Toward Methodological Guidelines for Process Theories and Taxonomies in Software Engineering

Ralph, Paul

doi:10.1109/tse.2018.2796554

Cited by 59 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…Such a theory could help structuring existing knowledge about SDExp in a concise and precise way and hence facilitate its communication [44]. Despite many arguments in favor of developing and using theories [46,56,85,109], theory-driven research is not very common in software engineering [97].…”

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confidence: 99%

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Towards a theory of software development expertise

Baltes

Diehl

2018

Proceedings of the 2018 26th ACM Joint Meeting on European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of

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Software development includes diverse tasks such as implementing new features, analyzing requirements, and fixing bugs. Being an expert in those tasks requires a certain set of skills, knowledge, and experience. Several studies investigated individual aspects of software development expertise, but what is missing is a comprehensive theory. We present a first conceptual theory of software development expertise that is grounded in data from a mixed-methods survey with 335 software developers and in literature on expertise and expert performance. Our theory currently focuses on programming, but already provides valuable insights for researchers, developers, and employers. The theory describes important properties of software development expertise and which factors foster or hinder its formation, including how developers' performance may decline over time. Moreover, our quantitative results show that developers' expertise self-assessments are context-dependent and that experience is not necessarily related to expertise. CCS CONCEPTS• Software and its engineering;

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confidence: 99%

“…On a conceptual level, the theory focuses on factors influencing the formation of SDExp over time. It is a first step towards our long-term goal to build a variance theory [61,67] to be able explain and predict why and when a software developer reaches a certain level of expertise [41,85].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a theory of software development expertise

Baltes

Diehl

2018

Proceedings of the 2018 26th ACM Joint Meeting on European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of

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“…Ralph [161] Developing process theories and taxonomies Guidance for developing process theories (as opposed to variance theories) in software engineering.…”

Section: Ivarsson Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most authors discuss empirical research methods, which refers to research approaches to gather observations and evidence from the real world. However, knowledge-seeking studies may also adopt nonempirical, or theoretical, research strategies that can provide useful insights, such as formal theory development [161,189,200] and simulation [77]. While the various classifications discussed above each have a specific focus and strengths, their discussion remains at the level of individual research methods and techniques.…”

Section: Ivarsson Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This maximum potential for generalizability over a population of actors is indicated by the marker "A" in Figure 1, which is shared with the sample study strategy. The result of this research strategy is not necessarily a theory in the traditional sense of the word (i.e., a process or variance theory [161,200]) but can also include development of conceptual or research frameworks. Thus, in our use of the term "theory," we include any form of conceptualization or frameworks that seek to have some degree of generalizability.…”

Section: Formal Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The ABC of Software Engineering Research

Stol

Fitzgerald

2018

ACM Trans. Softw. Eng. Methodol.

142

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A variety of research methods and techniques are available to SE researchers, and while several overviews exist, there is consistency neither in the research methods covered nor in the terminology used. Furthermore, research is sometimes critically reviewed for characteristics inherent to the methods. We adopt a taxonomy from the social sciences, termed here the ABC framework for SE research, which offers a holistic view of eight archetypal research strategies. ABC refers to the research goal that strives for generalizability over Actors (A) and precise measurement of their Behavior (B), in a realistic Context (C). The ABC framework uses two dimensions widely considered to be key in research design: the level of obtrusiveness of the research and the generalizability of research findings. We discuss metaphors for each strategy and their inherent limitations and potential strengths. We illustrate these research strategies in two key SE domains, global software engineering and requirements engineering, and apply the framework on a sample of 75 articles. Finally, we discuss six ways in which the framework can advance SE research.

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Avoidance of the term agile in software engineering: Necessary and possible

Wiesmann

2023

J Software Evolu Process

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The term agile is frequently used in IT especially in the area of software engineering. The broad pervasiveness of the term agile is astonishing, because it is not well defined in the area of software engineering. The fuzziness of the term agile comes with the danger of ill‐founded decisions and ideological discussions. Both slow down the gain in knowledge in the domain of software engineering. The term agile should therefore not be used either in science nor in the industry.This article provides a critical discussion of the term agile. By using a three‐layered abstraction concept for software development processes, the use of the term agile can be avoided.

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Toward Methodological Guidelines for Process Theories and Taxonomies in Software Engineering

Cited by 59 publications

References 97 publications

Towards a theory of software development expertise

Towards a theory of software development expertise

The ABC of Software Engineering Research

Avoidance of the term agile in software engineering: Necessary and possible

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