A situational approach for the definition and tailoring of a data-driven software evolution method

Successful software evolution heavily depends on the selection of the right features to be included in the next release. Such selection is difficult, and companies often report bad experiences about user acceptance. To overcome this challenge, there is an increasing number of approaches that propose intensive use of data to drive evolution. This trend has motivated the SUPERSEDE method, which proposes the collection and analysis of user feedback and monitoring data as the baseline to elicit and prioritize requirements, which are then used to plan the next release. However, every company may be interested in tailoring this method depending on factors like project size, scope, etc. In order to provide a systematic approach, we propose the use of Situational Method Engineering to describe SUPERSEDE and guide its tailoring to a particular context.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Principles for aerospace manufacturing engineering in integrated new product introduction

This article investigates the value-adding practices of Manufacturing Engineering for integrated New Product Introduction. A model representing how current practices align to support lean integration in Manufacturing Engineering has been defined. The results are used to identify a novel set of guiding principles for integrated Manufacturing Engineering. These are as follows: (1) use a data-driven process, (2) build from core capabilities, (3) develop the standard, (4) deliver through responsive processes and (5) align cross-functional and customer requirements. The investigation used a mixed-method approach. This comprises case studies to identify current practice and a survey to understand implementation in a sample of component development projects within a major aerospace manufacturer. The research contribution is an illustration of aerospace Manufacturing Engineering practices for New Product Introduction. The conclusions will be used to indicate new priorities for New Product Introduction and the cross-functional interactions to support flawless and innovative New Product Introduction. The final principles have been validated through a series of consultations with experts in the sponsoring company to ensure that correct and relevant content has been defined

The Crowd in Requirements Engineering: The Landscape and Challenges

Crowd-based requirements engineering (CrowdRE) could significantly change RE. Performing RE activities such as elicitation with the crowd of stakeholders turns RE into a participatory effort, leads to more accurate requirements, and ultimately boosts software quality. Although any stakeholder in the crowd can contribute, CrowdRE emphasizes one stakeholder group whose role is often trivialized: users. CrowdRE empowers the management of requirements, such as their prioritization and segmentation, in a dynamic, evolved style through collecting and harnessing a continuous flow of user feedback and monitoring data on the usage context. To analyze the large amount of data obtained from the crowd, automated approaches are key. This article presents current research topics in CrowdRE; discusses the benefits, challenges, and lessons learned from projects and experiments; and assesses how to apply the methods and tools in industrial contexts. This article is part of a special issue on Crowdsourcing for Software Engineering

Quasi-firms for real innovations

The construction industry is notorious for its (lack of) innovativeness. Many papers, reports\ud and articles have been written on this subject already for more than three decades.\ud The explanations presented can be summarized by such terms as fragmentation,\ud segmentation and segregation when referring to the industries’ structure and by qualifications\ud such as opportunistic, hostile, antagonistic and conflictive when referring to its\ud culture. In this paper it is argued that the main reason for the innovation status quo is\ud the fact that the construction industry, when compared to other industries, lacks real\ud producers- producers who develop products and compete with each other in terms of\ud these products. It is particularly this kind of competition which is identified as a source\ud to stimulate innovation. In construction, production capabilities are tested on the market\ud and not product capabilities. As a result, design decisions are not tested on the market.\ud It is this flaw which is examined in this paper, and possible improvements are suggested.\ud Endurable strategic alliances, as quasi-firms, are proposed as the equivalent of\ud producers. Essential herein is the pivotal position of design. An organizational innovation\ud as such could change the way business is done in the construction industry. It\ud would alter its structure as well as its culture

End-user driven feedback prioritization

End-user feedback is becoming more important for the evolution of software systems. There exist various communication channels for end-users (app stores, social networks) which allow them to express their experiences and requirements regarding a software application. End-users communicate a large amount of feedback via these channels which leads to open issues regarding the use of end-user feedback for software development, maintenance and evolution. This includes investigating how to identify relevant feedback scattered across different feedback channels and how to determine the priority of the feedback issues communicated. In this research preview paper, we discuss ideas for enduser driven feedback prioritization.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

FAME: supporting continuous requirements elicitation by combining user feedback and monitoring

© 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Context: Software evolution ensures that software systems in use stay up to date and provide value for end-users. However, it is challenging for requirements engineers to continuously elicit needs for systems used by heterogeneous end-users who are out of organisational reach. Objective: We aim at supporting continuous requirements elicitation by combining user feedback and usage monitoring. Online feedback mechanisms enable end-users to remotely communicate problems, experiences, and opinions, while monitoring provides valuable information about runtime events. It is argued that bringing both information sources together can help requirements engineers to understand end-user needs better. Method/Tool: We present FAME, a framework for the combined and simultaneous collection of feedback and monitoring data in web and mobile contexts to support continuous requirements elicitation. In addition to a detailed discussion of our technical solution, we present the first evidence that FAME can be successfully introduced in real-world contexts. Therefore, we deployed FAME in a web application of a German small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) to collect user feedback and usage data. Results/Conclusion: Our results suggest that FAME not only can be successfully used in industrial environments but that bringing feedback and monitoring data together helps the SME to improve their understanding of end-user needs, ultimately supporting continuous requirements elicitation.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Design thinking and acceptance requirements for designing gamified software.

Gamification is increasingly applied to engage people in performing tool-supported collaborative tasks. From previous experiences we learned that available gamification guidelines are not sufficient, and more importantly that motivational and acceptance aspects need to be considered when designing gamified software applications. To understand them, stakeholders need to be involved in the design process. This paper aims to (i) identify key requirements for designing gamified solutions, and (ii) understand if existing methods (partially fitting those requirements) can be selected and combined to provide a comprehensive gamification design method. We discuss a set of key requirements for a suitable gamification design method. We illustrate how to select and combine existing methods to define a design approach that fits those requirements using Design Thinking and the Agon framework. Furthermore, we present a first empirical evaluation of the integrated design method, with participants including both requirements analysts and end-users of the gamified software. Our evaluation offers initial ideas towards a more general, systematic approach for gamification design