Extending Software Engineering Collaboration towards … · Study‐Literature Review‐1 ... Conclusion • Intersection of Software and Art includes ... ‐Volume 00, IEEE Computer

PhD defence presentation, NTNUMarch 11, 2011

Extending Software Engineering Collaboration towards the

Intersection of Software and Art

Salah Uddin Ahmed

Outline

• Motivation and Research Context

• Software Dependent Artwork (SDA)

• Research Questions

• Research Methods

• Contributions

• Results

• Limitations

• Future Work

Motivation and Context

• Motivation– Art and Science collaboration

– Artists seeking SE intervention

• Research Context– SArt project at Software Engineering group, NTNU

• Objectives of SArt– Develop knowledge on the interdisciplinary nature of software production

– Support artists with SE knowledge and tools

– Educate practitioners and researchers

Research Area

Software

Intersection of Software Engineering & Art

Intersection of Software & Art

Software Dependent Artwork Projects

• Software Dependent Artwork (SDA)– Artwork in which software is used for creation and display of the artwork

– Often interactive in nature, the output or functionality depends on software

• SDA Projects– Sonic Onyx– Open Wall– Flyndre

Sonic Onyx

• Interactive art installation

• Receives user sent files via Bluetooth

• Convert them into sound files

• Plays music back via speakers located on the arms

• Sphere on top changes colors

Open Wall

• A big display of (16x6) LED boards on a white wall creating a matrix (80x30) of light pixels. Each LED has 100 intensity levels.

• Users can access the wall through internet and draw images. animation

Flyndre

• Interactive sound Installation, takes input from environment e.g., time, temperature

• Real time music composition software generates music based on the input

Research Area

Software

Intersection of Software Engineering & Art

Intersection of Software & Art

Research Questions1. What is the relationship between art and software

and how can we conceptualise it?

2. How can we characterise the development process of software dependent artwork (SDA) projects?

3. How can we increase collaboration between artists and software engineers and improve the field of computing by borrowing concepts from arts?

Research Method

• Literature Review 1

• Literature Review 2

• Case Study

• Observation

Study‐Literature Review‐1

• Address RQ1: What is the relationship between art and software and how can we conceptualiseit?

• Search on: Electronic databases, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Computer, Leonardo, Proceedings of Art festivals and so on

• Keywords: Both art and software related terms• Selection Criteria: Artists requirements, software

development process, artist‐technologists collaboration, research issues at the intersection

• Result: Research Issues, Conceptual Framework

(Kitchenham 2004)

Study‐Literature Review‐2

• Address RQ3: How can we bridge the field of art and computing, increase collaboration between artists and software engineers by borrowing knowledge and concepts from the arts

• Search on: Proceedings of CHI, DPPI, DIS, TOCHI, NordiCHI conferences

• Keywords: Aesthetics, aesthetic

• Selection Criteria: Use of aesthetics, role, impact or effect of aesthetics, authors viewpoint, context, meaning and usage of the word aesthetics.

• Result: Sectors of common interest in HCI, aesthetics as a bridge to connect HCI and arts

(Kitchenham 2004)

Case Study‐ Sonic OnyxAddress RQ2: How can we characterise the development

process of software dependent artwork (SDA) projects?

Strategy: Participant ObservationData collection: Interviews, Documents, QuestionnairesData Analysis: Case descriptor

Result: Identification of factors that contribute to the success/failure of SDA project

(Yin 1989)

Observation

• Collected data and observed the development process of– Open Wall

– Glimps, an art piece for Open Wall

• As part of SArt, cooperated with students in projects related to – Improsculpt, the composition software used in Flyndre

Contributions

• C1. Identification of the research issues at the intersection of software and art.

• C2. Conceptual framework of different entities, and themes at the intersection of software and art

• C3. Identification of the features/issues that contribute to the success or failure of a software dependent art project and the features that facilitates collaboration between artists and technologists

• C4. Proposals on how can we bridge software engineering and art through collaborations and improve computing discipline by borrowing concepts and ideas from art.

Papers• P1 SArt: Towards Innovation at the Intersection of Software

Engineering and Art• P2 Software Engineering Processes Under the Influence of

Aesthetics and Art Projects• P3 Achieving pervasive awareness through artwork• P4 Conceptual framework for the intersection of software

and art• P5 Information technology and art: Concepts and state of the

practice• P6 Aesthetics in Human‐Computer Interaction: Views and

Reviews• P7 Sonic Onyx: Case Study of an Interactive Artwork• P8 Developing software dependent artwork in collaboration

with students

Contributions, studies and papers

Identifying Research Issues

Conceptual Framework

Factors influencing SDA project

Improve and Extend Collaboration

P1, P2 P4, P5 P7, P8 P3, P6

RQ1 RQ3RQ2

Lit. Review 1 Case StudyLit. Review 2

Observation

Results





P1, P2 P4, P5 P7, P8 P3, P6

RQ1 RQ3RQ2


Observation

Results





P1, P2 P4, P5 P7, P8 P3, P6

RQ1 RQ3RQ2


Observation

Research Issues

• Software Development issues– Requirements

– Evaluation

– Tools

– Development Methods

– Collaboration

– Business Model

• Social and Cultural Implications

• Educational Issues– Computer in Art Curriculum

– Multidisciplinary Collaboration

– Art in CS Curriculum

• Aesthetics Issues– Aesthetic of the Code

– Software Art

– User Interface

Results





P1, P2 P4, P5 P7, P8 P3, P6

RQ1 RQ3RQ2


Observation


• Who (Actors)– Artists

– Theorists, art critics

– Software engineers

– Researchers

• Why– Artists need tool supports

– SDA needs SE expertise

– Computing needs aesthetics

– Technological advancements

• Where– Educational Institutes

– Software Industry

– Research Institutes

– Art Projects

– Art Festivals

• What– Tools

– Programming Languages

– Support tools

Results





P1, P2 P4, P5 P7, P8 P3, P6

RQ1 RQ3RQ2


Observation

Factors Influencing the Success/Failure of SDA Project

• Positive Factors– Artist’s know‐how and understanding of the

technology– Good communication between the developers of

the team– Good communication between the software

developers and the artist(s)– Agile development method/Rapid development

method– Pair programming

Factors Influencing the Success/Failure of SDA Project

Negative Factors– Lack of agreement between the stakeholders of

the project

– Lack of communication between artist and developers

– Lack of awareness of the sponsors about subsequent maintenance

– Not considering every phases of development important

Results





P1, P2 P4, P5 P7, P8 P3, P6

RQ1 RQ3RQ2


Observation


• Extension and enrichment through – Utilising SDA in pervasive awareness, ubiquitous

computing

– Aesthetics as a bridge between HCI and Art

– Utilising SDA in SE and Computer education

Limitations

• For literature review only articles published in scientific media were considered

• Statistical analysis was not conducted on review

• Features influencing success/failure of an SDA project was collected from one project.

Future Work

• Survey on user evaluation and engagement can be carried upon in future.

• Further case studies and experiment on which SW development method is more suitable for a SDA project development

• Development of Tools– For capturing artists requirements– Collaborative tools that takes care of both artistic process and engineering process

Implications

• Stakeholders who can use the results include– Artists

– Software engineers and developers

– Sponsor of SDA projects

– Academics in computing discipline

– Researchers

Implications

• SE/Computer Science Education– SDA projects in Software Engineering Education

– Collaboration with art to enhance creativity, innovation

Implications

• SE Research Agenda– SDA requires SE expertise

– SDA is a domain and it has its own specific requirements

– SDA is more than just art project, it can be part of many computing research areas such as pervasive awareness, ubiquitous computing

– Agile /iterations based development for SDA projects

Conclusion

• Intersection of Software and Art includes many issues interesting for both artists and software engineers

• SDA requires SE intervention

• SE research agenda can be extended to include SDA projects with a special focus on development method, tools, requirements and maintenance

References

• Kitchenham, B., Procedures for Performing Systematic Reviews. 2004, Keele University Technical Report TR/SE‐0401 and NICTA Technical Report 0400011T.1

• Hevner, A.R., et al., Design science in Information Systems research.Mis Quarterly, 2004. 28(1): p. 75‐105

• Machin, C. H. C. (2002). Digital artworks: bridging the technology gap. Eurographics UK Conference, 2002. Proceedings. The 20th: 16‐23.

• Gross, J. B. (2005). Programming for Artists: A Visual Language for Expressive Lighting Design. Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human‐Centric Computing (VL/HCC'05) ‐ Volume 00, IEEE Computer Society.

• ASPHAUG, T., BIELSA, C., GRYTÅ, E. M., THORSRUD, E. & TOLLEFSEN, T. (2007) Sculpture with 3D Interactive Sound. Department of Electronical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Technology. HiST.

• CANDY, L. & EDMONDS, E. (2002) Modeling co‐creativity in art and technology. Proceedings of the 4th conference on Creativity & cognition. Loughborough, UK, ACM Press.

• Redström, J., Skog, T., and Hallnäs, L. . Informative art: using amplified artworks as information displays. In Informative art: using amplified artworks as information displays. 2000. Elsinore, Denmark: ACM, New York, NY, 103‐114.

Extending Software Engineering Collaboration towards the Intersection of Software and Art