Markku Oivo

Adopting GQM based measurement in an industrial environment

Schlumberger RPS (Retail Petroleum Systems) integrated the Goal/Question/Metric approach into their existing measurement programs to improve their program performance. Key to their success was the use of feedback sessions as a forum to analyze and interpret measurement data. The paper discusses the elements of the GQM approach and fitting GQM to a measurement program.

Representing software engineering models: the TAME goal oriented approach

A methodology and a knowledge representation and reasoning framework for top-down goal-oriented characterization, modeling, and execution of software engineering activities is presented. A prototype system (ES-TAME) which demonstrates the underlying knowledge representation and reasoning principles is described. ES-TAME provides an object-oriented metamodel concept that provides support for tailorable and reusable software engineering models (SEMs). It provides the basic mechanisms, functions, and attributes for all the other models. It is based on interobject relationships, dynamic viewpoints, and selective inheritance in addition to traditional object-oriented mechanisms. Descriptive SEMs include representations for basic software engineering activities. They are controlled and made operational by active GQM (goal-question-metric paradigm) models which are built by a systematic mechanism for defining and evaluating project and corporate goals and using measurement to provide feedback in real-time. >

Continuous deployment of software intensive products and services: A systematic mapping study

Abstract The software intensive industry is moving towards the adoption of a value-driven and adaptive real-time business paradigm. The traditional view of software as an item that evolves through releases every few months is being replaced by the continuous evolution of software functionality. This study aims to classify and analyse the literature related to continuous deployment in the software domain in order to scope the phenomenon, provide an overview of the state-of-the-art, investigate the scientific evidence in the reported results and identify areas suitable for further research. We conducted a systematic mapping study and classified the continuous deployment literature. The benefits and challenges related to continuous deployment were also analysed. RESULTS: The systematic mapping study includes 50 primary studies published between 2001 and 2014. An in-depth analysis of the primary studies revealed ten recurrent themes that characterize continuous deployment and provide researchers with directions for future work. In addition, a set of benefits and challenges of which practitioners may take advantage were identified. CONCLUSION: Overall, although the topic area is very promising, it is still in its infancy, thus offering a plethora of new opportunities for both researchers and software intensive companies.

Factors affecting e‐government adoption in Pakistan: a citizen's perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that enable end‐user adoption of e‐government services in Pakistan, where these facilities are at a rudimentary stage.Design/methodology/approach – Following previous research on e‐government services adoption, this study employs the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to examine the influential factors of the adoption and use of e‐government services in Pakistan from a citizen perspective. An online survey was conducted and a statistical descriptive analysis was performed on the responses received from 115 Pakistani citizens.Findings – In line with previous research, the findings show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions and social influence are the factors that affect the users adoption of e‐government services in Pakistan. Furthermore, the results show that lack of awareness, user data privacy, lack of appropriate support and assistance hamper the process.Practical implications...

Dimensions of DevOps

DevOps has been identified as an important aspect in the continuous deployment paradigm in practitioner communities and academic research circles. However, little has been presented to describe and formalize what it constitutes. The absence of such understanding means that the phenomenon will not be effectively communicated and its impact not understood in those two communities. This study investigates the elements that characterize the DevOps phenomenon using a literature survey and interviews with practitioners actively involved in the DevOps movement. Four main dimensions of DevOps are identified: collaboration, automation, measurement and monitoring. An initial conceptual framework is developed to communicate the phenomenon to practitioners and the scientific community as well as to facilitate input for future research.

Utilizing GQM+Strategies for business value analysis: an approach for evaluating business goals

Business value analysis (BVA) quantifies the factors that provide value and cost to an organization. It aims at capturing value, controlling risks, and capitalizing on opportunities. GQM+Strategies is an approach designed to aid in the definition and alignment of business goals, strategies, and an integrated measurement program at all levels in the organization. In this paper we describe how to perform business value analysis (BVA) using the GQM+Strategies approach. The integration of these two approaches provides a coupling of cost-benefit and risk analysis (value goals) with operationally measurable business goals and supports the evaluation of business goal success and the effectiveness of the chosen strategies. An application of the combined approach is provided to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method. It deals with the business goal of modernizing the product for the evolving market.

Naming the pain in requirements engineering

Requirements Engineering (RE) has received much attention in research and practice due to its importance to software project success. Its interdisciplinary nature, the dependency to the customer, and its inherent uncertainty still render the discipline difficult to investigate. This results in a lack of empirical data. These are necessary, however, to demonstrate which practically relevant RE problems exist and to what extent they matter. Motivated by this situation, we initiated the Naming the Pain in Requirements Engineering (NaPiRE) initiative which constitutes a globally distributed, bi-yearly replicated family of surveys on the status quo and problems in practical RE. In this article, we report on the qualitative analysis of data obtained from 228 companies working in 10 countries in various domains and we reveal which contemporary problems practitioners encounter. To this end, we analyse 21 problems derived from the literature with respect to their relevance and criticality in dependency to their context, and we complement this picture with a cause-effect analysis showing the causes and effects surrounding the most critical problems. Our results give us a better understanding of which problems exist and how they manifest themselves in practical environments. Thus, we provide a first step to ground contributions to RE on empirical observations which, until now, were dominated by conventional wisdom only.

Software Startups - A Research Agenda

Software startup companies develop innovative, software-intensive products within limited timeframes and with few resources, searching for sustainable and scalable business models. Software startup ...

What Is Flowing in Lean Software Development

The main concern of the software industry is to deliver more products in shorter time-cycles to customers with an acceptable economic justification. In virtue of these concerns, the software industry and researchers in the field of software engineering have engaged in the process of adopting lean principles. In this paper, we are seeking the knowledge that could help us better understand the nature of flows in software development. We define a generalized concept of the value creation points and an axiomatic system that capture the specifics of software development. Further, a generalized definition of the flow makes it possible to identify super-classes of waste sources. Finally, we define a concept of decision flow, suggesting what a value creation point could be in the software development context. The decision flow is an inseparable part of the software development activities and it carries capabilities of adding or diminishing the value of products.

Combining Lean Thinking and Agile Methods for Software Development: A Case Study of a Finnish Provider of Wireless Embedded Systems Detailed

Lean Software Development has attracted a great deal of attention during last years. However, it remains unclear how Lean is implemented in a domain that fundamentally differs from the automotive industry in which it originated. This study provides empirical evidence of how Lean can be combined with Agile methods to enhance software development processes. A case study was conducted at Elektrobit Wireless Segment, which has used Agile from 2007 and began to adopt Lean in 2010. Our findings evidence numerous compatibilities between Lean and Agile. In addition to well-established practices in Agile, Lean thinking has brought new elements to software development such as Kanban and work-in-progress limits, a “pull” and “less waste” oriented culture, and a stronger emphasis on transparency and collaborative development. Scaling flexibility, business management involvement and waste reduction were found as challenges, whilst setting up teams, self-organization and empowerment appeared easier to achieve.