Implementation Science for Software Engineering: Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice (Keynote)

Abstract

Software engineering research rarely impacts practitioners in the field. A desire to facilitate transfer alone is not sufficient to bridge the gap between research and practice. Fields from medicine to education have acknowledged a similar challenge over the past 25 years. An empirical approach to the translation of research into evidence-based practice has emerged from the resulting discussion. Implementation science has fundamentally changed the way that biomedical research is conducted, and has revolutionized the daily practice of doctors, social workers, epidemiologists, early childhood educators, and more. In this talk we will explore the methods, frameworks, and practices of implementation science and their application to novel disciplines, including software engineering research. We will close by proposing some directions for future software engineering research to facilitate transfer.