Commit 432002ac5b5590bf2fcc64e75e05e0fca6b0124d

Authored by Paulo Meireles
1 parent e47ee2cf

[oss-2018] General review - part 3

oss2018/content/01-introduction.tex
... ... @@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ scope, target audience, organizational size, time, and the corresponding
8 8 resistance to change. Developing an innovative e-government project that meets
9 9 the needs of society is a issue that may be addressed alternatively through
10 10 collaborative projects between government and academia. However, this
11   -collaborative work has challenges, such as organizing the collaboration project,
12   -aligning goals, synchronizing the pace of between government and academia, and
13   -overcoming the failure trend of e-government projects
  11 +collaborative work has challenges, such as organizing the collaboration
  12 +project, aligning goals, synchronizing the pace of between government and
  13 +academia, and overcoming the failure trend of e-government projects
14 14 \cite{goldfinch2007pessimism}.
15 15  
16 16 One of the leading causes of e-government project failure is poor project
... ... @@ -25,6 +25,25 @@ disturbance with impacts on structure, culture, and management practices
25 25 harmonize their view to increasing the chances of success in projects with
26 26 tight deadlines and short budgets.
27 27  
28   -We have investigated the adoption of recommended community standards from Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) and agile values as a strategy to harmonize different management approaches, due to the plurality of FLOSS ecosystems and the diversity favored by agile methodologies. Open communication, project modularity, the community of users, and fast response to problems are just a few of the FLOSS ecosystem practices \cite{capiluppi, warsta}. Individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, responding to change are the values agile development~\cite{beck}. With this in mind, FLOSS and agile practices may improve the cooperation of distinct teams.
  28 +We have investigated the adoption of recommended community standards from
  29 +Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) and agile values as a strategy to
  30 +harmonize different management approaches, due to the plurality of FLOSS
  31 +ecosystems and the diversity favored by agile methodologies. Open
  32 +communication, project modularity, the community of users, and fast response to
  33 +problems are just a few of the FLOSS ecosystem practices \cite{capiluppi,
  34 +warsta}. Individuals and interactions, working software, customer
  35 +collaboration, responding to change are the values agile
  36 +development~\cite{beck}. With this in mind, FLOSS and agile practices may
  37 +improve the cooperation of distinct teams.
29 38  
30   -In this work, we investigated the empirical method developed during 30 months of a government-academia project that helped to harmonize the differences between both organization management cultures. We discussed both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the benefits of FLOSS and agile practices in an e-government project. We identified and traced the best practices based on FLOSS ecosystems and agile methodology. We collected and analyzed data from the project repository. Finally, we conducted a survey target at projects participants to find their perception around the set of best practices, and which of them are useful to government-academia collaboration. In doing so, we aim to help academia better understand critical issues they will be confronted with when engaging in a government-academia software project.
  39 +In this work, we investigated the empirical method developed during 30 months
  40 +of a government-academia project that helped to harmonize the differences
  41 +between both organization management cultures. We discussed both quantitative
  42 +and qualitative analyses of the benefits of FLOSS and agile practices in an
  43 +e-government project. We identified and traced the best practices based on
  44 +FLOSS ecosystems and agile methodology. We collected and analyzed data from the
  45 +project repository. Finally, we conducted a survey target at projects
  46 +participants to find their perception around the set of best practices, and
  47 +which of them are useful to government-academia collaboration. In doing so, we
  48 +aim to help academia better understand critical issues they will be confronted
  49 +with when engaging in a government-academia software project.
... ...
oss2018/content/02-relatedwork.tex
... ... @@ -4,22 +4,23 @@
4 4 Discussions on how to introduce new management methods into an organization are
5 5 present in several works. Nerur et al. recognized critical issues concerning
6 6 the migration from traditional to agile software development by comparing
7   -practices of both methodologies \cite{nerur2015challenges}. The authors point out
8   -managerial, organizational, people, process, and technological issues to be
9   -rethought and reconfigured in an organization for a successful migration. Strode
10   -et al. investigated the relationship between the adoption of agile methodologies
11   -and organizational culture \cite{impactOfOrganizationalCulture} by evaluating
12   -nine projects. They identified a set of six factors directly linked to agile
13   -methods and concluded that the presence of these aspects in an organization is
14   -proportional to the value of agile methodologies usage for their projects. As
15   -Nerur et al., Strode et al. also said that the adoption of agile development
16   -techniques does indeed produce changes in an organization's culture.
  7 +practices of both methodologies \cite{nerur2015challenges}. The authors point
  8 +out managerial, organizational, people, process, and technological issues to be
  9 +rethought and reconfigured in an organization for a successful migration.
  10 +Strode et al. investigated the relationship between the adoption of agile
  11 +methodologies and organizational culture \cite{impactOfOrganizationalCulture}
  12 +by evaluating nine projects. They identified a set of six factors directly
  13 +linked to agile methods and concluded that the presence of these aspects in an
  14 +organization is proportional to the value of agile methodologies usage for
  15 +their projects. As Nerur et al., Strode et al. also said that the adoption of
  16 +agile development techniques does indeed produce changes in an organization's
  17 +culture.
17 18  
18 19 Some works also discuss how academia can collaborate with the industry in the
19 20 management of software projects. Chookittikul et al. evaluated the increasing
20   -use of the agile techniques in software development companies in Thailand.
21   -The authors suggested that universities should create curricula that develop
22   -in their undergraduate students practical skills required by industry (mainly
  21 +use of the agile techniques in software development companies in Thailand. The
  22 +authors suggested that universities should create curricula that develop in
  23 +their undergraduate students practical skills required by industry (mainly
23 24 agile practices) to promote growth in local software businesses
24 25 \cite{cho2011gap}. Sandberg et al. report the use of Scrum in an
25 26 industry-academia research consortium (involving ten industry partners and five
... ... @@ -30,14 +31,26 @@ research between industry and academia.
30 31  
31 32 Complex and large-scale organizations, such as the public administration, have
32 33 to deal with multiple project variables. Alleman et al. describe a production
33   -deployment for the US government, focusing on the methodology applied to address
34   -long-term planning and value estimation \cite{alleman2003making}. In the
35   -Brazilian context, Melo et al. \cite{melo2013agileBr} investigates the growing
36   -adoption of agile methodologies in this country's IT industry. The results of
37   -their survey highlight some mismatch that companies faces when developing
38   -software for public administration.
  34 +deployment for the US government, focusing on the methodology applied to
  35 +address long-term planning and value estimation \cite{alleman2003making}. In
  36 +the Brazilian context, Melo et al. \cite{melo2013agileBr} investigates the
  37 +growing adoption of agile methodologies in this country's IT industry. The
  38 +results of their survey highlight some mismatch that companies faces when
  39 +developing software for public administration.
39 40  
40   -Several works tried to highlight the FLOSS practices, while others attempted to determine the relationship between FLOSS practices and agile methods. Capiluppi et al. examined about 400 projects to find FLOSS project properties \cite{capiluppi}. In their work, they extracted generic characterization (project size, age, license, and programming language), analyzed the average number of people involved in the project, the community of users, and documentation characteristics. Warsta et al. found differences and similarities between agile development and FLOSS practices \cite{warsta}. The authors argued that FLOSS development may differ from agile in their philosophical and economic perspectives, on the other hand, both share the definition of work. Finally, Eric Raymond describes many of his experiences and decisions in his work with FLOSS communities \cite{raymond}, and his report in 1999 has many intersections with the agile manifesto in 2001.
  41 +Several works tried to highlight the FLOSS practices, while others attempted to
  42 +determine the relationship between FLOSS practices and agile methods. Capiluppi
  43 +et al. examined about 400 projects to find FLOSS project properties
  44 +\cite{capiluppi}. In their work, they extracted generic characterization
  45 +(project size, age, license, and programming language), analyzed the average
  46 +number of people involved in the project, the community of users, and
  47 +documentation characteristics. Warsta et al. found differences and similarities
  48 +between agile development and FLOSS practices \cite{warsta}. The authors argued
  49 +that FLOSS development may differ from agile in their philosophical and
  50 +economic perspectives, on the other hand, both share the definition of work.
  51 +Finally, Eric Raymond describes many of his experiences and decisions in his
  52 +work with FLOSS communities \cite{raymond}, and his report in 1999 has many
  53 +intersections with the agile manifesto in 2001.
41 54  
42 55 This paper differs itself from others by studying the government-academia
43 56 collaboration for developing a production-level solution. From questionnaires,
... ...
oss2018/content/03-methods.tex
... ... @@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ organizational differences in both involved sides.
61 61 \textbf{Responsibilities} & Platform development activites & Contracts and collaboration management \\
62 62 \rowcolor[HTML]{fafafa}
63 63 \textbf{Team size} &
64   -\begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}} 42 undergraduate interns; \\ 2 professors; \\ 6 senior developers with significant \\ experience in FLOSS projects\\ 2 User eXperience specialist \end{tabular} &
  64 +\begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}} 42 undergraduate interns \\ 2 professors \\ 6 senior developers with significant \\ experience in FLOSS projects\\ 2 Designers (UX specialists) \end{tabular} &
65 65 \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}} 1 director \\ 1 coordinator \\ 2 requirement analysts \end{tabular} \\
66 66 \rowcolor[HTML]{f2f2f2}
67 67 \textbf{Workplace} & LAPPIS at UnB and CCSL at USP & MPOG headquarters \\
... ... @@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ processes.
106 106 \rowcolor[HTML]{fafafa}
107 107 \textbf{Research technique} & Online questionnaire & Online questionnaire & Interview \\
108 108 \rowcolor[HTML]{f2f2f2}
109   -\textbf{Discussed topics} & \multicolumn{2}{l!{\color{white}\vrule}}{\begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}(1) project organization,\\ (2) the development process,\\ (3) communication and relationship with members,\\ (4) knowledge sharing\\ (5) experience with FLOSS projects\end{tabular}} & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}(1) professional profile;\\ (2) organization, communication \\ and development methodologies;\\ (3) satisfaction with \\ the developed platform;\ (4) lessons learned\end{tabular} \
  109 +\textbf{Discussed topics} & \multicolumn{2}{l!{\color{white}\vrule}}{\begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}(1) project organization\\ (2) the development process\\ (3) communication and relationship with members\\ (4) knowledge sharing\\ (5) experience with FLOSS projects\end{tabular}} & \begin{tabular}[c]{@{}l@{}}(1) professional profile\\ (2) organization, communication \\ and development methodologies\\ (3) satisfaction with \\ the developed platform\ (4) lessons learned\end{tabular} \
110 110 \rowcolor[HTML]{fafafa}
111 111 \textbf{Number of interviewed} & 42 & 8 & 2 \\
112 112 \rowcolor[HTML]{f2f2f2}
... ...
oss2018/content/05-discussion.tex
... ... @@ -33,11 +33,11 @@ macro-decisions, practices, and benefits.
33 33 \begin{flushleft}
34 34 \begin{itemize}
35 35 \setlength{\itemsep}{2pt}
36   -\item Communicating with transparency and efficiency;
37   -\item Monitoring of activities;
38   -\item More interactions between developers and public servants;
39   -\item Trust the developed code;
40   -\item Organic documentation;
  36 +\item Communicating with transparency and efficiency.
  37 +\item Monitoring of activities.
  38 +\item More interactions between developers and public servants.
  39 +\item Trust the developed code.
  40 +\item Organic documentation.
41 41 \end{itemize}
42 42 \end{flushleft} \\
43 43 \rowcolor[HTML]{f2f2f2}
... ... @@ -55,11 +55,11 @@ macro-decisions, practices, and benefits.
55 55 \begin{flushleft}
56 56 \begin{itemize}
57 57 \setlength{\itemsep}{2pt}
58   -\item Reducing communication misunderstanding;
59   -\item Better meeting expectations of both sides;
60   -\item Improvement of the decision-making process;
61   -\item Overcoming the government bias regarding low productivity of collaborative projects with academia;
62   -\item Synchronizing the execution pace of activities;
  58 +\item Reducing communication misunderstanding.
  59 +\item Better meeting expectations of both sides.
  60 +\item Improvement of the decision-making process.
  61 +\item Overcoming the government bias regarding low productivity of collaborative projects with academia.
  62 +\item Synchronizing the execution pace of activities.
63 63 \item Sharing a common understanding of the process from one side to the other.
64 64 \end{itemize} \end{flushleft} \\
65 65 \rowcolor[HTML]{fafafa}
... ... @@ -75,8 +75,8 @@ macro-decisions, practices, and benefits.
75 75 \end{itemize} &
76 76 \begin{itemize}
77 77 \setlength{\itemsep}{2pt}
78   -\item Conciliating the development processes of each institution, taking better technical decisions;
79   -\item Improving the management and technical knowledge;
  78 +\item Conciliating the development processes of each institution, taking better technical decisions.
  79 +\item Improving the management and technical knowledge.
80 80 \item Self-organizing and gaining autonomy in the management of their tasks.
81 81 \end{itemize}\\
82 82 \end{tabular}%
... ... @@ -94,17 +94,17 @@ reinforce what has been reported by the academic coordination of the project,
94 94 adding the point of views of government and other roles involved on the
95 95 academic side. In short, the government staff took time to understand how
96 96 collaboration works and to realize that the project was not a client-executor
97   -relationship and both organizations were at the same hierarchical level
98   -in the work plan.
  97 +relationship and both organizations were at the same hierarchical level in the
  98 +work plan.
99 99  
100 100 The decisions, practices, and benefits presented in the Table
101 101 \ref{practices-table} should be evaluated and used in contexts with more
102 102 substantial plurality and diversity of government stakeholders. This study has
103   -a few obvious limitations. Firstly, we point out the lack of communication records and
104   -low traceability of the management data referring to the first phase of the
105   -project. Secondly, we consider a drawback the hiatus between the completion of the
106   -project and the conduction of interviews and questionnaires, since we rely on
107   -the memory of the interviewees to rescue the events. Lastly, the current
108   -situation of the respondents, such as their current working midset, may also
109   -alter their perception on the on the topics addressed in the questionnaire and
110   -consequently their responses.
  103 +a few obvious limitations. Firstly, we point out the lack of communication
  104 +records and low traceability of the management data referring to the first
  105 +phase of the project. Secondly, we consider a drawback the hiatus between the
  106 +completion of the project and the conduction of interviews and questionnaires,
  107 +since we rely on the memory of the interviewees to rescue the events. Lastly,
  108 +the current situation of the respondents, such as their current working midset,
  109 +may also alter their perception on the on the topics addressed in the
  110 +questionnaire and consequently their responses.
... ...
oss2018/content/06-conclusion.tex
... ... @@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ population-funded resources.
16 16 In this study, we investigated the management method employed at the SPB portal
17 17 project, a partnership between the Brazilian government and universities. As a
18 18 result, we identified a set of FLOSS and agile best practices, empirically
19   -employed by development leaders, which improved the workflow and relationship
20   -between the organizations involved.
  19 +employed by the development leaders, which improved the workflow and
  20 +relationship between the organizations involved.
21 21  
22   -Regarding our first research question \textit{``How to introduce open source and
  22 +Regarding our first research question \textit{``How to introduce FLOSS and
23 23 agile best practices into government-academia collaboration projects?''}, we
24 24 examined the SPB project and identified three macro-decisions taken by the
25 25 academic coordinators that drove them to intuitively and unsystematically adopt
... ... @@ -27,15 +27,15 @@ nine FLOSS and agile best practices in the development process.
27 27  
28 28 The interviewed responses allowed us to understand how FLOSS and agile
29 29 practices have benefited the people and project management. Based on that, we
30   -answered our second research question \textit{``What practices favor
31   -effective team management in government-academia collaborative projects?''},
32   -making to explicit in Table \ref{practices-table} eleven benefits obtained from
33   -the use of the best practices.
  30 +answered our second research question \textit{``What practices favor effective
  31 +team management in government-academia collaborative projects?''}, making to
  32 +explicit in Table \ref{practices-table} 14 benefits obtained from the use of
  33 +the nine listed best practices.
34 34  
35 35 Finally, we collected a significant amount of data and testimonials related to
36   -the teaching of software engineering. We consider the project studied an
  36 +the teaching of software engineering. We consider the studied project an
37 37 educational case, an example of teaching FLOSS and agile techniques applied to
38   -real-world software development. As future work, we intend to analyze this collected
39   -information to propose improvements in software engineering undergraduates
40   -education methodology.
  38 +real-world software development. As future work, we intend to analyze this
  39 +collected information to propose improvements in education methodologies of
  40 +software engineering undergraduate students as well.
41 41  
... ...