Henrik Hedberg

Integrating HCI Specialists into Open Source Software Development Projects

Typical open source software (OSS) development projects are organized around technically talented developers, whose communication is based on technical aspects and source code. Decision-making power is gained through proven competence and activity in the project, and non-technical end-user opinions are too many times neglected. In addition, also human-computer interaction (HCI) specialists have encountered difficulties in trying to participate in OSS projects, because there seems to be no clear authority and responsibility for them. In this paper, based on HCI and OSS literature, we introduce an extended OSS development project organization model that adds a new level of communication and roles for attending human aspects of software. The proposed model makes the existence of HCI specialists visible in the projects, and promotes interaction between developers and the HCI specialists in the course of a project.

Usability in Company Open Source Software Context - Initial Findings from an Empirical Case Study

In the company open source software (OSS) development context, usability is becoming an important issue due to a growing user population, who is only interested in usable applications, not in their development. Companies try to gain a competitive advantage of OSS by utilizing available components, but the openness is difficult to achieve in the business world with licenses, patents and intellectual property rights. This paper analyses usability and user-interface (UI) development in the company OSS context through an interpretive case study in a software development unit of a large, global corporation. Our initial findings suggest that there is a need for human computer interaction specialists in the OSS context. It is revealed that with the software based on OSS, more time can be spent on usability and UI design. In the company’s viewpoint, there are still many issues involved in deciding what parts of the product will be open source. Especially UI code may remain closed due to competitive advantage and patents.

Introducing the Next Generation of Software Inspection Tools

The area of tool support for software inspection has been under active research since the early 1990s. Although numerous implementations exist and development is still taking place, no tool has achieved a breakthrough. The main reason is that one tool usually demonstrates only one new idea, neglecting other features. A different approach must be taken, and software inspection tools should be seen as integral parts of the development environment. This paper categorises the existing tools into four generations based on the transition from traditional meeting support to asynchronous distributed inspections implemented with web technologies. Based on the analysis of 16 tools and our experiences, we summarize the most important features and add two new aspects to be notified when implementing the next generation of inspection tools for use in modern software development, flexibility and integration. The major focus is on comprehension, and we have taken the first steps at achieving this.

A preliminary evaluation of software inspection tools, with the DESMET method

Software inspections are established means of ensuring quality in software engineering. The traditional paper-based inspections are considered too laborious for widespread usage, and thus tool support for inspection has evolved. In parallel, generic document-processing tools such as Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat have developed support for features that can be utilized in inspections. This study aims to evaluate these two categories of tools with respect to their abilities to support software inspections. For this evaluation, the DESMET method will be employed, and a feature analysis of the tools will be conducted. The results of the evaluation show that the generic document producing tools provide many features applicable to inspections that even the dedicated tools lack. On the other hand, some features, such as support for metrics-based process improvement, are more effectively applied in the tools especially designed to support inspections.

A path to virtual software inspection

A number of computer tools have been introduced to overcome the difficulties in traditional software inspection. Actual inspection tools are rarely used, however, as the current tool implementations have some critical inadequacies. The paper briefly summarizes the evolution of computer-supported software inspection and outlines the concept of virtual software inspection, which introduces two important aspects: flexibility and integration of the tools. Paying attention to these dimensions could result in more attractive and comprehensive tools for inspection collaboration.

Technical Reviews in Agile Development: Case Mobile-D^TM

Agile software development methods are product-oriented, whereas technical reviews belong to the process-oriented world. The aim of this study was to find out if technical reviews are usable and valuable in the context of agile software development. Based on the literature, it seems that there are agile methods that explicitly contain technical reviews in some form, while others are more against them. The case study was based on experiences gathered during an agile project using the Mobile-Dtrade development method. It was found that there are many potential targets for technical reviews in agile development. The main contribution was acceptance test reviews, which improved the product quality and knowledge transfer between team members. However, the actual need and usefulness depends on the requirements of the product and the process used

A Review of Tool Support for User-Related Communication in FLOSS Development

Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects rely on Internet tools for communication and in coordinating their work. Communication between developers is well supported in FLOSS projects, but user-developer communication has proven out to be challenging. This paper examines the following questions: ”What kinds of means for communication exist in FLOSS projects for user-developer communication? What kinds of means should there be?” We have carried out a literature review addressing communication in FLOSS projects, and contrasted the findings with Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) literature on user-developer communication. HCI literature indicates that user-developer communication is needed during requirements construction, design and evaluation tasks, and HCI specialists are needed for orchestrating the communication and the user related tasks. Communication during the evaluation task is somewhat supported in FLOSS projects, but design and requirements construction are badly in need for support, even though ideas have already been presented. In addition, HCI specialists are in need of different kinds of communication support in FLOSS projects.

Battle over Media Choice: Multiplex Tensions in the Online Community of Wikipedia

Media choice theories conceptualize decisions people make when they are faced with communication media alternatives to fit a communicative need. In this paper we address two gaps in extant research on media choice. First, we show that media choices may be intimately intertwined with the questions of power. The second contribution comes from situating an online community as the focus of media choice research – a novel combination. We conducted an interpretive case study on how power is intermingled with the choice of Internet Relay Chat (IRC) in the Finnish Wikipedia. We found that IRC was viewed in starkly different ways by different actors. Moreover, the IRC was largely associated with the notions of power. In particular, it was related to accession and ability to influence decisionmaking in the community. One party perceived IRC as a useful and open channel for quick-tempo collaborations and informal interactions, while others saw it as an arena for “the elite” to scheme against “the proletariat”. Overall, IRC was a source of “multiplex tensions”: conflicts originating from communication being dispersed into multiple media and from different perceptions towards a medium. The study provides several important implications for theory and practice.