168 research outputs found
Experiences and Insights from Applying GQM+Strategies in a Systems Product Development Organization
Aligning software-related activities with corporate strategies and goals is increasingly important for several reasons such as increasing the business hit rate of software-based solutions. Several approaches have been proposed to create such an alignment. GQM+Strategies is an approach that applies measurement principles to link goals and strategies on different levels of an organisation. In this paper, we describe experiences from applying GQM+Strategies to elicit, link and align the goals of an integrated systems product development organisation across multiple organisational levels. We provide detailed insights into how GQM+Strategies was applied during a five-month period. The paper presents the application process and main lessons learnt. In addition, related approaches are described and an outlook on future work is given.Peer reviewe
The Effects of GQM+Strategies on Organizational Alignment
The increasing role of software for developing products and services requires that organizations align their software-related activities with high-level business goals. In practice, this alignment is very difficult and only little systematic support is available. GQM+Strategies is a method that aims at aligning organizational goals, strategies, and measurements at all levels of an organization in a seamless way. This article describes a case study of applying GQM+Strategies in a globally op- erating industrial R&D organization developing special-purpose device products for B2B customers. The study analyzes how GQM+Strategies has helped clarify and harmonize the goal set of the organization. Results of the study indicate im- proved alignment and integration of different goals. In addition, the method helped to make the initially informal goal-setting more transparent and consequently en- abled revising it while new, more important goals were discovered and compre- hended. Moreover, several elements affecting the achievement of goals as well as impediments were identified.Peer reviewe
Software component testing : a standard and the effectiveness of techniques
This portfolio comprises two projects linked by the theme of software component testing, which is also
often referred to as module or unit testing. One project covers its standardisation, while the other
considers the analysis and evaluation of the application of selected testing techniques to an existing
avionics system. The evaluation is based on empirical data obtained from fault reports relating to the
avionics system.
The standardisation project is based on the development of the BC BSI Software Component Testing
Standard and the BCS/BSI Glossary of terms used in software testing, which are both included in the
portfolio. The papers included for this project consider both those issues concerned with the adopted
development process and the resolution of technical matters concerning the definition of the testing
techniques and their associated measures.
The test effectiveness project documents a retrospective analysis of an operational avionics system to
determine the relative effectiveness of several software component testing techniques. The methodology
differs from that used in other test effectiveness experiments in that it considers every possible set of
inputs that are required to satisfy a testing technique rather than arbitrarily chosen values from within
this set. The three papers present the experimental methodology used, intermediate results from a failure
analysis of the studied system, and the test effectiveness results for ten testing techniques, definitions for
which were taken from the BCS BSI Software Component Testing Standard.
The creation of the two standards has filled a gap in both the national and international software testing
standards arenas. Their production required an in-depth knowledge of software component testing
techniques, the identification and use of a development process, and the negotiation of the
standardisation process at a national level. The knowledge gained during this process has been
disseminated by the author in the papers included as part of this portfolio. The investigation of test
effectiveness has introduced a new methodology for determining the test effectiveness of software
component testing techniques by means of a retrospective analysis and so provided a new set of data that
can be added to the body of empirical data on software component testing effectiveness
A requirements-based software process maturity model
The requirements phase of software development is an on-going problem for the
software engineering community. The many disparate recommendations and best
practices found in the literature make it difficult for software organisations to
recognise which practices apply to their individual needs. The aim of this thesis is to
pull together key solutions into a framework that allows practitioners to assess where
their requirements process needs strengthening and to provide a means in which
improvements can be achieved.
In this thesis I show how I design, develop and validate a model of requirements
engineering processes. This requirements capability maturity model (R-CMM)
adheres to the characteristics of the Software Engineering Institute's Software
Capability Maturity Model (SW-CMM) and is designed to take practitioners from an
immature process capability through to an advanced capability.
I contribute to the body of knowledge in both software process improvement and
requirements engineering (RE) by providing rigorous detail of how a process
maturity framework is developed to support RE practices. The model is generic and
should apply to many software development organisations. The R-CMM guides users
towards a view of RE that is based on goals and is problem driven. The SW-CMM
framework is transformed into a simplified model that relates goals and problems to
individual RE practises
Improving the Utilization of Digital Services - Evaluating Contest - Driven Open Data Development and the Adoption of Cloud Services
There is a growing interest in utilizing digital services, such as software
apps and cloud-based software services. The utilization of digital services is
increasing more rapidly than any other segment of world trade. The availability
of open data unlocks the possibility of generating market possibilities in the
public and private sectors. Digital service utilization can be improved by
adopting cloud-based software services and open data innovation for service
development. However, open data has no value unless utilized, and little is
known about developing digital services using open data. Evaluation of digital
service development processes to service deployment is indispensable. Despite
this, existing evaluation models are not specifically designed to measure open
data innovation contests. Additionally, existing cloud-based digital service
implications are not used directly to adopt the technology, and empirical
research needs to be included. The research question addressed in this thesis
is: "How can contest-driven innovation of open data digital services be
evaluated and the adoption of digital services be supported to improve the
utilization of digital services?" The research approaches used are design
science research, descriptive statistics, and case study. This thesis proposes
Digital Innovation Contest Measurement Model (DICM-model) and Designing and
Refining DICM (DRD-method) for designing and refining DICM-model to provide
more agility. Additionally, a framework of barriers constraining developers of
open data services from developing viable services is also presented. This
framework enables requirement and cloud engineers to prioritize factors
responsible for effective adoption. Future research possibilities are
automation of idea generation, ex-post evaluation of the proposed artifacts,
and expanding cloud-based digital service adoption from suppliers'
perspectives.Comment: The abstract is summarized to fit arxiv's character length
requirement; DSV Report Series, Series No. 18-00
Software Process Improvement in Very Small Entities: An investigation of Software Development Knowledge Management and Team issues in maintaining and evolving software process and process improvement.
technique at both management and team level in software development VSEs. These methods assisted the researchers in examining the attitude and perceptions of practitioners towards the research issues. The researchers also made use of survey questionnaires in VSEs in order to gain more input and to validate the qualitative data. The findings from the first stage analysis (qualitative analysis), in which the content analysis and grounded theory coding approaches were used, show the pattern and detailed categories that influence and are related with the software process and process improvement in VSEs. These categories are related to each other and allow the researchers to produce and validate the studies theoretical model. Likewise the second stage analysis (quantitative analysis) assisted the researchers in conforming and enhancing the first stage findings. This investigation shows that SPI programmes in VSEs are being undertaken in a very informal manner and also in indirect ways. The primary reasons identified for the informal nature of VSE SPI are due to cost, time, customer and company size, which give a higher priority to the product rather than process. In relation to teams, the small team size coupled with the working and management style have lead VSEs to be more informal in their knowledge management process and team organization. Moreover VSEs are largely ignoring the best practice SPI models. The reasons and acceptance criteria for this are discussed. This research also confirmed that SPI does not solely depend on technology but also the contributions of human aspects have a strong emphasize, especially in VSEs. Therefore a contribution of this research is to provide an extended knowledge and understanding of SPI research area in general and within VSEs domain in particular
- …