Value-Based Empirical Research Plan Evaluation

Empirical studies are crucial to gain evidence on the effects of software engineering methods and tools in defined contexts. However, empirical studies can be costly and thus need to be planned well to achieve best benefits for study stakeholders, e.g., researchers and industry partners, with limited resources and reasonable project risks (e.g., insufficient validity, unaddressed stakeholder win conditions). The design of empirical studies typically covers issues of empirical methodology, but seldom discusses tradeoffs between conflicting study goals explicitly. Unaddressed conflicts during study planning can put the study success at risk and study planners may overlook study variations that could offer better value or lower cost/risk. This paper proposes a value-based empirical research planning framework for eliciting and reconciling research stakeholder win conditions in order to compare the benefits and risks of potential empirical study variants. We reports findings from an initi...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: ESEM
• Authors: Stefan Biffl, Dietmar Winkler
• Keywords: Empirical, Empirical Research, Empirical Studies, ESEM 2007, Software Engineering