Kevin Vlaanderen

The Online Method Engine: From Process Assessment to Method Execution

The field of method engineering has seen an increasing amount of interesting approaches and techniques over the last ten years. The coverage of these techniques ranges from the modeling of processes and systems to the situational construction of new ones. However, access to the required domain knowledge is often not available, and the effort required for effective method engineering is in most cases too much. To overcome these problems, we propose an incremental approach for process assessment, process improvement, and process execution, based on method engineering techniques and tools. The approach is implemented in the Online Method Engine; a holistic solution that supports these three aspects. In this paper, we give a conceptual overview of the approach, along with an overview of the current state of development.

Improving software product management: a knowledge management approach

The skills and practices of a product manager can be seen as part of the intellectual capital of a software vendor. From this perspective, it is surprising that knowledge regarding software product management is not yet widely available. This impedes many companies from effectively improving their SPM methods. To support knowledge dissemination, method assessment, and method improvement in this and other areas, we propose the online method engine. The solution combines knowledge management principles with incremental process improvement in order to allow software companies to obtain improvement guidance for their SPM methods, specific to their situation. The approach is designed to be domain-independent.

Growing into agility: process implementation paths for scrum

Background: Many organizations struggle with the implementation of agile methods. Such methods pose considerable challenges related to organizational demand and process configuration. Goal: In this paper, we analyze the introduction of Scrum in the development organization in order to determine distinct approaches to its implementation. Approach: We compare the Scrum introduction paths of four case companies. Results: This results in a discussion of implementation paths ranging from gradual to disruptive introduction of Scrum. Contribution: The description of these paths provides insight into process improvements. We demonstrate how a structured description of process improvements can improve understanding of process improvement paths.

Model-driven assessment in Software Product Management

The maturity of Software Product Management (SPM) in software companies is generally low. In order to enhance the overall maturity of SPM in the industry, we are developing a knowledge infrastructure that helps product managers in increasing their knowledge of the field and improving the SPM processes in their organization. An important part of this infrastructure is the assessment of a companys current situation. This paper presents a novel approach to assessing a companys SPM processes, by deducing its maturity based on process-deliverable diagrams. The approach is implemented using MetaCases MetaEdit+, and evaluated in seven cases.

Model-Driven Web Engineering in the CMS Domain: A Preliminary Research Applying SME

In recent years, the use of Content Management Systems (CMS) as the core tool to define a Web application has gained popularity. However, the Model-Driven Web Engineering methods are not well fitted into the CMS domain. The main reason is that these methods are mainly focusing on the data and navigation aspects. To address this problem we propose in this chapter the use of Situational Method Engineering in order to detect the potential issues and improvements of a Web Engineering method in the CMS domain. Specifically, the suitability of the OOWS method in the context of CMS-based Web applications is evaluated by means of a user-registration use case. From the results of this evaluation, a list of current limitations of the OOWS Method in the CMS domain are detected. Additionally the improvements that can be applied from a SME perspective are introduced.

Finding Optimal Plans for Incremental Method Engineering

Incremental method engineering proposes to evolve the information systems development methods of a software company through a step-wise improvement process. In practice, this approach proved to be effective for reducing the risks of failure while introducing method changes. However, little attention has been paid to the important problem of identifying an adequate plan for implementing the changes in the company’s context. To overcome this deficiency, we propose an approach that assists analysts by suggesting—via automated reasoning—optimal and quasi-optimal plans for implementing method changes. After formalizing the Process-Deliverable Diagrams language for describing the method changes to implement, we present a planning framework for generating plans that comply with different types of constraints.We also describe an implementation of the modeling and planning components of our approach.

Documenting Evolutionary Process Improvements with Method Increment Case Descriptions

Evolutionary process improvement is a common approach to manage the complexity and risk of large software process improvement efforts. Performing SPI through a sequence of small steps allows organizations to reflect and steer the effort often and avoid failed improvements. However, few methods currently exist to structure improvement paths in a clear and concise manner. In this paper, we present a template for such a structuring method, based on Use Case Descriptions and method engineering techniques. A concise description of improvement paths allow organizations to reflect on their implementation and to guide similar improvement efforts. A case study of two large improvements within a small Dutch software company is used for evaluation.

Incremental Method Enactment for Computer Aided Software Engineering Tools

In most cases, enactment is the most resource consuming aspect of process improvement, as large process changes are put into practice. Problems that typically are encountered include ineffective process changes, resistance from employees, and unclarity about the advantages of the new process. These problems can be avoided by incrementally implementing process changes, especially if the enactment is supported by process management tools that immediately change the processes and workflow in information systems. In this paper, we explain and demonstrate the concept of incremental method enactment for CASE tools. The concept is evaluated through a prototype, which is assessed by industry experts. The results of this study point give direction towards the further development of incremental method enactment.

Transforming to Product Software: The Evolution of Software Product Management Processes during the Stages of Productization

Within the software industry, one can recognize a strong trend towards productization, which is the transformation process from customer-specific software to a standard product. Organizations that originally focussed on building custom software regularly reorient towards a market. In order to grow into a mature product software company, an organization has to introduce and adapt its software product management processes. This paper presents a case study on how software product management processes evolve during the stages of productization at a small software company. We identify productization stages at the case company and describe the situational factors and implemented software product management capabilities during those stages. The paper provides a validation of the productization model, and insight into the development of SPM processes in relation to the productization stages.

The Relationship Between Scrum and Release Planning Activities: An Exploratory Case Study

In modern product software development settings, it becomes increasingly important to deal with rapid changes in scope, large numbers of users, and regular releases. These circumstances are ideal for an agile development method such as Scrum to prove its value. However, the implications that Scrum has on software product management (SPM) processes have not been investigated in detail. In this paper, we provide more insight into the link between release planning processes and Scrum, by performing a case study at a large Dutch social network provider. The results show an evolutionary approach to the implementation of Scrum, and the relation between several Scrum concepts and SPM capabilities. The findings presented in this paper contribute to more insight into the link between Scrum and SPM and can be of help to product software organizations that employ the Scrum development method.