Sjaak Brinkkemper

A sense of community: A research agenda for software ecosystems

Software vendors lack the perspective to develop software within a software ecosystem. The inability to function in a software ecosystem has already led to the demise of many software vendors, leading to loss of competition, intellectual property, and eventually jobs in the software industry. In this paper we present a research agenda on software ecosystems to study both the technical and the business aspects of software engineering in vibrant ecosystems. The results of such research enable software vendors to develop software that is adaptable to new business models and new markets, and to make strategic choices that help a software vendor to thrive in a software ecosystem.

Meta-modelling based assembly techniques for situational method engineering

Abstract Method engineering for information system development is the discipline to construct new advanced development methods from parts of existing methods, called method fragments. To achieve this objective, we need to clarify how to model the existing methods and how to assemble method fragments into new project-specific methods, so-called situational methods. Especially, to produce meaningful methods, we should impose some constraints or rules on method assembly processes. In this paper, we propose a framework for hierarchical method modelling (meta-modelling) from three orthogonal dimensions: perspectives, abstraction and granularity. According to each dimension, methods and/or method fragments are hierarchically modelled and classified. Furthermore, we present a method assembly mechanism and its formalization as a set of rules. These rules are both syntactic and semantic constraints and presented in first order predicate logic so that they can play an important role in the assembly process of syntactically and semantically meaningful methods from existing method fragments. The benefit of our technique is illustrated by an example of method assembly, namely the integration of the Object Model and Harels Statechart into Objectcharts.

Assembly Techniques for Method Engineering

As projects for developing information systems are getting larger and more complicated, we need to have more advanced development methods suitable for every development situation. Method engineering is the discipline to construct new methods from parts of existing methods, called method fragments. To achieve this objective, we need to clarify how to model the existing methods and how to assemble method fragments into new project-specific methods, so-called situational methods. Especially, to produce meaningful methods, we should impose some constraints or rules on method assembly processes. In this paper, we propose a framework for hierarchical method modelling (meta-modelling) from three orthogonal dimensions: perspectives, abstraction and granularity. According to each dimension, methods and/or method fragments are hierarchically modelled and classified. Furthermore, we present a method assembly mechanism and its formalization as a set of rules. These rules are presented in first order predicate logic and play an important role in the assembly process of meaningful methods from existing method fragments. The benefit of our technique is illustrated by an example of method assembly, namely the integration of the Object Model and Harels Statechart into Objectcharts.

Requirements Engineering and Technology Transfer: Obstacles, Incentives and Improvement Agenda

For many years, research results in requirements engineering (RE) have been developed without much interaction with, or impact on, industrial practice. Why is it so difficult to introduce RE research results into mainstream RE practice? This paper attempts to provide answers to this question by describing obstacles that researchers and practitioners have encountered when they attempted technology transfer. In addition, major incentives for using RE methods are discussed, along with ideas for improving current RE practice. The paper summarises, clarifies and extends the results of two panel discussions, one at the Twelfth Conference on Advanced information Systems Engineering (CAiSE’00) and the other at the Fourth IEEE Conference on Requirements Engineering (ICRE’00).

Towards a Reference Framework for Software Product Management

In the last decade, software product management has received much practical attention, though research in this area is still scattered. In this paper, we present a reference framework for software product management, in which the key process areas, namely portfolio management, product roadmapping, release planning and requirements management, are identified, as well as the stakeholders and their relations. With this reference framework, we provide a structure for a body of knowledge for software product management

Market-Driven Requirements Engineering for Software Products

An increasing part of software development is devoted to products that are offered to an open market with many customers. Market-driven development imposes special challenges for the requirements engineering process. This chapter provides an overview of the special characteristics of market-driven requirements engineering and describes the most important challenges of the area. Key elements of market-driven requirements engineering processes are presented together with a definition of process quality. Requirements state models and requirements repositories are also described and examples of typical solutions to progress tracking and data management are provided. The difficult problem of release planning is also discussed and an industrial example of a release planning process is given.

Situational Method Engineering: Fundamentals and Experiences

International Federation for Information Processing The IFIP series publishes state-of-the-art results in the sciences and technologies of information and communication. The scope of the series includes: foundations of computer science; software theory and practice; education; computer applications in technology; communication systems; systems modeling and optimization; information systems; computers and society; computer systems technology; security and protection in information processing systems; artificial intelligence; and human-computer interaction. Proceedings and post-proceedings of referred international conferences in computer science and interdisciplinary fields are featured. These results often precede journal publication and represent the most current research. The principal aim of the IFIP series is to encourage education and the dissemination and exchange of information about all aspects of computing. For more information about the 300 other books in the IFIP series, please visit springer.com. For more information about IFIP, please visit ifip.org.

Concepts of product software

Both the impact of software on life and our dependence on software is rapidly increasing. Using product software is an everyday phenomenon and product software is a major worldwide industry. Yet, there are very few scientific studies reported on the engineering of product software specifically. In this paper, we discuss specifics of the software business, the various terms used for product software and provide our definition of product software. Moreover, we explain difference between product software and tailor-made software from a software development perspective and provide a new framework for the categorization of product software. This paper points out the urgent need for more research on product software and the directions.

Software product release planning through optimization and what-if analysis

We present a mathematical formalization of release planning with a corresponding optimization tool that supports product and project managers during release planning. The tool is based on integer linear programming and assumes that an optimal set of requirements is the set with maximal projected revenue against available resources. The input for the optimization is twofold. The first type of input data concerns the list of candidate requirements, estimated revenues, and resources needed. Second, managerial steering mechanisms enable what-if analysis in the optimization environment. Experiments based on real-life data made a sound case for the applicability of our approach.

Formalizing software ecosystem modeling

Currently there is no formal modeling standard for software ecosystems that models both the ecosystem and the environment in which software products and services operate. Major implications are (1) software vendors have trouble distinguishing the specific software ecosystems in which they are active and (2) they have trouble using these ecosystems to their strategic advantage. In this paper we present and formalize a standards-setting approach to software product and software supply network modeling. Applying this approach enables software vendors to communicate about relationships in the software supply network, theorize about weak spots/links in their business model and anticipate upcoming changes in the software ecosystem.