Approaches to improve researcher-practitioner communication in joint software engineering research

Abstract: Background:Joint research between industry and academia benefits both communities.For researchers, working with practitioners, it is a chance to collect empirical data and test research-based solution proposals.For practitioners, one of the main benefits is access to scientific knowledge.Despite the benefits, there is a gap between industry and academia that could be addressed through more joint research work.Objective:In this thesis, we report experiences from researcher-practitioner communication in joint software engineering research. Furthermore, we explore approaches to improve researcher-practitioner communication.Methodology:We use design science as a frame to present the conducted research. The problem domain is related to the communication between researchers and practitioners, while the solution domains span several approaches to improve communication. To identify and validate approaches, we conducted two case studies. Finally, we propose interactive rapid reviews to improve communication. The proposal is based on a literature review and extends an existing method by reinforcing the researcher-practitioner interaction. Contributions:We present a view of researchers-practitioners communication where we notice the importance of common terminology and the influence of the context. We explore three approaches to improve researcher-practitioner communication in joint research: 1) SERP taxonomies to use a common terminology to express industry challenges and research results. 2) Communication facilitators as context characteristics that help to smooth communication. 3) A proposal to conduct interactive rapid reviews to involve practitioners in secondary studies and foster knowledge exchange. Conclusion:This thesis highlights the importance of managing communication in joint research projects. Besides, it describes three approaches to increase knowledge exchange between industry and academia and, consequently, impact the software development practice and academic research and teaching.