Abstract Open‐source software (OSS) is a type of computer software wherein the source code is distributed under a special type of licence in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to inspect, alter, and redistribute the software. OSS projects are collaborative endeavours which have multiple contributors who are constantly joining, leaving, or changing their role in the project. This ever‐changing and ever‐transient nature of OSS project contributors contributes to a contributor turnover‐induced knowledge loss in OSS projects. In this case, “knowledge loss” refers to the phenomenon of the loss of project‐specific knowledge, experience, and expertise in an OSS project, caused by contributors regularly joining and leaving the OSS project. This paper describes the design and development of a robust research methodology and contributes towards the formation of proactive knowledge retention practices in OSS projects to transform contributor's use of knowledge and engagement in knowledge‐relevant activities including knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer.

In recent years, an increasing interest has been observed in the development and use of simulations, serious games (SGs) and gamification strategies to teach software project management (SPM) in a highly practical way. The current SGs for SPM have a quite specific scope, are not able to provide and dynamically change game scenarios during the life of the SG and do not allow teachers to assess students' new skills automatically. These weaknesses led to the development of ProDec, a simulation‐based SG that is able to incorporate SPM real‐life practice. In this study, the authors discuss the use of SGs in SPM education before they describe ProDecAdmin, the game scenario design tool for ProDec. ProDecAdmin provides teachers with an environment for designing the game scenarios for ProDec. Additionally, it helps teachers establish the assessment criteria to automate the students' assessment during the game plays. These functionalities allow ProDec to offer students any game scenario that teachers design and to assess their performance in them. Hence, the tool ProDecAdmin helps the SG ProDec to overcome the lack of flexibility and automatic assessment identified in the current SGs for SPM. This study also outlines the results of the usability evaluation conducted.

Software engineering is a set of activities that rely not only on the technical tasks but also require abilities focused on social duties such as daily meetings and product introduction presentations. However, engineers may experience elevated levels of anxiety when required to present their work in an unfamiliar environment. More specifically, they may suffer from public speaking anxiety even though they are supposed to be effective in those social tasks as well as in their engineering activities. Fortunately, previous studies suggest that the virtual exposure intervention is an effective strategy to reduce public speaking anxiety. In this study, an interactive three‐dimensional virtual environment similar to real classrooms and auditoriums was developed to examine whether this might decrease the anxiety levels of novice software engineers. To compare the traditional and virtual exposure intervention, the sample set was divided equally into two groups including one experimental group and one control group. For 4 weeks, the virtual exposure intervention was conducted in the experimental group, whereas the cognitive behaviour therapy‐based psychoeducation was used in the control group. The findings from authors’ study illustrate that the virtual exposure intervention may represent an alternative solution to the traditional interventions for software engineers seeking to overcome public presentation anxiety.

Abstract The International Conference on Software and System Processes (ICSSP) provides a leading forum for the exchange of research outcomes and industrial best practices in process development from software and systems disciplines. ICSSP 2018 was held in Gothenburg, Sweden, May 26 to 27, 2018, colocated with the 40th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE). The theme of ICSSP 2018 was studying “Demands on Processes, Processes on Demand” by recognizing the demands on processes that include the need for both well‐developed plans and incremental deliveries (agile and hybrid processes), utilization of increased automation (model‐based engineering and DevOps), higher degrees of customer collaboration, comprehensive analysis of existing products for reuse (open source and COTS), and performance requirements of enterprise‐level architectures. This special issue includes the revised and extended versions of the five highest ranked full research papers and industry experience papers of ICSSP 2018, including the two award‐winning papers.

Abstract The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines was developed by World Wide Web Consortium with a goal of providing a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments. Given that there is a large percentage of very small entities that develop software who also utilize the ISO/IEC software process standard, the purpose of this study is the development of software design patterns for users with visual disabilities. As a result, four accessibility design patterns are defined: Authentication adapter, Blindness adapter, Dichromatic color vision adapter, and Blurry vision adapter. These patterns will help to improve the design of the web applications built using them while being compliant with the ISO/IEC 29110 standard. The use of design patterns also enables the transfer of design experience to programming practices and improves the software documentation. To validate the set of patterns, an online course for Spanish speakers was developed, and the evaluation was carried out using simulators, automated tools, experts, and users. Simulators and automated tools showed no accessibility errors and experts evaluated 10 heuristics principles and did not identify any severity issues. Taken together, our results provide positive evidence that users with visual disabilities could benefit from the proposed features.

The Agile Manifesto is a philosophical touchpoint for all agile software development (ASD) methods. We examine the manifesto and certain agile methods in an effort to identify the major impacts of ASD. We have encountered some difficulty in delineating agile and non-agile software processes, which is partially the result of terminological confusion. It is clear from the volume of published research that ASD has made a significant contribution, and we have identified two lasting impacts: a reduction in iteration durations and a push for reduced levels of documentation. We find that the contemporary use of tooling to automate processes may not be wholly congruent with the manifesto and that many organisations may still rely on business contracts despite calls in the manifesto for greater levels of informal customer collaboration.

Software development is a complex process of collaborative endeavour which requires hands-on experience starting from requirement analysis through to software testing and ultimately demands continuous maintenance so as to mitigate risks and uncertainty. Therefore, training experienced software practitioners is a challenging task. To address this gap, we propose an interactive virtual reality training environment for software practitioners to gain virtual experience based on the tasks of software development. The goal is to transport participants to a virtual software development organization where they experience simulated development process problems and conflicting situations, where they will interact virtually with distinctive personalities, roles and characters borrowed from real software development organizations. This PhD in progress paper investigates the literature and proposes a novel approach where participants can acquire important new process knowledge. Our preliminary observations suggest that a complementary VR-based training tool is likely to improve the experience of novice software developers and ultimately it has a great potential for training activities in software development organizations.

The design of the system architecture has been a critical and relevant activity in the systems engineering discipline from several decades for the design of physical man-made systems [1].However, a reduced set of design methods and complementary decision-making techniques have been consistently used with successful results [2][3][4].In contrast, in the software engineering discipline, there is a body of academic research on the foundations, methods and complementary techniques with a scarce accumulative knowledge.Every design stream on software architecture elaborates its own vocabulary and methods and usually ignores other design streams [5].Additionally, there are more proprietary than open access design methods, and a reduced set of well-accepted methods, techniques and practices are still missing [6].Thus, software architecture design methods are inconsistently or little used in the practice during the application of software development methodologies except by the large system and software development companies [7,8].As a pioneer [9] in the software architecture domain indicates (idem, p. 29) However, despite this progress, as engineering disciplines go, the field of software architecture remains relatively immature.While the foundations of an engineering basis for software architecture are now clear, there remain numerous challenges and unknowns.In particular, software systems are widely demanded at present in two co-existing paradigms: Software-oriented Computing (SOC) [10,11] and the Cloud Computing paradigms [12,13].SOC paradigm aims the development of medium-sized and large-distributed inter-organizational systems by assembling it (ideally) as a system of service providers and consumers, known as a Service-oriented Computing Application (SOCA) [14].Thus, the design of SOCAs inherently includes the challenges of high-quality software architecture design, given its natural composition by services provided by some entities and consumed by others (independently of the self-services in the same SOCA).In turn, the Cloud Computing paradigm aims to provide a cost-effective, scalable and dynamic provision of IT resources (processing, storage, networking) for elastic demands.This convergence of SOC and this emergent paradigm introduces new software

Journal of Software: Evolution and ProcessVolume 29, Issue 11 e1869 SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER ICSSP 2016 – Special Issue Introduction Marco Kuhrmann, Corresponding Author Marco Kuhrmann [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0001-6101-8931 Clausthal University of Technology, Goslar, Germany Correspondence Clausthal University of Technology, Institute for Applied Software Systems Engineering, Wallstraße 6, 38640 Goslar, Germany. Email: [email protected] for more papers by this authorRory V. O'Connor, Rory V. O'Connor orcid.org/0000-0001-9253-0313 Dublin City University, Dublin, IrelandSearch for more papers by this authorDewayne E. Perry, Dewayne E. Perry University of Texas, Austin, TX, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this authorDavid Raffo, David Raffo Portland State University, Portland, OR, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this author Marco Kuhrmann, Corresponding Author Marco Kuhrmann [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0001-6101-8931 Clausthal University of Technology, Goslar, Germany Correspondence Clausthal University of Technology, Institute for Applied Software Systems Engineering, Wallstraße 6, 38640 Goslar, Germany. Email: [email protected] for more papers by this authorRory V. O'Connor, Rory V. O'Connor orcid.org/0000-0001-9253-0313 Dublin City University, Dublin, IrelandSearch for more papers by this authorDewayne E. Perry, Dewayne E. Perry University of Texas, Austin, TX, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this authorDavid Raffo, David Raffo Portland State University, Portland, OR, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this author First published: 08 November 2017 https://doi.org/10.1002/smr.1869Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume29, Issue11Special Issue: Process in Action: The Best Papers from The International Conference on Software and Systems Process 2016November 2017e1869 RelatedInformation

Abstract From its earliest days, software development has been beset with challenges in relation to timely delivery, appropriateness of features, and quality of deliverables. Many advances in software development processes have helped to address these concerns. For example, agile software development has helped to deliver working software more frequently, and capability maturity frameworks have brought about improved consistency in quality levels. However, the age‐old challenge of better, cheaper, faster software has continued to beguile developers. In this paper, we discuss an emerging approach to software development, continuous software engineering (CSE), wherein software of operational quality may be delivered on a very frequent basis, up to many times in a given day. This approach uses a complex set of independent tools that together reduce the lead time in delivering commercial‐grade software. Having examined the situational context of one industrial organization applying CSE, we conclude that the approach may not presently be appropriate to all manners of software development. Nonetheless, the authors are of the view that CSE represents a significant progression in software engineering and that software development settings of all types stand to gain from aspects of the CSE approach.

The research literature informs us that a software development process should be appropriate to its software development context but there is an absence of explicit guidance on how to achieve the harmonization of a development process with the corresponding situational context. Whilst this notion of harmonization may be intuitively appealing, in this paper we argue that interaction between a software development process and its situational context is an instance of a complex system. In Complexity Theory, complex systems consist of multiple agents that interact in a multitude of diverse ways, with system outcomes being non-deterministic. Complex systems are therefore noted to be difficult to control, such as is the case with many software development endeavors. If the interaction of software processes with situational contexts is representative of a complex system, then we should not be surprised that the task of software development has proven so resistant to attempts to produce generalized software processes. We should also seek to ameliorate the software development challenge through the adoption of techniques recommended for use in managing complex systems, not as a replacement for the many software process approaches presently in use, but as complement that can aid the task of process definition and evolution.

Over the decades, a variety of software development processes have been proposed, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. It is however widely accepted that there is no single process that is perfectly suited to all settings, thus a software process should be molded to the needs of its situational context. In previous work, we have consolidated a substantial body of related research into an initial reference framework of the situational factors affecting the software development process. Practitioners can consult this framework in order to profile their context, a step necessary for effective software process decision making. In this paper, we report on the findings from a case study involving process discovery in a small but successful and growing software development firm. In this organization, which has a focus on continuous software evolution and delivery, we also applied the situational factors reference framework, finding that context is a complex and key informant for software process decisions. Studies of this type highlight the role of situational context in software process definition and evolution, and they raise awareness not just of the importance of situational context, but also of the complexity surrounding software process contexts, a complexity which may not be fully appreciated in all software development settings.

Much of contemporary scientific discussion regarding factors that influence software development productivity is undertaken in various domains where there is an insufficient empirical basis for exploring socio-technical factors of productivity that are specific to a software development organization. The purpose of the study is to characterize the multidimensional nature of software development productivity and its social aspects as a set of latent constructs (i.e. variables that are not directly observed) for a medium-sized software company. To this end, we designed an exploratory in-depth field study based on the hypothesized productivity constructs, which were modeled by a set of factors identified from literature reviews, and later refined by industrial focus groups. In order to demonstrate the applicability of our approach, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis with the data attained from a questionnaire with 216 participants. To investigate factors of influence further, we analyzed the impact of selected team-based variables over the latent constructs of productivity. Taken together, our findings confirm that such an approach can be used to explore the quantifiable influence of socio-technical factors that would affect productivity of a particular software development organization. Ultimately, the resulting model provides guidance to explore the comparative importance of a set of firm-specific factors that may help to improve the productivity of the organization.

Very small entities, enterprises, organizations, projects or departments with up to 25 people, are very important to the worldwide economy. However it has ben established that such entities often do not utilize existing standards and frameworks. To address the needs of Very Small Entities (VSEs), a set of \ninternational standards and guides known as ISO/IEC 29110 has been developed. In this paper we present the results of early trials of this standard in two IT start-ups VSEs. A Peruvian VSE was recently audited and issued an ISO/IEC 29110 certificate of conformity.

Commercial software development organisations routinely operate in dynamic environments, with various situational factors that affect the software development approach undergoing recurring change. We therefore suggest that process reflexivity - the ability to reflect upon the suitability of a software process for a given context and to adapt the process according to changing situational circumstances – is an important capability for software development organizations.. In support of this position we conducted an exploratory industrial study of software development in practice. An initial analysis of our data suggests that software process reflexivity may exercise a strong influence over business success. Further work is required to fully examine our data, however, initial findings indicate that software process reflexivity is worthy of greater attention.

Choosing an appropriate software development process is a complex and challenging task, exacerbated by the fact that all process models require a certain amount of tailoring to fit to the business environment of any specific organization in which the model is to be deployed. This position paper proposes that one of the potentially most significant factors impacting how a team should structure their software development process is domain (contexts defined by the nature of the relationship between cause and effect) the team is in, an approach pioneered by Snowden with The Cynefin Framework. Cynefin (pronounced Ku-nev-in) is a decision framework that recognizes the causal differences that exist between different types of systems and proposes new approaches to decision making in complex social environments and new mechanisms of understanding levels of complexity as decisions are made. It is argued that using the Cynefin framework for classifying important software process selection decisions assists in choosing the right process for the given situational context. This position paper provides an overview of systems thinking and the Cynefin framework that organizations can use to detect the significant characteristics of the domain in which they operate which has a direct and significant affect on the software process approach (model / methodology) chosen.

It is commonly accepted that an individual's beliefs and actions are based on his or her assessment and perceptions of the world. In order to determine what practices an individual is likely to follow at any given time, it is necessary to understand the individual's behavioral intention in a given circumstance. From an Information Technology perspective, a software development professional's belief systems are potentially the basis for the adoption and implementation of new and innovative work practices and processes. In this article, we explore the belief systems of software development professionals in order to understand the beliefs underlying intention and practice, and we seek answers about how they adopt or reject new and innovative software development processes and practices. The results point out a strong influence of past experiences, personality types, and repeated behavior on current software development processes and practices in industrial settings.

Software development is a complex socio-technical activity, with the result that software development organisations need to establish and maintain robust software development processes. While much debate exists regarding the effectiveness of various software development approaches, no single approach is perfectly suited to all settings and no setting is unchanging. The capability to adapt the software process is therefore essential to sustaining an optimal software process. We designed an exploratory study to concurrently examine software process adaptive capability and organisational performance in 15 software development organisations, finding that companies with greater software process adaptive capability are shown to also experience greater business success. While our exploratory study of the complex relationship between these phenomena is limited in some respects, the findings indicate that software process adaptive capability may be worthy of further integration into software process engineering techniques. Software process adaptive capability may be an important organisational strength when deriving competitive advantage, and those responsible for the creation and evolution of software process models and methodologies may want to focus some of their future efforts in this area.

The design, build and evaluation of an ontology-based knowledge management system prototype tool — entitled CMMIoKMS — for supporting the consultation and understanding of CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV) is reported. Ontology-based tools have been proposed for improving such complex cognitive tasks realized by Software Engineering practitioners involved in CMMI implementations. The design of the CMMI-oKMS prototype tool is based on four proprietary ontologies (of things, of systems, of business, and of CMMI models) and built with Protégé tool. The result from a pilot empirical test, is reported as being satisfactory — compared with the extant reported systems — on the metric of perceived value (with statistical significance) and over usefulness, compatibility, and test score constructs (with practical significance), while that no gain was found in ease of use. Hence, given the limited number of similar KMS tools reported in the current literature, this research contributes to our body of knowledge in Software Engineering by providing useful design, building and evaluation insights for improving these knowledge support systems.

SUMMARY Although earlier studies revealed much about software process improvement (SPI) in software small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), no earlier research set out to determine the full extent of SPI being implemented in software SMEs. Therefore, this study was designed from the outset to elicit all instances of SPI, which we term SPI events – no matter how small or informal. We make the important new discovery that SMEs initiate a considerable amount of SPI, albeit in varying quantities in different organisations. No earlier study reported that the practice of SPI was so widespread in software SMEs, and this is perhaps related to the extensive scope of the enquiry adopted in this study. Our study also finds that the significant majority of SPI in software SMEs is minor or moderate in nature, sometimes leveraging the human capital via improvements in tacit knowledge. Software development is an intrinsically human intensive activity, and it therefore follows that the maximisation of the human capital in an organisation is a source of competitive advantage. However, contemporary process maturity frameworks and quality management standards do not fully exploit the capacity of human capital and may therefore diminish rather than improve the competitive advantage of software SMEs. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

No abstract available.

The aim of the Prompter project was to develop the Prompter tool, a “decision-support tool to assist in the planning and managing of a software project”. Prompter has the ability to help software project planners assimilate best practice and 'know how' in the field of software project planning and incorporate expert critiquing which will assist project planners in solving the complex problems associated with the planning of a software project.