Organizers: Susan Sim, Janice Singer, Peggy Storey

1. Beg, Borrow, or Steal: Using Multidisciplinary Approaches in Empirical Software Engineering Researchhttp://www.csr.uvic.ca/icse2000/An ICSE 2000 WorkshopLimerick, Ireland, June 5, 2000 • Organizers: Susan Sim, Janice Singer, Peggy Storey • Purpose: investigate the feasibility of applying proven methods from other research disciplines to software engineering research

2. Sessions • Foundations for empirical research • Invited speaker: Marian Petre, Open University • Choice of techniques should be based on the evidence required • Easy to apply methods out of context • Survey of research designs • Invited speaker: Bill Curtis • Difficulties of measuring intellectual artifacts • Ethnography • Invited speaker: Liam Bannon, University of Limerick • criticized the emphasis on measurement in empirical research • Working with industry and communicating results • Invited speaker: Dieter Rombach, Fraunhofer IESE • Keys: building trust, building a business case, gathering relevant evidence

3. McNamara’s Fallacy • The first step is to measure whatever can be easily measured. This is ok as far as it goes. • The second step is to disregard that which can’t be easily measured or to give it an arbitrary quantitative value. • The third step is to presume that what can’t be measured easily really isn’t important. • The fourth step is to say that what can’t be easily measured really doesn’t exist.

4. Recurring Themes • Lack of education in empirical methods in software engineering • Appropriate application of techniques - must understand the underlying theory; cannot take techniques out of context • Evidence - must be varied, appropriate, relevant - should drive the research design