The Structure of Design Theories, and an Analysis of their Use in Software Engineering Experiments

Wieringa, Roel; Daneva, Maya; Condori-Fernández, Nelly

doi:10.1109/esem.2011.38

Cited by 12 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In fact, there is a sense in which our definition of engineering problem, coupled with the step-wise construction of the accompanying rationale (see Section 4.4), acts as a generator for practice-specific [69] product theories (more on this in Section 7). This was demonstrated empirically in our safety-critical case studies, as already mentioned, where early life cycle phenomena-based problem descriptions could be used as the basis of formal model checking and of preliminary safety analysis, a form of solution validation, able to: confirm any relevant hazards allocated by the system level hazard analysis; identify if further hazards need to be added to the list; and analyse the architectural description to validate that it can satisfy the safety targets associated with the identified relevant hazards.…”

Section: Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wieringa et al [69] make the case for the utility of design theories in SE. They discuss 'the engineering cycle' as a logical model including tasks such as problem investigation (akin to our problem exploration), which may or many not include an evaluation of a current implementation (for us, this would be a form of problem validation), treatment design and treatment implementation (akin to our solution explorations), and design validation (in our theory, a form of solution validation).…”

Section: Design Theories For Software Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A form of design theory which Wieringa et al [69] see as particularly fruitful to SE is one of an architectural nature (as opposed to logical theories, such as deductive axiomatic theories): this type of theory is one which provides a model of mechanisms that produce phenomena. For instance, an architectural theory of SE might be one providing a model of the mechanisms within a problem environment.…”

Section: Design Theories For Software Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A design theory for software engineering

Hall

Rapanotti

2017

Information and Software Technology

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(2017This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P TA design theory for software engineering Method: We elaborate our theory based on Gregor's influential 'meta-theoretical' exploration of the structural nature of a theory in the discipline of Information Systems, with particular attention to ontological and epistemological arguments. Results: We argue how, from an ontological perspective, our theory embodies a view of Software Engineering as the practice of framing, representing and transforming Software Engineering problems. As such, theory statements concern the characterisation of individual problems and how problems relate and transform to other problems as part of an iterative, potentially backtracking, problem solving processes, accounting for the way Software Engineering transforms the physical world to meet a recognised need, and for the problem structuring process in context. From an epistemological perspective, we argue how the theory has developed through research cycles including both theory-then-(empirical-)research and (empirical-)research-then-theory strategies spanning over a decade; both theoretical statements and related empirical evidence are included. Conclusion:The resulting theory provides descriptions and explanations for many phenomena observed in Software Engineering and in the combination of software with other technologies, and embodies analytic, explanatory and predictive properties. There are however acknowledged limitations and current research to overcome them is outlined.

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Section: Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Design Theories For Software Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Design Theories For Software Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A design theory for software engineering

Hall

Rapanotti

2017

Information and Software Technology

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“…Not all constructs are directly measurable; these hypothetical constructs [31] may still be useful to build a theory. Wieringa et al [39] cited "gravity" and "organizational culture" as examples of hypothetical constructs.…”

Section: B What Theory Is and Is Notmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9], Shaw [36], Carroll and Swatman [37], Lynham [13], and Endres and Rombach [38]. Wieringa et al [39] presented an engineering cycle for the requirements engineering subdiscipline.) Sutton and Staw cite Kaplan [40] in asserting that "data describe which empirical patterns were observed, and theory explains why empirical patterns were observed or are expected to be observed" [19, p. 374].…”

Section: A the Importance Of Conceptualizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering theories in software engineering

Stol

Fitzgerald

2013

2013 2nd SEMAT Workshop on a General Theory of Software Engineering (GTSE)

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Abstract-There has been a growing interest in the role of theory within Software Engineering (SE) research. For several decades, researchers within the SE research community have argued that, to become a real engineering science, SE needs to develop stronger theoretical foundations. A few authors have proposed guidelines for constructing theories, building on insights from other disciplines. However, so far, much SE research is not guided by explicit theory, nor does it produce explicit theory. In this paper we argue that SE research does, in fact, show traces of theory, which we call theory fragments. We have adapted an analytical framework from the social sciences, named the Validity Network Schema (VNS), that we use to illustrate the role of theorizing in SE research. We illustrate the use of this framework by dissecting three well known research papers, each of which has had significant impact on their respective subdisciplines. We conclude this paper by outlining a number of implications for future SE research, and show how by increasing awareness and training, development of SE theories can be improved.

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