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Conference Paper
Sabino, A., Armanda Rodrigues, M. Goulão, and J. Gouveia, "Indirect Keyword Recommendation", International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology, WIC 2014, Warsaw, Poland, IEEE/WIC/ACM, 11-14 August, 2014. Abstractsabino2014wic.pdf

Helping users to find useful contacts or potentially interesting subjects is a challenge for social and productive
networks. The evidence of the content produced by users must be considered in this task, which may be simplified by the use of the meta-data associated with the content, i.e., the categorization supported by the network – descriptive keywords, or tags. In this paper we present a model that enables keyword discovery
methods through the interpretation of the network as a graph, solely relying on keywords that categorize or describe productive items. The model and keyword discovery methods presented in this paper avoid content analysis, and move towards a generic approach to the identification of relevant interests and, eventually,
contacts. The evaluation of the model and methods is executed by two experiments that perform frequency and classification analyses over the Flickr network. The results show that we can efficiently recommend keywords to users.

Barišić, A., V. Amaral, M. Goulão, and A. Aguiar, "Introducing usability concerns early in the DSL development cycle: FlowSL experience report", Model-Driven Development Processes and Practices Workshop Proceedings, MD2P2 2014, Valencia, Spain, September, 2014. Abstractflowslmodelsdraft.pdf

Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) developers aim to narrow the gap between the level of abstraction used by domain users and the one provided by the DSL, in order to help taming the increased complexity of computer systems and real-world problems. The quality in use of a DSL is essential for its successful adoption. We illustrate how a usability evaluation process can be weaved into the development process of a concrete DSL - FlowSL - used for specifying humanitarian campaign processes lead by an international Non-Governmental Organization. FlowSL is being developed following an agile process using Model-Driven Development (MDD) tools, to cope with vague and poorly understood requirements in the beginning of the development process.

Espada, P., M. Goulão, and J. Araújo, "Measuring Complexity and Completeness of KAOS Goal Models", International Workshop on Empirical Requirements Engineering (EmpiRE 2011), at the 19th International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE 2011), Trento, Italy, IEEE Computer Society, 30 Aug., 2011. Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/EmpiRE.2011.6046252

espadagoulaoaraujo2011empire.pdf

KAOS is one of the most well-known goal-oriented requirements engineering approaches. Nevertheless, building large KAOS models sometimes results in incomplete and/or complex requirements models that are difficult to understand and maintain. These shortcomings often lead to an increase in costs of product development and evolution. Therefore, for large-scale systems, the ability to manage the complexity and completeness of KAOS models is essential. In this paper, we propose a metrics suite for supporting the quantitative assessment of KAOS models complexity and completeness, in order to support their early identification. We apply the metrics to an example taken from a health club system specification.

Monteiro, R., J. Araújo, V. Amaral, M. Goulão, and P. Patrício, "Model-Driven Development for Requirements Engineering: The Case of Goal-Oriented Approaches", 8th International Conference on the Quality of Information and Communications Technology (QUATIC 2012), Lisbon, Portugal, IEEE CPS, 2012. Abstractquatic2012-full-crmg.pdf

Goal-Oriented Requirements Engineering (GORE) has received increasing attention over the past few years.
There are several goal-oriented approaches, each one using different kinds of models. We argue that it would be useful to relate them or even perform transformations among them automatically, in order to understand their similarities and differences, their advantages and disadvantages, allowing a possible migration or comparison between approaches. This is something that has not received enough attention. In this paper
we propose the definition and implementation of goal model transformations between i* and KAOS. As an immediate contribution, the approach can be used to migrate from one goal model to another through automatic model transformations. This approach also contributes to relate the concepts of i* and KAOS models and will help, for example, a development team in making the decision on which approach to follow, according to the nature of the project and the expressiveness of an approach to represent certain concepts
(e.g., obstacles are represented explicitly in KAOS, but not in i*). Another contribution is to facilitate communication among members of the same team, if they are specialized in different approaches.

Goulão, M., and F. B. Abreu, "Modeling the Experimental Software Engineering Process", 6th International Conference on the Quality of Information and Communications Technology (QUATIC'2007), Lisbon, Portugal, IEEE Computer Society, pp. 77-90, 12-14 Sep., 2007. Abstractquatic2007mgfbafinal.pdf

Reviews on software engineering literature have shown an insufficient experimental validation of claims, when compared to the standard practice in other well-established sciences. Poor validation of software engineering claims increases the risks of introducing changes in the software process of an organization, as the potential benefits assessment is based on hype, rather than on facts. The community lacks highly disseminated experimental best practices. We contribute with a model of the experimental software engineering process that is aligned with recent proposals for best practices in experimental data dissemination. The model can be used in the definition of software engineering experiments and in comparisons among experimental results.

Goulão, M., and F. B. Abreu, "On the Influence of Practitioners' Expertise in Component-Based Software Reviews", 10th ECOOP Workshop on Quantitative Approaches in Object-Oriented Software Engineering (QAOOSE'2006), Nantes, 2006. Abstract

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Barišić, A., P. Monteiro, V. Amaral, M. Goulão, and M. Pessoa Monteiro, "Patterns for Evaluating Usability of Domain-Specific Languages", Proceedings of the Pattern Languages of Programs Conference, PLoP 2012: ACM, 19-21 October, 2012. Abstract

http://hillside.net/plop/2012/papers/Group%203%20-%20Coyote/Patterns%20for%20Evaluating%20Usability%20of%20Domain-Specific%20Languages.pdf

For years the development of software artifacts was the sole domain of developers and project
managers. However, experience has taught us that the Users play a very important role in
software development and construction. On Domain Specific Languages the inclusion of the
domain experts directly in the development cycle is a very important characteristic, as they have
often an important role in making and constraining the domain of the language.
DSLs are credited with increased productivity and ease of use, but this fact is hardly ever proven.
Moreover, usability tests are frequently only performed at the final stages of the project when
changes have a significant impact on the budget. To help prevent this, in this paper we present a
pattern language for evaluating the usability of DSLs. Our patterns can help show how to use an
iterative usability validation development strategy to produce DSLs that can achieve a high
degree of usability.

Barišić, A., V. Amaral, M. Goulão, and B. Barroca, "Quality in Use of Domain Specific Languages: a Case Study", 3rd ACM SIGPLAN workshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU 2011), Portland, USA, ACM, pp. 65-72, 2011. Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2089155.2089170

plateau2011-barisic.pdf

Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) are claimed to increment productivity, while reducing the required maintenance and programming expertise. In this context, DSLs usability is a key factor for its successful adoption.

In this paper, we propose a systematic approach based on User Interfaces Experimental validation techniques to assess the impact of the introduction of DSLs on the productivity of domain experts. To illustrate this evaluation approach we present a case study of a DSL for High Energy Physics (HEP).

The DSL on this case study, called Pheasant (PHysicist’s EAsy Analysis Tool), is assessed in contrast with a pre-existing baseline, using General Purpose Languages (GPLs) such as C++. The comparison combines quantitative and qualitative data, collected with users from a real-world setting. Our assessment includes Physicists with programming experience with two profiles; ones with no experience with the previous framework used in the project and other experienced.

This work’s contribution highlights the problem of the absence of systematic approaches for experimental validation of DSLs. It also illustrates how an experimental approach can be used in the context of a DSL evaluation during the Software Languages Engineering activity, with respect to its impact on effectiveness and efficiency.

Barišić, A., V. Amaral, M. Goulão, and B. Barroca, "Quality in Use of DSLs: Current Evaluation Methods", 3rd INForum - Simpósio de Informática (INForum2011), Coimbra, Portugal, 8-9 Sep., 2011. Abstractinforum_2011_submission_174.pdf

Domain Speci c Languages (DSLs) are claimed to contribute
to increment productivity, while reducing the required maintenance and
programming expertise. In this context, the usability of these languages
becomes a major issue: if the language is not easy to learn and use, it is
unlikely to be successfully adopted.

It is important to foster high quality DSLs during its engineering process.
We argue that a systematic approach based on User Interface Experi-
mental validation techniques should be used to assess the impact of the
introduction of DSLs in the productivity of DSL user. Productivity can
be fostered by assessing important usability attributes early in the lan-
guage construction . This work's contribution, besides highlighting the
problem of the absence of systematic approaches for experimental vali-
dation of DSLs in general, is to identify existing evaluation approaches
that can be adapted from the eld of User Interfaces.

Goulão, M., and F. B. Abreu, "The quest for software components quality", 26th Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC 2002), Oxford, England, IEEE Computer Society, pp. 313-318, 2002. Abstract

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Goulão, M., and F. B. Abreu, "Software Components Evaluation: an Overview", 5ª Conferência da APSI (CAPSI 2004), Lisbon, 2004. Abstract

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Monteiro, A. S., A. B. Almeida, M. Goulao, F. B. Abreu, and P. Sousa, "A Software Defect Report and Tracking System in an intranet", Third European Conference on Software Maintenance and Reengineering, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, IEEE Computer Society, pp. 198-201, 1999. Abstract

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Goulão, M., A. S. Monteiro, J. F. Martins, F. B. Abreu, A. B. Almeida, and P. Sousa, "A Software Evolution Experiment", European Software Control and Metrics Conference (ESCOM'98), Rome, Italy, Shakter Publishing B. V., 1998. Abstract

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Goulão, M., N. Fonte, M. Wermelinger, and F. B. Abreu, "Software Evolution Prediction Using Seasonal Time Analysis: a Comparative Study", 16th European Conference on Software Maintenance and Reengineering (CSMR 2012), Szeged, Hungary, IEEE Computer Society, 30 Mar., 2012. Abstract

http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/CSMR.2012.30

goulao2012csmr.pdf

Prediction models of software change requests are useful for supporting rational and timely resource
allocation to the evolution process. In this paper we use a time series forecasting model to predict software
maintenance and evolution requests in an open source software project (Eclipse), as an example of projects with seasonal release cycles. We build an ARIMA model based on data collected from Eclipse’s change request tracking system since the project’s start. A change request may refer to defects found in the software, but also to suggested improvements in the system under scrutiny. Our model includes the identification of seasonal patterns and tendencies, and is validated through the forecast of the change requests evolution for the next 12 months. The usage of seasonal information significantly improves the estimation ability of this model, when compared to other ARIMA models found in the literature, and does so for a much longer estimation period. Being able to accurately forecast the change requests’ evolution over a fairly long time period is an important ability for enabling adequate process control in maintenance activities, and facilitates
effort estimation and timely resources allocation. The approach presented in this paper is suitable for projects with a relatively long history, as the model building process relies on historic data.

Goulão, M., A. Moreira, J. Araújo, and J. P. Santos, "Streamlining scenario modeling with Model-Driven Development: a case study", Model-Driven Requirements Engineering Workshop (MoDRE 2011), at the 19th International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE 2011), Trento, Italy, IEEE Computer Society, pp. 55-63, 29 Aug., 2011. Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MoDRE.2011.6045367

modre2011-cameraready.pdf

Scenario modeling can be realized through different perspectives. In UML, scenarios are often modeled with activity models, in an early stage of development. Later, sequence diagrams are used to detail object interactions. The migration from activity diagrams to sequence diagrams is a repetitive and error-prone task. Model-Driven Development (MDD) can help streamlining this process, through transformation rules. Since the information in the activity model is insufficient to generate the corresponding complete sequence model, manual refinements are required. Our goal is to compare the relative effort of building the sequence diagrams manually with that of building them semi-automatically. Our results show a decrease in the number of operations required to build and refine the sequence model of approximately 64% when using MDD, when compared to the manual approach.

Almeida, C., M. Goulão, and J. Araújo, "A Systematic Comparison of i* Modelling Tools Based on Syntactic and Well-Formedness Rules", 6th International i* (iStar) Workshop, Valencia, Spain, 17-18 Jun. , 2013. Abstractalmeidagoulaoaraujo2013istar.pdf

There are several tools currently available in the i * community. These tools have diff erent features and purposes. Choosing the most adequate tool for a specifi c modelling situation can be a challenge. To overcome this diffculty, we present a systematic comparison of the i * tools listed in the i * wiki page, according to their features, syntax coverage and semantic analysis support. Our comparison highlights the
diff erent strengths of those tools, to help identifying situations for which each tool might be particularly useful. We contribute with an aggregated vision of current i * tool support to the body of knowledge of the i * community. In addition, this comparison also helps identifying opportunities for further evolution of the surveyed tools.

Abreu, F. B., M. Goulão, and R. Esteves, "Toward the Design Quality Evaluation of Object-Oriented Software Systems", 5th International Conference on Software Quality, Austin, Texas, EUA, American Society for Quality, pp. 44-57, 1995. Abstract

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Goulão, M., and F. B. Abreu, "Towards a Components Quality Model", Work in Progress Session of the 28th Euromicro Conference (Euromicro 2002), Dortmund, Germany, 2002. Abstract

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Barišić, A., V. Amaral, and M. Goulão, "Usability Evaluation of Domain-Specific Languages", Simpósio de Estudantes de Doutoramento em Engenharia de Software (SEDES 2012), hosted by QUATIC 2012, Lisbon, Portugal, IEEE CPS, 3 Sep., 2012. Abstractbarisic2012sedes.pdf

Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) are claimed to bring important productivity improvements to developers,
when compared to General-Purpose Languages (GPLs). The increased Usability is regarded as one of the key benefits of DSLs when compared to GPLs, and has an important impact on the achieved productivity of the DSL users. So, it is essential to build in good usability while developing the DSL. The purpose of this proposal is to contribute to the systematic activity of Software Language Engineering by focusing on the
issue of the Usability evaluation of DSLs. Usability evaluation is often skipped, relaxed, or at least omitted from papers reporting development of DSLs. We argue that a systematic approach based on User Interface experimental validation techniques should be used to assess the impact of new DSLs. For that purpose, we propose to merge common Usability evaluation processes with the DSL development process. In order to provide reliable metrics and tools we should reuse and identify good practices that exist in Human-Computer
Interaction community.

Bombonatti, D., C. Gralha, A. Moreira, J. Araújo, and M. Goulão, "Usability of Requirements Techniques: A Systematic Literature Review", The 31st ACM/SIGAPP Symposium on Applied Computing, Pisa, Italy, ACM/SIGAPP, 4-8 Apr., 2016. Abstract

The usability of requirements engineering (RE) techniques has been recognised as a key factor for their successful adoption by industry. RE techniques must be accessible to stakeholders with different backgrounds, so they can be empowered to effectively and efficiently contribute to building successful systems. When selecting an appropriate requirements engineering technique for a given context, one should consider the usability supported by each of the candidate techniques. The first step towards achieving this goal is to gather the best evidence available on the usability of RE approaches by performing a systematic literature review, to answer one research question: How is the usability of requirements engineering techniques and tools addressed? We systematically review articles published in the Requirements Engineering Journal, one of the main sources for mature work in RE, to motivate a research roadmap to make RE approaches more accessible to stakeholders with different backgrounds.

Santos, M., C. Gralha, M. Goulão, J. Araújo, A. Moreira, and J. Cambeiro, "What is the Impact of Bad Layout in the Understandability of Social Goal Models?", 24th IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering, Beijing, China, IEEE, 12-16, Sep., 2016. Abstractre_2016_eyetracker_istar.pdf

The i* community has published guidelines, including model layout guidelines, for the construction of models. Our goal is to evaluate the effect of the layout guidelines on the i* novice stakeholders’ ability to understand and review i* models. We conducted a quasi-experiment where participants were given two understanding and two reviewing tasks. Both tasks involved a model with a bad layout and another model following the i* layout guidelines. We evaluated the impact of layouts by combining the success level in those tasks and the required effort to accomplish them. Effort was assessed using time, perceived complexity (with NASA TLX), and eye-tracking data. Participants were more successful in understanding than in reviewing tasks. However, we found no statistically significant difference in the success, time taken, or perceived complexity, between tasks conducted with models with a bad layout and models with a good layout. Most participants had little to no prior knowledge in i*, making them more representative of stakeholders with no requirements engineering expertise. They were able to understand the models fairly well after a short tutorial, but struggled when reviewing models. Adherence to the existing i* layout guidelines did not significantly impact i* model understanding and reviewing performance.

Conference Proceedings
Störrle, H., M. R. V. Chaudron, V. Amaral, and M. Goulão, "First International Workshop on Human Factors in Modeling (HuFaMo 2015) @ MODELS 2015 - Preface", First International Workshop on Human Factors in Modeling (HuFaMo 2015) @ MODELS 2015, Ottawa, Canada, 28 Sep., 2015.
Journal Article
Monteiro, R., J. Araújo, V. Amaral, M. Goulão, and P. Patrício, "Adding Interoperability to Requirements Models", Software Quality Professional Journal, vol. 15, issue 4, pp. 16-27, 2013. Abstract

(c) American Society for Quality

sqpv15i4monteiro.pdfWebsite

Complex software systems inherently require a variety of models used in all of the development stages. A general concern is to guarantee consistency and traceability among these models. Model-driven development (MDD) can help tackle this concern. Although MDD has been mainly used in later development stages, it is relatively unexplored in requirements engineering. In this article, the authors discuss how to
leverage MDD to support consistency and traceability in requirements modeling. To illustrate this, they apply MDD to goaloriented requirements engineering (GORE) by making bidirectional mappings between two well-known GORE approaches (i* and KAOS). The result is an interoperable framework that can be used to migrate from one goal model to another through automatic model transformations, keeping consistency and traceability, so requirements engineers can make the best use of each approach.

Barišić, A., V. Amaral, M. Goulão, and B. Barroca, "How to reach a usable DSL? Moving toward a Systematic Evaluation", Electronic Communications of the EASST (MPM), 2011. Abstract

Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) are claimed to increase productivity, while reducing the required maintenance and programming expertise. In this context, DSL usability by domain experts is a key factor for its successful adoption. Evidence that support those improvement claims is mostly anecdotal. Our systematic literature review showed that a usability evaluation was often skipped, relaxed, or at least omitted from papers reporting the development of DSLs. The few exceptions mostly take place at the end of the development process where fixing problems identified is too expensive. We argue that a systematic approach based on User Interface experimental validation techniques should be used to assess the impact of the new DSLs. The rationale is that assessing important and specially tailored usability attributes for DSLs early in language construction will ultimately foster a higher productivity of the DSL users. This paper, besides discussing the quality criteria, proposes a development and evaluation process that can be used to achieve usable DSLs in a better way.

Machado, R., M. Goulão, F. B. e Abreu, and J. Pascoal Faria, "Introduction to Special Issue: Quality in Information and Communications Technology", Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering, vol. 10, issue 1, pp. 1-2, 2014. machado2014isse.pdfWebsite