Case Study Research in Software Engineering (eBook)

Dr. Austen Rainer is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire. He is an active member of the Centre for Empirical Software Process Research (CESPR) and teaches several courses?in the BSc(Hons) and MSc degree programs. Dr. Per Runeson is leader of the Software Engineering Research Group at Lund University, as well as Research Director for EASE - Embedded Applications Software Engineering. He is a Senior Researcher at Sony Ericsson, where he fulfills his role as a verification advisor. His research focuses on efficient verification and validation processes. Dr. Martin Höst is Director of the M.Sc. Programme in Computer Science and Engineering at Lund University and a member of the Software Engineering Research Group (SERG). Dr. Björn Regnell is a professor of Software Engineering at Lund University's Department of Computer Science and Vice Dean of Research at the Faculty of Engineering, LTH. His research interests include market-driven software development, requirements engineering, software quality, software innovation, software product management, and empirical research methods.

Foreword xv

Preface xix

Acknowledgements xxi

Part I. Case Study Methodology

1. Introduction 3

1.1 What is a case study? 3

1.2 A brief history of case studies in software engineering 5

1.3 Why a book on case studies of software engineering? 6

1.4 Conclusion 9

2. Background and definition of concepts 11

2.1 Introduction 11

2.2 Research strategies 12

2.3 Characteristics of research strategies 14

2.4 What makes a good case study? 18

2.5 When is the case study strategy feasible? 20

2.6 Case study research process 21

2.7 Conclusion 22

3. Design of the case study 23

3.1 Introduction 23

3.2 Elements of the case study design 24

3.3 Legal, ethical and professional issues 42

3.4 Conclusion 48

4. Data collection 49

4.1 Introduction 49

4.2 Different types of data sources 50

4.3 Interviews 52

4.4 Focus groups 57

4.5 Observations 58

4.6 Archival data 60

4.7 Metrics 61

4.8 Conclusion 63

5. Data analysis and interpretation 65

5.1 Introduction 65

5.2 Analysis of data in flexible research 66

5.3 Process for qualitative data analysis 70

5.4 Validity 75

5.5 Improving validity 77

5.6 Quantitative data analysis 79

5.7 Conclusion 81

6. Reporting and dissemination 83

6.1 Introduction 83

6.2 Why report and disseminate 84

6.3 The audience for the report 85

6.4 Aspects of the case study to report and disseminate 87

6.5 When to report and disseminate 88

6.6 Guidelines on reporting 88

6.7 Formats and structures for a report 99

6.8 Where to report 102

6.9 Ethics and confidentiality 102

6.10 Conclusion 104

7. Scaling up case study research 105

7.1 Introduction 105

7.2 The aims of scaling up case studies 106

7.3 Dimensions of scale 107

7.4 Longitudinal case studies 109

7.5 Multiple case studies 111

7.6 Multi-researcher case studies 114

7.7 Conclusion 116

8. Using case study research 117

8.1 Introduction 117

8.2 Reading and reviewing case studies 118

8.3 Identifying and synthesizing use case research 120

8.4 The economics of case study research 127

8.5 Specializing case study research for Software Engineering 130

8.6 Case studies and software process improvement 133

8.7 Conclusion 135

Part II. Examples of Case Studies

9. Introduction to case study examples 139

9.1 Introduction 139

10. Case studies of eXtreme Programming 143

10.1 Introduction 143

10.2 Case study design 144

10.3 Planning 146

10.4 Data collection 149

10.5 Data analysis 149

10.6 Reporting 156

10.7 Lessons learned 157

11. Longitudinal case studies of software project management 159

11.1 Introduction 159

11.2 Background to the research project 159

11.3 Case study design and planning 160

11.4 Data collection 164

11.5 Data analysis 166

11.6 Reporting 170

11.7 Lessons learned 172

12. An iterative case study of quality monitoring 173

12.1 Introduction 173

12.2 Case study design 175

12.3 Planning 176

12.4 Data analysis 179

12.5 Reporting 180

12.6 Lessons learned 180

13. An evaluative case study of software tools 181

13.1 Introduction 181

13.2 Design of the case study 182

13.3 Data collection 190

13.4 Data analysis 191

13.5 Reporting and dissemination 192

13.6 Lessons learned 193

14. A large-scale case study 195

14.1 Introduction 195

14.2 Case study design 196

14.3 Planning 201

14.4 Data collection 206

14.5 Data analysis 207

14.6 Lessons learned 208

Appendices 217

Appendix A. Checklists for reading and reviewing case studies 217

Appendix B. Example Interview instrument (XP) 221

Appendix C. Example interview instrument (REVV) 223

Appendix D. Example of a coding guide 227

Appendix E. Example of a consent information letter 233

Bibliography 235

References 235

Index 251