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Studying Software Engineers: Data Collection Techniques for Software Field Studies

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Abstract

Software engineering is an intensively people-oriented activity, yet too little is known about how designers, maintainers, requirements analysts and all other types of software engineers perform their work. In order to improve software engineering tools and practice, it is therefore essential to conduct field studies, i.e. to study real practitioners as they solve real problems. To do so effectively, however, requires an understanding of the techniques most suited to each type of field study task. In this paper, we provide a taxonomy of techniques, focusing on those for data collection. The taxonomy is organized according to the degree of human intervention each requires. For each technique, we provide examples from the literature, an analysis of some of its advantages and disadvantages, and a discussion of how to use it effectively. We also briefly talk about field study design in general, and data analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Information Technology and Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Timothy C. Lethbridge

  2. Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine, 444 Computer Science, Irvine, CA, 92697-3425, USA

    Susan Elliott Sim

  3. National Research Council Canada, Institute for Information Technology, Montreal Rd, Building M-50, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada

    Janice Singer

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  1. Timothy C. Lethbridge
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  2. Susan Elliott Sim
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  3. Janice Singer
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Correspondence to Timothy C. Lethbridge.

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The authors appear in alphabetical order and contributed equally.

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Lethbridge, T.C., Sim, S.E. & Singer, J. Studying Software Engineers: Data Collection Techniques for Software Field Studies. Empir Software Eng 10, 311–341 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-005-1290-x

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