Empirical software engineering research with industry: Top 10 challenges

Software engineering research can be done in many ways, in particular it can be done in different ways when it comes to working with industry. This paper presents a list of top 10 challenges to work with industry based on our experience from working with industry in a very close collaboration with continuous exchange of knowledge and information. The top 10 list is based on a large number of research projects and empirical studies conducted with industrial research partners since 1983. It is concluded that close collaboration is a long-term undertaking and a large investment. The importance of addressing the top 10 challenges is stressed, since they form the basis for a long-term sustainable and successful collaboration between industry and academia.