Modeling the Experimental Software Engineering Process

Abstract

Reviews on software engineering literature have shown an insufficient experimental validation of claims, when compared to the standard practice in other well-established sciences. Poor validation of software engineering claims increases the risks of introducing changes in the software process of an organization, as the potential benefits assessment is based on hype, rather than on facts. The community lacks highly disseminated experimental best practices. We contribute with a model of the experimental software engineering process that is aligned with recent proposals for best practices in experimental data dissemination. The model can be used in the definition of software engineering experiments and in comparisons among experimental results.