Decisions in software development projects management. An exploratory study

Given the importance of software in today's world, the development of software systems is a key activity that requires complex management scenarios. This article explores the implications of hard decisions in the context of software development projects (SDPs). More in deep, it focuses on the emotional consequences of making hard decisions in IT organisations. Complex SDPs involve a great variety of actors. This fact entails morale, feelings and emotions, which play an important role for communication, interaction and, ultimately, decision making. The aim of the article is twofold. First (Study 1), to identify which are the most important hard decisions in SDPS. Second (Study 2), to study the influence of emotions on decision-making processes (Study 2). Findings show the complex emotional consequences and difficulties that managers must face in hard decision-making processes.     

An empirical study of a software reuse reference model

In software engineering there is a need for technologies that will significantly decrease effort in developing software products, increase quality of software products and decrease time-to-markets. The software development industry can be improved by utilizing and managing software reuse with an “empirically validated reference model” that can be customized for different kinds of software development enterprises. Our research thesis is that software development based on a software reuse reference model improves the competitive edge and time-to-market of many software development enterprises. The definition and study of such a model has been carried out using four steps. First, the reference model developed here is based on the existing software reuse concepts. Second, this reference model is an empirical study which uses both legacy studies and lessons learned studies. Third, the impact of the reference model on software development effort, quality, and time-to-market is empirically derived. Fourth, an initial set of successful cases, which are based on the software reuse reference model utilization, are identified. The main contribution of this paper is a reference model for the practice of software reuse. A secondary contribution is an initial set of cases from software development enterprises which are successful in the practice of reuse in terms of decreased effort, increased quality and a high correlation in their application of our software reuse reference model activities.     

基于MRUP的中小型项目软件开发设计

近年来,随着大数据时代的到来,数据化运算影响着各个领域的各个方面。在我国,传统中小型项目软件开发设计方法存在项目要素条件引入域窄、项目预期效果逻辑评估性差、运算处理分析速度慢等问题。针对传统中小型项目软件开发设计方法的现状,提出基于MRUP的中小型项目软件开发设计方法,采用MRUP大数据引擎、动态MIFGL项目评估算法、多路径处理运算模组,形成一套完整的立体化方法设计。通过实验证明,提出的基于MRUP的中小型项目软件开发设计具有项目分析要素涵盖面广、分析处理速度快、项目预期评估准确率高的特点。     

Barriers in the selection of offshore software development outsourcing vendors: An exploratory study using a systematic literature review

Context

Software development outsourcing is a contract-based relationship between client and vendor organisations in which a client contracts out all or part of its software development activities to a vendor, who provides agreed services for remuneration.

Objective

The objective is to identify various barriers that have a negative impact on software outsourcing clients in the selection process of offshore software development outsourcing vendors.

Method

We have performed a systematic literature review (SLR) process for the identification of barriers. We have performed all the SLR steps such as the protocol development, initial selection, final selection, quality assessment, data extraction and data synthesis.

Results

We have identified barriers such as ‘language and cultural barriers’, ‘country instability’, ‘lack of project management’, ‘lack of protection for intellectual property rights’ and ‘lack of technical capability’ that generally have a negative impact on outsourcing clients. We have identified only one common frequently cited barrier in three types of organisations (i.e. small, medium and large) which is ‘language and cultural barriers’. We did not identify any common frequently cited barrier in three continents (Asia, North America and Europe) and in two decades (1990-1999 and 2000-mid 2008). The results also reveal the similarities and differences in the barriers identified through different study strategies.

Conclusions

Vendors should address frequently cited barriers such as ‘language and cultural barriers’, ‘country instability’, ‘lack of project management’, ‘lack of protection for intellectual property rights’ and ‘lack of technical capability’ in order to compete in the offshore outsourcing business.     

Understanding reuse of software examples: A case study of prejudice in a community of practice

ContextThe context of this research is software developers’ perceptions about the use of code examples in professional software development.ObjectiveThe primary objective of this paper is to identify the human factors that dominate example usage among professional software developers, and to provide a theory that explains these factors.MethodTo achieve this goal, we analyzed the perceptions of professional software developers as manifested on LinkedIn online community. We analyzed the data qualitatively using adapted grounded theory research procedures.ResultsThe research yields an initial framework of key factors that dominate professional developers’ perception regarding example usage. We use the theoretical lens of prejudice theory to put these factors in a broader context, and outline initial recommendations to address these factors in professional organizational context.ConclusionThe results of this work, in particular the use of qualitative techniques – allowed us to obtain rich insight into key human factors that affect professional software developers, and enrich the body of literature on the issues of reuse. These factors need to be taken into account as part of an organizational reuse strategy.     

Addressing users' health issues in software development - an exploratory study

In this paper we argue that occupational health expertise should be directly involved in the software design process, and describe an exploratory study where health experts and users participated in the analysis, design and evaluation of a prototype. We addressed the problem of poor overview and control in electronic case handling. We used methods primarily from the participatory design field in combination with a framework describing some of the main risk factors for stress-related disorders in VDU work. We conducted observation interviews where the questions were based on the risk factors of high demand, low control and poor support. The interviews were the main lever for addressing these factors and making them 'visible' in the process. They could then be turned into requirements, design criteria and scenarios that we used as a basis for our design.     

An empirical study of software reuse with special attention to Ada

Over the past several decades, numerous software technologies have been developed for overcoming the software crisis. Among these technologies, reuse has been recognized as one of the most important software technologies. Recently, it has gained substantial attention as a possible solution to the software crisis in Ada and other software communities. The purpose of this empirical study is to examine how organizations actually exploit reuse technologies and evaluates how reuse factors affect the rate of reuse in an organization. This study is an attempt to enhance the measurement of the rate of reuse and the effectiveness of reuse by establishing conceptual foundations in the literature for reuse and conducting an empirical investigation of organizations using Ada technology. This study differentiated software reuse into six criteria: domain, human, tool, organization, software metrics, and environment. The results of this study show that the rate of reuse significantly depends upon reuse capability, software development effort, object-oriented design capability, repository development effort, Ada technology capability, and domain capability     

An exploratory study on ontology engineering for software architecture documentation

The usefulness of Software Architecture (SA) documentation depends on how well its Architectural Knowledge (AK) can be retrieved by the stakeholders in a software project. Recent findings show that the use of ontology-based SA documentation is promising. However, different roles in software development have different needs for AK, and building an ontology to suit these needs is challenging. In this paper we describe an approach to build an ontology for SA documentation. This approach involves the use of typical questions for eliciting and constructing an ontology. We outline eight contextual factors, which influence the successful construction of an ontology, especially in complex software projects with diverse AK users. We tested our ‘typical question’ approach in a case study and report how it can be used for acquiring and modeling AK needs.     

On the use of software design models in software development practice: An empirical investigation

Research into software design models in general, and into the UML in particular, focuses on answering the question how design models are used, completely ignoring the question if they are used. There is an assumption in the literature that the UML is the de facto standard, and that use of design models has had a profound and substantial effect on how software is designed by virtue of models giving the ability to do model-checking, code generation, or automated test generation. However for this assumption to be true, there has to be significant use of design models in practice by developers.This paper presents the results of a survey summarizing the answers of 3785 developers answering the simple question on the extent to which design models are used before coding. We relate their use of models with (i) total years of programming experience, (ii) open or closed development, (iii) educational level, (iv) programming language used, and (v) development type.The answer to our question was that design models are not used very extensively in industry, and where they are used, the use is informal and without tool support, and the notation is often not UML. The use of models decreased with an increase in experience and increased with higher level of qualification. Overall we found that models are used primarily as a communication and collaboration mechanism where there is a need to solve problems and/or get a joint understanding of the overall design in a group. We also conclude that models are seldom updated after initially created and are usually drawn on a whiteboard or on paper.     

Can software risk management improve system development: an exploratory study

Software risk management can be defined as an attempt to formalise risk oriented correlates of development success into a readily applicable set of principles and practices. Earlier research suggests that it can reduce the likelihood of a system failure. Using a survey instrument we investigate this claim further. The investigation addresses the following questions: (1) which characteristics of risk management practices; and (2) which other environmental and process factors (such as development methods, manager's experience) relate to improved performance in managing software risks? Our findings support in general the claim that the use of risk management methods improves system development performance. Yet, little support was found for the claim that specific risk management methods are instrumental in attacking specific software risks. Overall, risks are better managed with combined measures of having experienced project managers, selecting a correct project size, and investing in and obtaining experience in risk management deliberations.     

An exploratory study of moral intensity regarding software piracy of students in Thailand

In the business environment that is becoming increasingly global and digital, the need for proper safeguards for protecting digital assets is increasingly becoming critical. Specifically, software piracy is becoming economically devastating to companies that develop and market software. Some researchers have argued that the level of moral intensity regarding software piracy of individuals may be related to the extent of actual software piracy behaviour. In order to empirically study this relationship, it is important to understand the concept of moral intensity towards software piracy. In this research, we study the concept in an international setting, a university in Thailand. We report the relationship between moral intensity and some important demographic variables and also explore the relationship between moral intensity of individuals and the perceived moral intensity of their community, the students, employees, and faculty. The results have implications for developing and implementing appropriate policies to reduce software piracy.     

An exploratory study of moral intensity regarding software piracy of students in Thailand

In the business environment that is becoming increasingly global and digital, the need for proper safeguards for protecting digital assets is increasingly becoming critical. Specifically, software piracy is becoming economically devastating to companies that develop and market software. Some researchers have argued that the level of moral intensity regarding software piracy of individuals may be related to the extent of actual software piracy behaviour. In order to empirically study this relationship, it is important to understand the concept of moral intensity towards software piracy. In this research, we study the concept in an international setting, a university in Thailand. We report the relationship between moral intensity and some important demographic variables and also explore the relationship between moral intensity of individuals and the perceived moral intensity of their community, the students, employees, and faculty. The results have implications for developing and implementing appropriate policies to reduce software piracy.     

State of the practice: An exploratory analysis of schedule estimation and software project success prediction

During discussions with a group of U.S. software developers we explored the effect of schedule estimation practices and their implications for software project success. Our objective is not only to explore the direct effects of cost and schedule estimation on the perceived success or failure of a software development project, but also to quantitatively examine a host of factors surrounding the estimation issue that may impinge on project outcomes. We later asked our initial group of practitioners to respond to a questionnaire that covered some important cost and schedule estimation topics. Then, in order to determine if the results are generalizable, two other groups from the US and Australia, completed the questionnaire. Based on these convenience samples, we conducted exploratory statistical analyses to identify determinants of project success and used logistic regression to predict project success for the entire sample, as well as for each of the groups separately. From the developer point of view, our overall results suggest that success is more likely if the project manager is involved in schedule negotiations, adequate requirements information is available when the estimates are made, initial effort estimates are good, take staff leave into account, and staff are not added late to meet an aggressive schedule. For these organizations we found that developer input to the estimates did not improve the chances of project success or improve the estimates. We then used the logistic regression results from each single group to predict project success for the other two remaining groups combined. The results show that there is a reasonable degree of generalizability among the different groups.     

Experiences of a software reuse project

Despite the large number of successful software reuse cases reported, there are more than a few negative views that reuse has not yet delivered as expected. This is because of the lack of consensus on the applicative conditions of reuse technology and the size of the benefits that can be expected. This article describes a software reuse project conducted at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) Software Laboratories. Based on this experience, the article discusses such important aspects of software reuse as domain selection and analysis, impediments, incentives, and library tools. It concludes that successful software reuse requires the selection of appropriate domains, systematic development of reusable modules based on domain analysis, and the commitment of senior management.     

A study of software reuse in NASA legacy systems

Software reuse is regarded as a highly important factor in reducing development overheads for new software projects; however, much of the literature is concerned with cost and labor savings that reuse brings to industrial software development and little is known about the inherent risks associated with reuse, particularly in the case of mission and safety-critical software systems. We present the preliminary findings of a research project geared toward assessing the impact of risk in National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) legacy software in flight control systems. We introduce the concept of context variables and the impact they have on reuse within these legacy systems as well as the genealogy classification models, which provide a simple, concise method of mapping reuse between families of software projects. This research was conducted at Global Science and Technology, Inc. under NASA grant number NCC0NNG06GI57G.     

Risk orientation in software testing processes of small and medium enterprises: an exploratory and comparative study

Risk orientation in testing is an important means to balance quality, time-to-market, and cost of software. Especially for small and medium enterprises (SME) under high competitive and economic pressure, risk orientation can help to focus testing activities on critical areas of a software product. Although several risk-based approaches to testing are available, the topic has so far not been investigated in the context of SME, where risks are often associated with business critical issues. This article fills the gap and explores the state of risk orientation in the testing processes of SME. Furthermore, it compares the state of risk-based testing in SME to the situation in large enterprises. The article is based on a multiple case study conducted with five SME. A previous study on risk-based testing in large enterprises is used as reference for investigating the differences between risk orientation in SME and large enterprises. The findings of our study show that a strong business focus, the use of informal risk concepts, as well as the application of risk knowledge to reduce testing cost and time are key differences of risk-based testing in SME compared to large enterprises.     

Early estimation of software size in object-oriented environments a case study in a CMM level 3 software firm

Early estimation of the size of a software product is extremely important. In this paper we analyze two software packages developed by a CMM level 3 software firm. We study if any property of analysis objects can be used to infer the size of the final code in an object-oriented environment. In both cases we find the number of methods well correlated with software size, in the sense that the correlation with the final size is high (r > 0.77) and significant at the level 0.05. Inferential statistics guarantee that the results of this study are also applicable outside the scope of the two projects.     

Trends in software reuse research: A tertiary study

ContextThe reuse of software has been a research topic for more than 50 years. Throughout that time, many approaches, tools and proposed techniques have reached maturity. However, it is not yet a widespread practice and some issues need to be further investigated. The latest study on software reuse trends dates back to 2005 and we think that it should be updated.ObjectiveTo identify the current trends in software reuse research.MethodA tertiary study based on systematic secondary studies published up to July 2018.ResultsWe identified 4,423 works related to software reuse, from which 3,102 were filtered by selection criteria and quality assessment to produce a final set of 56 relevant studies. We identified 30 current research topics and 127 proposals for future work, grouped into three broad categories: Software Product Lines, Other reuse approaches and General reuse topics.ConclusionsFrequently reported topics include: Requirements and Testing in the category of Lifecycle phases for Software Product Lines, and Systematic reuse for decision making in the category of General Reuse. The most mentioned future work proposals were Requirements, and Evolution and Variability management for Software Product Lines, and Systematic reuse for decision making. The identified trends, based on future work proposals, demonstrate that software reuse is still an interesting area for research. Researchers can use these trends as a guide to lead their future projects.     

An empirical study of evaluating software development environmentquality

A study that evaluates new-paradigm-oriented software development environments which have been developed in the five-year formal approach to software environment technology (FASET) project is reviewed. For this study, a software environment evaluation technology based on a software quality evaluation process model defined in ISO/IEC 9126 has been developed. The evaluation technology has been applied to the R&D project at the middle and final phase of development. The evaluation results provide useful information to develop a widely acceptable evaluation technology and to improve the new-paradigm-oriented software development environments that are based on various specification methods: the algebraic specification method, function-oriented specification method, declarative specification method, natural-language-oriented specification method, diagrammatic specification method, state-transition-oriented specification method, and model-based specification method