collaborative model driven software engineering: a systematic mapping study

Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Scienze

Università degli Studi dell’Aquila

dell’Informazione e Matematica

Collaborative

Model-Driven Software Engineering:

a Systematic Mapping Study

Davide Di [email protected]

COMMitMDE at MoDELS 2016 – Saint-Malo, October 4, 2016

mailto:[email protected]


2Joint work with

Prof. Henry MucciniUniversity of L’Aquila

Dr. Ivano MalavoltaVrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Mirco FranzagoUniversity of L’Aquila


3Collaborative Software Engineering

“Collaborative software engineering (CoSE) deals

with methods, processes and tools for enhancing

collaboration, communication, and co-ordination

(3C) among team members” (*)

(*) Ivan Mistrik, John Grundy, Andr Hoek, and Jim Whitehead (Eds.). 2010. Collaborative Software Engineering. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.


4Collaborative Software Engineering

When focusing on software design multiple

stakeholders with different background collaborate

on the development of the system

CoSE is not only about software development team

members

It can embrace also external and non-technical

stakeholders

• e.g., customers, final users


5

Collaborative Software Engineering

Collaborative

Model Driven Software Engineering

?


6Collaboration in MDSE

Versioning


7Collaboration in MDE:

different aspects & concepts


8Collaborative

Model-Driven Software Engineering (CoMDSE)

A large body of knowledge about different aspects

of collaborative model-driven software engineering

(MDSE) exists

A study analysing, classifying, and comparing

approaches and methods for MDSE is still missing


9Systematic Mapping Studies

“… Systematic mapping studies or scoping studies

are designed to give an overview of a research area

through classification and counting contributions

in relation to the categories of that classification… ”

“…It involves searching the literature in order to know

what topics have been covered in the literature, and

where the literature has been published …”

Kai Petersen, et al., Guidelines for conducting systematic mapping studies in

software engineering: An update, Information and Software Technology, Volume

64, Pages 1-18, 2015


10Systematic Mapping Study of CoMDSE

Main goals:

1. Draw a complete, comprehensive and valid

picture of the state of the art about collaborative

MDSE

2. Identify potential gaps in current research and

future research directions


11Defining CoMDSE…

1. Analysis of a set of studies about MDSE approaches with

a strong focus on collaboration;

2. Investigation on existing literature about collaborative

approaches for software engineering in general;

3. Produced a tentative definition of CoMDSE;

4. MDSE and global software engineering experts have

been involved to objectively assess the soundness of the

obtained definition;

5. the definition was refined according to the feedback

provided by the experts.


12Defining CoMDSE

A collaborative MDSE approach is defined as a

method or technique in which multiple stakeholders

manage, collaborate, and are aware of each others’

work on a set of shared models.


13Collaborative MDSE dimensions

A model management infrastructure for managing the life cycle of

the models

A set of collaboration means for allowing involved stakeholders to

work on the modelling artifacts collaboratively

A set of communication means for allowing involved stakeholders

to be aware of the activities of the other stakeholders.


14Overview of the review process

http://tinyurl.com/glv7bg5





1. Establish the need for performing the mapping study on collaborative MDSE

2. Identifying the main research questions

3. Defining the protocol to be followed





1. Search and selection (definition of the search string, backward and forward snowblaling, …)

2. Comparison framework definition(data extraction form)

3. Data extraction(fill in the data extraction for each primary study)

4. Data synthesis(comprehensive summary)





1. Elaboration of the extracted data2. Analysis of the possible threats to validity3. Writing of reports



19Research questions

They are crucial ingredients for performing

systematic mapping studies

.Purpose Identify, classify, and understand

Issue the publication trends, characteristics, and challenges

Object of existing collaborative MDSE approaches

Viewpoint from a researcher’s viewpoint

Goal-Question-Metric perspectives



RQ1: What are the characteristics of collaborative

MDSE approaches ?

Objective: to identify and classify existing CoMDSE

approaches according to the three dimensions (model

management, collaboration, communication)

Outcome: a map that classifies a set of CoMDSE based on

different categories



RQ2: What are the challenges of existing CoMDSE

approaches ?

Objective: to identify current limitations and challenges with

respect to the state of the art in CoMDSE

Outcome: a map that classifies CoMDSE with respect to their

limitations, faced challenges, and future work



RQ3: What are the publication trends about

collaborative MDSE approaches over time ?

Objective: to identify and classify the interest of researchers in

CoMDSE approaches and their various characteristic over

time

Output: a map that classifies the collected primary studies

according to publication year, venue, etc.


23Some numbers….

• 6 scientific search engines• 3047 papers after automatic search• 160 papers after title+abstract selection• 108 papers after full-text selection• 48 main studies after clusterization• 84 attributes for data extraction/analysis


24Inclusion Criteria

I1. Studies proposing an MDSE method or technique

for supporting the collaborative work of multiple

stakeholders on models

I2. Studies in which models are the primary artifacts

within the collaboration process

I3. Studies providing some kind of validation or

evaluation of the proposed method or technique

• e.g., via a case study, a survey, experiment, exploitation in industry,

formal analysis, example usage

I4. Studies subject to peer review (e.g., journal

papers, papers published as part of conference)


25Exclusion Criteria

E1. Studies discussing only business processes

and collaboration practices, without proposing

a specific method or technique

E2. Secondary studies (e.g., systematic literature reviews, surveys, etc.)

E3. Studies that do not provide enough information (e.g., in the form of tutorial papers, long abstract papers, poster

papers, editorials)


26Publication trends


27Taxonomy: Collaboration

Allowing involved stakeholders to work on the modelling artifacts collaboratively


28Taxonomy: Collaboration


29Taxonomy: Communication

Allowing involved stakeholders to be aware of the activities of the other stakeholders



Target stakeholder



Workspace awareness tools

Low: it supports only zero or one element

Medium: it supports two elements

High: it supports all elements


35Taxonomy: Management

Infrastructure for managing the life cycle of the models


38Open Issues

For each primary study the following data have been

collected:

(i) identified limitations of the proposed approach

(ii) identified challenges that have not been solved in

the current form of the proposed approach

(iii) discussed directions for future work


39Open Issues


40Conclusion

The interest around CoMDSE has been increasing over

the last years

A study analysing, classifying, and comparing

approaches and methods for MDSE was missing

A Systematic Mapping Study has been performed to

• draw a picture of the state of the art about CoMDSE

• identify open issues and future research directions


41