[AISWorld] CfPart GTSE at ICSE, May 26, 2013

[Pontus Johnson]

		 		                              CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

				                                            GTSE 2013

				2nd SEMAT Workshop on a General Theory of Software Engineering

				                      San Francisco, USA, 26 May, 2013

				                                    In conjunction with

				 ACM/IEEE Intl. Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)

				                        http://semat.org/?page_id=632


Most academic disciplines emphasize the importance of their general theories. Examples of general theories include the Big Bang theory, Maxwell’s equations, the theory of the cell, the theory of evolution, the theory of demand and supply, but among the general theories are also found theories with names such as the general theory of crime and the theory of marriage, both well-established within their respective fields. Few general theories of software engineering have, however, been proposed, and none have achieved significant recognition. The main consequence of a lack of theory is a craft limited to problem solving by trial-and-error and rules-of-thumb. Its knowledge base cannot be used for other than the most rudimentary predictions. This, in turn, means that its innovations can only be tested in vivo, which can be both expensive and painful. The long list of well-known software project failures is a testament to the tradition of trial-and-error. Theory addresses this problem, because a theory is a system of rules that mimics the real world, but cheaply and without pain. Theory can provide answers to questions that otherwise might be prohibitively expensive. A general theory of software engineering would ideally advise against costly error before the trial begins.

This workshop, organized by the SEMAT initiative, aims to provide a forum for discussing the concept of a general theory of software engineering. The topics considered include the benefits, the desired qualities, the core components and the form of a general theory. The workshop follows the publication of an article with the title “Where is the Theory for Software Engineering?” in September/October 2012 issue of IEEE Software, as well as the first SEMAT Workshop on a General Theory of Software Engineering, held in November 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden.


TOPICS OF INTEREST

- How can a general theory of software engineering be of practical use?
- What are the objectives of such a theory?
- What questions should it address?

- What is a useful definition of theory?
- How foundational/universal should a general theory of software engineering be?

- What should its main concepts be?
- Should it be expressed formally?
- If formalized, what is a suitable language?

ACCEPTED CONTRIBUTIONS

Klaas-Jan Stol and Brian Fitzgerald. Uncovering Theories in Software Engineering
Kari Smolander and Tero Päivärinta. Forming Theories of Practices for Software Engineering
Steve Adolph and Philippe Kruchten. Generating A Useful Theory of Software Engineering
Paul Ralph. Possible Core Theories for Software Engineering
Cengiz Erbas and Bahar Erbas. On a Theory of Software Engineering (Position paper)
Dewayne Perry. A Theoretical Foundation for Software Engineering: A Model Calculus
Don Batory. Why (Meta-)Theories of Automated Software Design Are Essential: A Personal Perspective
Mathias Ekstedt. An empirical approach to a general theory of software (engineering)
Pan-Wei Ng, Shihong Huang and Yumei Wu. On the Value of Essence to Software Engineering Research: A Preliminary Study
Iaakov Exman. Speeding-up Software Engineering’s Escape from its Pre-Paradigmatic Stage

WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS

Pontus Johnson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Michael Goedicke, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Ivar Jacobson, Ivar Jacobson International, Switzerland
Mira Kajko-Mattsson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden