t-0.7050 (2009) research plan

T-0.7050:

Introduction to Post-Graduate Studies in Computer Science

Research Plan2.2.2009

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

Software Business and Engineering Institute

Helsinki University of Technology

t07050@soberit.hut.fi

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

Cornerstones of the Post-graduate Studies

� Research topic => research problem

� Research plan

� The existing literature related to your research topic

� Research methods

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

Why do you need a research plan?What should a good research plan contain?

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

Making a Doctoral Thesis Demands

� Passion and motivation

� Perseverance and patience

� Working systematically and independently

Research Plan can be used for

� clarifying your research topic and problem

� following up your own progress

� getting feedback from your supervisor and instructor

� getting funding

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

Contents of a good research plan

� Introduction (background)� Motivation why your research topic/problem is important� Based on the existing literature� Based on key references

� Research problem and questions

� Research methods

� Preliminary/key results

� Publication plan & schedule

� Funding� Graduate schools: SoSE, HeCSE, GEBSI� Academy of Finland

� References

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

From research topic to research problem and questions: An example

How can organisations improve their requirements engineering (RE) practices?

• What do organisations need to know to be able to improve their RE practices?

• What should organisations do to be able to improve their RE practices?

• How can organisations monitor the impact of the RE improvement actions?

Requirements engineering

Research topic

Research problem (high-level research question)

Research questions

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

What are characteristics of a good research question?

� Relevant

� Not too broad

� Easy to understand - simple and not too long

� Clear (unambiguous)

� All the concepts used in the question are carefully considered.

� All the key concepts are defined in the thesis.

� It is possible to find an answer.

� Try to imagine in advance what answers could be

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

Analysis of the research questions

Question Possible answer

What do organisations need to know

to be able to improve their RE

practices?

• Status of existing practices

• Organisational needs

• Existing RE technologies

What should organisations do to be

able to improve their RE practices?

• Improvement plan

How can organisations monitor the

impact of the improvement actions?

• Set of appropriate metrics

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

Analysis of the research questions

Question Possible answer What do organisations need to know

to be able to improve their RE

practices?

• Status of existing practices

• Organisational needs

• Existing RE technologies

What should organisations do to be

able to improve their RE practices?

• Improvement plan

How can organisations monitor the

impact of the improvement actions?

• Set of appropriate metrics

Relevant, but too broad Too ambiguousRelevant, but too difficult

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

From research topic to research problem and questions: An example

How can organisations introduce RE into product development?

• How does the REGPG* help organizations in RE process improvement?

• Which practices support systematic user requirements definition?

• What are the potential success factors that support the introduction of RE into product development?

• Which challenges do organizations face when they introduce RE into product development?

Improvement of requirements engineering (RE) processesResearch topic

Research problem (high-level research question)

Research questions

* Requirements Engineering Good Practice Guide (Sommerville & Sawyers, 1997)

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

Research Plan: Hints

� Research problem and questions are the most fundamental part of the research plan.

� Update the research plan at least once a year

� Keep the research plan short (4-6 pages)

� Try to present it as many times as possible

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

Research Plan: Hints

Research plan� Introduction� Research problem and questions� Research methods� Preliminary/key results� Publication plan & schedule� Funding� References

Dissertation� Introduction� Related work (Literature review)� Research problem and questions� Research approach and methods� Results� Discussion� Conclusions� References

Your research plan

forms an excellent basis

for your doctoral thesis.

What is the status of your research plan?How can you improve it?

Marjo Kauppinen & Marko Nieminen

References

� Sommerville and Sawyer (1997) Requirements Engineering: Good Practice Guide, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.