Teaching Practically Relevant Research Problem Formulation in Software Engineering with Lean Research Inception
Resumo
[Background] Well-formulated Software Engineering (SE) research problems are essential for bridging the gap between industry-academia. Lean Research Inception (LRI) aims to support this activity. [Goal] Apply LRI to support SE students in formulating practice-aligned research problems. [Method] We conducted a case study with 60 students and 7 faculty advisors of a Brazilian university. [Results] Students reported benefits in reasoning (60%), clarity and definition (61.7%), contextualization (60%), and communication (50%). Advisors also observed clearer and more structured problems (57.1%) with a high recommendation rate (85.7%). [Conclusion] LRI can be a promising approach to support practice-aligned research problem formulation in SE education.Referências
Basili, V. R. and Rombach, H. D. (1988). The tame project: Towards improvementoriented software environments. IEEE Transactions on software engineering, 14(6):758–773.
Caroli, P. (2017). Lean inception. São Paulo, BR: [link].
Codabux, Z. and Fard, F. H. (2024). The software industry-academia collaboration: Novelty and practice. IEEE Software, 42(3):133–140.
Garousi, V., Borg, M., and Oivo, M. (2020). Practical relevance of software engineering research: synthesizing the community’s voice. Empirical Software Engineering, 25:1687–1754.
Goelzer, N. M., Possamai, P. P., and Marczak, S. (2025). Do’s and don’ts of partnering with industry to educate software engineering students: Recommendations based on a teaching experience. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES), pages 577–587. SBC.
Greco, R. D., Desidério, S. B., Bandeira, C. C. S., and dos Santos Marques, A. B. (2025). Learning through practice: Teaching empirical software engineering for undergraduate students. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES). SBC.
Kalinowski, M., Lopes, H., Teixeira, A. F., da Silva Cardoso, G., Kuramoto, A., Itagyba, B., Batista, S. T., Pereira, J. A., Silva, T., Warrak, J. A., et al. (2020). Lean r&d: An agile research and development approach for digital transformation. In International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement, pages 106–124. Springer.
Molléri, J. S., Mendes, E., Petersen, K., and Felderer, M. (2023). Determining a core view of research quality in empirical software engineering. Computer Standards & Interfaces, 84:103688.
Molléri, J. S. and Petersen, K. (2024). Teaching research design in software engineering. In Handbook on Teaching Empirical Software Engineering, pages 71–100. Springer.
Paiva, S. L. C., de Souza, A. S., de Oliveira, J. L., Ramada, M. S., and da Luz, M. L. (2024). An undergraduate software engineering practice course: bridging the academia-industry gap. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES), pages 410–421. SBC.
Pereira, A. F., Baldassarre, M. T., Mendez, D., Börstler, J., bin Ali, N., Mohanani, R., Smite, D., Biffl, S., Heldal, R., Falessi, D., Graziotin, D., and Kalinowski, M. (2026a). Attributes to support the formulation of practically relevant research problems in software engineering. In 3rd International Workshop on Methodological Issues with Empirical Studies in Software Engineering (WSESE@ICESE’26).
Pereira, A. F., Kalinowski, M., Baldassarre, M. T., Börstler, J., bin Ali, N., and Mendez, D. (2025). Towards lean research inception: Assessing practical relevance of formulated research problems. In Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering (EASE ’25), Istanbul, Turkiye. ACM.
Pereira, A. F., Ornelas, T., Araújo, A. A., and Kalinowski, M. (2026b). Artifacts: Teaching practically relevant research problem formulation in software engineering with lean research inception. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19074876.
Petersen, K., Börstler, J., Ali, N. B., and Engström, E. (2024). Revisiting the construct and assessment of industrial relevance in software engineering research. In Proceedings of the 1st IEEE/ACM International Workshop on Methodological Issues with Empirical Studies in Software Engineering, pages 17–20.
Plattner, H., Meinel, C., and Weinberg, U. (2009). Design thinking. Springer.
Ries, E. (2011). The lean startup: How today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. Crown Currency.
Romao, L., Kalinowski, M., Barbosa, C., Araújo, A. A., Barbosa, S. D., and Lopes, H. (2024). Agile minds, innovative solutions, and industry-academia collaboration: Lean R&D meets problem-based learning in software engineering education. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES), pages 346–356. SBC.
Runeson, P., Host, M., Rainer, A., and Regnell, B. (2012). Case study research in software engineering: Guidelines and examples. John Wiley & Sons.
Vilela, J. and Silva, C. (2024). Empowering undergraduates in empirical research methods: an experience report. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES), pages 543–553. SBC.
Wohlin, C., Runeson, P., Höst, M., Ohlsson, M. C., Regnell, B., and Wesslén, A. (2024). Experimentation in Software Engineering, Second Edition. Springer.
Caroli, P. (2017). Lean inception. São Paulo, BR: [link].
Codabux, Z. and Fard, F. H. (2024). The software industry-academia collaboration: Novelty and practice. IEEE Software, 42(3):133–140.
Garousi, V., Borg, M., and Oivo, M. (2020). Practical relevance of software engineering research: synthesizing the community’s voice. Empirical Software Engineering, 25:1687–1754.
Goelzer, N. M., Possamai, P. P., and Marczak, S. (2025). Do’s and don’ts of partnering with industry to educate software engineering students: Recommendations based on a teaching experience. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES), pages 577–587. SBC.
Greco, R. D., Desidério, S. B., Bandeira, C. C. S., and dos Santos Marques, A. B. (2025). Learning through practice: Teaching empirical software engineering for undergraduate students. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES). SBC.
Kalinowski, M., Lopes, H., Teixeira, A. F., da Silva Cardoso, G., Kuramoto, A., Itagyba, B., Batista, S. T., Pereira, J. A., Silva, T., Warrak, J. A., et al. (2020). Lean r&d: An agile research and development approach for digital transformation. In International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement, pages 106–124. Springer.
Molléri, J. S., Mendes, E., Petersen, K., and Felderer, M. (2023). Determining a core view of research quality in empirical software engineering. Computer Standards & Interfaces, 84:103688.
Molléri, J. S. and Petersen, K. (2024). Teaching research design in software engineering. In Handbook on Teaching Empirical Software Engineering, pages 71–100. Springer.
Paiva, S. L. C., de Souza, A. S., de Oliveira, J. L., Ramada, M. S., and da Luz, M. L. (2024). An undergraduate software engineering practice course: bridging the academia-industry gap. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES), pages 410–421. SBC.
Pereira, A. F., Baldassarre, M. T., Mendez, D., Börstler, J., bin Ali, N., Mohanani, R., Smite, D., Biffl, S., Heldal, R., Falessi, D., Graziotin, D., and Kalinowski, M. (2026a). Attributes to support the formulation of practically relevant research problems in software engineering. In 3rd International Workshop on Methodological Issues with Empirical Studies in Software Engineering (WSESE@ICESE’26).
Pereira, A. F., Kalinowski, M., Baldassarre, M. T., Börstler, J., bin Ali, N., and Mendez, D. (2025). Towards lean research inception: Assessing practical relevance of formulated research problems. In Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering (EASE ’25), Istanbul, Turkiye. ACM.
Pereira, A. F., Ornelas, T., Araújo, A. A., and Kalinowski, M. (2026b). Artifacts: Teaching practically relevant research problem formulation in software engineering with lean research inception. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19074876.
Petersen, K., Börstler, J., Ali, N. B., and Engström, E. (2024). Revisiting the construct and assessment of industrial relevance in software engineering research. In Proceedings of the 1st IEEE/ACM International Workshop on Methodological Issues with Empirical Studies in Software Engineering, pages 17–20.
Plattner, H., Meinel, C., and Weinberg, U. (2009). Design thinking. Springer.
Ries, E. (2011). The lean startup: How today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. Crown Currency.
Romao, L., Kalinowski, M., Barbosa, C., Araújo, A. A., Barbosa, S. D., and Lopes, H. (2024). Agile minds, innovative solutions, and industry-academia collaboration: Lean R&D meets problem-based learning in software engineering education. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES), pages 346–356. SBC.
Runeson, P., Host, M., Rainer, A., and Regnell, B. (2012). Case study research in software engineering: Guidelines and examples. John Wiley & Sons.
Vilela, J. and Silva, C. (2024). Empowering undergraduates in empirical research methods: an experience report. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software (SBES), pages 543–553. SBC.
Wohlin, C., Runeson, P., Höst, M., Ohlsson, M. C., Regnell, B., and Wesslén, A. (2024). Experimentation in Software Engineering, Second Edition. Springer.
Publicado
11/05/2026
Como Citar
PEREIRA, Anrafel Fernandes; ORNELAS, Tatiane; ARAÚJO, Allysson Allex; KALINOWSKI, Marcos.
Teaching Practically Relevant Research Problem Formulation in Software Engineering with Lean Research Inception. In: CONGRESSO IBERO-AMERICANO EM ENGENHARIA DE SOFTWARE (CIBSE), 29. , 2026, Recife/PE.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
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p. 1-15.
