A comprehensive process model for studying software process papers

E cient and e ective studying of scienti c papers is an important part of software engineering education. Moreover, it contributes to the knowledge necessary to carry out software research and development. However, we experienced numerous problems related to the many subactivities of studying scienti c papers. It turns out that many of them are analogous to the problems occurring in the software development process, e.g., coordination, data capturing, communication, validation and scheduling. We have addressed them by applying principles and techniques known from software process engineering. A comprehensive process model has been developed, enacted, improved and validated. The process model describes literature search, paper selection, reading, and group discussion of papers, as well as recording, validation, and retrieval of the data we captured from the selected papers. The focus of this paper lies on the discussion part of the model. A model of this sub-process describes the systematic classi cation, analysis, and evaluation of the papers. It is used to guide the group discussion, and it helps to ensure that pertinent information from the discussion is retained inan annotated database