\section{Open Questions}
\label{sec:researchdesign}

In this paper, we share our experience in designing and developing the new SPB
Portal by reporting the technical efforts carried out, our empirical work
process, and the lessons learned. The new SPB Portal project presented three
main challenges, related to the open questions described below.

\textbf{Q1.} \textit{Which strategy could be used to integrate several existing
FLOSS tools to promote a collaborative software development?}
%
Based on an extensive list of functional requirements defined by the Brazilian
Federal Government, we selected some FLOSS systems to compose our solution,
engineering a nontrivial integration among them. We looked for the systems set
realizing the largest possible subset of the requirements list. However, we
were fully aware that we would need to improve those systems in order to
satisfy the remaining requirements. We were also convinced that it would be
impossible to satisfy all of those requirements with a single tool.

\textbf{Q2.} \textit{How to involve students in real-world projects interacting
with real customers?}
%
Our team was mainly composed of software engineering undergraduate students,
who had the opportunity to interact with the UnB managers, senior developers,
designers, and even with technicians and managers from the Brazilian
Government.  For the majority of the students, this was a first professional
experience.  Even though, our development process defined a central role on
students participation.

\textbf{Q3.} \textit{How to introduce typical FLOSS collaborative and agile
practices in the governmental development process?}
%
The software development in Brazilian government is based on a very traditional
way, frequently focusing documentation deliveries. We had to convince them to
accept the idea of open scope and empirical development. They had certain
expectations about the project development according to the Rational Unified
Process (RUP) and the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) approaches,
which mismatched our work style based on agile and FLOSS practices. So we
created strategies to conciliate these different organizational cultures within
the project.
