Yael Dubinsky

UEMan: A tool to manage user evaluation in development environments

One of the challenges in software development is to collect and analyze the end users feedback in an effective and efficient manner. In this paper we present a tool to manage user evaluation alongside the process of software development. The tool is based on the idea that user evaluation should be managed iteratively from within the integrated development environment (IDE) in order to provide high quality user interface. The main capabilities include creating the experiment object as part of the software project; deriving development tasks from the analysis of evaluation data; and tracing these tasks to and from the code. Further, we provide a library to enable development of Java aspects for creation of automatic measures to increase the body of the evaluation data. Using this tool, development teams can manage user-centered design (UCD) activities at the IDE level, hence developing software products with an adequate level of usability.

A dynamic framework for multi-view task modeling

We propose a dynamic way to model task structures from multi viewpoints at different abstraction levels. For this, we provide a multi-view task modeling framework that defines a two-layered approach: at conceptual-level specific framework concepts for providing a conceptual foundation to model and structure tasks at different abstraction levels; and at representation-level through a formal task modeling language. The motivation behind this is decoupling the complexity of the underlying system behavior and business logic, and giving a comprehensive picture from all perspectives. The framework concepts and the language are customizable and extendible, thus enabling the framework to be used for creating task models for different purposes, from system analysis to performing usability evaluation. We provide details of a case study in which we successfully used the framework for conducting task model-based usability evaluation.

A model-based approach to ongoing product evaluation

Evaluating interface usability and system functionality is time-consuming and effort-intense. The short time-span involved in development iterations, such as those in agile development, makes it challenging for software teams to perform ongoing interface usability evaluation and system functionality testing. We propose a way to perform product ongoing evaluation, thus enabling software teams to perform interface usability evaluation alongside automated system functionality testing. We use formal task models, created in our defined TaMoGolog task modeling language, to conduct product evaluation experiments through TaMUlator. TaMUlator is a tool we developed for use at the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) level. Our case study revealed that software teams can easily engage in system evaluation by using TaMUlator on an iterative basis.

A HOT --- Human, Organizational and Technological --- framework for a software engineering course

In this paper, we present a HOT --- Human, Organizational and Technological --- framework for software engineering and describe its application in a full one-semester software engineering course on agile software development. We suggest and illustrate how this framework has the potential to widen and deepen the students understanding of software engineering processes.

2 nd workshop on software development governance (SDG)

The main role of software development governance is to achieve a strategic alignment with the business. Exploring governance in software development environments is an important evolutionary step for software engineering. The implementation of governance through tools and techniques provides teams and organizations with the ability to effectively steer the business of software development.

Coaching agile software projects: tutorial proposal - ICSE 2010

Our tutorial for ICSE 2010 focuses on coaching agile software teams. Based on eight years of experience guiding agile software projects in the academia and industry, we focus in the tutorial on a coaching framework for agile software projects. The tutorial participants become familiar with coaching practices and gain experience with some of the practices. The tutorial has two main parts. In the first part, we present the coaching framework, including the goals, structure, and guiding principles. In the second part, we focus on the following central themes in agile development processes which, we suggest, are appropriate to be included in such a coaching framework: Teamwork and collaboration, time and measures, learning and reflection, and change and leadership. Since 2003, we have facilitated this tutorial and similar ones in different settings (industry, academia, conferences). The coaching framework, as well as the themes, case studies, and analysis approach presented in the tutorial, are summarized in our book Agile Software Engineering published by Springer in 2008 (Hazzan and Dubinsky, 2008).

A user-based method for speech interface development

There is a consensus on the significance and high contribution of user involvement in the process of user interfaces development. However, there is no standard way to implement user involvement in software development processes. Dealing with speech-based interfaces that involve vocal interaction of speaking and hearing, the need of user involvement is increased. In this paper, we focus on the characteristics of speech interface development and suggest a user-based method that enables continuous user evaluation. We illustrate the method implementation in two different software projects that contain speech interfaces.

Didactic transposition in computer science education

This paper introduces the concept of didactic transpositions in the context of computer science education (CSE). In general, didactic transposition refers to the adaptation of professional knowledge to teaching situations. With respect to CSE, we illustrate the concept of didactic transpositions with two research works that examined a didactic transposition of software development methods to educational frameworks: the first one---in the university; the second---in the high school.

Software Governance Using Retrospectives: A Case Study

In this paper we present our study on the implementation of the retrospective practice in software development projects. Specifically, we describe the retrospective practice and present its impact on the development process of a specific large-scale project. Our study shows that a team can steer its process evolution systematically by retrospectives, identifying process issues, discussing their nature, and deciding on mechanisms for their improvement. For the purpose of our research, we use five process elements: work procedures, policies, metrics, roles, and decision rights. Based on the data analysis of the retrospectives conducted in our case study, we illustrate each category and demonstrate how it is refined along the project timeline. We suggest using the retrospective practice as a qualitative data gathering tool that assists the governance process of a development project.

Ad-hoc leadership in agile software development environments

Leadership is the ability to influence people, leading them to behave in a certain way in order to achieve the groups goals. Leadership is independent of job titles and descriptions. Usually, however, in order to lead, leaders need the power derived from their organizational positions. There are different leadership styles, like task-oriented versus people-oriented, directive versus permissive, autocrat versus democrat. In this paper, we examine the leadership concept in software development environments and focus on leadership in transition processes to agile software development. Specifically, based on our comprehensive research on agile software development, we suggest a leadership style - ad-hoc leadership - that usually emerges in such change processes. We present the characteristics, dynamic and uniqueness of this leadership style and illustrate its usefulness for the analysis of representative scenarios.