requirements-driven collaboration: a framework and patterns from a case study

Requirements-driven CollaborationA framework and patterns from a case study

Sabrina [email protected]

Daniela [email protected]

mercoledì 6 febbraio 13

A bit of background first ...


Research visit to Collab group - UniBA Sabrina Marczak - February 2013

Who am I?3

• Education:

• PhD: University of Victoria, Canada (2006-2011)

• Master: PUCRS, Brazil (2002-2003)

• Bachelor: PUCRS, Brazil (1996-2001)



Who am I?4

• Industry:

• Dell Brazil: 2001-2005

• Microsoft: 2005-2006

• ISD Brazil: 2005-2006



Where do I come from?5

• Porto Alegre:

• About 2 million people

• Founded by Germans, Italians, and Polish immigrants

• Business city

• Mercosul




• PUCRS:

• 30 thousand students

• 50 undegrad programs

• 41 graduate programs




• Tecnopuc:


And the talk itself ...



Software development10



Requirements Engineering

R. Analyst

Architect

P. Manager

Developer

DeveloperTester

Planning

Design Development

Testing Deployment

Conception

11



Requirements Engineering

R. Analyst

Architect

P. Manager

Developer

DeveloperTester

Planning

Design Development

Testing Deployment

Conception

R. Analyst

P. Manager

Architect

Developer

Tester

Requirement

11



Collaboration

R. Analyst

P. Manager

Architect

Developer

Tester

Requirement

R. Analyst

P. Manager

Architect

Developer

Tester

Requirement

Dependency

CoordinationCommunication

Awareness

12



Collaboration

R. Analyst

P. Manager

Architect

Developer

Tester

Requirement

R. Analyst

P. Manager

Architect

Developer

Tester

Requirement

Dependency

Requirements-driven collaboration

CoordinationCommunication

Awareness

12



Talk outline

• Framework to study RDC

• RDC patterns from a case study

• Implications of this work

13



> Framework14



Framework15

R2R1



Framework15

R2R1

R. Analyst

Architect

Developer

Developer

Tester

R. AnalystDeveloper

Developer

Architect

TesterTester

Developer

Requirements-centric team



Framework15

R2R1

R. Analyst

Architect

Developer

Developer

Tester

R. AnalystDeveloper

Developer

Architect

TesterTester

Developer

Requirements-centric social network



Framework15

R2R1

R. Analyst

Architect

Developer

Developer

Tester

R. AnalystDeveloper

Developer

Architect

TesterTester

Developer

Social network measures: e.g., degree

Developer



Framework

• Sociogram

• Size

• Density

• Ties statistics

• Centralization

• Core-periphery

• Ties reciprocity

16

• Clique

• Component

• Reachability

• Cutpoint

• Degree

• Brokerage

• Socio-technical congruence

Social network measures



Framework17



> RDC patterns

• Case study

• Data collected

• Patterns

18



Case study

• APP team

• Maintenance of legacy systems

• Team distribution (44 members)

• Brazil (38), USA (5), India (1)

• PM (2), Req Analyst (4), Dev Lead (5), Dev (20), Test Lead (1), Testers (7), Business Partner (5)

• New to the product and as a team itself

• Reverse engineering activity

19



Case study

• Well-defined team and communication structures

• 20 requirements

• 4 sets of dependencies

20

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Project Manager

Business Partner

Business Partner

Manager



Data collected21

interviews

Knowledge about the project

requirements

Observations

team members

document inspection

CommunicationAwareness

Questionnaire

SNAmeasures

UCInet 6.0

contextual information

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

time



Data collected22



Data collected

• UCINet

https://sites.google.com/site/ucinetsoftware/home

23



Patterns

• ‘Communication Patterns’ in requirements-driven collaboration

• Recurring repetition of the same communication behavior across the social networks of dependent requirements

24



Patterns

Collaboration driven by interdependent requirements includes significant cross-functional interactions

25



Patterns

Collaboration driven by interdependent requirements includes significant cross-functional interactions

1

7

17

11

16

35

40

9

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Requirements

Nego8a8on

Requirements

Clarific8on

Communica8on of

Changes

Coordina8on of

Ac8vi8es

Within‐teams

Cross‐teams

25



Patterns

Actual communication structure in the project is very different from the planned communication structure

26



Patterns

• Decentralized networks

• Coordination through back channels

Actual communication structure in the project is very different from the planned communication structure

26

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Project Manager

Business Partner

Business Partner

Manager



PatternsCore subgroups of members originally assigned to work on the requirements closely collaborate with

each other

27



PatternsCore subgroups of members originally assigned to work on the requirements closely collaborate with

each other

Requirements Analyst 3

Tester 1


Tester 2Developer

Test Leader

Dev Leader


• Formed primarily by

• requirements analysts and testers

• assigned members

27



PatternsThe absence of members initially assigned to work on interdependent requirements is most likely to disrupt

collaboration among these requirements

28



PatternsThe absence of members initially assigned to work on interdependent requirements is most likely to disrupt

collaboration among these requirements


Dev Leader 2

Developer 1

Tester 1

Dev Leader 1


Developer 2

Developer 3

Tester 2

• Essential members

• knowledge about requirements

• ability to point out who was working on related tasks

28



Patterns

New hires are isolated from the rest in the requirements-driven collaboration

29



Patterns

• Mostly developers

• Corroborates that newcomers have difficulties in knowing how and when to ask questions

New hires are isolated from the rest in the requirements-driven collaboration


Tester 1


Tester 2

Developer 1

Test Leader

Dev Leader


Developer 2

29



Patterns

• Brokerage

A broker is someone who connects those that are otherwise disconnected

30



Patterns

• Brokerage


R1

John

Peter

Kim

David

Jack

R2

Kyle

Jim

Matt

Kate

30



Patterns

• Brokerage


R1

John

Peter

Kim

David

Jack

R2

Kyle

Jim

Matt

Kate

R1

John

Peter

Kim

David

Jack

R2

Kyle

Jim

Matt

Kate

30



PatternsCoordinator:

ab

c

ba

c

Ab

c

A

bc

a b c

Consultant:

Gatekeeper:

Representative:

Liaison:

31



Patterns

Most of the brokers work on both requirements

32



Patterns

Most of the brokers work on both requirements

R1

John

Peter

Kim

David

JANE

R2

Kyle

Jim

Matt

Kate

32



Patterns

Brokerage is predominant in certain types of communication

33



Patterns

• Communication of changes

• Coordination of activities

• Requirements clarification

Brokerage is predominant in certain types of communication

33



Patterns

Distance does not matter for brokerage

34



Patterns

Distance does not matter for brokerage

• One person emerged as the most frequent broker: Jane, USA-based Dev Lead

Jane

Kyle

Matt

34



Patterns

Knowledge and experience are determinants for brokerage

35



Patterns

Knowledge and experience are determinants for brokerage

• Familiarity with the most active broker (Jane)

• Knowledge about the project and the company

35



Patterns

• Socio-technical congruence

“Fit” between coordination needs established by technical

dependencies and actual coordination in the project

GapSatisfied

coord. need

Is there actual

communication?

NoYes

For each pair of people with a

technical dependency in a network

36



PatternsRequirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

37



PatternsRequirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Backchannel

communicationReal gap

Aligned

communicationFalse gap

Are these roles

supposed to

communicate?

Is there actual

communication?

Is there actual

communication?

No

NoYes

Yes Yes No

For each pair of people with a

technical dependency in a network

37



PatternsCoordination needs (CN)

--

--

--

--

--

Requirements Analyst

Development Leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

Tester

RA DL D1 D2 T

Developer 2

Tester

--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1

RA DL D1 D2 Tactual Coordination (AC)




--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

Tester

RA DL D1 D2 T

Developer 2

Tester

--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1

RA DL D1 D2 Tactual Coordination (AC) coordination alignment (CA)


Development leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

Tester

RA DL D1 D2 T

-- x x

x -- x

x x --

--

x x --




--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

Tester

RA DL D1 D2 T

Developer 2

Tester

--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1



Development leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

Tester

RA DL D1 D2 T

-- x x

x -- x

x x --

--

x x --

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader




--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

Tester

RA DL D1 D2 T

Tester

--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

RA DL D1 D2 Trole-based calculation (CN’)

Developer 2

Tester

--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1



Development leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

Tester

RA DL D1 D2 T

-- x x

x -- x

x x --

--

x x --




--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

Tester

RA DL D1 D2 T

Tester

--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

RA DL D1 D2 Trole-based calculation (CN’)

Developer 2

Tester

--

--

--

--

--


Development Leader

Developer 1



Development leader

Developer 1

Developer 2

Tester

RA DL D1 D2 T

-- x x

x -- x

x x --

--

x x --

-- x x

x -- x

x x --

--

x x --



Patterns

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Testers predominant in initiating backchannel communication

39



Patterns

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader


39



Patterns

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader


39



Patterns

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements clarification and communication of changes predominate in backchannel communication

40



Patterns

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements clarification

Requirements clarification

Communication of changes

Communication of changes

Requirements clarification and communication of changes predominate in backchannel communication

40



Patterns

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Physical separation did not stop backchannel communication

41



Patterns

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Requirements

Analyst

Developer

Development

Leader

Tester

Test Leader

Building 2

Building 1

Physical separation did not stop backchannel communication

41



Patterns

• More-detailed measure to identify coordination congruence

• Backchannel communication

• False gaps

• Alignment of actual coordination behavior with organization structure

42



> Implications

• Researchers: mechanism to investigate RDC at a fine-grained level

• Tool designers: develop tools to support RDC

Expertise seeking, emergent members, coordination diagnose

• Practitioners: gain insights about current processes and conditions

43



Implications

Our framework can help people design improved

- RE processes, - collaborative tool support, and - communication infrastructure

in organizations to enable effective coordination in software projects

44



Replication

• Agile team

• Requirements are volatile per nature

• Collaboration is constant

• Communication happens F2F

• Small teams

Irum Inayat, PhD candidateSiti Salwa Salim, Dr.

45



> More about RDC at

• RE ’07: Preliminary patterns

• RE ’08: Brokerage

• Book Ch. ’10: RDC framework

• RE ’11: Roles and communication

• ICSE ’13: Domain knowledge

46



More about RDC at

• RE ’07: Collaboration patterns and impact of distance on awareness

47



More about RDC at

• RE ’08: Brokerage

Brokerage predominant in certain types of communication

Distance didn’t matter

Knowledge and experience as determinants for brokerage

48



More about RDC at

• Book ch. ’10: RDC framework

49



More about RDC at

• RE ’11: Roles and communication structures

50



More about RDC at

• ICSE ’13: Domain knowledge and hierarchical control structures in coordination

Communication ties that do not follow task assignments but are according to hierarchical structure

51



> References[RE ‘07] Daniela Damian, Sabrina Marczak, and Irwin Kwan, “Collaboration Patterns and the Impact of Distance on Awareness in Requirements-Centred Social Networks”, In: IEEE Proc. International Requirements Engineering Conference, New Delhi, India, 59-68, 2007.

[RE ‘08] Sabrina Marczak, Daniela Damian, Ulrike Stege, and Adrian Schroeter, “Information Brokers in Requirements-Dependency Social Networks”, In: IEEE Proc. International Requirements Engineering Conference, Barcelona, Spain, 53-62, September 2008.

[Book ch. ‘10] Daniela Damian, Irwin Kwan, and Sabrina Marczak, Requirements-Driven Collaboration: Leveraging the Invisible Relationships between Requirements and People, Collaborative Software Engineering, Mistrik, I., Grundy, J., van der Hoek, A, Whitehead, J. (Eds.), Chapter 3, pages 57-76, Springer-Verlag, London, England, March 2010.

[RE ‘11] Sabrina Marczak and Daniela Damian, “How Interaction Between Roles Shapes the Communication Structure in Requirements-Driven Collaboration”, In: IEEE Proc. International Requirements Engineering Conference, Trento, Italy, 47-56, 2011.

[ICSE ’13] Daniela Damian, Remko Helms, Irwin Kwan, Sabrina Marczak, and Benjamin Koelewijn, “The Role of Domain Knowledge and Hierarchical Control Structures in Socio-Technical Coordination”, In: IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering, San Francisco, USA, May 2013 (To appear).

52


Thanks for your attention!

Questions?Comments?

Presented bySabrina [email protected]://www.inf.pucrs.br/sabrina.marczak/


http://www.inf.pucrs.br/sabrina.marczak/

http://www.inf.pucrs.br/sabrina.marczak/

requirements-driven collaboration: a framework and patterns from a case study

Documents

framework14 research

framework17 research

analyst developerr

req analyst

team memberssna requirements

outline13 framework

case study implications

case studysabrina