A New Way of Cataloging Software Engineering from Grounded Theory

Since software development is in constant evolution, it presents new facets and emerging topics. For example, the integration of qualitative data analysis through Grounded Theory establishes a new approach to categorizing this discipline, allowing it to align with these new contributions. The present work applies an original Glaserian Systematic Mapping Study (GSMS) to explore new ways of categorizing software development using Grounded Theory (GT) and GT elements. The study provides insights from the perspective of human beings, including their trust and doubts, and their attitudes towards work teams. The categorization covers many aspects of software development. One of these relates to Agile development, which has been defined in two pairs: Agile/Non-Agile and Agile/Plan-driven. Although this may seem obvious, this categorization had not been defined in this way before. Data, in all its diversity, accompanies the software development process throughout its entire lifecycle. Another finding of the present work is the concept of bridges, which correspond to the diverse interrelationships within software development. Grounded Theory in the context of software development has enabled the creation of various types of bridges. These bridges could be established between individuals within the same development team, between different areas of software development, or between developers and their tools and artifacts, among others. These findings can be highly diverse and can help software engineers unlock their potential and explore various options in software development.