[ecoop-info] Software Analytics: So What? – Call for Articles (IEEE Software)

[Tom Zimmermann]

Call for Articles for a Special Issue of IEEE Software on

SOFTWARE ANALYTICS: SO WHAT?

Submission Deadline: 15 December 2012
Publication: July/August 2013


Software analytics are studies of software that lead to actionable
changes to projects. The feedback from analytics should alter
decisions relating to the business, management, design, development,
or marketing of software systems. These analytics can be applied to
both the products of developers (design documents, code, emails
between team members) and to data generated by running programs (usage
patterns, economic effects of the running system). Often such
analytics requires "big data" methods -- visualizations or data mining
of large datasets.

In this special issue, we seek answers to seemingly simple questions:
Do these software analytics really work? In practice, what has
actually been achieved? For a supposedly data-driven field, there are
surprisingly few exemplar case studies in the literature -- of both
successes and failures -- in this area. Hence we have no answer for
the business user (or graduate student) who asks, "In this field, what
are the best and worst practices, and why?"

The guest editors invite articles addressing the practical successes,
as well as the practical drawbacks, of software analytics. Such
analytics includes the application of data mining tools to SE data
(but can also include combinations of automatic and manual data
analysis). Topics for these submissions include but are not limited to
the following:

* the added value of software analytics to the business community 
  (if, indeed, it exists);
* the synergies (if any) that can be achieved by combining automatic 
  and human insight about some industrial problems;
* what happens when these methods fail and what we can learn from 
  these failures;
* lessons learned;
* examples of successful and unsuccessful applications;
* reports of big wins that demonstrate the business case 
  for software analytics (including value-based concerns);
* guidance on how to train an industrial user of software analytics;
* ways to address management information needs with 
  software analytics;
* how to convert mere prediction models into decision models; and
* how to take full advantage of combinations of automatic and 
  manual analysis

Papers can be standard IEEE Software format or "short papers" that
revisit and review prior publications discussing deployed examples of
software analytics. Note that such short papers must be significant
extensions to prior results (e.g. reports from field usage,
performance statistics seen in several years of operation, user
feedback, what authors might do differently a second time around,
etc.).

Questions? For more information about the special issue, contact the
guest editors Tim Menzies (West Virgina University, USA) and Thomas
Zimmermann (Microsoft Research, USA).


SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Manuscripts must not exceed 4,700 words including figures and tables,
which count for 200 words each. Submissions in excess of these limits
may be rejected without refereeing. The articles we deem within the
theme and scope will be peer-reviewed and are subject to editing for
magazine style, clarity, organization, and space. We reserve the right
to edit the title of all submissions. Be sure to include the name of
the theme or special issue you are submitting for. Articles should
have a practical orientation and be written in a style accessible to
practitioners. Overly complex, purely research-oriented or theoretical
treatments are not appropriate. Articles should be novel. IEEE
Software does not republish material published previously in other
venues, including other periodicals and formal conference/workshop
proceedings, whether previous publication was in print or in
electronic form.

For general author guidelines: 
http://www.computer.org/software/author.htm

For submission details: software @ computer.org

To submit an article: 
https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/sw-cs

For dates: 
http://www.computer.org/portal/web/computingnow