Systematic Mapping of Value-based Software Engineering : A Systematic Review of Value-based Requirements Engineering

Abstract: Context: In many organizations, practices and processes of software engineering are carried out in a value-neutral setting. These value-neutral settings within software development are responsible for project failures. Value-based software engineering (VBSE) manages these value neutral settings by integrating value-oriented perspectives into software engineering. The fundamental factors that differentiate VBSE from value-neutral software engineering are value dimensions that play a crucial role in companies' success by managing customer needs, demands, and expectations Objectives: The aims of this master thesis are to 1) systematically classify the contributions within VBSE and 2) investigate practical application and validation of solutions in industry to determine their practical usability and usefulness. Methods: In this study, systematic mapping, followed by systematic review were used as research methods. Results: The findings of systematic mapping show that a clear majority of value-based research has been conducted within requirements engineering, and verification and validation. Whereas, there were not many studies discussing value-based design. In terms of research types used, evaluation research and solution proposal were the most dominant contributions. While experience reports and philosophical research were less emphasized. In general, value-based contributions such as recommendations and processes were highly reported in VBSE studies. In addition, the finding of systematic review indicates that although many solutions were proposed for value-based requirements engineering but in the absence of qualitative and quantitative results from usability and usefulness perspectives make it hard for practitioners to adopt for industrial practices. Conclusion: The systematic classification of studies and resulting maps not only give an overview of existing work on VBSE but also identifies interesting research gaps which can be used by researchers to plan and carry out future work. The findings of systematic review can be used by industry practitioners to assess the level of applicability of the proposed value-based requirements engineering solutions with respect to their application/validation context and usability and usefulness.