Refactoring Software Development Process Terminology Through the Use of Ontology

Abstract

Abstract. In work that is ongoing, the authors are examining the extent of software development process terminology drift. Initial findings suggest there is a degree of term confusion, with the mapping of concepts to terms lacking precision in some instances. Ontologies are concerned with identifying the concepts of relevance to a field of endeavour and mapping those concepts to terms such that term confusion is reduced. In this paper, we discuss how ontologies are developed. We also identify various sources of software process terminology. Our work to date indicates that the systematic development of a software development process ontology would be of benefit to the entire software development community. The development of such an ontology would in effect represent a systematic refactoring of the terminology and concepts produced over four decades of software process innovation.

Software Testing: A Changing Career

“…It is well documented that software development is a complex socio-technical activity [42], the process for which needs to be vigilantly maintained and evolved [43]. We furthermore find that roles within software development can have varying names [44], and that the very terminology adopted is perhaps the source of some fusion [45] [46]. We have also seen that the process and the details of work carried out when producing software are also variable given any particular development setting [47] [48].…”

Continuous software engineering—A microservices architecture perspective

“…A final point we wish to acknowledge relates to the terminology we have chosen to describe the approach we have presented in this paper: CSE. As Georg Hegel, the German Philosopher who offered valuable insights on language, observed “truth is found neither in the thesis nor the antithesis, but in an emergent synthesis which reconciles the two.” Indeed, in other research, the authors have argued that inconsistency in relation to software process terminology application may be a somewhat underappreciated concern at this time . Thus, there are contemporary implications for our application of the word continuous .…”

Exploring Software Process Variation Arising from Differences in Situational Context

“…And this task of researching the available process alternatives must be frustrated by the fragmented process terminology, where in previous basic research we have found that individual concepts can be branded using many different terms [30][31]. Yet ironically, an absence of attention to the various available techniques could be damaging to the success of any given firm.…”

“…), Systems, Software and Services Process Improvement: 24th European Conference, EuroSPI 2017, Ostrava, Czech Republic, , Proceedings (pp. [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. Cham: Springer International Publishing.…”