A grounded theory study, with a product of a substantive theory that explains how people manage the software development process, could. Developing a grounded theory to explain the practices of. While grounded theory is inherently flexible, it is a complex methodology. Qualitative research in software engineering springerlink. Software engineering researchers are constantly looking to improve the quantity and quality of their research findings through the use of an appropriate research methodology. Using grounded theory to understand software process improvement. Oct 22, 20 we present metacodes, a new concept to guide grounded theory gt research in software engineering. However, gt is a complex method based on an inductive paradigm that is fundamentally different from. We carefully and systematically selected 98 articles that mention gt, of which 52 explicitly claim to use gt, with the other 46. A grounded theoretical and linguistic analysis approach for.
In this blog post, i reflect on my experiences from conducting a grounded theory study as a software engineering researcher in summer 2010. We present metacodes, a new concept to guide grounded theory gt research in software engineering. The study is presented within a backdrop of organizational. Pdf grounded theory in software engineering research. Grounded theory is introduced as an inductive, comparative methodology that provides systematic guidelines for gathering, synthesizing, analyzing, and conceptualizing qualitative data for the purpose of theory construction. This study contributes evidence in support of grounded theory as a useful research methodology to investigate and study phenomena in the engineering world.
A practical guide through qualitative analysis, was pub lished in 2006 by sage. May 22, 2016 grounded theory in software engineering research. Although the method is time consuming and tedious, they find it to be an effective tool for software engineering research. In software engineering, grounded theory has been used to study daily standup meetings. Scopus database indicates the number of grounded theory studies in computer science has been growing for the last decade fig. Page 1 of 19 using grounded theory to understand software process improvement. Grounded theory and linguistic analysis approach thirty third international conference on information systems, orlando 2012 3 codes, which are then aggregated into higherorder concepts called categories and their attributes properties. Using grounded theory to study the human aspects of. Feb 08, 2012 types of grounded theory designsthere are three dominant designs for grounded theory. Grounded theory is a systematic methodology to generate theory from data. Conference paper pdf available may 2016 with 3,211 reads. Metacodes are constructed in the course of analyzing software engineering papers that use grounded theory as a research methodology.
In the study, peggy and i examined the role of a community portal, such as ibms jazz or microsofts msdn, in the process of communicating software development knowledge. Analysis of the interviews revealed prominent data patterns that. This paper explores the requirements engineering re process by conducting interviews with re professionals and applying grounded theory to determine whether a theory of re emerges. Grounded theory and requirements engineering requirements engineering is particularly attractive for grounded theory methodology for a number of reasons. Based on their own case of applying grounded theory in a software engineering context they provide insightful lessons learned and useful guidelines for how to interpret the canons of classical grounded theory literature. Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria, qualitative sociology, vol. Thus, novice researchers strive to understand the discourse and the practical application of grounded theory concepts and processes. In nursing, grounded theory has been used to examine how bedside shift report can be used to keep patients safe. A grounded theoretical and linguistic analysis approach. The use of grounded theory in empirical software engineering. On using grounded theory in software engineering research.
Devops, which stands for developmentoperations, is an important software engineering topic that arose from the it industry in 2009. The software engineering education and training seet track is premier forum for research and experience reports on challenges, innovations, and best practices in software engineering and training. The software development and testing process is incorporated at several parts of the cycle. Grounded theory has been a nonpreferable choice of methodology in the context of engineering research, and this study might provide a different perspective on this situation. A grounded theory of software process improvement model. Grounded theory has also helped research in the field of information technology to study the use of computer technology in older adults. Understanding devops education with grounded theory icse. Axial coding formalizes a set of procedures that allows for the reformulation of the data. Using this approach, a researcher begins with an existing data set and abstracts a hypothesis or a theory that accurately describes that data. The first study assesses the use of a software engineering tool, dialog charts, by systems designers calloway, 1988. This is the 2nd part of the 7th lecture of the 2020 course on empirical methods in software engineering by alessio ferrari, isticnr, pisa, italy. So, therefore, grounded theory is extremely popular nowadays.
Conceptions of understanding in engineering mathematics learning henry khiat singapore polytechnic, singapore mathematics is of utmost importance in engineering courses but studies on engineering students conceptions of understanding in mathematics learning are found lacking in the literature. Why a theory of software engineering why should we be interested in creating a theory of software engineering. However, gt is a complex method based on an inductive paradigm that is fundamentally different. Unfortunately, the grounded theory method is still not widely understood in the software engineering discipline. Pdf a grounded theory of the requirements engineering. The methodology originates from the social sciences and aims at. We just presented the results of the study at esecfse in september 2011. Types of grounded theory designsthere are three dominant designs for grounded theory. Using grounded theory to study the experience of software. Using grounded theory to study the human aspects of software engineering, in proc. We just presented the results of the study at esecfse in september 2011 paper.
Software engineering is a social science, so we need social methods. Early examples of the use of gt in software engineer ing are by carver and coleman and oco nnor 18. Grounded theory gt is increasingly being used to study the human aspects of software engineering. Basili vr, rombach d, schneider k, kitchenham b, pfahl d, selby rw eds empirical software engineering issues. Metacodes are high level codes that can help software engineering researchers guide the data coding process. May 28, 2011 although the method is time consuming and tedious, they find it to be an effective tool for software engineering research. Introduction software development is a costly and risky endeavor. Using grounded theory to understand software process. Key concepts from grounded theory, key rules in grounded theory, were pretty easily transposed to software. Early examples of the use of gt in software engineering are by carver and coleman and oconnor 18. Early examples of the use of gt in software engineering are by. Grounded theory gt has proved an extremely useful research approach in several fields including medical sociology, nursing, education and management theory. We employed grounded theory gt, a social science qualitative research methodology, to study devops education from academic and industrial. Applications and systems are growing increasingly more complex and involve everincreasing numbers of users and stakeholders.
Grounded theory method and linguistic analysis first, we suggest basing the inference steps and procedures of our approach loosely on gtm. Grounded theory is a method originally described by. Grounded theory gt has proved an extremely useful research approach in several fields including medical sociology, nursing, education and management. Jan 29, 2020 carver j 2007 the use of grounded theory in empirical software engineering. This comparison illustrates ways in which grounded theory can be used to analyze and understand interview data. We performed a high level analysis to discover common themes in such papers and discovered that gt had been applied primarily in three soware engineering. The inclusion of software development into the grounded theory cycle has recently emerged in the field of software engineering in order to understand psychological and social phenomena.
Apr 28, 2020 this is the 2nd part of the 7th lecture of the 2020 course on empirical methods in software engineering by alessio ferrari, isticnr, pisa, italy. A grounded theory study of indian software organizations, agile processes in software engineering and extreme programming, 10. Jan 02, 2019 grounded theory sets out to discover or construct theory from data, systematically obtained and analysed using comparative analysis. In this paper, we describe the variants of gt and identify the core set of gt practices. Human aspects of software engineering,2010 24 schreiber, r. We present an overview of the grounded theory method and discuss its use. Jun 22, 2015 a grounded theory of agile architecture waterman et al.
However, this research project is neither positivist nor interpretivist. Grounded theory is a method in naturalistic research that is used primarily to generate theory. Adolph s, hall w, kruchten p 2008 a methodological leg to stand on. We invite high quality submissions describing original and unpublished results and experiences. A groundedtheory study of civil engineering design. Theory is the foundation of science and provides explanations of phenomena as well as testable predictions. Sep 21, 2011 in this blog post, i reflect on my experiences from conducting a grounded theory study as a software engineering researcher in summer 2010. Over the last decade, there has been a sustained increase in the number of researchers exploring the human and social aspects of software engineering, many of whom have used grounded theory. Grounded theory gt, a widespread qualitative research methodology, has been introduced to generate a theory from data that is gathered from one discipline. Grounded theory gt is gaining popularity as research method in software engineering. The basic principle behind grounded theory is that the hypotheses and theories emerge bottomup from the data rather than topdown from existing theory.
We carefully and systematically selected 98 articles that mention gt, of which 52 explicitly claim to. I have a theory in mind, its a theory about why the division of labor among software developers, despite the goals of modularity, leads to the creation of dependencies that must be coordinated in order for code to successfully compile and run. Cristoph treudes summary of his own use of grounded theory was helpful in providing some context and understanding for the more formal descriptions of grounded theory gt i. Sulabh tyagi, ritu sibal and bharti suri, adopting test automation on agile development projects. A grounded theory of agile architecture waterman et al.
Grounded theory method an overview sciencedirect topics. Generating a useful theory of software engineeringv04unfpbk. A grounded theory of software process improvement model adoption. Grounded theory is a research method that involves forming a theory based on the gathered data as opposed to gathering data after forming a theory. However, gt is a complex method based on an inductive paradigm that is fundamentally different from the traditional hypotheticodeductive research model. And therefore, new qualitative researches that, the touch upon qualitative analysis started with this software and then ended up with doing or reading about grounded theory. Request pdf requirements engineering in software startups. A grounded theory of software process improvement model adoption w. However, in many studies, we are required to involve multiple disciplines and generate a theory that explains a multidisciplinary phenomenon and incorporate combined concepts. Cost overruns, project delays, stakeholder frustration, and defective products plague the industry. Grounded theory gt has proved an extremely useful research approach in several fields including medical sociology, nursing, education and.
Using grounded theory to study the human aspects of software. Another objective was to examine what types of software testing are performed in the professional software projects, and. We carefully and systematically selected 98 articles that mention gt, of which 52 explicitly claim to use gt, with the other 46 using gt techniques only. We then analyze the use of grounded theory in software engineering.
Gtm is described as a qualitative research method that uses a systematic set of procedures to develop an inductively derived grounded theory about a phenomenon strauss and corbin 1990. Grounded theory has been getting more popular over the last decade. Grant norman, msse this study, using a grounded theory methodology, analyzed data collected from software developers and it professionals on software process improvement spi adoption. Grounded theory is a method originally described by glaser and. Grounded theory in software engineering research ieee xplore. I dont want to read a grounded theory that doesnt present what the theory is a theory about. Grounded theory sets out to discover or construct theory from data, systematically obtained and analysed using comparative analysis. Grounded theory in software engineering research proceedings of. The objective of this mixed method study combining both the grounded theory method 56,63 and statistical analysis was to examine and identify the current state of testing tools and test automation in the software industry. A study of irish software product companies gerry coleman a, rory oconnor b a department of computing, dundalk institute of technology, dundalk, co. Paper presented at the proceedings of the 2008 conference of the center for advanced studies on collaborative research. Charmaz has served as the president of the pacific sociological association, vicepresident of the society for the study of.
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