Software Engineering Relevance - Applying a Model for Enquiry

摘要

Specifically small software businesses (SSBs) tend to refrain from using software engineering (SE) techniques as prescribed by the research community. It is possible that the small software business (SSB) has something to contribute toward the SE canon and may also benefit from SE. However it is probable that SE research has largely ignored the SSB, because SE research is primarily funded by large organizations, including governments and hardly ever by SSBs. To find out if SE techniques may be of relevance to SSBs it is necessary to examine the nature of SSBs and how they view SE techniques. Relevance, for the authors, is dependent on context and the fact that the context can, and will, change.rnWe have introduced a theoretical model based on dynamic continua as a foundation of enquiry. If the model bears any validity it will enable a comparison to be made between the SSB and other business types, and also allow for the development of hypotheses within a consistent theoretical framework. The model's validity as a descriptive framework, and its possible accuracy, are assessed by examining SE techniques, and their possible relevance to the SSB. The model was found to have validity in these terms. As a result the model can be used as a mechanism for assessing the possible utility of SE techniques within businesses based on their characteristics, and the existing, and probable future, business environment.