Software Development Teams Research Articles

Combining GitHub, Chat, and Peer Evaluation Data to Assess Individual Contributions to Team Software Development Projects

Assessing team software development projects is notoriously difficult and typically based on subjective metrics. To help make assessments more rigorous, we conducted an empirical study to explore relationships between subjective metrics based on peer and instructor assessments, and objective metrics based on GitHub and chat data. We studied 23 undergraduate software teams ( n = 117 students) from two undergraduate computing courses at two North American research universities. We collected data on teams’ (a) commits and issues from their GitHub code repositories, (b) chat messages from their Slack and Microsoft Teams channels, (c) peer evaluation ratings from the CATME peer evaluation system, and (d) individual assignment grades from the courses. We derived metrics from (a) and (b) to measure both individual team members’ contributions to the team, and the equality of team members’ contributions. We then performed Pearson analyses to identify correlations among the metrics, peer evaluation ratings, and individual grades. We found significant positive correlations between team members’ GitHub contributions, chat contributions, and peer evaluation ratings. In addition, the equality of teams’ GitHub contributions was positively correlated with teams’ average peer evaluation ratings and negatively correlated with the variance in those ratings. However, no such positive correlations were detected between the equality of teams’ chat contributions and their peer evaluation ratings. Our study extends previous research results by providing evidence that (a) team members’ chat contributions, like their GitHub contributions, are positively correlated with their peer evaluation ratings; (b) team members’ chat contributions are positively correlated with their GitHub contributions; and (c) the equality of team’ GitHub contributions is positively correlated with their peer evaluation ratings. These results lend further support to the idea that combining objective and subjective metrics can make the assessment of team software projects more comprehensive and rigorous.

ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF AUTOMATED TESTING IMPLEMENTATION IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

The article considers the main factors influencing the effectiveness of the implementation of automated testing in software development teams. A method is proposed for assessing the need to automate manual testing (test cases) based on checklists and a decision tree previously presented in other works. Factors related to the availability of specialists necessary for automation, their qualifications and the availability of automation tools in the company were added to the checklist and decision tree. Also, a method for assessing the economic efficiency of introducing test automation based on the analysis of the return of investment ratio is presented.

APLICAÇÃO DO SISTEMA DOCKER A FIM DE ELIMINAR DESPERDÍCIO NO SETOR DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DE SOFTWARE

The progressive use of computational systems, as well as the demand for software creation and maintenance also grow continuously, making the actions of small centralized teams difficult. Software development has developed in line with the emergence of new technologies and the demands of the increasingly globalized market, forcing a large number of companies to subdivide their software development teams in order to expand their operational capacity. This study aims to implement the Docker Host Operating System, aiming to eradicate waste in the software development sector. With regard, specifically, to the Docker host, it helps software developers, generating broader data accessibility, followed by data independence capable of providing an increase in the speed of the processing of processes. Due to these aspects, this research is characterized as bibliographical, based on a qualitative, exploratory and explanatory approach. It concludes with the analysis that this study will favor the improvement in the performance of the software developer, seeking to reduce the time that, previously, was used to configure environments and develop software, making the processing of processes faster, within organizations, with benefits for society as a whole.

Early Labour App: Developing a practice-based mobile health application for digital early labour support

BackgroundPregnant women in early labour have felt excluded from professional care, and their partners have been restricted from being involved in the birthing process. Expectant parents must be better prepared to deal with fear and stress during early labour. There is a need for evidence-based information and digital applications that can empower couples during childbirth. ObjectiveTo develop and identify requirements for a practice-based mobile health (mHealth) application for Digital Early Labour Support. MethodsThis research started with creating an expert group composed of a multidisciplinary team capable of informing the app development process on evidence-based practices. In consultation with the expert group, the app was built using an agile development approach (i.e., Scrum) within a continuous software engineering setting (i.e., CI/CD, DevOps), also including user and security tests. ResultsDuring the development of the Early Labour App, two main types of challenges emerged: (1) user challenges, related to understanding the users’ needs and experience with the app, and (2) team challenges, related to the software development team in particular, and the necessary skills for translating an early labour intervention into a digital solution. This study reaffirms the importance of midwife support via blended care and the opportunity of complementing it with an app. The Early Labour App was easy to use, the women needed little to no help, and the partner’s preparation was facilitated. The combination of the app together with blended care opens up awareness, thoughts and feelings about the method and provides good preparation for the birth. ConclusionWe propose the creation of the Early Labour App, a mHealth app for early labour support. The preliminary tests conducted for the Early Labour App show that the app is mature, allowing it to be used in the project’s Randomised Control Trial, which is already ongoing.

A Conversation with Francis Enyi: Bridging the healthcare deficit via IVR

Ubiquity's senior editor Dr. Bushra Anjum chats with Francis Enyi, a senior program analyst with the Information and Communication Technology Department at Delta State University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. They discuss how Enyi and his team of computer software developers, medical personnel, and linguists are working toward bridging the deficit of healthcare personnel in remote and rural areas in Africa. The conversation also details the team's flagship service, interactive voice response (IVR) software, providing access to quality non-surgical medical care information to the populace, made available via the GSM telephone network.

Detecting Bugs in Software using Supervised Machine Learning Approaches

Abstract: Software Flaw Projection (SFP) is an important issue in software development and maintenance process. Software flaws can cause significant problems for software development teams. So, projecting the software faults in earlier phase improves the software quality, reliability, efficiency and reduces the software cost. However, developing robust flaw projection model is a challenging task and many techniques have been proposed. Projecting the likelihood of flaws occurring in software can help developers prevent or mitigate their impact. This paper presents a software flaw projection model based on Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. Supervised ML algorithms have been used to predict future software faults based on historical data. The evaluation process proved that ML algorithms can be used effectively with high accuracy rate. Furthermore, a comparison measure is applied to compare the proposed prediction model with other approaches. The collected results showed that the ML approach has a better performance

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) in Software Engineering – A Brief Review

The software development life cycle process is a crucial methodology that software developers use to create high-quality software products. In the requirements-gathering phase, the software development team works with stakeholders to define the project's objectives, scope, and requirements. The design phase involves creating the software architecture, which outlines the software's structure, components, and interactions. In the testing phase, the software is tested to ensure that it meets the requirements and functions correctly. The SDLC process plays a critical role in creating software that meets user requirements, is of high quality, and can be maintained and updated over time. By following a systematic approach, software development teams can ensure that the software they create is reliable, secure, and efficient. Overall, the SDLC process is a comprehensive methodology that software developers use to create high-quality software products. Software Development Life Cycle plays a major role in the life of a software engineer. Design thinking can be used to make the software development life cycle more powerful. This paper involves a discussion on how software development life cycle can be made powerful and used to satisfy the client's requirements.

Achieving Usability: Looking for Connections between User-Centred Design Practices and Resultant Usability Metrics in Agile Software Development

This article searches for correlations between the practices of usability professionals from software development teams and the resulting usability of the system they are working on. After reviewing the literature of the past decade, we can conclude that most researchers try to achieve better usability with process proposals, but measurements focus on perceived usability. The level of involvement of users in the requirements capture phase is unclear. There is a trend to reduce costs of usability engineering, either by choosing more lightweight and informal methods or by trying to substitute user involvement. Looking at decade's worth of 452 articles about "agile AND usability" in Scopus, we selected 133 which deal with the integration of usability, UX and User Centred Design practices and Agile development.

CI/CD Pipeline for Web Applications

Abstract: Modern organisation’s rapid pace of software development necessitates teams delivering high-quality software products faster than ever before. In order to accomplish this, software development teams are incorporating continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) methodologies into their software development processes. CI/CD pipelines are a set of practises and tools that allow teams to efficiently and reliably automate the development, testing, and deployment of software products. CI/CD pipelines have become an essential tool for teams delivering web applications at a faster pace while ensuring scalability, security, and performance in the context of web applications. This paper provides an overview of the best practises and tools for constructing a successful CI/CD pipeline for web applications. Version control, continuous integration, automated testing, deployment automation, monitoring, and logging are among the key steps covered in the paper. The paper also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of CI/CD pipelines, such as increased productivity, shorter time-to-market, fewer manual errors, and better collaboration between development and operations teams. Several case studies are included in the paperto demonstrate the effectiveness of CI/CD pipelines in web application development. The case studies cover a variety of web applications, such as e-commerce websites, social media platforms, and healthcare apps. Each case study provides practical insights into CI/CD pipeline implementation, including the tools and technologies used, the benefits realised, and the challenges encountered. The case studies also emphasise the importance of culture and collaboration in CI/CD pipeline implementation success. The paper also discusses the key tools and technologies used in web application CI/CD pipelines, such as Git, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS. The paper provides an overview of these tools as well as their role in various stages of the CI/CD pipeline. The paper also discusses the importance ofsecurity in CI/CD pipelines, as well as an overview of the key security practices that must be implemented

Effect of requirements specification using native language on external software quality

AbstractIn the context of requirements specification in Global Software Development, aspects such as differences in culture, language and schedule affect software development teams; however, we do not know the effect of these issues. Compare the native language requirements with the foreign language requirements concerning external quality. We conducted a controlled experiment of one‐factor two treatments within‐subjects with 17 experimental subjects. Wilcoxon test indicates that there is evidence to reject the null hypothesis (p‐value = 0.008); there is a statistically significant difference. The external quality value obtained with native language requirements is superior to the external quality produced with the foreign language. The effect size equals an absolute value of 0.45, which corresponds to a medium effect. The language used in the requirements specification influences the external quality; using the native language in the requirements specification significantly increases the external quality. The result obtained in this research should be considered to evaluate the roles and English language skills of GSD team members and their effect on external software quality. We also suggest considering the English language skills of the experimental subjects in the experimental laboratories since language could influence the results of the experiments.

THE EFFECT OF TIME PRESSURE DURING COVID19 ON SOFTWARE QUALITY

Background: as technology develops, governments, organizations, companies, and individuals develop technical solutions for global problems or crises. Currently, the entire world is experiencing the covid-19 pandemic. During this crisis, efforts have been made to find a technical solution to face or even mitigate the crisis. The development of technological solutions under time pressure is one issue being explored by many researchers. We seek to determine the impact of time pressure on the quality of the developed software or applications, especially in the case of the covid-19 crisis in Saudi Arabia. Method: this research uses interviewing, survey, and analysis of user comments and ratings for the application (the application was developed under time pressure in the covid-19 crisis) in the app store. Results: the research results demonstrated that software quality in this study was positively affected by time pressure. The impact of time pressure on software quality likely depends on a few factors, such as the level of time pressure, the experience of the developers, and the type of software being developed. Conclusions: the development teams can perform well under time pressure. Similarly, the challenge–hindrance framework maintains that time pressure may be a positive source of pressure (challenge) and translate into good stress or a negative source of pressure (hindrance) that corresponds to bad stress. In other words, outcomes derived under time pressure can be positive and negative; pressure is positive when it increases efficiency and negative when it reduces quality. Project managers can maintain quality while working under time pressures. To put it in another way, under optimal pressure, software development teams can complete projects in less time, with less effort, and with good quality. Since the ABC application was developed to improve people’s health and restore normalcy after quarantine, the developers prioritized its development as a mission of national interest. We concluded that the type of time pressure affects app quality, either negatively or positively.

Fully Remote Software Development as a New Standard in the IT Industry: European Study 2022—2023

The pandemic and the emergence of the COVID-economy continue to have a significant impact on the organization of labor in the industries of the "new economy", of which the information technology industry is a prominent representative. By 2023, a significant number of Russian, European and global IT corporations and small software companies are working in a completely remote mode — outside the offices and without personal meetings of employees even within the same software development team. This article presents the results of a European study (Dec. 2022 — Jan. 2023), covering the experience of 48 software development and IT support teams in companies headquartered in Europe: Yandex, Sberbank, VTB to Deutsche Bank, ATOS IT, Finastra, etc. The experts determined the level of demand for new organizational and production paradigms in software development and presented their ideas and forecasts on the development of fully remote software development as a new IT industry standard in the medium term 2023—2024. The results of the study are presented in the form of solving the relevant research problems and testing the hypotheses about the level of consolidation of new paradigms in the practice of leading IT companies and their impact on the corporate culture and business processes of IT companies.

Antecedents of Psychological Safety in Agile Software Development Teams

Antecedents of Psychological Safety in Agile Software Development Teams

SSDAC/TO DO STATIC, DYNAMIC ANALYSIS TYPES OF TESTING/GENERATING REPORTS

Software testing is an essential step in making sure that software products are high-quality and reliable. The usage of the LDRA tool for software testing, specifically for performing static and dynamic analysis types of testing and producing reports, is the main topic of this research study. This study's objectives are to assess the LDRA tool's performance in terms of software testing and report generation, as well as to make suggestions for software developers and quality assurance specialists. The LDRA tool was used to test two software systems for this study, and the findings were then analyzed. According to the study, the LDRA tool works well at spotting flaws and weaknesses in software systems, and its report- generating capabilities offer useful information for software quality assurance. The findings of this study have significant repercussions for software testing and quality assurance, and the suggestions made can help software development teams enhance the quality and dependability of their output.

The impact of social media usage on expertise coordination and team creative performance in distributed agile software development

PurposeThis article explores how the social media usage affect team creative performance via transactive memory system, knowledge interaction and expertise coordination.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on the perspective of transaction memory system and expertise coordination theory. A research model was constructed and tested, involving 289 individuals from 67 distributed agile software development teams.FindingsThe results indicate that social media usage is positively correlated with transactive memory system, and social media usage and transactive memory system have positive relations to knowledge interaction and expertise coordination. Moreover, this analysis shows that knowledge interaction has a positive relationship with expertise coordination, and expertise coordination positively affects team creative performance. However, knowledge interaction has no direct relationship on team creative performance, and its indirect impact on team creative performance was fully mediated by expertise coordination. This research shows that social media usage by distributed agile software development teams can support the development of transactive memory system and promote expertise coordination. In addition, knowledge interaction alone is not enough, and expertise coordination must be achieved to increase team creative performance.Originality/valueFirst, this paper explores the mechanism of transactive memory system in distributed Agile Software Development teams from the perspective of social media, which is different from the previous information processing theory framework that confined transactive memory system to the cognitive aspects of knowledge coding, storage and retrieval. Second, this research focuses on the knowledge interaction and expertise coordination formed by team members in the process of communication in the context of social media usage, which confirms the crucial roles of social media usage and transactive memory system in team knowledge management and team creative performance. Then, this research also shows that the development of transactive memory system in the team is indeed an important factor to promote knowledge interaction and professional expertise coordination.

Knowledge Transfer in Software Development Teams—Systematic Mapping

The acquisition of new knowledge, by means of teaching programming languages, tools, methodologies, and development processes, is a need in the software industry to retain the experience of the programmer within the organization. This work aims analysing existing research on techniques, tools, approaches and experiences applied to the transmission and acquisition of new knowledge. Additionally, to analyse the learning process within an organizational environment, and how a company captures, maintains and transmits the knowledge. We conducted a survey to identify the software practitioner needs regarding experience and knowledge transfer. Once we could realize there is a challenge to manage the knowledge, a systematic mapping of the literature is carried out. We have considered works published between 2007 and 2019. 51 articles were selected, 71% are studies in industry, 29% are focused on university education. Our findings reveal the great challenge involved in studying the acquisition and exchange of new knowledge. Additionally, we were supported with an initial survey to validate results. Much of the literature focuses on analysing academic processes, more research is needed on the process of learning new knowledge with respect to programming languages, tools, methodologies, cycles and development processes in the software industry.

At-Home Telespirometry (AHT) in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): Digital Health Technology and Quality Control (P10-8.009)

At-Home Telespirometry (AHT) in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): Digital Health Technology and Quality Control (P10-8.009)

A contextualised model of the use of agile technique in South African software development team

Background: Software development teams are challenged with the adoption of the most appropriate software development methodology. Despite their acceptance of agile methodologies, still many countries use traditional software development methods.Objectives: The major objective of this study was to develop a contextualised model for the adoption of agile methodologies in software development teams in South Africa.Method: Our study identified the factors that contributed to the adoption of agile software development teams in South Africa by conducting a factor analysis. We used descriptive statistics to determine the frequencies of the participant’s demographics and situational variables. A composite research model based on technology, organisation and environment, individual characters and culture constructs was constructed and analysis was performed by applying the statistical techniques of correlation analysis, regression analysis and structural equation modelling.Results: The result of the analysis revealed that many teams do not have a specific model that they use in agile development methodology. Technology, organisation, environment and culture constructs were found to have an impact on teams in adopting agile methodologies.Conclusion: The study demonstrated that organisations lack appropriate models of agile methodologies adoption to inform their decision making. Therefore, adopt the developed model in taking informed decisions for their software development methodologies. The study makes a practical contribution to management and practice.Contribution: This study improves on software development approaches in developing countries. The developed model can be adopted as a theory in future research. It contributed literature to the body of knowledge.

Design and Development of Artificial Intelligence Knowledge Processing System for Optimizing Security of Software System

Software security vulnerabilities are significant for the software development industry. Exploration is conducted for software development industry landscape, software development eco-system landscape, and software system customer landscape. The focus is to explore the data sources that can provide the software development team with insights to act upon the security vulnerabilities proactively. Across these modules of software landscape, customer landscape, and industry landscape, data sources are leveraged using artificial intelligence approaches to identify the security insights. The focus is also on building a smart knowledge management system that integrates the information processed across modules into a central system. This central intelligence system can be further leveraged to manage software development activities proactively. In this exploration, machine learning and deep learning approaches are devised to model the data and learn from across the modules. Architecture for all the modules and their integration is also proposed. Work helps to envision a smart system for Artificial Intelligence-based knowledge management for managing software security vulnerabilities.

Achieving software development agility: different roles of team, methodological and process factors

PurposeAgile principles have been widely used in software development team practice since the creation of the Agile Manifesto. Studies have examined variables related to agile principles without systematically considering the relationships among key team, agile methodology, and process variables underlying the agile principles and how these variables jointly influence the achievement of software development agility. In this study, the authors tested a team/methodology–process–agility model that links team variables (team autonomy and team competence) and methodological variable (iterative development) to process variables (communication and collaborative decision-making), which are in turn linked to software development agility (ability to sense, respond and learn).Design/methodology/approachSurvey data from one hundred and sixty software development professionals were analyzed using structural equation modeling methods.FindingsThe results support the team/methodology–process–agility model. Process variables (communication and collaborative decision-making) mediated the effects of team (autonomy and competence) and methodological (iterative development) variables on software development agility. In addition, team, methodology and process variables had different effects on the three dimensions of software development agility.Originality/valueThe results contribute to the literature on organizational IT management by establishing a team/methodology–process–agility model that can serve as a basis for developing a core theoretical foundation underlying agile principles and practices. The results also have practical implications for organizations in understanding and managing holistically the different roles that agile methodological, team and process factors play in achieving software development agility.