Time and Location



Monday May 18th 2009, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada



Overview



"People trump process" is a popular mantra summarizing how people
factors
are the most significant software project cost drivers. Cost drivers
associated with personal factors from COCOMO model "reflect the strong
influence of personal capability on software productivity" (Boehm et
al.,
1995, p. 86). Boehm concluded "Personnel attributes and human relations
activities provide by far the largest source of opportunity for
improving
software productivity"(Boehm, 1984)



An effective software engineering research agenda should focus on the
major
software cost drivers. Yet, while we acknowledge "people factors" are
the
most significant cost drivers for a software project we lack the
ability to
explore and understand how these problems influence software engineering
performance. Comparatively little research is done into understanding
the
social factors that influence software development. A survey of software
engineering research literature by Robert Glass (2002 discovered that
a very
small percentage (in many cases less than 1%) of research papers
explored
organizational issues or employed research methods useful in
understanding
social behavior.



People problems are complex and messy and often do not lend themselves
well
to the clean abstractions of quantitative methods. Few published
studies use
the methodological techniques required to delve into the complexity of
the
problem and yet this is the very complexity we must explore if we are to
advance our field.



The last few years have seen an increase in interest in qualitative
methods.
Conversations with many researchers engaged in qualitative research
reveal a
high level of interest to create a qualitative research community in
software engineering. However, the quality of the results is
inconsistent.
There is very little in the way of guidance for using qualitative
methods
that are relevant to software engineering research. Finally, there are
those
who regard qualitative research as untrustworthy, subjective, biased,
and
not an effective tools for software engineering research. The purpose of
this workshop is to strengthen the software engineering qualitative
research
community by:

o bringing together those with an interest in qualitative
software engineering research

o providing resources such as guidelines, templates,
examplarsfor those considering in engaging qualitative research, and

o developing a plan of action to raise the profile of
qualitative research in the software engineering research community.



Qualitative research methods include for example:

o Grounded Theory

o Ethnography

o Biography

o Action Research

o Case Study



Workshop Objectives

This is a working workshop, and we intend to develop a plan of action
for:

o raising the profile and perceived legitimacy of qualitative
research in software engineering

o developing guidelines to aid those conducting or planning
qualitative studies in software engineering.

o create a strong qualitative research community within the
software engineering research community

o building resources to assist those conducting qualitative
research. One suggestion so far is ultimately the creation and
publication
of a Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Software Engineering



Agenda

The workshop will start with short invited keynote presentations to
outline
the issues surrounding qualitative research in software engineering
after
which participants will have an opportunity to briefly state their
positions. We will break up into working groups to explore issues with
like-minded people. The results from the break out groups shall be
aggregated at the end of the day and assemble an action plan.



Participation

This is a working workshop, not a mini-conference, and participants are
expected to actively participate in the workshop agenda. To take part in
this workshop, please prepare a short position paper stating your
position
regarding qualitative research and software engineering, bring a new
idea,
an experience, a survey, or a bold proposal to go forward.



Registration

Regular registration is 100.00 CDN$ and 50.00 CDN$ for students
registered
in a full time academic program. Registration includes access to the
workshop and meals. The workshop will be held on the wonderful campus of
the University of British Columbia.



How to submit

Send a PDF file to qualse@ece.ubc.ca before February 20, 2009.



Disclaimer

While this workshop is taking place in Vancouver at the same time as the
International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2009), this
workshop
is NOT affiliated or sanctioned by ICSE in any manner.



Contacts

Workshop Co-chairs

Steve Adolph steve at wsaconsulting dot com

Philippe Kruchten pbk at ece.ubc dot ca



Tentative committee

Frank Maurer University of Calgary

James Noble Victoria University of Wellington

Carolyn Seaman University of Maryland Baltimore County

Wendy Hall University of British Columbia

Janice Singer National Research Council