a risk-based approach with the aim of intending to regulate AI systems, especially categorised as high-risk, which have significant harmful impacts on the health, safety and fundamental rights of persons in the Union. The AIA is founded on the Ethics Guidelines of the High-Level Expert Group for Trustworthy AI, which are grounded in fundamental rights and reflect four ethical imperatives in order to ensure ethical and robust AI. While we acknowledge that ethics is not law, we advocate that the analysis of ethical risks can assist us in complying with laws, thereby facilitating the implementation of the AIA requirements. Thus, we first design an AI-driven Decision Support System for individual risk prediction in the insurance domain (categorised as high-risk by the AIA) based on the Titanic case, which is a popular benchmark dataset in machine learning. We then fulfill an ethical impact assessment of the Titanic case study, relying on the four ethical imperatives of respect for human autonomy, prevention of harm, fairness, and explicability, declared by the High-Level Expert Group for Trustworthy AI. In the context of this ethical impact assessment, we also refer to the questions in the ALTAI checklist. Our discussions regarding the ethical impact assessment in the insurance domain demonstrate that ethical principles can intersect but also create tensions (intriguingly, only in this particular context), for which there is no definitive solution. When tensions arise, which may result in unavoidable trade-offs, these trade-offs should be addressed in a rational and methodical manner, paying special attention to the context of the current case study being evaluated.Source: CEUR WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS, pp. 35-50. Munich, Germany, 26-27/06/2023
Project(s): SoBigData-PlusPlus
See at:
ceur-ws.org | CNR IRIS | ISTI Repository | CNR IRIS
2023
Conference article
Restricted
Co-design and e-governance tools for sustainable land and water management in rural areas: the experience within the DESIRA H2020 project
Lepore F., Ortolani L., Ferrari A., Fiorentini N., Mannari C., Bacco F. M., Brunori G.
Digitalisation has emerged as a transformative force in various domains, and the field of agriculture is no exception. This paper presents a study on designing an egovernment solution to support ordinary land management in rural areas, focusing on maintenance interventions aimed at mitigating floods and other related phenomena. We first reconstruct the existing socio-cyber-physical system currently in use for ordinary land management. Then, we develop a use case to understand how technology and human-centric approaches can enhance practices. Specifically, the use case aims to explore how digital tools can support the collection and analysis of information regarding maintenance intervention needs from both citizens and farmers. Finally, we implement a prototype system to support the process as defined in the use case. The system consists of a chatbot for citizens and farmers to report maintenance needs and a dashboard for the organization responsible to visualise the requests. The chatbot acts as an interactive platform for users to submit real-time information, enabling timely responses and streamlined communication. The dashboard provides decision-makers with a centralized and visual representation of the reported data, empowering them to prioritize and allocate resources effectively. By leveraging valuable insights and observations from citizens and farmers, the system can gain a comprehensive understanding of existing problems, and prioritize intervention strategies accordingly.DOI: 10.1109/metroagrifor58484.2023.10424263
Metrics:
Lepore F., Ortolani L., Ferrari A., Fiorentini N., Mannari C., Bacco F. M., Brunori G.
Digitalisation has emerged as a transformative force in various domains, and the field of agriculture is no exception. This paper presents a study on designing an egovernment solution to support ordinary land management in rural areas, focusing on maintenance interventions aimed at mitigating floods and other related phenomena. We first reconstruct the existing socio-cyber-physical system currently in use for ordinary land management. Then, we develop a use case to understand how technology and human-centric approaches can enhance practices. Specifically, the use case aims to explore how digital tools can support the collection and analysis of information regarding maintenance intervention needs from both citizens and farmers. Finally, we implement a prototype system to support the process as defined in the use case. The system consists of a chatbot for citizens and farmers to report maintenance needs and a dashboard for the organization responsible to visualise the requests. The chatbot acts as an interactive platform for users to submit real-time information, enabling timely responses and streamlined communication. The dashboard provides decision-makers with a centralized and visual representation of the reported data, empowering them to prioritize and allocate resources effectively. By leveraging valuable insights and observations from citizens and farmers, the system can gain a comprehensive understanding of existing problems, and prioritize intervention strategies accordingly.DOI: 10.1109/metroagrifor58484.2023.10424263
Metrics:
2023
Conference article
Open Access
A methodology for process modelling in living labs to foster agricultural digitalisation
Chiara Mannari, Manlio Bacco, Alessio Ferrari, Livia Ortolani, Maria Bonaria Lai, Chiara Mignani, Alina Silvi, Alessio Malizia, Gianluca Brunori
Agricultural digitalisation presents socio-economic and technical challenges with double-edged effects, generating potential winners and losers. To minimise the risk of undesired consequences, it is important to early evaluate its impacts by adopting an interdisciplinary approach. This paper presents a methodology for conducting socio-technical process modelling in living labs, i.e., co-design environments constituted around an emerging problem, in agricultural areas. The methodologyforesees the development of diagrams based on formal notations from software engineering and a step-by-step procedure for the co-creation of the models. To consolidate the methodology, we apply it to the case study of Pecorino Toscano, a living lab presently evaluating different technological solutions for livestockand cheese production. This preliminary evaluation reveals that the adopted approach is sufficiently flexible and effective for information exchange, and can be successfully applied in a co-design environment.DOI: 10.1109/metroagrifor58484.2023.10424095
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10804911
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10804912
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
Chiara Mannari, Manlio Bacco, Alessio Ferrari, Livia Ortolani, Maria Bonaria Lai, Chiara Mignani, Alina Silvi, Alessio Malizia, Gianluca Brunori
Agricultural digitalisation presents socio-economic and technical challenges with double-edged effects, generating potential winners and losers. To minimise the risk of undesired consequences, it is important to early evaluate its impacts by adopting an interdisciplinary approach. This paper presents a methodology for conducting socio-technical process modelling in living labs, i.e., co-design environments constituted around an emerging problem, in agricultural areas. The methodologyforesees the development of diagrams based on formal notations from software engineering and a step-by-step procedure for the co-creation of the models. To consolidate the methodology, we apply it to the case study of Pecorino Toscano, a living lab presently evaluating different technological solutions for livestockand cheese production. This preliminary evaluation reveals that the adopted approach is sufficiently flexible and effective for information exchange, and can be successfully applied in a co-design environment.DOI: 10.1109/metroagrifor58484.2023.10424095
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10804911
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10804912
Project(s): CODECS
Metrics:
See at:
IRIS Cnr | ZENODO | IRIS Cnr | IRIS Cnr | doi.org | ZENODO | CNR IRIS | CNR IRIS
2022
Other
Open Access
DESIRA - D3.3 Use cases report
Bacco F M, Ferrari A, Mannari C
In DESIRA, five Living Labs were selected to carry out use case workshops. The objective was to codesign a digital tool in each different context. To do so, the participants agreed on one or more goals to be reached. Building on both the focal question and the scenario question that each Living Lab has developed in previous activities, a use case statement has been co-developed to carry out use case workshops. The use case statement describes the goal(s) of the tool to be co-designed, the involved actors, and the needed ICT components. The used methodology is described in this report, as well as the outputs of the process. The methodology has been adapted to the concept of socio-cyber-physical system that DESIRA developed, opening discussions on impacts, drivers, and barriers as further step in the process, following the high-level design of the digital tool and of its main functionalities. Each Living Lab identified what the participants deemed as needed in their region in terms of a novel digital tool. The presence of various stakeholders in Living Labs has made it easier to consider a wide range of needs since the very beginning, allowing everyone to have a role when it comes to the use of the co-designed digital tool. Such a mechanism, not embedded in the typical use case methodology - which only clarifies the role of those considered as users by ICT designers - has been further strengthened in the workshops, therefore going beyond the traditional approach. In fact, by fostering discussions on impacts, drivers, and barriers, the proposed methodology has allowed the participants to reflect, early on in the process, on the potential impacts of the introduction of digital technologies. Last but not least, it is worth pointing out that the outputs of the use cases, summarised in this document, provide a valuable starting point for software companies willing to design and develop digital tools not only according to users' needs and desires but also tailored to the different rural contexts herein under consideration.Project(s): DESIRA
Bacco F M, Ferrari A, Mannari C
In DESIRA, five Living Labs were selected to carry out use case workshops. The objective was to codesign a digital tool in each different context. To do so, the participants agreed on one or more goals to be reached. Building on both the focal question and the scenario question that each Living Lab has developed in previous activities, a use case statement has been co-developed to carry out use case workshops. The use case statement describes the goal(s) of the tool to be co-designed, the involved actors, and the needed ICT components. The used methodology is described in this report, as well as the outputs of the process. The methodology has been adapted to the concept of socio-cyber-physical system that DESIRA developed, opening discussions on impacts, drivers, and barriers as further step in the process, following the high-level design of the digital tool and of its main functionalities. Each Living Lab identified what the participants deemed as needed in their region in terms of a novel digital tool. The presence of various stakeholders in Living Labs has made it easier to consider a wide range of needs since the very beginning, allowing everyone to have a role when it comes to the use of the co-designed digital tool. Such a mechanism, not embedded in the typical use case methodology - which only clarifies the role of those considered as users by ICT designers - has been further strengthened in the workshops, therefore going beyond the traditional approach. In fact, by fostering discussions on impacts, drivers, and barriers, the proposed methodology has allowed the participants to reflect, early on in the process, on the potential impacts of the introduction of digital technologies. Last but not least, it is worth pointing out that the outputs of the use cases, summarised in this document, provide a valuable starting point for software companies willing to design and develop digital tools not only according to users' needs and desires but also tailored to the different rural contexts herein under consideration.Project(s): DESIRA
See at:
CNR IRIS | ISTI Repository | CNR IRIS