[論文レビュー] Software Startups - A Research Agenda

Michael Unterkalmsteiner, Pekka Abrahamsson+25 more|LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)|Jan 1, 2016

Open Source Software Innovations参考文献 187被引用数 119

ひとこと要約

本論文は、six-track research agenda for software startup engineering を提示し、70+ research questions と Software Startup Research Network (SSRN) を詳述して協力を促進します。

ABSTRACT

Software startup companies develop innovative, software-intensive products within limited time frames and with few resources, searching for sustainable and scalable business models. Software startups are quite distinct from traditional mature software companies, but also from micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, introducing new challenges relevant for software engineering research. This paper's research agenda focuses on software engineering in startups, identifying, in particular, 70+ research questions in the areas of supporting startup engineering activities, startup evolution models and patterns, ecosystems and innovation hubs, human aspects in software startups, applying startup concepts in non-startup environments, and methodologies and theories for startup research. We connect and motivate this research agenda with past studies in software startup research, while pointing out possible future directions. While all authors of this research agenda have their main background in Software Engineering or Computer Science, their interest in software startups broadens the perspective to the challenges, but also to the opportunities that emerge from multi-disciplinary research. Our audience is therefore primarily software engineering researchers, even though we aim at stimulating collaborations and research that crosses disciplinary boundaries. We believe that with this research agenda we cover a wide spectrum of the software startup industry current needs.

研究の動機と目的

• スタートアップにおけるソフトウェア工学の具体的な研究アジェンダを定義し、彼らの固有の課題に対処する。
• スタートアップと成熟したソフトウェア企業を区別する研究トラックと研究質問を特定・整理する。
• ソフトウェア・スタートアップ研究を推進するための方法論的アプローチと協力構造を提案する。

提案手法

• 類似点と相違点に基づき、18のトラック記述を六つのテーマ的クラスターに整理する。
• 各トラックの背景、動機、研究質問、潜在的影響を提供する。
• 2015年に始まる多段階の、コミュニティ主導のプロセス。
• 研究者とスタートアップの協力を促進する正式な研究ネットワーク（SSRN）を導入する。
• スタートアップのエンジニアリング課題を実践と理論への実務的含意に結びつける。
• ソフトウェア・スタートアップ研究における学際的な機会と今後の方向性の可能性を強調する。

実験結果

リサーチクエスチョン

• RQ1 RQ1: To what degree is actual engineering a critical success factor for startups?
• RQ2 RQ2: How can the startup context be defined such that informed decisions on engineering choices can be made?
• RQ3 RQ3: What engineering practices, processes and methods/models are used today, and do they work in a startup context?
• RQ4 RQ4: How can prototyping be used to maximize learning experience and support multiple startup goals?
• RQ5 RQ5: To what extent do software startups explicitly manage risk, and how can systemic risk be modeled and mitigated?

主な発見

• Identifies six major clusters of research tracks for software startups: Supporting Startup Engineering Activities, Startup Evolution Models and Patterns, Human Aspects, Applying Startup Concepts in Non-Startup Environments, Startup Ecosystems and Innovation Hubs, and Methodologies/Theories for Startup Research.
• Documents eighteen track descriptions with motivations, research questions, potential impact, and methodologies.
• Establishes the Software Startup Research Network (SSRN) to foster global collaboration among researchers and startups.
• Provides a context for developing a software startup context model to characterize startup environments and guide engineering practice.
• Emphasizes need for empirical knowledge on software engineering in startups, including context-driven practices, technical debt management, and prototyping strategies.
• Proposes that future work should connect startup research with broader domains such as marketing, business development, and ecosystem design.