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Experiences in Using the V-Model as a Framework for Applied Doctoral Research

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Handbook on Teaching Empirical Software Engineering

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Abstract

The pervasive role played by software in virtually all industries has fostered ever-increasing development of applied research in software engineering. In this chapter, we contribute our experience in using the V-Model as a framework for teaching how to conduct applied research in empirical software engineering. The foundational idea of using the V-Model is presented, and guidance for using it to frame the research is provided. Furthermore, we show how the framework has been instantiated throughout nearly two decades of PhD theses done at the University of Kaiserslautern (RPTU Kaiserslautern) in partnership with Fraunhofer IESE, including the most frequent usage patterns, how the different empirical methods fit into the framework, and the lessons we have learned from this experience.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The list of books in the series “PhD Theses in Experimental Software Engineering,” whose review is the main source for this chapter, can be found at https://s.fhg.de/phd-theses-in-ESE.

  2. 2.

    Quantifiable improvement goals are usually preferable when it comes to hypotheses related to the practical problem, because companies want to know whether it is worthwhile to invest in a certain change.

  3. 3.

    The running example used throughout this chapter refers to [7].

  4. 4.

    A copy of the slide set used in the early 2000s at RPTU Kaiserslautern (formerly University of Kaiserslautern) can be found at https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.11544897.

  5. 5.

    ISERN (International Software Engineering Research Network) is the international network of ESE research, aimed at supporting international collaboration on empirical software engineering. https://isern.iese.de/.

  6. 6.

    The step Package (6) refers to the documentation, reporting, and dissemination of the research results. Since the V-Model is used to frame multi-method research, this is a cross-cutting step across the stages. For this reason, it has been omitted in the mapping.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the direct and indirect contributions of many colleagues and former colleagues at Fraunhofer IESE, the majority of whom were former PhD candidates themselves. They have significantly contributed to building this body of knowledge by applying the V-Model framing approach in various ways over the years.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fraunhofer IESE, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Rodrigo Falcão, Andreas Jedlitschka & Frank Elberzhager

  2. RPTU Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Dieter Rombach

Authors
  1. Rodrigo Falcão
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  2. Andreas Jedlitschka
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  3. Frank Elberzhager
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  4. Dieter Rombach
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rodrigo Falcão .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Blekinge Institute of Technology and fortiss, Karlskrona, Sweden

    Daniel Mendez

  2. University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Paris Avgeriou

  3. Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Marcos Kalinowski

  4. Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden

    Nauman Bin Ali

Appendix

Appendix

A slide set to support teaching the V-Model framing approach for applied research in ESE that is based on the content of this chapter is available at https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.11544897 and can be reused by those who may be interested in it.

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Falcão, R., Jedlitschka, A., Elberzhager, F., Rombach, D. (2024). Experiences in Using the V-Model as a Framework for Applied Doctoral Research. In: Mendez, D., Avgeriou, P., Kalinowski, M., Ali, N.B. (eds) Handbook on Teaching Empirical Software Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71769-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71769-7_9

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