Contemporary Software Development Research Articles

Requirements Engineering: A State of Practice in Gulf Cooperation Countries

Requirement Engineering (RE) is one of the crucial elements for successful software development. Nevertheless, in terms of research discussing the failure or success of various products, little has been undertaken to examine this area as it pertains to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, i.e. Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The aim of this research is to present an analysis of the current ways in which software is developed in these nations. The researchers undertook a survey of practitioners in software development, asking questions regarding their recent work. The survey was based on an extensive survey that was adapted in view of contemporary software development practice. The research reports on requirement practices and how they relate to project sponsors/customers/users and project management. The respondents came from GCC nation companies, most of whom worked on developing software in-house. The outcomes demonstrate that the majority of IT companies in these nations do not employ the optimal methodologies for requirement engineering processes, using their own. In addition, project managers are often lacking in complete authority. Making comparisons between our findings and past research, requirements engineering practices is still inadequate in these nations. Thus the research results are particularly useful as the data is derived from countries where published research about software development practices is scant.

Software Requirements Quality: Using Analytics to Challenge Assumptions at Intel

Creating high-quality software requirements is critically important in the complex, dynamic, and pressurized context of contemporary software development. Our findings challenge assumptions by management and project teams regarding the relationship among requirements quality, and requirements priority, compliance, and defect rates.

WhoReview: A multi-objective search-based approach for code reviewers recommendation in modern code review

Contemporary software development is distributed and characterized by high dynamics with continuous and frequent changes to fix defects, add new user requirements or adapt to other environmental changes. To manage such changes and ensure software quality, modern code review is broadly adopted as a common and effective practice. Yet several open-source as well as commercial software projects have adopted peer code review as a crucial practice to ensure the quality of their software products using modern tool-based code review. Nevertheless, the selection of peer reviewers is still merely a manual and hard task especially with the growing size of distributed development teams. Indeed, it has been proven that inappropriate peer reviewers selection can consume more time and effort from both developers and reviewers and increase the development costs and time to market. To address this problem, we introduce a multi-objective search-based approach, named WhoReview, to find the optimal set of peer reviewers for code changes. We use the Indicator-Based Evolutionary Algorithm (IBEA) to find the best set of code reviewers that are (1) most experienced with the code change to be reviewed, while (2) considering their current workload, i.e., the number of open code reviews they are working on. We conduct an empirical study on 4 long-lived open source software projects to evaluate our approach. The obtained results show that WhoReview outperforms state-of-the-art approach by an average precision of 68% and recall of 77%. Moreover, we deployed our approach in an industrial context and evaluated it qualitatively from developers perspective. Results show the effectiveness of our approach with a high acceptance ratio in identifying relevant reviewers.

User Engagement in the Era of Hybrid Agile Methodology

Contemporary software development and implementation projects are increasingly adopting agile methods by tailoring and blending agile techniques into a traditional project framework. Common tailoring methods employed by project teams emphasize flexibility to embrace local project context.

Technical debt and agile software development practices and processes: An industry practitioner survey

Context: Contemporary software development is typically conducted in dynamic, resource-scarce environments that are prone to the accumulation of technical debt. While this general phenomenon is acknowledged, what remains unknown is how technical debt specifically manifests in and affects software processes, and how the software development techniques employed accommodate or mitigate the presence of this debt.Objectives: We sought to draw on practitioner insights and experiences in order to classify the effects of agile method use on technical debt management, given the popularity and perceived success of agile methods. We explore the breadth of practitioners’ knowledge about technical debt; how technical debt is manifested across the software process; and the perceived effects of common agile software development practices and processes on technical debt. In doing so, we address a research gap in technical debt knowledge and provide novel and actionable managerial recommendations.Method: We designed, tested and executed a multi-national survey questionnaire to address our objectives, receiving 184 responses from practitioners in Brazil, Finland, and New Zealand.Results: Our findings indicate that: 1) Practitioners are aware of technical debt, although, there was under utilization of the concept, 2) Technical debt commonly resides in legacy systems, however, concrete instances of technical debt are hard to conceptualize which makes it problematic to manage, 3) Queried agile practices and processes help to reduce technical debt; in particular, techniques that verify and maintain the structure and clarity of implemented artifacts (e.g., Coding standards and Refactoring) positively affect technical debt management.Conclusions: The fact that technical debt instances tend to have characteristics in common means that a systematic approach to its management is feasible. However, notwithstanding the positive effects of some agile practices on technical debt management, competing stakeholders’ interests remain a concern.

Do developers update their library dependencies?

Third-party library reuse has become common practice in contemporary software development, as it includes several benefits for developers. Library dependencies are constantly evolving, with newly added features and patches that fix bugs in older versions. To take full advantage of third-party reuse, developers should always keep up to date with the latest versions of their library dependencies. In this paper, we investigate the extent of which developers update their library dependencies. Specifically, we conducted an empirical study on library migration that covers over 4,600 GitHub software projects and 2,700 library dependencies. Results show that although many of these systems rely heavily on dependencies, 81.5% of the studied systems still keep their outdated dependencies. In the case of updating a vulnerable dependency, the study reveals that affected developers are not likely to respond to a security advisory. Surveying these developers, we find that 69% of the interviewees claim that they were unaware of their vulnerable dependencies. Furthermore, developers are not likely to prioritize library updates, citing it as extra effort and added responsibility. This study concludes that even though third-party reuse is commonplace, the practice of updating a dependency is not as common for many developers.

Economic Advantages of Utilizing the Integrated Quality Software Development Model

New contemporary software development models try to tradeoff among the three major aspects of concern; Cost, time and meeting customer requirements. One of the recently introduced software development models is the Integrated Quality Software Development (IQSD). This model builds on the advantages of both the prototyping and waterfall models and eliminates their limitations. This research presents the development of a cost estimation function that quantifies the economic benefits of implementing the IQSD model. Numerical analysis indicated that the IQSD model outperforms traditional development models from an economic standpoint.

Executable medical guidelines with Arden Syntax-Applications in dermatology and obstetrics.

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) are being developed to assist physicians in processing extensive data and new knowledge based on recent scientific advances. Structured medical knowledge in the form of clinical alerts or reminder rules, decision trees or tables, clinical protocols or practice guidelines, score algorithms, and others, constitute the core of CDSSs. Several medical knowledge representation and guideline languages have been developed for the formal computerized definition of such knowledge. One of these languages is Arden Syntax for Medical Logic Systems, an International Health Level Seven (HL7) standard whose development started in 1989. Its latest version is 2.10, which was presented in 2014. In the present report we discuss Arden Syntax as a modern medical knowledge representation and processing language, and show that this language is not only well suited to define clinical alerts, reminders, and recommendations, but can also be used to implement and process computerized medical practice guidelines. This section describes how contemporary software such as Java, server software, web-services, XML, is used to implement CDSSs based on Arden Syntax. Special emphasis is given to clinical decision support (CDS) that employs practice guidelines as its clinical knowledge base. Two guideline-based applications using Arden Syntax for medical knowledge representation and processing were developed. The first is a software platform for implementing practice guidelines from dermatology. This application employs fuzzy set theory and logic to represent linguistic and propositional uncertainty in medical data, knowledge, and conclusions. The second application implements a reminder system based on clinically published standard operating procedures in obstetrics to prevent deviations from state-of-the-art care. A to-do list with necessary actions specifically tailored to the gestational week/labor/delivery is generated. Today, with the latest versions of Arden Syntax and the application of contemporary software development methods, Arden Syntax has become a powerful and versatile medical knowledge representation and processing language, well suited to implement a large range of CDSSs, including clinical-practice-guideline-based CDSSs. Moreover, such CDS is provided and can be shared as a service by different medical institutions, redefining the sharing of medical knowledge. Arden Syntax is also highly flexible and provides developers the freedom to use up-to-date software design and programming patterns for external patient data access.

Agility Facilitators for Contemporary Software Development

Agile software development generally refers to popular practices that are supposed to adhere to the Agile Manifesto with its values and principles. Empirical studies on agile software development have mainly focused on organizational adoption and impacts of agile practices. Furthermore, the literature on agile software development has mostly centered on small, co-located projects. However, agility is needed for software development projects of varied sizes in different organizations across industries. The general nature of agile values and principles and the procedure-driven nature of specific agile methods make it difficult for organizations to determine what they can do to effectively facilitate agility in their software development process. To bridge that literature gap and based on an evolved grounded-theory approach, this study identifies nine agility facilitators and their corresponding dimensions that extend beyond small, co-located projects to software projects of any size and distribution. These agility facilitators are further grouped into two categories: organizational foundation and project processes. In addition, the authors identify four dimensions of agility. The authors propose a framework that describes the organizational mechanisms through which the nine categories of facilitators lead to software development agility.

Software Development Roles

In our earlier research work, we developed a conceptual framework that identifies the di?erent types of roles that can exist in contemporary software development projects (including both agile and traditional software development approaches). The purpose of the framework is to assist software project managers when tuning software development project roles to the demands of individual projects, with our previous research indicating that there is a need to tailor software development roles to individual projects. In this work, we extend the earlier research through the use of a series of semi-structured interviews within seven Turkish software companies. The results, which are consistent with previous findings, offer further evidence of the usefulness of the framework, while also identifying possible areas for future work in this space.

On Implementation of Open Standards in Software

Several European countries, as well as the European Commission, have acknowledged the importance of open standards (under various definitions of that term) and have taken steps accordingly. Formal (e.g. ISO) standards are often referred to in software development and procurement, but may not necessarily also be open standards. The authors consider the application of formal standards where national policy promotes their use, and, since much contemporary software development involves open source software, they further consider the interaction between the requirement to comply with open standards, and the implementation of open and formal standards in open source software, with particular reference to patent licensing. It is shown that not all formal standards are open standards. SSO policies and procedures regarding the notification of standards-essential patents (SEPs) present challenges for organisations wishing to implement standards in software since such policies and procedures need to be compliant with procurement requirements, patent licences and open source software licences. This paper draws out some implications for those organisations (differentiating where appropriate between small companies and other organisations) and suggests a number of ways of addressing the challenges identified. Use of formal standards may create barriers for implementation in open source software and inhibit an open and inclusive business-friendly ecosystem, and to avoid such barriers is of particular importance for small companies that are essential players in an innovative and international society.

In-depth characterization of exception flows in software product lines: an empirical study

Software Product Lines (SPLs) play an essential role in contemporary software development, improving program quality and reducing the time to market. However, despite its importance, several questions concerning SPL dependability did not get enough attention yet, such as: how the exception handling code has been implemented in SPLs? The characteristics of the exception handling code may lead to faulty SPL products? The Exception Handling (EH) is a widely used mechanism for building robust systems and is embedded in most of mainstream programming languages. In SPL context we can find exception signalers and handlers spread over code assets associated to common and variable SPL features. If exception signalers and handlers are added to a SPL in an unplanned way, products can be generated on which variable features may signal exceptions that remain uncaught or are mistakenly caught by common features or other variable features. This paper describes an empirical study that categorizes the possible ways exceptions flow through SPL features and investigates whether some of their characteristics can lead to faulty exception handling behavior. The study outcomes presented in this paper are helpful in several ways, such as: (i) enhancing the general understanding of how exceptions flow through mandatory and variable features; (ii) providing information about the potential problems related to specific kinds of flows detected in this study; and (iii) presenting how a static analysis tool can be used to support the identification of potentially faulty exception handling flows.

Editorial

This editorial message describes further details about the history and the circumstances of this special section of the Software Engineering Notes on the topic of combining formal methods with agile methods in the context of our contemporary software development methodologies.

Identifying Potential Security Flaws using Loophole Analysis and the SECREt

In contemporary software development there are a number of methods that attempt to ensure the security of a system. Many of these methods are however introduced in the latter stages of development or try to address the issues of securing a software system by envisioning possible threats to that system, knowledge that is usually both subjective and esoteric. In this paper we introduce the concept of path fixation and discuss how contradictory paths or loopholes, discovered during requirements engineering and using only a requirements specification document, can lead to potential security flaws in a proposed system. The SECREt is a proof-of-concept prototype tool developed to demonstrate the effectiveness of loophole analysis. We discuss how the tool performs a loophole analysis and present the results of tests conducted on an actual specification document. We conclude that loophole analysis is an effective, objective method for the discovery of potential vulnerabilitites that exist in proposed systems and that the SECREt can be successfully incorporated into the requirements engineering process.

Understanding the functions of teleconferences for coordinating global software development projects

One of the dominant characteristics of contemporary software development is the global distribution of tasks, of developers, of information and of technologies. Undoubtedly, such distribution engenders new coordination challenges in the form of distance-related interdependencies. One of the predominant processes of addressing these challenges is electronic meetings (or teleconferences). However, the functions of these meetings for coordination purposes are not yet understood. The distinctive conventions of teleconferences and their causal relationships that lead to optimal coordination of global software development (GSD) projects are also not yet understood. In this paper, the functions of teleconferences held by globally distributed software developers to coordinate their work in the face of global distribution of resources, cross-site information interdependencies and continuously changing software requirements are analysed. The analysis is based on a qualitative study of how a subunit of 13 software developers, distributed across three sites in the USA and one in Republic of Ireland, used teleconferences to address its coordination challenges. The paper proffers a teleconference approach to GSD coordination by arguing that the functions of teleconferences manifest in software developers' multitasking; their ready access to all their information as additional benefits; flexibility in their communicative behaviours; and a reduction in their structure overload. This approach draws attention to these manifestations as distinctive conventions of the de-structured meeting, which de-structuring is occasioned by organic information processing needs in teleconferencing. This approach also explains why the combination of global distribution and teleconferences is a strategic opportunity for information processing for software process coordination.

Component Based Software Engineering

Traditional software estimation models are directed towards large monolithic software development projects. Contemporary software development practices require a new approach to software cost estimation. Contemporary development practices characterize a software application as interacting, independent components. Component-based development offers many potential benefits such as a greater reuse. Component based software development approach is based on the idea to develop software systems by selecting appropriate off-the shelf components and then to assemble them with a welldefined software architecture. Software community faces a major challenge that is raised by fast growing demand for rapid and cost-effective development and maintenance of large scale and complex software systems. To overcome the challenge, the new trend is to adopt component based software engineering (CBSE).The key difference between CBSE and traditional software engineering is that CBSE views a software system as a set of off-the-shelf components integrated within appropriate software architecture. CBSE promotes large-scale reuse, as it focuses on building software on building software systems by assembling off-the-shelf components rather than implementing the entire system from scratch. CBSE also emphasis on selection and creation of software architecture that allow systems to achieve their quality requirements .As a result, CBSE has introduced fundamental changes in software development and maintenance.

A look at Ada from both sides now (a government, and a defense contractor perspective)

The Ada programming language has had a remarkable history, and promises an even more remarkable future. In this keynote address, Dr. J. Smart from Raytheon will provide his perspective on both as seen from within government, and from within private industry. With the pervasive nature of computing, the trade-craft of contemporary software development has changed considerably in recent years. Arguably, not all the change has been for the better. What may have once been regarded as minor flaws or operational nuisances in software system implementations can now manifest in far more devastating ways, and with potentially severe consequences. The boundaries of Ada's "embedded system" niche are becoming increasingly difficult to discern from commodity software, particularly as the challenges of computer security compound. A critical need now exists for a much broader application of the unique culture and programming discipline that has naturally accompanied Ada for these many years. Of particular personal research interest to the presenter is the new generation of reconfigurable computing systems and devices (e.g., FPGAs). The ability to specify a system from the highest level of abstraction all the way down to an individual gate level is now possible from within a single unified description framework. Ada is potentially the ideal choice for such a framework. The presenter will describes his experiences using Ada in this manner to design and implement a most unusual dynamic computing machine. In this application where reliability and formal verification is of upmost importance, the Ada language has been the major contributor to the effort's success.

An exploratory analysis of the state of software maintenance research

PurposeResources allocated to software maintenance constitutes a major portion of the total life cycle cost of a system. The enormous effect that this can have on an organization's ability to react to dynamic environments has been the primary motivation for researchers to study issues related to software maintenance. The purpose of this paper is to take stock of the research conducted in this area in order to identify the intellectual trails embodied in the coherent body of knowledge on software maintenance.Design/methodology/approachAn author co‐citation analysis (ACA) involving authors who have made seminal contributions to the field of software maintenance was performed. The data for the study were obtained from the Science Citation Index (SCI) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI).FindingsThe results indicate that most of the software maintenance research has focused on eight areas: Program logic characteristics, Quality of processes/metrics, Effort and productivity issues, Cognitive issues in repair maintenance, Organizational Issues: Strategies for software evolution/maintenance, Object‐oriented (OO) maintenance, Domain specific language issues and Program construction and design. Research limitations/implications – Some of the limitations of this study include: exclusion of data after 2003, giving equal weight for all citations, and implicit assumption that a relationship exists between the citing and cited documents.Practical implicationsThe extension of software maintenance research in the areas suggested in this study may lead to new innovations for practice.Originality/valueThe paper not only introduces new methods for meta analysis, it also suggests that opportunities abound for extending the frontiers of software maintenance research, particularly in the context of contemporary software development approaches.

Lightweight Software Metrics: The P10 Framework

Software metrics programs must provide value. Metrics need attachment to what's important about a software project. A thorough and comprehensive way to help ensure that connectedness is the Goal Question Metric. GQM proceeds in an orderly fashion to consider goals and specific questions so that when the metrics are defined they relate directly to project goals. The P10 software metrics framework better reflects the contemporary software development environment. P10 is a simple way to help ensure that the software project metrics you use will provide answers to the important questions you face in creating on-time, high-quality software

Reliability Against the Odds: The Lessons of Open Source Communities for Developing Reliable Software

Open source software is increasingly used in mission-critical processes of organizations, signaling its acceptance as highly reliable software. That said, the development process in open source communities differs radically from conventional approaches to reliable software development. Stronger still, open source software seems to thrive under conditions of that are orthogonal to the conventional approach: extreme fragmentation, weak planning and coordination structures and lack of control over objectives, priorities and resource allocation. Therefore, we argue that open source communities provide us with valuable and innovative lessons for managing the production of reliable software - especially since the conditions for contemporary software development increasingly resemble those of open source communities rather than those of tightly controlled corporate environments. To draw out these lessons, this paper applies concepts from High Reliability Theory (HRT) on two recent case studies of open source communities, Linux and Apache. We identify a number of important reliability-enhancing mechanisms. Understanding these mechanisms is important to a) managers of corporate software developers participating in open source communities and b) managers who want to transfer mechanisms and lessons from open source communities to their organization.