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

[email protected]


Cornerstones of the Post-graduate Studies

� Research topic => research problem

� Research plan

� The existing literature related to your research topic

� Research methods


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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)


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


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?


References

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

t-0.7050 (2009) research plan

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