Using Project-Based-Learning in a mobile application development course—An experience report

In this paper, we report the experience gained in a Mobile Application Development course. We involved students in Computer Science at the University of Salerno, who in teams had to conduct a project. The goal of this project was to design and develop applications (or simply app) for Android-based devices. The adopted teaching approach was based on Project-Based-Learning and enhanced collaboration and competition. Collaboration took place among members of the same team (intra-team), while competition among different teams of students (extra-team). To allow intra-team collaboration, students used GitHub as Computer-Supported-Collaborative-Learning tool. It provided support for implicit and explicit communication among members in each team and for distributed revision control and management of software artifacts (e.g., source code and requirements models). Developed apps underwent a final public competition prized by IT managers of national and international software companies. This is how we implemented extra-team competition. IT managers expressed a positive judgment on both students׳ competition and developed apps. Also, students provided very good feedback on used teaching approach and support GitHub provided.     

Investigating Knowledge Management practices in software development organisations – An Australian experience

This study, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, investigates current practice of Knowledge Management (KM) in Software Engineering (SE) processes in two Australian companies on the basis that they both claimed to apply KM practices in their software development work. It also describes the KM activities and KM process used in SE practice, and examines the enablers of KM process for SE in terms of leadership, technology, culture, process and measurement.One of the main findings showed that software developers believe in the usefulness of knowledge sharing; however, their ability to utilise some of the KM systems was limited. The most commonly used systems included personal networks, informal networks, groupware and third-party knowledge. There is a need to formalise knowledge sharing of practices, while also supporting informal and ad-hoc knowledge sharing. While KM was considered to be important, the tools, techniques and methodologies currently employed for software development were inadequate to address effective management of knowledge in these organisations. In both organisations, a uniform model of the KM process did not exist. Among the four KM enablers, leadership was considered to be the most significant as top-down KM strategies were seemingly being pursued by management. Technology was also considered to be an obvious mechanism for KM, despite some of their current KM systems either being unsuitable or inaccessible. In addition, the crucial role that personal networks played in accessing tacit and implicit knowledge was seen as a key reason to foster a culture that encourages participants to share their knowledge with others.     

An analysis of the most cited articles in software engineering journals – 2002

Citations and related work are crucial in any research to position the work and to build on the work of others. A high citation count is an indication of the influence of specific articles. The importance of citations means that it is interesting to analyze which articles are cited the most. Such an analysis has been conducted using the ISI Web of Science to identify the most cited software engineering journal articles published in 2002. The objective of the analysis is to identify and list the articles that have influenced others the most as measured by citation count. An understanding of which research is viewed by the research community as most valuable to build upon may provide valuable insights into what research to focus on now and in the future. Based on the analysis, a list of the 20 most cited articles is presented here. The intention of the analysis is twofold. First, to identify the most cited articles, and second, to invite the authors of the most cited articles in 2002 to contribute to a special section of Information and Software Technology. Six authors have accepted the invitation and their articles appear in this special section.     

Empowering the users? A critical textual analysis of the role of users in open source software development

This paper outlines a critical, textual approach for the analysis of the relationship between different actors in information technology (IT) production, and further concretizes the approach in the analysis of the role of users in the open source software (OSS) development literature. Central concepts of the approach are outlined. The role of users is conceptualized as reader involvement aiming to contribute to the configuration of the reader (to how users and the parameters for their work practices are defined in OSS texts). Afterwards, OSS literature addressing reader involvement is critically reviewed. In OSS context, the OSS writers as readers configure the reader and other readers are assumed to be capable of and interested in commenting the texts. A lack of OSS research on non-technical reader involvement is identified. Furthermore, not only are the OSS readers configured, but so are OSS writers. In OSS context while writers may be empowered, this clearly does not apply to the non-technical OSS readers. Implication for research and practice are discussed.

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Self-correcting mechanisms and echo-effects in social media: An analysis of the “gunman in the newsroom” crisis

The positive and negative effects of social media in crises are currently receiving an increased amount of scholarly attention. This study focuses on Twitter users in the context of a crisis in the Netherlands on January 29, 2015. After having made a bomb threat, an armed man managed to get access to the national news broadcasting station around 8 pm, where he demanded airplay to share “an important message” with Dutch citizens. Three weeks after the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, approximately 1.5 million viewers were anxious that a similar attack was taking place in the television studio. The crisis, also followed by social media users, reached a climax when armed policemen arrested the man, which was later shown on national TV. We analyzed 58,931 tweets, posted in the six hours after the incident. By examining shared facts and rumors during the gunman crisis, we identified an “echo-effect”: the dissemination of older tweets continued after the posting of new facts by the same source. Moreover, we found that two rumors were based on misinterpreted humor in Twitter messages. The study adds insight into the self-correcting mechanism of social media communities when verifying and dispelling online rumors during crises.     

Have your cake and eat it too? Simultaneously pursuing the knowledge-sharing benefits of agile and traditional development approaches

This research examines how organizations manage knowledge-sharing processes in systems development projects that employ both agile and traditional development techniques. Using a longitudinal case study, we draw on one company’s experience with a system implementation that employed a traditional approach during its first phase and then a hybrid, agile-traditional approach in its second phase. By applying an ambidexterity theory lens, we find that the adoption of a hybrid approach allowed the project to continue to exploit the traditional techniques that were working well, abandon techniques that were underperforming, and explore the use of agile techniques in selected areas.     

Empirical studies on the use of social software in global software development – A systematic mapping study

BackgroundIn Global Software Development (GSD), informal communication and knowledge sharing play an important role. Social Software (SoSo) has the potential to support and foster this key responsibility. Research on the use of SoSo in GSD is still at an early stage: although a number of empirical studies on the usage of SoSo are available in related fields, there exists no comprehensive overview of what has been investigated to date across them.ObjectiveThe aim of this review is to map empirical studies on the usage of SoSo in Software Engineering projects and in distributed teams, and to highlight the findings of research works which could prove to be beneficial for GSD researchers and practitioners.MethodA Systematic Mapping Study is conducted using a broad search string that allows identifying a variety of studies which can be beneficial for GSD. Papers have been retrieved through a combination of automatic search and snowballing, hence a wide quantitative map of the research area is provided. Additionally, text extracts from the studies are qualitatively synthesised to investigate benefits and challenges of the use of SoSo.ResultsSoSo is reported as being chiefly used as a support for collaborative work, fostering awareness, knowledge management and coordination among team members. Contrary to the evident high importance of the social aspects offered by SoSo, socialisation is not the most important usage reported.ConclusionsThis review reports how SoSo is used in GSD and how it is capable of supporting GSD teams. Four emerging themes in global software engineering were identified: the appropriation and development of usage structures; understanding how an ecology of communication channels and tools are used by teams; the role played by SoSo either as a subtext or as an explicit goal; and finally, the surprising low percentage of observational studies.     

Optimal stopping of multi-project software testing in the context of software cybernetics

Software cybernetics explores the interplay between control theory/engineering and software theory/engineering. The controlled Markov chains (CMC) approach to software testing follows the idea of software cybernetics and treats software testing as a control problem. The software under test serves as a controlled object and the software testing strategy serves as the corresponding controller. The software under test and the software testing strategy make up a closed-loop feedback control system, and the theory of controlled Markov chains can be used to design and optimize software testing strategies in accordance with testing/reliability goals given a priori. In this paper we apply the CMC approach to the optimal stopping problem of multi-project software testing. The problem under consideration assumes that a single stopping action can stop testing of all the software systems under test simultaneously. The theoretical results presented in this paper describe how to test multiple software systems and whe     

“Failures” to be celebrated: an analysis of major pivots of software startups

In the context of software startups, project failure is embraced actively and considered crucial to obtain validated learning that can lead to pivots. A pivot is the strategic change of a business concept, product or the different elements of a business model. A better understanding is needed on different types of pivots and different factors that lead to failures and trigger pivots, for software entrepreneurial teams to make better decisions under chaotic and unpredictable environment. Due to the nascent nature of the topic, the existing research and knowledge on the pivots of software startups are very limited. In this study, we aimed at identifying the major types of pivots that software startups make during their startup processes, and highlighting the factors that fail software projects and trigger pivots. To achieve this, we conducted a case survey study based on the secondary data of the major pivots happened in 49 software startups. 10 pivot types and 14 triggering factors were identified. The findings show that customer need pivot is the most common among all pivot types. Together with customer segment pivot, they are common market related pivots. The major product related pivots are zoom-in and technology pivots. Several new pivot types were identified, including market zoom-in, complete and side project pivots. Our study also demonstrates that negative customer reaction and flawed business model are the most common factors that trigger pivots in software startups. Our study extends the research knowledge on software startup pivot types and pivot triggering factors. Meanwhile it provides practical knowledge to software startups, which they can utilize to guide their effective decisions on pivoting.     

Strengths and barriers behind the successful agile deployment—insights from the three software intensive companies in Finland

The number of success stories being reported concerning agile software development has led to an increase in interest among industries and research communities. The purpose of this paper is to identify strengths and barriers for ‘successful agile deployment’ in the software companies. This knowledge can benefit software companies planning their current strategy for agile deployment. Analysis of 57 developers, architects, project managers, customers, quality managers, and line and product managers in three case companies identifies 71 strengths and 169 barriers of agile deployment. The analysis revealed the importance of management providing the necessary goals and support for agile development. It also indicated the significance of defining a tailored process model and giving developers the freedom to improve their own agile development process continuously during agile deployment. The identified barriers, strengths and recommendations can be used as a checklist for planning and/or monitoring the effectiveness of agile deployment in software companies. By identifying the barriers and strengths of agile deployment, the paper deepens understanding of this highly relevant but relatively under-researched phenomenon and contributes to the literature on agile deployment and software process improvement.     

SoSyM reflections: the 2018 “State of the Journal” report

Software and Systems Modeling -     

An examination of private intermediaries’ roles in software vulnerabilities disclosure

Software vulnerability disclosure has generated much interest and debate. Recently some private intermediaries have entered this market. This paper examines the effects of such private intermediaries on optimal timing of disclosure policy made by public intermediaries and vendors’ reactions. Our analysis of private intermediaries’ role suggests that public intermediary’s optimal disclosure time does not change with private intermediary’s participation. However, a vendor’s patch time increases when the probability of information leakage is low, if not non-existent. In other words, private intermediaries’ service decreases a vendor’s willingness to deliver quick patches. Empirical evidence with 1493 vulnerability observations from CERT/CC and other 326 different vulnerability observations from iDefense provided support for our analytical results.

“Cloning considered harmful” considered harmful: patterns of cloning in software

Literature on the topic of code cloning often asserts that duplicating code within a software system is a bad practice, that it causes harm to the system’s design and should be avoided. However, in our studies, we have found significant evidence that cloning is often used in a variety of ways as a principled engineering tool. For example, one way to evaluate possible new features for a system is to clone the affected subsystems and introduce the new features there, in a kind of sandbox testbed. As features mature and become stable within the experimental subsystems, they can be migrated incrementally into the stable code base; in this way, the risk of introducing instabilities in the stable version is minimized. This paper describes several patterns of cloning that we have observed in our case studies and discusses the advantages and disadvantages associated with using them. We also examine through a case study the frequencies of these clones in two medium-sized open source software systems, the Apache web server and the Gnumeric spreadsheet application. In this study, we found that as many as 71% of the clones could be considered to have a positive impact on the maintainability of the software system.

Ensemble of naïve Bayesian approaches for the study of biofilm development in drinking water distribution systems

Various studies have been performed in relation to the influence that a number of characteristics of drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) have on biofilm development. Nevertheless, their joint influence, apart from a few exceptions, has scarcely been studied due to the complexity of the community and the environment. In this paper, we apply various machine learning algorithms based on naïve Bayesian networks. Alternatives for the base naïve Bayesian model to outperform individual performances while maintaining simplicity are suggested. These alternatives include augmentation of the arcs in the graph, and initial bagging approaches. Finally, a combination of different naïve approaches in a bagging process that produces explanatory hybrid decision trees is proposed. As a result, it is possible to achieve a deeper understanding of the consequences that the interaction of the relevant hydraulic and physical factors of DWDSs has on biofilm development.     

Development and application of a model for analysis and design phases of Web-based system development

The major characteristics of Web systems that shall be taken into account can be summarized as follows: First, the implementation of Web systems shall have a beneficial effect. To meet the requirements of Internet business system, the Web systems shall enable businesses to provide customers with something valuable through the Internet and profit from this process in return[1]. Second, the way to express the contents on the Web matters. To express the contents, Web systems shall introduce mu…     

“Old” theories, “New” technologies: Understanding knowledge sharing and learning in Brazilian software development companies

ContextNew technologies such as social networks, wikis, blogs and other social software enable collaborative work and are important facilitators of the learning process. They provide a simple mechanism for people to communicate and collaborate and thus support the creation of knowledge. In software-development companies they are used to creating an environment in which communication and collaboration between workers take place more effectively.ObjectiveThis paper identifies the main tools and technologies used by software-development companies in Brazil to manage knowledge and attempts to determine how these tools and technologies relate to important knowledge-sharing and learning theories and how they support the concepts described by these theories.MethodA survey was conducted in a group of Brazilian software development companies with high levels of process software maturity to see how they implement the Brazilian Software Processes Improvement model (MPS.Br) and use new tools and technologies. The survey used a qualitative analysis to identify which tools are used most and how frequently employees use them. The results of the analysis were compared with data from the literature on three knowledge-sharing and learning theories to understand how the use of these tools relates to the concepts proposed in these theories.ResultsThe results show that some of the tools used by the companies do not apply the concepts described in the theories as they do not help promote organizational learning. Furthermore, although the companies have adopted the tools, these are not often used, mainly because they are felt not to organize information efficiently.ConclusionThe use of certain tools can help promote several concepts described in the theories considered. Moreover, the use of these tools can help reduce the impact of, some common organizational problems. However, companies need to improve existing organizational policies that encourage employees to use these tools more regularly.     

What is the role of IT in innovation? A bibliometric analysis of research development in IT innovation

With the wide diffusion of information technology (IT) in our daily life and work, it is clear that product innovation and service innovation have more and more connection with IT, and IT has become an important tool or component in innovation. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into future studies pertaining to this area by investigating the research development of IT innovation using bibliometric analysis. The status of IT innovation study is analysed through citation analysis with the help of CiteSpace. Influential references, hot topics, top-tier journals and important institutes are all detected, and the intellectual structure of recent studies is also mapped in this study, and we find that research on IT innovation is mainly from two directions, innovation study group and information systems study group. Finally, we follow the logic of Nambisan [2013. “Information Technology and Product/Service Innovation: A Brief Assessment and Some Suggestions for Future Research.” Journal of the Association for Information Systems 14 (4): 215–226] to explore the relationship between IT and innovation through reviewing papers in the top journals in this field. We find that most studies treat IT as an enabler of innovation. Although some recent studies try to pay attention to the role of IT as a trigger for innovation and give some rationale for the IT–innovation relationship, further studies are still required to uncover the trigger effect mechanism.     

IT induced business transformation in higher education: an analysis of the UniCafé experience and its implications

This paper is concerned with the changes in the business processes of higher education that may result from the introduction of IT enabled, either eLocalised or eDistributed, learning methods. It provides a framework based on the issues of commercial business transformation that can be linked to changes in the teaching and learning process and learner markets. Evidence from a case study of the UniCafé project based at the University of Surrey and other surrounding projects and initiatives is considered in the light of this matrix in order to highlight some of the key organizational challenges facing future development.     

What are the roles of software product managers? An empirical investigation

Software product management covers both technical and business activities to management of products like roadmaps, strategic, tactical, and release planning. In practice, one product manager is seldom responsible for all these activities but several persons share the responsibilities. Therefore, it is important to understand the boundaries of product managers’ work in managing software products, as well as the impact a product manager has on the company business. The purpose of the study is to clarify what roles of software product managers exist and understand how these roles are interrelated with each other and the whole structure and business of an organization. The study is designed as an interpretative qualitative study using grounded theory as the research method. Based on the gathered data we developed a framework that reveals the role of a product manager in the organization and shows how this role can evolve by extending the level of responsibilities. Using the framework, we identified four stereotypical roles of product managers in the studied organizations: experts, strategists, leaders, and problem solvers. The presented framework shows that product managers’ roles are not limited to the conception of the “mini-CEO.” The results allow product managers and top management to collaborate effectively by assigning responsibilities and managing expectations by having a common tool for understanding the role of product managers in the organization.