Qualitative software engineering research -- reflections and guidelines

Researchers are increasingly recognizing the importance of human aspects in software development and since qualitative methods are used to, in-depth, explore human behavior, we believe that studies using such techniques will become more common. Existing qualitative software engineering guidelines do not cover the full breadth of qualitative methods and knowledge on using them found in the social sciences. The aim of this study was thus to extend the software engineering research community's current body of knowledge regarding available qualitative methods and provide recommendations and guidelines for their use. With the support of an epistemological argument and a literature review, we suggest that future research would benefit from (1) utilizing a broader set of research methods, (2) more strongly emphasizing reflexivity, and (3) employing qualitative guidelines and quality criteria. We present an overview of three qualitative methods commonly used in social sciences but rarely seen in software engineering research, namely interpretative phenomenological analysis, narrative analysis, and discourse analysis. Furthermore, we discuss the meaning of reflexivity in relation to the software engineering context and suggest means of fostering it. Our paper will help software engineering researchers better select and then guide the application of a broader set of qualitative research methods.Comment: 30 page

GI-education: the impact of EduMapping

The creation of a European Higher Education Area during the last 20 years has resulted in a considerable degree of harmonization when it comes to the structure of higher education in the European countries. With regard to geoinformation (GI) education, less progress has been made. Formats for course and curriculum descriptions vary per organization and languages vary per country. For the described content a central reference on domain level seems absent. The reference documents published in the United States (2006: the Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge, 2010: Geospatial Technology Competency Model) have not yet been widely accepted in Europe, but seem useful. The EduMapping method aims at concisely characterizing GI course or curriculum content in a label, to be added to existing descriptions. This paper points at a role for EduMapping as a connection between the European multinational and multilingual situation and the American reference potential. Application of EduMapping might help Europe to achieve the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy

Free and open source software development of IT systems

IT system development, integration, deployment, and administration benefit significantly from free and open source software (FOSS) tools and services. Affordability has been a compelling reason for adopting FOSS in computing curricula and equipping computing labs with support infrastructure. Using FOSS systems and services, however, is just the first step in taking advantage of how FOSS development principles and practices can impact student learning in IT degree programs. Above all, FOSS development of IT systems requires changes to how students, instructors, and other contributors work collaboratively and openly and get involved and invested in project activities. In this paper I examine the challenges to engage students in FOSS development projects proposed by real clients. A six-week course project revealed problems with adopting FOSS development and collaboration across different activities and roles that student team members have assumed. Despite these problems, students have showed a genuine and strong interest in gaining more practice with FOSS development. FOSS development teaching was further refined in two other courses to learn about adequate teaching strategies and the competencies that students achieve when they participate in FOSS development of IT systems

Disability standards and guidelines for learning management systems: Evaluating accessibility

Currently, the great majority of institutions of higher education use Learning Content Management Systems (LCMSs) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) as pedagogical tools. In order to make these systems accessible to all students, it is important to take into account not only educational standards, but also standards of accessibility. It is essential to have with procedures and well-established method for evaluating these tools, so in this paper we propose a method for evaluating the accessibility of LCMSs and LMS based on a consideration of particular accessibility standards and other technological and human aspects. The method application is for all LMS, in order to illustrate the effectiveness of the evaluation method, we present a case study over the widely-used LMS Moodle1. In the case study, the accessibility of Moodle is evaluated thoroughly from the point of view of visually-impaired persons. The results obtained from the case study demonstrate that this LMS is partially accessible. The evaluation shows that the tool provides poor support to the authors of accessible educational contents.This research work was supported by the Research Network MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) (see www.mavir.net/), GEMMA (TSI-020302- 2010-141) and SAGAS (TSI-020100-2010-184) research projects.Publicad

Embedding Requirements within the Model Driven Architecture

The Model Driven Architecture (MDA) brings benefits to software development, among them the potential for connecting software models with the business domain. This paper focuses on the upstream or Computation Independent Model (CIM) phase of the MDA. Our contention is that, whilst there are many models and notations available within the CIM Phase, those that are currently popular and supported by the Object Management Group (OMG), may not be the most useful notations for business analysts nor sufficient to fully support software requirements and specification. Therefore, with specific emphasis on the value of the Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) for business analysts, this paper provides an example of a typical CIM approach before describing an approach which incorporates specific requirements techniques. A framework extension to the MDA is then introduced; which embeds requirements and specification within the CIM, thus further enhancing the utility of MDA by providing a more complete method for business analysis

E-Delivery Training System using Agile Technology

E-learning represents a wide range of methods in order to provide education or online training of the electronic delivery of information. E-Learning provides interactive technologies and announcement systems to improve the learning experience. It has the potential to transform the way that teach and learn across the board. It cannot replace teachers and lecturers, but alongside existing methods it can enhance the quality and reach of their teaching. Normally speaking, this type of education is carried out during the average of the World Wide Web where the instructive organization construct its programs and materials obtainable on a special website in such a way that students are capable to make use of them and interrelate with effortlessness during closed or shared, networks, or the Internet, and during utilize of e-mail and online discussion groups. This work proposed the Agile technique development process as an iterative method based on collaboration. Agile would focus on version, growing development, hasty prototyping, and constant feedback and evaluation

Software development processes for games: a systematic literature review

This paper describes the methodology and results from a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of the software processes used in game development. A total of 404 papers were analyzed as part of the review and the various process models that are used in industry and academia/research are presented. Software Process Improvement (SPI) initiatives for game development are dis-cussed. The factors that promote or deter the adoption of process models, and implementing SPI in practice are highlighted. Our findings indicate that there is no single model that serves as a best practice process model for game development and it is a matter of deciding which model is best suited for a particular game. Agile models such as Scrum and XP are suited to the knowledge intensive domain of game development where innovation and speed to market are vital. Hybrid approaches such as reuse can also be suitable for game development where the risk of the upfront investment in terms of time and cost is mitigated with a game that has stable requirements and a longer lifespan