Continuous experimentation for software organizations with low control of roadmap and a large distance to users - A case study
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Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Publicerad
2019
Författare
Sveningson, Robin
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Continuous experimentation is a recently popular subject in the field of Software
Engineering. There are many resources on how to conduct experimentation with
techniques such as A/B tests and canary releases, how to assess organizations in
how well they use experimentation and what the benefits and challenges are of
using more experimentation. However, there is little differentiation in research regarding
the two concepts of control of roadmap and distance to users. The first
indicating how much control the company has over the product roadmap and the
planning/prioritization of product changes, and the second indicating how easy it is
to access the users of the products for data-collection purposes. Not all companies
have high control of roadmap and a short distance to users, which is something that
needs to be addressed when it comes to continuous experimentation. There exists
a clear research gap in this area. This exploratory case study aims to be a starting
point in filling this research gap. The thesis work is done together with a single case
study company, which is a small-scale software consultancy company. Additionally,
four other companies are also involved in the process as part of a static validation
process. There are four main contributions resulting from this thesis. First, it
presents a deterministic way of deciding how much/little control of roadmap and distance
to users a company has. Secondly, it shows that there is a relationship between
control of roadmap, distance to users and continuous experimentation. Thirdly, it
shows how to assess a software company with low control of roadmap and a large
distance to users regarding how well they use continuous experimentation. Finally,
the thesis identifies what the perceived advantages, disadvantages and blocking issues
are for such a company to use more continuous experimentation. The thesis
also makes suggestions for future work, such as if the control of roadmap and distance
to users are fixed or if they can be changed, as well as understanding if the
control of roadmap and distance to users acts as barriers to evolving the use of
experimentation.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
continuous experimentation , A/B testing , distance to users , control of roadmap , assessment , advantages , disadvantages , blocking issues