On the value of essence to software engineering research: A preliminary study

There has been growing interest in the use of empirical approaches in software engineering research. However, many researchers pointed out that a framework for reporting software engineering case study findings is lacking. As a consequence, it is difficult to compare results or evaluate their generality. In this paper, we use Essence as a foundation for such a framework. Essence is a software engineering kernel and language developed by SEMAT, whose aim is to find a common ground of software engineering. We chose Essence as a foundation because of its unique features such as being comprehensive, model-based, and extensible. We demonstrate the use of this framework by taking an existing case study research and analyzing how Essence could report its findings more systematically and comprehensively. The case study we investigate is about whether the customer representative role is too demanding in an extreme programming (XP) environment. Using the Essence framework, we found a strong validity threat to this case study. Although the validity threat could also be detected otherwise, the fact that it was not detected previously only highlight the importance of having greater rigor in case study reporting and evaluation, which is why a framework is necessary. Moreover, by using Essence as a foundation for such a framework, we show the value Essence brings to the software engineering research community.