arXiv subjects

Raul Medeiros

Publications and source records attributed to Raul Medeiros.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

How can feature usage be tracked across product variants? Implicit Feedback in Software Product Lines

Implicit feedback is collecting information about software usage to understand how and when the software is used. This research tackles implicit feedback in Software Product Lines (SPLs). The need for platform-centric feedback makes SPL feedback depart from one-off-application feedback in both the artefact to be tracked (the platform vs the variant) as well as the tracking approach (indirect coding vs direct coding). Traditionally, product feedback is achieved by embedding `usage trackers' into the software's code. Yet, products are now members of the SPL portfolio, and hence, this approach conflicts with one of the main SPL tenants: reducing, if not eliminating, coding directly into the variant's code. Thus, we advocate for Product Derivation to be subject to a second transformation that precedes the construction of the variant based on the configuration model. This approach is tested through FEACKER, an extension to pure::variants. We resorted to a TAM evaluation on pure-systems GmbH employees(n=8). Observed divergences were next tackled through a focus group (n=3). The results reveal agreement in the interest in conducting feedback analysis at the platform level (perceived usefulness) while regarding FEACKER as a seamless

cs.SE↗

arXiv2021

Onboarding in Software Product Lines: ConceptMaps as Welcome Guides

With a volatile labour and technological market, onboarding is becoming increasingly important. The process of incorporating a new developer, a.k.a. the newcomer, into a software development team is reckoned to be lengthy, frustrating and expensive. Newcomers face personal, interpersonal, process and technical barriers during their incorporation, which, in turn, affects the overall productivity of the whole team. This problem exacerbates for Software Product Lines (SPLs), where their size and variability combine to make onboarding even more challenging, even more so for developers that are transferred from the Application Engineering team into the Domain Engineering team, who will be our target newcomers. This work presents concept maps on the role of sensemaking scaffolds to help to introduce these newcomers into the SPL domain. Concept maps, used as knowledge visualisation tools, have been proven to be helpful for meaningful learning. Our main insight is to capture concepts of the SPL domain and their interrelationships in a concept map, and then, present them incrementally, helping newcomers grasp the SPL and aiding them in exploring it in a guided manner while avoiding information overload. This work's contributions are four-fold. First, concept maps are proposed as a representation to introduce newcomers into the SPL domain. Second, concept maps are presented as the means for a guided exploration of the SPL core assets. Third, a feature-driven concept map construction process is introduced. Last, the usefulness of concept maps as guides for SPL onboarding is tested through a formative evaluation. Link to the online demo: url="https://rebrand.ly/wacline-cmap"

cs.SE↗

arXiv2021

Unburdening onboarding in Software Product Lines

The number of studies focusing on onboarding in software organizations has increased significantly during the last years. However, current literature overlooks onboarding in Software Product Lines (SPLs). SPLs have been proven effective in managing the increasing variability of industry software and enabling systematic reuse of a product family. Despite these benefits, SPLs are complex and exhibit particular characteristics that distinguish them from traditional software. Due to these peculiarities, SPLs require a tailor-made onboarding process. Assistance tools might help. In this dissertation, we propose assistance tools (i.e., tools built on top of the software project that help learners understand and develop knowledge) as a means for helping newcomers during onboarding in SPLs.

cs.SE↗