Presenter: Marios Fokaefs
Date: 25 June 2019

Digitization has undoubtedly transformed most markets, including traditional products and tangible commodities to services. In the centre of this transformation lies the software, which is the enabler and the connector behind the adoption of new technologies and the disruption of traditional processes. However, we cannot claim that we understand how software generates value and how we can quantify this value. The first goal of this research is to study the use of software both as a product and as tool, to identify its impact on generating value and revenue, and eventually to formalize this impact in models and processes that will guide the development and the evolution of the software systems according to these goals. Evolution is another challenge in the digital era for both software and services alike. Thanks to technological advancements like the Internet and smart devices, an increasing portion of the population as well as a great number of enterprises have become interconnected with immediate access to vast amounts of information. Besides the great number of connections and the high speed of data production and consumption, this situation is also characterized by its greatly dynamic nature and high volatility. Under these circumstances, software needs to be adjustable, in order to constantly generate value for the company and its clients. From a technical perspective, recent advancements in Software Engineering, like DevOps and self-adaptive systems, have contributed towards adapting software to such dynamic conditions. However, profitability and continuous value generation are not always immediately considered in this setting neither as goals nor as constraints. The economic impact of a software change or the need to also adapt business and economic strategies are assessed after the change and possibly long after it is relevant. For example, consider the extension of a mobile banking app to enable remote bill payments. Is there a way to predict the economic benefits of this feature before it is developed? How accurate will this prediction be? How fast can we roll out the new version including the business planning? Therefore, the second goal of this research is to align the technical and economic goals of software change.

Presenter: I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer and Software Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal. Previously, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Centre of Excellence for Research in Adaptive Systems at York University, Canada, since February 2015 working with Professor Marin Litoiu. I received my Master's and PhD in Software Engineering in January 2015, from the Department of Computing Science at the University of Alberta, Canada under the supervision of Professor Eleni Stroulia. I also hold a BSc since 2008 from the Department of Applied Informatics at the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece under the supervision of Professor Alexander Chatzigeorgiou.