Experimentation
Viola Schiaffonati · 2020
This chapter discusses experimentation in computer science and engineering. Experiments in this field have much in common with those in the natural sciences but also present significant differences given that they evaluate technical artifacts (e.g., computing systems, programs) that are complex, malleable, and not deriving directly from theories. By analyzing the cases of software engineering and autonomous robotics, a plurality of approaches to experimentation is revealed, together with some peculiarities that are extendable to the whole of computer engineering. Some open issues are discussed and the proposal of conceptualizing part of the experimental activities in computer engineering by using the notion of explorative experiment is advanced.