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Evidence-based software engineering and systematic reviews
Kitchenham B., Budgen D., Brereton P., Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 2015. 433 pp. Type: Book (978-1-482228-65-6)
Date Reviewed: Mar 17 2017

I reviewed a hard cover 399-page book composed of three parts and an appendix. The first part is titled “Evidence-Based Practices in Software Engineering,” which constitutes almost half of the book. The second part is “The Systematic Reviewer’s Perspective of Primary Studies,” which brings the book to page 289. The third part is titled “Guidelines for Systematic Reviews,” and the appendix is titled “Catalogue of Systematic Reviews Relevant to Education and Practice,” which provides a catalogue of reviews that can be used in practice or teaching. The appendix is followed by an extensive 22-page bibliography, which is an excellent collection of literature in the area. This book is part of the “Innovations in Software Engineering and Software Development” series by CRC Press.

This unique book is not one of your classical software engineering books covering the contents of the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK). The IEEE Computer Society states: “SWEBOK Guide describes generally accepted knowledge about software engineering. The SWEBOK Guide has also gained international recognition as ISO Technical Report 19759.” Readers who are not familiar with SWEBOK and its content can learn more about it at the IEEE website [1]. This is also not a book about programing or software project management. It is a book to learn about evidence-based modeling applied to software engineering through a process using systematic reviews. This book essentially defines and develops a systematic software review process, labeled as evidence-based software engineering. In this respect, the title of the book is very appropriate. It should be noted that one of the authors, Barbara Ann Kitchenham, coined the term “evidence-based software engineering.”

The back cover of the book states that it “provides a clear introduction to the use of an evidence-based model for software engineering research and practice. The book explains the roles of primary studies (experiments, surveys, case studies) as elements of an overarching evidence model, rather than as disjointed elements in the empirical spectrum.” I think the book achieves this stated objective if the “primary studies,” as defined and elaborated by the authors, are accepted ways to gather evidence. Wikipedia [2] provides a reliable exposition to evidence-based models. Another short paper [3] introduces a recent review of evidence-based practice. In the same vein, there are procedures practiced to produce evidence-based theories such as an approach called grounded theory [4].

The back cover blurb continues with the claim that “supplying readers with a clear understanding of empirical software engineering best practices, [the book] provides up-to-date guidance on how to conduct secondary studies in software engineering.” There is not a single widely accepted definition of “empirical software engineering.” A recent American Scientist [5] essay provides a brief overview of empirical software engineering at least from one perspective. Interested readers can search for the names Basili and Boehm to learn more about the history and development of the term. The book does an important service by providing a definitive process to be followed for empirical software engineering practice. In this sense, it provides progress in defining the term from the authors’ position.

Part 1 of the book, “Evidence-Based Practices In Software Engineering,” starts with the evidence-based paradigm, which explains the essentials of evidence-based design to the uninitiated with segments covering the meaning of evidence, the meaning of systematic reviews, and limitations of evidence-based models. The part continues with expanding on evidence-based software engineering (EBSE). Software engineering principles and practices as well as limitations of evidence-based practices in software engineering are discussed. The practical use of systematic reviews with planning, need establishment, protocol development and validation, identifying primary studies, and study-quality assessment are all discussed in this section. Finally, mapping study analysis, qualitative synthesis aspects, and meta-analysis with examples are introduced. The discussion of principles concludes with the introduction of systematic review reporting and tool support. Part 1 concludes with concepts of knowledge translation and diffusion and with the impact for software engineering education. Part 2 of the book is on “The Systematic Reviewer’s Perspective of Primary Studies.” This part starts with the discussion of the role of primary studies in EBSE. Controlled experiments, quasi-experiments, and surveys are covered next. Characteristics and conducting protocols of case studies are introduced with a case study from the software engineering literature. The part concludes with the introduction of (1) characteristics of qualitative studies and types of research questions that can be addressed with qualitative studies; (2) characteristics of data mining studies and types of research questions that can be addressed by data mining, and (3) replicated and distributed studies and connection to software engineering. Part 3 of the book is on “Guidelines for Systematic Reviews.” One can find in this part detailed guidelines to conduct systematic reviews adapted to software engineering and education.

In conclusion, this is a book for an individual who is genuinely interested in the evidence-based paradigm and its application to software engineering. The authors are researchers who developed the model and implemented it over a long period of time. The book introduces the use of an evidence-based model for software engineering research and practice. I recommend it to individuals in this category of interest.

Reviewer:  M. M. Tanik Review #: CR145126 (1706-0335)
1) About SWEBOK. https://www.computer.org/web/swebok (03/13/2017).
2) Evidence-based practice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence-based_practice (03/13/2017).
3) Greenhalgh, T.; Howick, J.; Maskrey, N. Evidence based medicine: a movement in crisis?. BMJ 348, (2014), 1–7.
4) Grounded theory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grounded_theory (03/13/2017).
5) Wilson, G.; Aranda, J. Empirical software engineering. American Scientist 99, 6(2011), 466–473.http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/num2/empirical-software-engineering/1.
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