Software analytics for planning product evolution

Abstract

Evolution of a software product is inevitable as product context changes and the product gradually becomes less useful if it is not adapted. Planning is a basis to evolve a software product. The product manager, who carries responsibilities of planning, requires but does not always have access to high-quality information for making the best possible planning decisions. The current study aims to understand whether and when analytics are valuable for product planning and how they can be interpreted to a software product plan. The study was designed with an interview-based survey methodology approach through 17 in-depth semi-structured interviews with product managers. Based on results from qualitative analysis of the interviews, we defined an analytics-based model. The model shows that analytics have potentials to support the interpretation of product goals while is constrained by both product characteristics and product goals. The model implies how to use analytics for a good support of product planning evolution.