Development processes and practices in a small but growing software industry
Di Wang, Matthias Galster · 2018
Background: Development processes and practices depend on the context in which software is developed (e.g., locations, organizations, projects, developers). Aim: We aim at understanding development processes and practices in New Zealand, a country with a relatively small but growing software sector. We are particularly interested in methods and practices used in such environment, the implementation technologies software development professionals use, how professionals ensure software quality, and how they manage software release processes. Method: We conducted a descriptive survey targeting individual software development professionals working in New Zealand software companies. Results: New Zealand professionals use similar methodologies as professionals in other countries. Popular programming languages differ somewhat to popular languages in other rankings. Quality assurance is rather ad-hoc and the release process is inspired by agile software development principles. Conclusions: Our findings highlight some differences of the New Zealand software industry to other countries. Furthermore, we identified some strengths and weaknesses related to processes and practices. Our findings can help software professionals and organizations reflect on (and potentially adjust) the way they work.