Evaluating distributed CSCW applications is a difficult endeavor. Frameworks and methodologies for structuring this type of evaluation have become a central concern for CSCW researchers. In this paper we describe the problems involved in evaluating remote collaborations, and we review some of the more prominent conceptual frameworks of group interaction that have driven CSCW evaluation in the past. A multifaceted evaluation framework is presented that approaches the problem from the relationships underlying joint awareness, communication, collaboration, coordination, and work coupling. Finally, recommendations for carrying out multifaceted evaluations of remote interaction are provided.

We report on the experiences of Siemens Corporation in nine globally-distributed software development projects. These projects represent a range of collaboration models, from co-development to outsourcing of components to outsourcing the software for an entire project. We report experience and lessons in issues of project management, division of labor, ongoing coordination of technical work, and communication. We include lessons learned, and conclude the paper with suggestions about important open research issues in this area.

include knowledge management, IT enabled organizational forms such as virtual teams and communities,

The instructional technology community is in the midst of a philosophical shift from a behaviorist to a constructivist framework, a move that may begin to address the growing rift between formal school learning and real-life learning. One theory of learning that has the capacity to promote authentic learning is that of situated learning. The purpose of this three part study was firstly, to identify critical characteristics of a situated learning environment from the extensive literature base on the subject; secondly, to operationalise the critical characteristics of a situated learning environment by designing a multimedia program which incorporated the identified characteristics; and thirdly, to investigate students ’ perceptions of their experiences using an multimedia package based on a situated learning framework. The learning environment comprised a multimedia program for preservice teachers on assessment in mathematics, together with recommended implementation conditions in the classroom. Eight students were observed and interviewed to explore their perceptions of the situated learning environment. Findings suggest that the use of the situated learning framework appeared to provide effective instructional design guidelines for the design of an environment for the acquisition of advanced knowledge.

In this study, we conducted a survey to generate archetypes of source code searching by programmers across maintenance tasks. Using a questionnaire on a web page, we obtained 69 responses from readers of 7 newsgroups. Respondents were asked about their source code searching habits: what tools they used, why they searched, and what they searched for. The four most common search targets were function definitions, all uses of a function, variable definitions, and all uses of a variable. The most common search motivations were defect repair, code reuse, program understanding, feature addition, and impact analysis. Eleven archetypes were generated from the anecdotes and results. The implications and practical applications of these findings and method are discussed. 1. Introduction Searching source code is an essential part of many software maintenance tasks. The structure of source code is not conducive to being read in a linear fashion. Furthermore, it is often infeasible to read the ent...

Abstract. Software engineering is an intensely people-oriented activity, yet too little is known about how designers, maintainers, requirements analysts and all other types of software engineers perform their work. In order to improve software engineering tools and practice, it is therefore essential to conduct field studies, i.e., to study real practitioners as they solve real problems. To do so effectively, however, requires an understanding of the techniques most suited to each type of field study task. In this paper, we provide a taxonomy of techniques, focusing on those for data collection. The taxonomy is organized according to the degree of human intervention each requires. For each technique, we provide examples from the literature, an analysis of some of its advantages and disadvantages, and a discussion of how to use it effectively. We also briefly talk about field study design in general, and data analysis.

ICTs) are reshaping many industries, often by reshaping how information is shared. Informationintensive industries, by their nature, show the greatest impacts due to ICTs that enable information sharing and the bypassing of traditional information intermediaries. However, while the effects and uses of ICT are often associated with organizations (and industries), their use occurs at the individual level. In other words, it is changes to individual work related to the use of ICTs that reshape both organization and industry structures, and vice versa. To explore the relationships between individual uses of ICT and changes to organization and industry structures, we examined the residential real estate industry. Real estate is a revelatory industry for the study of ICT uses because it is information-intensive and realtors are information intermediaries between buyers and sellers. As agents, buyers and sellers increase their uses of ICT, they also change how they approach their daily work. We use structuration theory to provide an analytic perspective within this setting.

The early stages of the RE process involve developing understanding of a problem situation, the problem domain, and the requirements for achieving improvements in the problem situation. How requirements engineers work to develop this understanding is poorly understood. The findings from several field studies of the RE process show that the process is creative and opportunistic, involving adaptive and responsive exploration of the problem space. The question of how to support and monitor the process remains. We have approached this problem by examining the complexity of the requirements models in a number of laboratory-based studies. By recording the RE process using a design rationale notation and analysing the complexity of the requirements models, we have traced the oscillations in complexity throughout the process; we have called this the catastrophe-cycle of the requirements modelling process. We discuss the usefulness of design rationale in supporting and monitoring the RE process, examine the implications of this research for managing the creative and insight-driven RE process, and highlight areas for future research.

The work described in this paper is an investigation of COTS-based software development within a particular NASA environment, with an emphasis on the processes used. Fifteen projects using a COTS-based approach were studied and their actual process was documented. This process is evaluated to identify essential differences in comparison to traditional software development. The main differences, and the activities for which projects require more guidance, are requirements definition and COTS selection, high level design, integration and testing. Starting from these empirical observations, a new process and set of guidelines for COTS-based development are developed and briefly presented. Keywords Commercial off-the-shelf, COTS, component-based, empirical study, software development process. 1

1 Self-organization of teams for free/libre open source software development This paper provides empirical evidence about how free/libre open source software development teams self-organize their work, specifically, how tasks are assigned to project team members. Following a case study methodology, we examined developer interaction data from three active and successful FLOSS projects using qualitative research methods, specifically inductive content analysis, to identify the task-assignment mechanisms used by the participants. We found that „self-assignment ‟ was the most common mechanism across three FLOSS projects. This mechanism is consistent with expectations for distributed and largely volunteer teams. We conclude by discussing whether these emergent practices can be usefully transferred to mainstream practice and indicating directions for future research. (105 words) Keywords: Free/libre open source software development, task assignment, self-organizing teams, distributed teams, qualitative research methods Running head: Self-organization of teams in FLOSS development 2 Self-organization of teams for free/libre open source software development 1.