An Empirical Study on Decision making for Quality Requirements

[Context] Quality requirements are important for product success yet often handled poorly. The problems with scope decision lead to delayed handling and an unbalanced scope. [Objective] This study characterizes the scope decision process to understand influencing factors and properties affecting the scope decision of quality requirements. [Method] We studied one company's scope decision process over a period of five years. We analyzed the decisions artifacts and interviewed experienced engineers involved in the scope decision process. [Results] Features addressing quality aspects explicitly are a minor part (4.41%) of all features handled. The phase of the product line seems to influence the prevalence and acceptance rate of quality features. Lastly, relying on external stakeholders and upfront analysis seems to lead to long lead-times and an insufficient quality requirements scope. [Conclusions] There is a need to make quality mode explicit in the scope decision process. We propose a scope decision process at a strategic level and a tactical level. The former to address long-term planning and the latter to cater for a speedy process. Furthermore, we believe it is key to balance the stakeholder input with feedback from usage and market in a more direct way than through a long plan-driven process

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

The Use of ITIL for Process Optimisation in the IT Service Centre of Harz University, exemplified in the Release Management Process

This paper details the use of the IT Infrastructure Library Framework (ITIL) for optimising process workflows in the IT Service Centre of Harz University in Wernigerode, Germany, exemplified by the Release Management Process. It is described, how, during the course of a special ITIL project, the As-Is-Status of the various original processes was documented as part of the process life cycle and then transformed in the To-Be-Status, according to the ITIL Best Practice Framework. It is also shown, how the ITIL framework fits into the four-layered-process model, that could be derived from interviews with the universities IT support staff, and how the various modified processes interconnect with each other to form a value chain. The paper highlights the final results of the project and gives an outlook on the future use of ITIL as a business modelling tool in the IT Service Centre of Harz University. It is currently being considered, whether the process model developed during the project could be used as a reference model for other university IT centres.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

An integrated approach for requirement selection and scheduling in software release planning

It is essential for product software companies to decide which requirements should be included in the next release and to make an appropriate time plan of the development project. Compared to the extensive research done on requirement selection, very little research has been performed on time scheduling. In this paper, we introduce two integer linear programming models that integrate time scheduling into software release planning. Given the resource and precedence constraints, our first model provides a schedule for developing the requirements such that the project duration is minimized. Our second model combines requirement selection and scheduling, so that it not only maximizes revenues but also simultaneously calculates an on-time-delivery project schedule. Since requirement dependencies are essential for scheduling the development process, we present a more detailed analysis of these dependencies. Furthermore, we present two mechanisms that facilitate dynamic adaptation for over-estimation or under-estimation of revenues or processing time, one of which includes the Scrum methodology. Finally, several simulations based on real-life data are performed. The results of these simulations indicate that requirement dependency can significantly influence the requirement selection and the corresponding project plan. Moreover, the model for combined requirement selection and scheduling outperforms the sequential selection and scheduling approach in terms of efficiency and on-time delivery. \u

Definition of the on-time delivery indicator in rapid software development

Rapid software development (RSD) is an approach for developing software in rapid iterations. One of the critical success factors of an RSD project is to deliver the product releases on time and with the planned features. In this paper, we elaborate an exploratory definition of the On-Time Delivery strategic indicator in RSD based on the literature and interviews with four companies. This indicator supports decision-makers to detect development problems in order to avoid delays and to estimate the additional time needed when requirements, and specifically quality requirements, are considered.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft