Designing experiment objects for Continuous Experimentation: A multiple case study

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master_Amasya_Basak_2024.pdf (1.21 MB)

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Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
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Date

2024-08-19

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Major/Subject

Computer Science

Mcode

SCI3042

Degree programme

Master’s Programme in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences

Language

en

Pages

53+2

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Abstract

Agile software development's emphasis on iterative development and the customer has influenced how companies approach new software product development. Continuous software development practices led to more frequent releases of software to customers and continuous experimentation aims to bring more structure to experimentation by establishing a fundamental framework. Experiment objects are an integral part of the continuous experimentation cycle. Despite experiment objects' evident importance, it remains unclear how companies select and design these experiment objects. This thesis aims to understand what kinds of experiment objects are used in companies, how the kind of experiment object is chosen and what factors influence the choice, what challenges are involved in designing the objects, and how they evolve in the continuous experimentation process. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with representatives from a varied set of roles and companies. The interviews were qualitatively analysed and the study finds different aspects of the design and evolution of experiment objects as well as some key themes and common practices regarding experimentation processes. The findings reveal that deciding what kind of experiment object to design and develop is a collaborative and customer-oriented process. A variety of challenges are involved in the process of designing experiment objects. The most significant ones have to do with communication, technical limitations and lack of resources. The practitioners do not seem to be explicitly designing experiment objects with learning aspect in mind, but considering effort and other factors, and they may have other goals. As the experimentation process proceeds, the experiment objects can be thrown away, be modified and used again in another experiment or they can become products. The study also points out different understandings of certain concepts and definitions related to experiment objects. The thesis presents insights from the industry regarding the design and use of experiment objects and suggests some practical recommendations that may be of use in companies wishing to use an experimentation-based approach to software product development or to design better experiment objects.

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Supervisor

Fagerholm, Fabian

Thesis advisor

Fagerholm, Fabian

Keywords

continuous experimentation, experiment objects, minimum viable product (MVP), prototyping, case study, interview

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202408255679

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[dipl] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI