Software Development Industry Research Articles

Agile Project Management in Software Development Industries: Challenges and Opportunities

Agile Project Management in Software Development Industries: Challenges and Opportunities

Problematic Workplace Behaviours in the Software Development Profession: Using Transactional Analysis to Diagnose Toxicity and Improve Relationships at Work

The growing and unmet demand for coding skills is becoming critical in a world that is ever-more driven by digital technologies, embedded algorithms and artificial intelligence systems. However, sustainability of the profession is threatened because of the failure to attract and retain women developers, which has been an ongoing and corrosive problem for decades and remains unresolved. While many previous studies attribute ‘toxic’ workplace cultures in the software development industry, as a major contributing factor, few examine their root causes and almost none offer practical solutions. To address this lack of both knowledge and effective response, we propose a novel approach building on psychoanalytical Transactional Analysis (TA) theory that is little used in the field of management and organisation studies. TA theory provides a framework using common and simplified language to better understand why communications in the workplace fail, and how occupying incompatible ego states might lead to ‘ negative’, ‘ problematic’ and, in the worst cases, ‘ toxic’ behaviours and workplaces. We propose a TA-based model (OCTAPos) that helps explain how crossed communications at work can result in a lack of acceptance of women in the workplace and attrition among female software developers and the resultant dearth of diverse coders. We further propose a theoretically informed HRM Structured TA Response (STAR) to help increase self-awareness, emotional intelligence, empathy and mutual understanding, with the ultimate aim of positively impacting prevailing attitudes, behaviours and organisational culture to achieve more inclusive and sustainable recruitment and retention in the longer term.

Exploring Knowledge Sharing in Software Development Industry

In an organizational context, effective knowledge sharing can provide significant benefits to the organization. Efficient knowledge sharing can enhance the quality of individuals, thereby automatically improving the overall quality and performance of the organization. This process is particularly suitable for companies engaged in activities requiring complex knowledge, such as software development. However, to implement effective knowledge sharing, a company must possess strong internal capabilities. Furthermore, the forms of knowledge sharing implementation can vary depending on the organization. This research aims to identify the influencing factors of knowledge sharing along with their practical implementations within software development in general using systematic literature review. Several studies were obtained to answer the research questions. The results reveal those 40 distinct factors impacting knowledge sharing behavior individual, organizational, and technological aspects. Additionally, 16 different implementations of knowledge sharing were discovered, with knowledge repositories and meetings as the most common practices.

Analysis of Strategies to Attract Female Talent in the Software Development Industry

Historically, activities related to software development have been led by men, with weak participation from women. Currently, initiatives have been promoted to increasingly integrate women into this discipline. However, despite the known benefits of gender diversity in innovation and team performance, the visibility of women in this field remains weak. The primary objective of this article is to analyze strategies to attract female talent to the software development industry, aiming to reduce the gender gaps that women face. The methodology used in this work is based on several steps of systematic literature mapping, which seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature on this topic, classify the findings, and offer a framework for future research in this area. The main findings highlight the need for organizational policies and work practices that promote gender equality, as well as the importance of early education and training in retaining female talent in the software industry. This study not only contributes to academic discourse but also suggests practical measures for industry professionals to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment.

RESEARCH ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS FOR AUTOMATING THE SOFTWARE TESTING PROCESS

The subject matter of the article is artificial intelligence (AI) tools for automating the software testing process. The rapid development of the software development industry in recent decades has led to a significant increase in competition in the IT technology market and, as a result, stricter requirements for corresponding products and services. AI-driven test automation is becoming increasingly relevant due to its ability to solve complex tasks that previously required significant human resources. The goal of the work is to investigate the possibilities of using AI technologies to automate manual testing processes, which will increase testing efficiency, reduce costs, and improve software quality. The following tasks were solved in the article: analysis of existing tools and approaches to test automation using AI; development of a conceptual model of a system that integrates AI into the testing process; exploring the potential of AI to automate various aspects of software testing, such as generating test scenarios, detecting defects, predicting errors, and automatically analyzing test results. The following methods are used: theoretical analysis of the literature and existing solutions in the field of test automation, experimental study of the effectiveness of the proposed test automation methods. The following results were obtained: the concept of a system that integrates AI technologies for automating software testing is presented. It has been found that the use of AI allows automating routine testing tasks, significantly reducing the number of human errors, and improving the quality of software products and the effectiveness of verification and validation processes. Conclusions: The development and implementation of AI-based testing automation systems are extremely relevant and promising. The use of AI technologies makes it possible to significantly increase the efficiency of testing, reduce the costs of its implementation, and improve the quality of software. The proposed approach to the development of an AI-based test automation system can be used as a basis for further research and development in this field.

A Look at the Challenges of Burnout Syndrome and Technostress in a Software Development Company

Objective: The study aims to identify the impact of technostress on the Burnout propensity of workers at a software development company in the northwest region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Theoretical Framework: To support the work, we used the concepts of the software development industry, technostress and Burnout Syndrome. Method: The research adopted is descriptive in nature, with a quantitative approach, carried out using the Survey method. For data collection, a questionnaire divided into two blocks was used, the first analyzed Burnout Syndrome and in the second block, the five factors that create Techno-stress were analyzed. The data collection instrument was applied remotely over the internet using Google Form. The analysis techniques were carried out using SPSS software, basic descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, and multiple linear regression. Results and Discussion: Sample of 71 respondents, with an average age of 32 years, 35.2% have completed higher education and 57.7% of these are part of the company's public sector. The first model explains variations in the Emotional Exhaustion (EE) dimension. The Second model explains variations in Low Personal Involvement at Work and the Depersonalization model highlights that variations can be explained by technostress. Research Implications: This study explores a new connection between technostress analysis and Burnout Syndrome in the context of software development. This study provides a practical basis for companies in the same sector to consider the health of their employees.

Agile Project Management in Software Development Industries: Challenges and Opportunities

Agile Project Management in Software Development Industries: Challenges and Opportunities

Agile Project Management in the Age of Digital Transformation: Exploring Emerging Trends

Abstract In the context of today’s dynamic environment, agility and speed are two essential characteristics that apply to project management in the software development industry, as well as in many other industries. In order to meet the complex and continuous challenges of the digital age, the principles, techniques and methods of Agile Project Management and Scrum are expected to become more widespread, especially in software development, replacing or augmenting the traditional ones. This paper aims to identify trends in project management related to digital transformation and diffusion of Industry 4.0 technologies. A bibliometric analysis was carried out by searching the WOS database. The resulting documents were exported and processed in VOSviewer to fulfil the scope. The research revealed that, in the context of digital transformation, information technology supports the agile approach, agile transformation and agile project management. Furthermore, emerging technologies specific to Industry 4.0, especially artificial intelligence, and big data, can contribute significantly to all project phases. These emerging technologies can improve data processing and analysis, project forecasting, and risks prediction, can support decision making thus contributing to the success of the project.

A TEMPLATE FOR TECHNICAL DESIGN DOCUMENTS TO HELP DISTRIBUTED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TEAMS COLLABORATE BETTER

Technical Design Documents (TDD) are commonly adopted documents in the software development industry that describe the technical solution implementation design. These documents are informal and lack strict requirements regarding their content. The structure often differs from organization to organization. Lack of standardized structure often results in low-quality design documents that can hinder successful technical solution implementation. In this paper, we applied a grounded theory method to analyze various organization-specific TDD structures and proposed a standardized structure for this document. In addition to the plain text structure, we visualized it in the form of a mindmap to facilitate the adoption of this template. Organizations can use the proposed TDD template structure as a basis for the company-specific structure of TDD and may include all or part of the sections proposed.

Continuous Integration and Delivery of Software products: Pipeline implementation

Continuous practices, i.e., continuous integration, delivery, and deployment, are the software development industry practices that enable organizations to frequently and reliably release new features and products. CI/CD is the best practice for teams using a DevOps methodology and is best suited to agile methodologies. CI/CD automates code integration and delivery, allowing software development teams to focus more on business requirements. Implementing CI/CD and automating the delivery process from application development to the live environment using pipelines, reducing the time and errors during manual delivery, the previously mentioned high-quality and reliable software products are delivered to the end user. This work will automate the workflow of software products from development to supply and delivery using pipelines.

Enhancing agile project success: a comprehensive study of risk management approaches among Malaysian practitioners

AbstractRisk management (RM) plays a role in project management in the software development field. As information technology (IT) systems become more essential across industries and IT projects continue to face failure rates effective project management becomes crucial. However, the utilization of methodologies in risk management is not widely considered, specifically in Malaysia. This study aims to investigate how software practitioners in Malaysia have implemented risk management and discover strategies that can enhance risk management for agile contexts. The main focus of this study is the limited integration of methodologies into risk management practices, which has created a gap within the software risk domain. Successful risk management is essential for the achievement of software projects, and the findings from this study can offer insights for software development organizations to make informed decisions and improve project outcomes. By utilizing a quantitative approach and adapted questionnaires, this comprehensive study collected data from 60 practitioners and conducted descriptive analysis to identify key risk elements that have significant potential to affect project performance. The findings highlight these risk elements that can significantly impact project success. Agile methodologies, with their emphasis on collaboration, communication within teams, and engagement with stakeholders, including top management, are instrumental in aligning project objectives, identifying potential risks, and resolving issues promptly. This study provides empirical insights into the risk management practices of agile practitioners in Malaysia, which can equip software development organizations with valuable knowledge for informed decision‐making. By enhancing project outcomes and guiding future strategic actions, the findings of this study can contribute to the improvement of agile risk management in the software development industry, particularly in the Malaysian context.

Public Opinions on ChatGPT : An Analysis of Reddit Discussions by Using Sentiment Analysis, Topic Modeling, and SWOT Analysis

ABSTRACT The sudden arrival of AI (Artificial Intelligence) into people's daily lives all around the world was marked by the introduction of ChatGPT, which was officially released on November 30, 2022. This AI invasion in our lives drew the attention of not only tech enthusiasts but also scholars from diverse fields, as its capacity extends across various fields. Consequently, numerous articles and journals have been discussing ChatGPT, making it a headline for several topics. However, it does not reflect most public opinion about the product. Therefore, this paper investigated the public's opinions on ChatGPT through topic modelling, Vader-based sentiment analysis and SWOT analysis. To gather data for this study, 202905 comments from the Reddit platform were collected between December 2022 and December 2023. The findings reveal that the Reddit community engaged in discussions related to ChatGPT, covering a range of topics including comparisons with traditional search engines, the impacts on software development, job market, and education industry, exploring ChatGPT's responses on entertainment and politics, the responses from Dan, the alter ego of ChatGPT, the ethical usage of user data as well as queries related to the AI-generated images. The sentiment analysis indicates that most people hold positive views towards this innovative technology across these several aspects. However, concerns also arise regarding the potential negative impacts associated with this product. The SWOT analysis of these results highlights both the strengths and pain points, market opportunities and threats associated with ChatGPT. This analysis also serves as a foundation for providing recommendations aimed at the product development and policy implementation in this paper.

Analyst’s Perception on the Use of AI-based Tools in the Software Development Life Cycle

Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration has been the goal in many industries, including in the software development industry. One example of this integration comes in the form of integrating AI in the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). To date, the difficulties of incorporating AI-based tools into particular phases of SDLC have not received much attention in research. Using qualitative approach, this study aims to discover the perception on the use of AI-based tools and challenges in integrating them in the analysis phase of SDLC. The study finds out that analyst have positive perception about integrating this technology in their field of work but there are some challenges while integrating this technology such as data security and reliability concern, dependency, and adapting to this technology. This study also discovers some key factors of why some analysts adopt or refuse this technology namely time, urgency, budget, and insecurities of the users.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Technology-Based Project Management Systems for Software Development

The article "Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Technology-Based Project Management Systems for Software Development" explores the efficacy of project management systems in the context of software development projects. In the dynamic landscape of software engineering, efficient project management is crucial for successful and timely delivery of high-quality software products. The study employs a comprehensive evaluation framework to assess the performance and impact of technology-based project management systems on software development projects. The research methodology involves a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses, incorporating key performance indicators and user satisfaction surveys. The evaluation criteria encompass aspects such as project timelines, resource allocation, collaboration efficiency, and overall project success. By studying multiple case scenarios and employing a comparative analysis, the research aims to identify patterns, strengths, and weaknesses associated with different technology-based project management systems commonly used in the software development industry. The findings of this study are expected to contribute valuable insights to both academia and industry practitioners, shedding light on the optimal selection and utilization of project management systems for software development endeavors. As organizations increasingly rely on technology-driven solutions, understanding the effectiveness of project management systems becomes paramount for achieving enhanced productivity, streamlined workflows, and successful project outcomes in the ever-evolving field of software development.

TRENDS AND PERSPECTIVE DIRECTIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING

Nowadays programming is an indispensable part of modern life. It is the foundation for the development and implementation of new technologies and solutions in various fields of human activity: personal to professional. Recently, there has been significant progress in the development of information technologies due to the constant scientific and technological advances around the world. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current situation as well as trends in the development of software development. The work uses theoretical methods of research, such as analysis, synthesis and generalization. Because of this work, the author has identified the main trends and tendencies observed in the information technology industry. Based on the results obtained, the author makes conclusions about how the software development industry will develop and what technologies will have the greatest impact in the future. The scientific value of the current work consists in the formation and systematization of the most important trends and prospects of programming development. The materials of the work can be useful for modern software developers, architects and project managers in technology companies, allowing them to identify the most promising directions in the aspect of development of their competencies.

Future of software development with generative AI

Generative AI is regarded as a major disruption to software development. Platforms, repositories, clouds, and the automation of tools and processes have been proven to improve productivity, cost, and quality. Generative AI, with its rapidly expanding capabilities, is a major step forward in this field. As a new key enabling technology, it can be used for many purposes, from creative dimensions to replacing repetitive and manual tasks. The number of opportunities increases with the capabilities of large-language models (LLMs). This has raised concerns about ethics, education, regulation, intellectual property, and even criminal activities. We analyzed the potential of generative AI and LLM technologies for future software development paths. We propose four primary scenarios, model trajectories for transitions between them, and reflect against relevant software development operations. The motivation for this research is clear: the software development industry needs new tools to understand the potential, limitations, and risks of generative AI, as well as guidelines for using it.

Enhancing Software Quality through Early-Phase of Software Verification and Validation Techniques

Purpose: The core objectives of this conducted research were threefold: first, to assess whether early-phase verification and validation (V&V)techniques, encompassing software design review, code review, and inspection, significantly contribute to defect prevention throughout the software development process; second, to evaluate the impact of these techniques on the efficiency of software development in terms of time, cost, and resource allocation; and third, to conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis between early-phase verification and validation (V&V)techniques and traditional post-development testing regarding their effectiveness in defect prevention and software quality improvement.
 Methodology: Employing an experimental approach, this study conducted case studies within Tanzanian software development organizations. Data were meticulously gathered through surveys and interviews involving software professionals. Both quantitative and qualitative data were systematically analyzed to ensure data reliability and ethical considerations.
 Findings: The research findings indicate that early-phase verification and validation (V&V) techniques shine as powerful tools for defect prevention, leading to a substantial reduction in defect counts and elevating software quality metrics, such as reliability and user satisfaction. Notably, these techniques demonstrated a favorable impact on software development efficiency by shortening development cycles and curtailing costs. When compared to traditional post-development testing, early-phase verification and validation (V&V) techniques consistently outperformed in the realm of defect prevention and software quality enhancement.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study's outcomes underscore the transformative potential of early-phase verification &validation techniques, urging the software development industry to pivot from defect detection to defect prevention. The insights garnered here offer practical guidance for organizations aiming to streamline their software development processes, economize costs, and deliver top-notch software products that closely align with user expectations. While conducted in a Tanzanian context, these findings reverberate across the global software development landscape, underscoring the universal relevance of early-phase verification and validation (V&V) techniques as pivotal enablers of software quality assurance and operational efficiency.

Optimized Strategy in Cloud-Native Environment for Inter-Service Communication in Microservices

Cloud computing has become a prominent technology in the software development industry. The term “cloud-native” is derived from cloud computing technologies and refers to the development and deployment of applications in a cloud environment. In the software industry, most enterprise-grade software buildings use the microservice architecture and cloud natively, ultimately leading to an expansive development in the software development framework. Microservices are deployed in a distributed environment and function as independent services. However, they need to communicate with each other in order to fulfill the functional requirement. Additional latency will be introduced when communicating with other services. Hence, it will impact the overall application response time and throughput. This research proposes a solution for the aforementioned problem in the cloud-native environment. A Request-response-based TCP communication solution has been developed and tested in the cloud-native, containerized environment. Experimental results showed that the turnaround time of the proposed solution is shorter than that of traditional HTTP communication methods. Furthermore, the results summarize that both vertical and horizontal scaling are improving the overall performance of the systems performance in terms of response time. Conclusively, the proposed solution improved the microservice performance and preserved the existing cloud-native qualities, such as scalability, maintainability, and portability.

Supporting Remote Customer Involvement in Distributed Agile Development: A Coordination Approach

The expansion of software development industry has led to having team members distributed across different geographical areas. While using agile development by distributed teams has many benefits, it raises many challenges and difficulties as well. Managing remote customer involvement is one of the difficulties faced by distributed agile teams. This article aims to 1) identify the key activity dependencies existing during remote customer involvement in distributed agile development, and 2) design a computer-based system capable of providing coordination support through managing these dependencies. In order to achieve these objectives, two case studies are carried out. Our findings revealed 16 dependencies existing in seven types of activity. In addition, the participatory design approach used in the design shows that a computer-based system to manage the dependencies is capable to manage 14 dependencies existing in five types of activity. This article contributes to understanding the inter-relationships between customer and agile teams and contributes also to developing advanced systems supporting remote customer involvement in distributed agile development.

Visualization of Information Through Complex Networks – An Applied Case of CMMI and OpenUp Alignment

Increasingly technical advancements have created new hurdles for industrial software development, this article proposes the validation of an architecture for the visualization of information through complex networks, accomplished by the alignment of the practices of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) with the OpenUp disciplines. Relying on ontology methods, CMMI and OpenUP data were crossed on Neo4j graph database management system, following the proposed architecture. This demonstration case started with tabled datasets that have low complexity at the data level, therefore, as defined, we followed for the graph database (Neo4j), then to the user interface finalizing at information visualization. The main contribution of this study is certainly the validation of the technological architecture, through the cross mapping of CMMI and OpenUP in graph database, allowing future contributions to the matter. For future work, we propose the alignment of the model in a study case applied in the real environment, through the development of an adequate replicable framework.