Abstract
ContextSoftware startups are newly created companies with no operating history and fast in producing cutting-edge technologies. These companies develop software under highly uncertain conditions, tackling fast-growing markets under severe lack of resources. Therefore, software startups present a unique combination of characteristics which pose several challenges to software development activities. ObjectiveThis study aims to structure and analyze the literature on software development in startup companies, determining thereby the potential for technology transfer and identifying software development work practices reported by practitioners and researchers. MethodWe conducted a systematic mapping study, developing a classification schema, ranking the selected primary studies according their rigor and relevance, and analyzing reported software development work practices in startups. ResultsA total of 43 primary studies were identified and mapped, synthesizing the available evidence on software development in startups. Only 16 studies are entirely dedicated to software development in startups, of which 10 result in a weak contribution (advice and implications (6); lesson learned (3); tool (1)). Nineteen studies focus on managerial and organizational factors. Moreover, only 9 studies exhibit high scientific rigor and relevance. From the reviewed primary studies, 213 software engineering work practices were extracted, categorized and analyzed. ConclusionThis mapping study provides the first systematic exploration of the state-of-art on software startup research. The existing body of knowledge is limited to a few high quality studies. Furthermore, the results indicate that software engineering work practices are chosen opportunistically, adapted and configured to provide value under the constrains imposed by the startup context.
Highlights
A wide body of knowledge has been created in recent years through several empirical studies, investigating how companies leverage software engineering (SE) [1, 2]
In the same figure it is possible to observe that 8 studies with managerial and organizational focus contributed to the body of knowledge with a model
To illustrate how authors use the term “software startup”, we systematically extracted themes which characterize the companies in the selected primary studies
Summary
A wide body of knowledge has been created in recent years through several empirical studies, investigating how companies leverage software engineering (SE) [1, 2]. Understanding how startups take advantage from work practices is essential to support the number of new businesses launched everyday1 New software ventures such as Facebook, Linkedin, Spotify, Pinterest, Instagram, and Dropbox, to name a few, are examples of startups that evolved into successful businesses. Software Startups An early account for the term startup in the SE literature can be found in Carmel [19] who studied in 1994 the time-tocompletion in a young package firm. He noticed how these companies were innovative and successful, advocating the need for more research on their software development practices so as to replicate success and try to transfer it to other technology sectors
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