State of the Practice onSoftware Release Planning
2Outline
• Software Release Planning (SRP)• Current state of the practice• Selection of tools• Observations
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3What is SRP?
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4Current state of SRP
• State of the art Update of Svahnberg’s SLR (2010)
• cf. Ameller et al. at PROFES 2016 Only one tool found beyond proof-of-concept state
• State of the practice This paper Analysis of project management tools available in
the IT market
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What kind of AI-assisted feature release planning and /or task scheduling capabilities are supported by projectmanagement tools currently available in the market?
5 Selection of toolsSt
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Wikipedia PMT
119 tools
Vendor websiteanalysis
11 tools
Include tools not in alpha version withlast release newer than 18 months
Collect classification data (schedulingfacilities, web tool vs. desktop, …
RQ1-based indi-vidual analysis
7 tools
Exclusion criteria: low maturity; poorfunctionality; not automated projectplanning methods and algorithms
6 Selected toolsSt
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Tool Task schedulingWorkfront Soft constraint-based task schedulingGenius Project Simulation capabilitiesOracle Primavera Critical path schedulingLibrePlan Queue-based (automated) resource planningSciforma Critical chain schedulingJIRA Automated scheduling of tasks – plug-insMicrosoft Project Automated scheduling of tasks
7 Example of detailSt
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URL http://www.geniusproject.com/Current version V8.0Last release date September 2015Key features andscheduling support
Calendar, Cross Project Dependencies, Gantt Charts,Project Hierarchy, Add Recurring Tasks, AssignStakeholders, Set Priorities, Task History, To-Do List
Agile support Burndown Charts, Card View, Cycle Time Analytics,Kanban, Manage Product Backlog, Scrum Methodology,Version Control
Web-based support Cloud delivery and on-premisePrice From 19.95 USD monthSimulationcapabilities
- Run resource allocation and planning scenarios in aninteractive Gantt chart- Generate unlimited scenarios to compare to youroriginal project- Graphically compare differences in metrics such astime to completion, staffing, costs, etc.
8 Selected toolsSt
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Tool Task schedulingWorkfront Soft constraint-based task schedulingGenius Project Simulation capabilitiesOracle Primavera Critical path schedulingLibrePlan Queue-based (automated) resource planningSciforma Critical chain schedulingJIRA Automated scheduling of tasksMicrosoft Project Automated scheduling of tasks
• Common characteristics Support for project managers at the start of a
project or spring Do not go back to the planning chain Do not adapt dynamically as the project/spring goes
9 Threats to validitySt
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• Not all tools found• Not all features probed• Tools other than project management tools
could incorporate SRP features
10 ObservationsSt
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• Difficulties of academic approaches to go intothe market Competition with well-established tools How to demonstrate the benefits of AI-assisted
features Real conditions are much more difficult than a
research setting• Strategy: develop AI plugins for popular tools JIRA as a good example!
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