Computer program output, evaluation

The computer program PROG37 evaluates the pressure drop of any given condensate header. The program also determines whether the velocity of the flashed condensate mixture would cause deterioration in the header line. Table 3-15 illustrates the results for the 4-, 6-, and 8-inch headers. Table 3-16 shows a typical input data and computer output for the 4-inch (Schedule 40) pipe. The computed results show that the 4-inch pipe gives the velocity of the flashed condensate mixture to be 7055 ft/ min. This indicates a possible deterioration in the pipe. For the 6- and 8-inch pipes, the velocities are 3109 ft/min, and 1795 ft/min respectively, indicating that the condensate pipe lines will not deteriorate. 

The documentation also gives the input and output formats. On a complex computer program the user will rarely be completely satisfied with these. Often the user would like to be able to transmit the output directly to management or operators so they can make certain decisions. There will be some format that is best for insuring that these results can be interpreted quickly and easily. This best format undoubtedly will change as new procedures are adopted. The evaluator should check to see that both the input and output formats are flexible or can be made flexible. The evaluator should also determine whether the data bank can be easily updated. 

This literature search and our subsequent evaluation of some commercially available computer programs re-enforced the fact that computers are tools and they need skilled people to use them. Computers have to be fed the right data, and their output is subject to interpretation. This will be further Illustrated when we consider the interpretation of a contour map produced by one of the programs to be mentioned. 

EVALUATING THE FAULT TREE. After a fault tree is constructed, it can be input to a fault tree analysis computer program, such as FTAP, IRRAS, or WAM. The output from the computer program is a list of MCSs which cause the top event to occur. For each of the MCSs, the analysts describe the consequences associated with that cut set. Table 4.25 shows a typical worksheet used to document the consequences associated with MCSs. 

In order to eliminate, wherever possible, keypunching of large volumes of data per experiment or transcription of results obtained from computer statistical calculations, the experimenters enter original observations directly onto a computer terminal. All further processing of the data is controlled by computer programs humans intervene only when required for visual evaluation of the information or approval of outputted results. This approach is cost effective and ensures producer responsibility for recorded information. 

POLYRATE can be used for computing reaction rates from either the output of electronic structure calculations or using an analytic potential energy surface. If an analytic potential energy surface is used, the user must create subroutines to evaluate the potential energy and its derivatives then relink the program. POLYRATE can be used for unimolecular gas-phase reactions, bimolecular gas-phase reactions, or the reaction of a gas-phase molecule or adsorbed molecule on a solid surface. 

The problem is the one stated in the previous example. The equations are obtained rearranging (2.29). Since the Jacobian is always calculated after function evaluation, the subroutine starting at line 800 makes use of the computed mole numbers. We show the main program and the iterations, whereas the final results are the same as in the previous example and hence omitted from the output. 

Functional testing (black box) of software evaluates the outputs of a program compared to the expected output values for a range of input values. For a computer-controlled analytical system, functional testing should always include analytical hardware to verify proper parameter communication and data flow. Source code is not required, but a full set of system specifications and a description of functional routines, such as calibration algorithms, must be available. 

Once work standards have been established, they can serve as one element in an employee-performance-evaluation scheme. An advantage of computer technology is the ability to have instantaneous information on individual employee performance in terms of the rate of output. This serves as one objective measure of how hard employees are working. But managers have to understand that this is just one element of employee performance and emphasis on quantity can have an adverse effect on the quality of work. Therefore, a balanced performance-evaluation system will include quality considerations as well. These are not as easy to obtain and are not as instantaneously available as are quantity measures. However, managers must resist the temptation to emphasize quantity measures just because they are readily available. A key consideration in any employee evaluation program is the issue of fairness, just as in workload determination. 

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