An empirical methodology for introducing software processes

Abstract

There is a growing interest in empirical study in software engineering, both for validating mature technologies and for guiding improvements of less-mature technologies. This paper introduces an empirical methodology, based on experiences garnered over more than two decades of work by the Empirical Software Engineering Group at the University of Maryland and related organizations, for taking a newly proposed improvement to development processes from the conceptual phase through transfer to industry. The methodology presents a series of questions that should be addressed, as well as the types of studies that best address those questions. The methodology is illustrated by a specific research program on inspection processes for ObjectOriented designs. Specific examples of the studies that were performed and how the methodology impacted the development of the inspection process are also described.

Using Empirical Studies during Software Courses

“…After further replications in the university [16] and associated modifications to the experiment, it was successfully run in an industrial setting [19].…”

“…These are based on generally accepted criteria for internal and external validity evaluation of empirical studies. Show software companies the relevance and usefulness of the research Data collected from a series of classroom empirical studies of a new inspection technique for objectoriented designs (described in [16]) were useful not only for helping evolve the techniques themselves, but convinced an industrial company to try them out in a case study in their own environment, with good results [17]. Show software companies the feasibility of carrying out full-fledged empirical studies in industrial environments.…”

Object-Oriented Reading Techniques for Inspection of UML Models – An Industrial Experiment

“…A set of empirical studies at University of Maryland and NTNU has used the empirical method presented in [13] for improving a development process from the conceptual phase to industry. The method is divided into four studies where each study step has some questions that need to be answered before the next level can be reached:…”

Protocol adaptations to conduct Systematic Literature Reviews in Software Engineering: a chronological study

“…Researchers have applied primary studies to improve the knowledge of SE (Basili et al 1999) in order to support the processes related to SE technologies, mainly those related to appraising the technology (Shull et al 2001). Secondary studies are designed to make feasible the comparisons between individual investigations, scientifically selected within a series of primary studies that can support the creation of an evidence-based body of knowledge (Kitchenham et al 2009).…”