Tatiana B. Gouveia

Team building criteria in software projects: A mix-method replicated study

Abstract Context The internal composition of a work team is an important antecedent of team performance and the criteria used to select team members play an important role in determining team composition. However, there are only a handful of empirical studies about the use of team building criteria in the software industry. Objective The goal of this article is to identify criteria used in industrial practice to select members of a software project team, and to look for relationships between the use of these criteria and project success. In addition, we expect to contribute with findings about the use of replication in empirical studies involving human factors in software engineering. Method Our research was based on an iterative mix-method, replication strategy. In the first iteration, we used qualitative research to identify team-building criteria interviewing software project managers from industry. Then, we performed a cross-sectional survey to assess the correlations of the use of these criteria and project success. In the second iteration, we used the results of a systematic mapping study to complement the set of team building criteria. Finally, we performed a replication of the survey research with variations to verify and improve the results. Results Our results showed that the consistent use team building criteria correlated significantly with project success, and the criteria related to human factors, such as personality and behavior, presented the strongest correlations. The results of the replication did not reproduce the results of the original survey with respect to the correlations between criteria and success goals. Nevertheless, the variations in the design and the difference in the sample of projects allowed us to conclude that the two results were compatible, increasing our confidence on the existence of the correlations. Conclusion Our findings indicated that carefully selecting team member for software teams is likely to positively influence the projects in which these teams participate. Besides, it seems that the type of development method used can moderate (increase or decrease) this influence. In addition, our study showed that the choice of sampling technique is not straightforward given the many interacting factors affecting this type of investigation.

Using Meta-ethnography to Synthesize Research: A Worked Example of the Relations between Personality and Software Team Processes

Context: The increase in the number of qualitative and mixed-methods research published in software engineering has created an opportunity for further knowledge generation through the synthesis of studies with similar aims. This is particularly true in the research on human aspects because the phenomena of interest are often better understood using qualitative research. However, the use of qualitative synthesis methods is not widespread and worked examples of their consistent application in software engineering are needed. Objective: To explore the use of meta-ethnography in the synthesis of empirical studies in software engineering through an example using studies about the relations between personality and software team processes. Methods: We applied the seven phases of meta-ethnography on a set of articles selected from a previously developed systematic review, to assess the appropriateness of meta-ethnography in this domain with respect to ease of use, and usefulness and reliability of results. Results: Common concepts were identified through reading and interpreting the studies. Then, second order translations were built and used to synthesize a model of the relationships between personality and software team processes. Conclusions: Meta-ethnography is adequate in the synthesis of empirical studies even in the context of mixed-methods studies. However, we believe that the method should not be used to synthesize studies that are too disparate to avoid the development of gross generalizations, which tend to be fruitless and are contrary to the central tenets of interpretive research.

An Empirical Study on the Use of Team Building Criteria in Software Projects

The goal of this article is to identify criteria used in industrial practice to select members of a software project team, and to look for relationships between these criteria and project success. Initially, using semi-structured interviews for data collection and qualitative methods for data analysis and synthesis, a set of team building criteria was identified from project managers in industry. Then, using this set of criteria and a method to evaluate software project success, a survey questionnaire was created to investigate the relationship between the consistent use or application of the criteria and project success. A cross-sectional survey collected data from 48 projects in 24 software companies and the data was analyzed for internal reliability using statistical methods. The findings show that the consistent use of the set of criteria correlated significantly with project success, and the criteria related to human factors present the strongest correlations.

Replication of Empirical Studies in Software Engineering: Preliminary Findings from a Systematic Mapping Study

Our goal in this study is to review the research related to the replication of empirical studies in software engineering in terms of replications of empirical studies and conceptual or theoretical work about replications. In this article we present the preliminary findings of this review, concentrating on the studies reporting replications and the related original studies. We applied the systematic review method to perform a mapping study about the current state of the replication work of empirical studies performed in software engineering research. We analyzed 16,126 articles, from which we extracted 93 articles reporting 125 replications performed between 1994 and 2010, of 76 original studies. Over 60% of the replications were performed in the last six years and 71% percent of the studies were internal replications. The topics of software construction, testing, and maintenance concentrate nearly 50% of the replication work, while software design, configuration management and software tools and methods are the topics with least replications. The number of replications grew in the last few years, but the absolute number of replications is still very small, in particular considering the breadth of topics in software engineering. Incentive to perform external replications and better standards to report empirical studies and their replications are still needed.

Applying Metrics to Identify and Monitor Technical Debt Items during Software Evolution

The Technical Debt (TD) metaphor has been used in the software community as a way to manage and communicate the long-term consequences that some technical decisions may cause. Although intuitive, researches in TD do not discuss practical approaches to identify and monitor TD items, which could be applied in a transparent way during the process of software evolution. This work proposes a technique based on software metrics that automates the process of TD identification and monitoring. For that end, a subset of metrics was analyzed and related to aspects of TD items. As a form to validate the technique, it was used to analyze a TD item from a past 7 years multinational project. Evidences suggest that TD items can be related to software metrics so that software metric tools could be an important resource to automate the identification and monitoring of TD items.

Observation based analysis on the use of mobile applications for visually impaired users

The current efforts to specify an usability guideline for accessible mobile applications are sparse and they are still far to present a concrete pattern. Our previous work carried out a broad survey to consolidate the findings of these efforts in a unique list with 36 requirements, 13 of them focused on vision impairments. In this paper we show the results of an observation-based analysis involving visually impaired volunteers, whose aim was to complement this review and confirm if the lack of these requirements in fact affects the use of mobile applications.

Toward accessibility with usability: understanding the requirements of impaired uses in the mobile context

When applications intend to support accessibility, aspects of usability must be reviewed to adapt or extend common functional requirements that are implemented to ensure an easy use of applications. However, initiatives to develop guidelines for accessible mobile applications are recent and several approaches present only suggestions rather than a concrete list of requirements. This work presents an ample study on this subject, analyzing 247 scientific and technical articles to identify requirements that are discussed related to different types of impairments. This identification and further consolidation are carried out in a contextualized way via a classification schema proposed in this work. An observation based on analysis with real users is then performed to confirm and extend the initial requirements list and support our understanding about the limitations and needs of impaired users regarding the use of mobile technology. As result, this paper presents the main points of a guideline proposal for functional requirements, which should be considered by mobile applications to ensure accessibility with usability.

Usability requirements for mobile accessibility: a study on the vision impairment

When multimedia applications intend to support accessibility, aspects of usability must be reviewed to adapt or extend common functional requirements that are implemented to ensure an easy use of applications. Furthermore, these requirements must be identified and analyzed in a contextualized way, since different types of impairments require different types of requirements. This work analyzed 247 scientific and technological articles to identify requirements that are being considered to different types of impairments. The collected information was consolidated and classified according to groups of impairments. As result, this paper brings a checklist proposal focused on requirements for vision impaired users that should be considered by mobile multimedia applications to ensure accessibility with usability.

Accessibility Devices for Mobile Interfaces Extensions: A Survey

The development of mobile applications that consider accessibility can uniquely make use of software extensions to provide special interfaces to people with impairments. However, such extensions are limited so that the use of external devices is a natural alternative. The current market provides several accessibility devices that can be coupled to mobile devices, extending their interface abilities. However, there is not a work that compares such devices and assists the job of developers in finding an adequate device in accordance with their needs. Considering this scenario, this paper analyzed 60 scientific articles and over 250 relevant sites to identify devices that facilitate the use of applications running on mobile operating systems for impaired people. At the final of the process, 15 products were analyzed and compared against predefined features. Apart the number of existing devices for accessibility, it is possible to conclude that the market is still requiring a higher variety of options and further researches to provide a better level of accessibility for impaired users.

Relationships Between Communication Structure and Software Architecture: An Empirical Investigation of the Conway's Law at the Federal University of Pernambuco

Aim - The goal of this study is to investigate the relationships between the communication structure of a software team and the resulting architecture of the software developed under the perspective of Conways Law. Method - A quasi-experiment was designed in an industrial context in which the results of two teams were compared. One team worked using an agile approach based on Scrum with daily meetings and frequent daily communication. The other team used a more traditional approach based on hierarchical command-and-control style of management with very limited communication between team members. We observed both teams during the project, interviewed participants, and carried out a focus group to collect and compare impressions of team members at the end of the projects. Results - We found large differences between architectural designs of the two teams, as predicted. Hierarchical team presented best results with respect to efficiency and efficacy of development. Agile team produced a simpler solution and the system design was more coupled than hierarchical team. Conclusion - Our findings provided partial support to Conways Law, but some surprising results were found.