Andreas Jedlitschka Livres

The current landscape of technology selection in software engineering resembles a patient acquiring a medication without accessible information on its appropriateness for their condition. Access to relevant information is crucial for informed decision-making, especially when introducing new software technologies. Limited information regarding a technology's benefits and risks can significantly affect decision outcomes. While empirical software engineering aims to provide evidence of these benefits, its findings often go unrecognized in industry due to a lack of relevant reporting for software managers. Consequently, empirical results are seldom utilized in decision-making processes. To address this gap, we characterized and formalized the information needs of software managers, integrating insights from senior management. This led to a model that specifies the critical information required for technology selection decisions. We developed a repository integrated into a framework for technology selection, facilitating goal-oriented access to experimental evidence. Additionally, we proposed enhancements to existing reporting guidelines to include sections addressing these information needs. An empirical study demonstrated that software managers who received reports aligned with our model could better assess a technology's suitability compared to those who did not. Our findings indicate that providing specific information about t

The PROFES Organizing Committee is proud to present the proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement (PROFES 2008), held in Frascati - Monteporzio Catone, Rome, Italy. Since its inception in 1999, PROFES has become a recognized international conference dedicated to software process improvement (SPI) driven by product and service quality needs. This edition focused on quality engineering and management, exploring processes, methods, techniques, tools, organizations, and enabling SPI. It showcased practical solutions and relevant academic research, particularly in rapidly growing domains like the automotive and mobile applications industries, which require ongoing professional development. As embedded software development increasingly relies on collaboration, PROFES 2008 addressed various development modes, roles in the value chain, stakeholder perspectives, collaborative efforts, and economic and quality considerations, including agile development. The conference aimed to highlight recent findings and innovative results in process improvement, fostering discussions among researchers, experienced professionals, and technology providers globally.

This report summarizes the results of an international workshop, held on October 11th in Joensuu, Finland. The objectives were to foster the exchange of experience with regard to set up and operation of networking activities in the area of software engineering. A special focus was on experience regarding measures that have been implemented in order to foster the exchange in the very networks and to assure sustainability . Reports on lessons learned comprised also quantitative as well as qualitative indicators that have been observed in order to assess success. The workshop aimed a comprehensive list of successful as well as less successful implementations of the various measures, either on technical, social, or process level. Four networks are presented and discussed in detail. Results comprise lessons learned with respect to organization and operation of networking activities and insights into motivation of different parties involved. All networks conclude that networking of researchers and professionals for software engineering if benificial for all participants involved. However, the benefits of networking are difficult to measure and thus unclear to potential sponsors with the consequence that they are mostly organized through voluntary work without substancial resources.

Empirical evidence is becoming more and more important for academics and practitioners to support arguments and decisions in research as well as software engineering practice. Although software engineers already evaluate both application level and component level products, they also need to be concerned with the evaluation of development processes, engineering methods, and even supplier organizations. However, academics as well as practitioners are concerned about the cost and effectiveness of applying many of the existing methods for empirical evaluation and collation of evidence. The aim of the workshop was to address the question of future directions for empirical software engineering. This included discussions regarding innovative approaches for empirical software engineering, as well as an examination of the nature of information needed by industry. The workshop proved to be a unique forum dedicated to the presentation and discussion of future research directions for empirical studies in software engineering that are sensitive to the needs of industry.