Volume 4 Number 10 (Dec. 2009)
Home > Archive > 2009 > Volume 4 Number 10 (Dec. 2009) >
JSW 2009 Vol.4(10): 1127-1135 ISSN: 1796-217X
doi: 10.4304//jsw.4.10.1127-1135

Simulation in Software Engineering with System Dynamics: A Case Study

Minghui Wu1, 2, Hui Yan1

1Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, China
2College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Abstract—There are many complexities including dynamic behavior and feedback mechanism as well as various interacting factors in the practical software development. Software Engineering education is facing difficulties because students have limited engineering experience and they can hardly understand typical phenomena occurring in software projects. System Dynamics is a continuous modeling method describing the interaction between project factors. It forces one to consider system behavior in global view. The simulation models encapsulate collective knowledge of software engineering fields. They support the training that the students can interact with to practice project control, which will help students understand the key factors and behaviors in complex scenarios. In this paper, Brooks’ Law and the effects of Pair Programming in eXtreme Programming (XP) were used as case study to demonstrate the basic concepts, analysis and modeling processes of system dynamics. The simulation results show the advantages of the approach. Finally, the uses of system dynamics approach in critical areas of software engineering are presented.

Index Terms—System Dynamics; Modeling; Simulation; Software Engineering Education

[PDF]

Cite: Minghui Wu, Hui Yan, "Simulation in Software Engineering with System Dynamics: A Case Study," Journal of Software vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 1127-1135, 2009.

General Information

  • ISSN: 1796-217X (Online)

  • Abbreviated Title: J. Softw.

  • Frequency:  Quarterly

  • APC: 500USD

  • DOI: 10.17706/JSW

  • Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Antanas Verikas

  • Executive Editor: Ms. Cecilia Xie

  • Abstracting/ Indexing: DBLP, EBSCO,
           CNKIGoogle Scholar, ProQuest,
           INSPEC(IET), ULRICH's Periodicals
           Directory, WorldCat, etc

  • E-mail: jsweditorialoffice@gmail.com

  • Oct 22, 2024 News!

    Vol 19, No 3 has been published with online version   [Click]

  • Jan 04, 2024 News!

    JSW will adopt Article-by-Article Work Flow

  • Apr 01, 2024 News!

    Vol 14, No 4- Vol 14, No 12 has been indexed by IET-(Inspec)     [Click]

  • Apr 01, 2024 News!

    Papers published in JSW Vol 18, No 1- Vol 18, No 6 have been indexed by DBLP   [Click]

  • Jun 12, 2024 News!

    Vol 19, No 2 has been published with online version   [Click]