The essence of software engineering: the SEMAT kernel

Content distribution in VANETs

Background: software engineering research (SE) lacks theory and methodologies for addressing human aspects in software development. Development tasks are undertaken through cognitive processing activities. Affects (emotions, moods, feelings) have a linkage to cognitive processing activities and the productivity of individuals. SE research needs to incorporate affect measurements to valorize human factors and to enhance management styles. 
Objective: analyze the affects dimensions of valence, arousal, and dominance of software developers and their real-time correlation with their self-assessed productivity (sPR). 
Method: repeated measurements design with 8 participants (4 students, 4 professionals), conveniently sampled and studied individually over 90 minutes of programming. The analysis was performed by fitting a linear mixed- effects (LME) model. 
Results: valence and dominance are positively correlated with the sPR. The model was able to express about 38% of deviance from the sPR. Many lessons were learned when employing psychological measurements in SE and for fitting LME. 
Conclusion: this article demonstrates the value of applying psychological tests in SE and echoes a call to valorize the human, individualized aspects of software developers. It reports a body of knowledge about affects, their classification, their measurement, and the best practices to perform psychological measurements in SE with LME models.

Do feelings matter? On the correlation of affects and the self-assessed productivity in software engineering

Software engineering (SE) research lacks theory and methodologies for addressing human aspects in software development. Development tasks are undertaken through cognitive processing activities. Affects (emotions, moods, and feelings) have a linkage to cognitive processing activities and the productivity of individuals. SE research needs to incorporate affect measurements to valorize human factors and to enhance management styles.



The objective of this study is to analyze the affects dimensions of valence, arousal, and dominance of software developers and their real-time correlation with their self-assessed productivity (sPR).



A repeated measurements design was conducted with eight participants (four students and four professionals), conveniently sampled and studied individually over 90 min of programming. The analysis was performed by fitting a linear mixed-effects (LME) model.



The results showed that valence and dominance are positively correlated with the sPR. The model was able to express about 38% of deviance from the sPR. Many lessons were learned when employing psychological measurements in SE and for fitting LME.



This article demonstrates the value of applying psychological tests in SE and echoes a call to valorize the human individualized aspects of software developers. It reports a body of knowledge about affects, their classification, their measurement, and the best practices to perform psychological measurements in SE with LME models. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper presents the “Multi-Role Project” method (MRP), a broadly applicable project-based learning method, and describes its implementation and evaluation in the context of a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) course. The MRP method is designed around a meta-principle that considers the project learning activity as a role-playing game based on two projects: a learning project and an engineering project. The meta-principle is complemented by five principles that provide a framework to guide the working practices of student teams: distribution of responsibilities; regular interactions and solicitations within the team; anticipation and continuous improvement; positive interdependence and alternating individual/collective work; and open communication and content management. This paper presents the implementation of MRP in a course teaching software engineering, UML language, and project management. The results show that MRP helped the course's students to acquire important professional knowledge and skills, experience near-real-world professional realities, and develop their abilities to work both in teams and autonomously.

Multi-Role Project (MRP): A New Project-Based Learning Method for STEM

SEMAT (Software Engineering Methods and Theory) is an international initiative designed to identify a common ground, or universal standard, for software engineering It is supported by some of the most distinguished contributors to the field Creating a simple language to describe methods and practices, the SEMAT team expresses this common ground as a kernelor frameworkof elements essential to all software development The Essence of Software Engineering introduces this kernel and shows how to apply it when developing software and improving a teams way of working It is a book for software professionals, not methodologists Its usefulness to development team members, who need to evaluate and choose the best practices for their work, goes well beyond the description or application of any single method Software is both a craft and a science, both a work of passion and a work of principle Writing good software requires both wild flights of imagination and creativity, as well as the hard reality of engineering tradeoffs This book is an attempt at describing that balance Robert Martin (unclebob) The work of Ivar Jacobson and his colleagues, started as part of the SEMAT initiative, has taken a systematic approach to identifying a kernel of software engineering principles and practices that have stood the test of time and recognition Bertrand Meyer The software development industry needs and demands a core kernel and language for defining software development practicespractices that can be mixed and matched, brought on board from other organizations; practices that can be measured; practices that can be integrated; and practices that can be compared and contrasted for speed, quality, and price This thoughtful book gives a good grounding in ways to think about the problem, and a language to address the need, and every software engineer should read it Richard Soley

https://www.ivarjacobson.com/sites/default/files/field_iji_file/article/scott_ambler_interviews_ivar_jacobson.pdf

The Essence of Software Engineering: Applying the Semat Kernel

Everyone who develops software knows that it is a complex and risky business, and its participants are always on the lookout for new ideas that will lead to better software. Fortunately, software engineering is still a young and growing profession that sees innovations and improvements in best practices every year. Just look, for example, at the improvements and benefits that lean and agile thinking have brought to software-development teams.

https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2381996.2389616

The Essence of Software Engineering: The SEMAT Kernel: A thinking framework in the form of an actionable kernel

The purpose of writing this Three Year Vision paper is threefold. Firstly, it briefly recaps the progress Semat has made thus far; secondly, it lays out the future directions for people working actively within the Semat community; thirdly, it provides the background for seeking funding support from agencies, such as the European Community and the like. Funding support is necessary to sustain the ongoing activities of Semat and its growth into a broader community effort, as most people working within Semat are volunteers. As such, the paper may be both too much and too little for the wider supporter base. However, we intend to make our work fully transparent, hence, we publish it widely. We seek feedback and comments from supporters and signatories in order to improve the vision. In this context, other companion papers are being written to better address the specific needs for the practitioners, the industry and the academia.

/pdf/semat-three-year-vision-4oz5r8b4zm.pdf

Semat--Three Year Vision

The first course in software engineering is the most critical. Education must start from an understanding of the heart of software development, from familiar ground that is common to all software development endeavors. This book is an in-depth introduction to software engineering that uses a systematic, universal kernel to teach the essential elements of all software engineering methods.

This kernel, Essence, is a vocabulary for defining methods and practices. Essence was envisioned and originally created by Ivar Jacobson and his colleagues, developed by Software Engineering Method and Theory (SEMAT) and approved by The Object Management Group (OMG) as a standard in 2014. Essence is a practiceindependent framework for thinking and reasoning about the practices we have and the practices we need. Essence establishes a shared and standard understanding of what is at the heart of software development. Essence is agnostic to any particular method, lifecycle independent, programming language independent, concise, scalable, extensible, and formally specified. Essence frees the practices from their method prisons.

The first part of the book describes Essence, the essential elements to work with, the essential things to do and the essential competencies you need when developing software. The other three parts describe more and more advanced use cases of Essence. Using real but manageable examples, it covers the fundamentals of Essence and the innovative use of serious games to support software engineering. It also explains how current practices such as user stories, use cases, Scrum, and microservices can be described using Essence, and illustrates how their activities can be represented using the Essence notions of cards and checklists. The fourth part of the book offers a vision how Essence can be scaled to support large, complex systems engineering.

Essence is supported by an ecosystem developed and maintained by a community of experienced people worldwide. From this ecosystem, professors and students can select what they need and create their own way of working, thus learning how to create ONE way of working that matches the particular situation and needs.

Paul E. McMahon

Papers

The essence of software engineering: the SEMAT kernel

The Essence of Software Engineering: Applying the Semat Kernel

The Essence of Software Engineering: The SEMAT Kernel: A thinking framework in the form of an actionable kernel

Semat--Three Year Vision

The Essentials of Modern Software Engineering: Free the Practices from the Method Prisons!