Software Sustainability by Design

Abstract

In our current world, software impacts almost everything; it connects people and forms the cornerstone for the economy, as such, has an impact on sustainability and the emerging sustainable development goals (SDGs). Currently, sustainability is a concept with different interpretations and perceptions in the software engineering community. Software sustainability design, development and measurement are evolving and require more research in software engineering. There are only a few concrete guidelines, measures, tools and examples for software architects, developers, requirement engineers and companies to use in the design, development and measurement of software sustainability efficiently and effectively.

This research aims to explore how best to guide and support stakeholders (requirement engineers, software architects, developers, and companies) in the design, development and measurement of software systems, based on sustainability dimensions (economic, social, individual, environment and technical) in software engineering. This work will serve as the first step towards alleviating the challenge of understanding what sustainability means in software design, development and measurement for different stakeholders.

This research has been conducted using the design science research methodology to identify and design solutions (artefacts) for the problems of sustainability in software design, development and measurement. These artefacts are the Sustainable Business Goal Question Metric (S-BGQM), the Software Sustainability Design Catalogue (SSDC), the Framework for Sustainability of Software System Design (FSSSD) and the Template for Software Sustainability Requirement Best Practice documentation.

The overall outcome from this research is tailored towards supporting sustainability in software design and development practices. Output from this research provides the building block to foster more research investigation on tools and methods to support shift in stakeholders’ mindsets towards adopting sustainability in a way that translates into software design decisions and practices.